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Dynatrace extends AI-powered observability for SAP together with PowerConnect

Dynatrace further extends its capabilities to monitor SAP systems with PowerConnect for enhanced observability across SAP systems. SAP customers can now leverage the power of Dynatrace AI-based analytics to optimize operations based on precise data gathered by PowerConnect. With SoftwareOne PowerConnect for SAP solutions users can gather data from most SAP products or systems to analyze it within the Dynatrace platform. This partnership enables Dynatrace customers to address various SAP-specific use cases from service availability and performance, user experience, cloud migration, and upgrades to security and compliance.

Monitoring SAP products can present challenges

Monitoring SAP systems can be challenging due to the inherent complexity of using different technologies—such as ABAP, Java, and cloud offerings—and the sheer amount of generated data. Additionally, SAP systems are typically mission-critical; hence, measuring their performance without hurting ongoing operations can be challenging.

SAP Basis teams have established best practices for managing their SAP systems. However, the increasing level of integrations that SAP systems support for modernizing businesses also poses a challenge. Teams benefit from a boost in aligning SAP operations practices with the operation of all surrounding systems that SAP depends on and those that depend on SAP. An integrated operations and security management platform for SAP and non-SAP systems has become a critical requirement for modern businesses.

This is why Dynatrace is extending its observability capabilities for SAP with PowerConnect for SAP. With this partnership, Dynatrace can address this need exactly. It complements existing functionality, including observability for SAP Commerce Cloud, SAP JVM, SAP ABAP via extensions, and remote monitoring for SAP HANA,

Unlock use cases out of the box

Essential prebuilt views and dashboards are included, offering rich insights into the SAP solution. The comprehensive functionality is highly customizable, facilitating a seamless presentation of any SAP metric in the context of SAP systems, business architecture, and all SAP-integrated systems.

 SAP KPIs reported by PowerConnect for SAP ABAP, Java, and cloud systems can be embedded into any Dynatrace dashboard.
Figure 1. SAP KPIs reported by PowerConnect for SAP ABAP, Java, and cloud systems can be embedded into any Dynatrace dashboard.

Service observability

  • E2E process monitoring
  • Cross-system data validation
  • Business data monitoring

Performance and user experience

  • Root-cause analysis
  • End-user experience correlation to infrastructure

Cloud migration and upgrades

  • Establish baselines
  • Comparative monitoring
  • Impact analysis

Security and compliance

  • User behavior analytics
  • Automated audit reporting
  • Access monitoring
  • Threat correlation

Utilize Dynatrace for comprehensive observability and auto-discovered topology for your SAP environments

Understanding and managing the complex network of systems, components, and dependencies within an SAP environment can be challenging.

With PowerConnect, collecting data from SAP systems and fueling the Dynatrace platform, Dynatrace automatically uncovers the topology model of the SAP landscape, providing a clear and comprehensive view of the relationships and dependencies among different systems, servers, databases, applications, and interfaces. This enables end-to-end observability of SAP business operations and predictive SAP health monitoring supported by unique Dynatrace Davis® AI.

SAP HANA server infrastructure monitored with OneAgent.
Figure 2. SAP HANA server infrastructure monitored with OneAgent.
The same SAP HANA server internals are monitored with PowerConnect.
Figure 3. The same SAP HANA server internals are monitored with PowerConnect.

This observability enables teams to do the following:

  • Identify bottlenecks and performance issues that allow resource optimization to improve overall system performance.
  • Troubleshoot faster with quick, automated root-cause analysis within SAP and between SAP and non-SAP integrated domains.
  • Accelerate issue detection and response to issues and outages by 80% to 90%, reducing downtime and mitigating potential problems.

Unified observability for SAP and non-SAP systems on a single platform

Typically, SAP systems are integrated with non-SAP systems. This can create friction between teams that are accustomed to running domain-specific tools and reporting practices, which are different for SAP and non-SAP systems. At the same time, all interdependent teams that relate to SAP in any way should have a single, unified view of the whole extended landscape, where SAP is one of the critical components, but not the only one. A coherent overview regarding interdependencies between systems is vital.

Dynatrace helps teams run every part of an IT environment effectively and achieve a comprehensive perspective of IT and business performance by merging infrastructure, systems, and app KPIs with SAP KPIs. This approach enables unified analysis and troubleshooting of the complete IT stack, from infrastructure through non-SAP systems to SAP-focused monitoring, all in a single AI-powered observability platform—Dynatrace.

Full transparency into cloud migration journeys and upgrade scenarios

Due to complex interdependencies within SAP systems, upgrading or migrating systems to the cloud typically requires a series of changes to your environment.

Dynatrace, the leading cloud monitoring and analytics platform, supports thousands of customers worldwide in planning or executing their cloud migrations. Teams can use this experience and best practices when planning SAP cloud migrations, rolling out new SAP systems in the cloud, updating or enhancing security, or dealing with SAP downtimes that affect critical business operations.

Dynatrace delivers real-time insights into cloud provisioning to optimize operational performance and business processes, as well as ensure application security and compliance. PowerConnect-delivered SAP KPIs on the Dynatrace platform add the necessary SAP context when migrating SAP systems to the cloud.

Visibility into SAP CPI messages, down to every single attribute.
Figure 4. Visibility into SAP CPI messages, down to every single attribute.

Implement advanced analysis with notebooks, automation, and custom Dynatrace

In addition, teams can also leverage analytics notebooks combining DQL queries, AI, visualizations for data analysis, dashboarding, and reporting for custom use cases, as well as operationalizing data findings in one platform.

Sample notebook, created ad hoc, reveals order values retrieved from SAP PO messages.
Figure 5. Sample notebook, created ad hoc, reveals order values retrieved from SAP PO messages.

Notebooks and dashboards enable users, including developers, to create data-driven documents for custom analytics. A notebook can hold different kinds of sections containing and instantly visualizing any data from the Dynatrace Grail™ data lakehouse or external sources. Because of its interactive nature, users can easily explore data from SAP, logs, metrics, and events based on DQL queries, or fetch external data via Dynatrace Functions. Any insights can be annotated and documented with the help of markdown. Furthermore, notebooks can be shared with other Dynatrace users for successful collaboration.

Plug-and-play functionality: Get up and running in minutes

Connecting PowerConnect software and the Dynatrace platform only takes minutes. After setting up the correct endpoints, data is sent right away. The integration instantly enables a wide array of use cases with pre-configured dashboards, KPIs, and AI-powered alerting, making it easy for everyone to monitor the health of technical and business services in near-real time from day one.

PowerConnect is a SAP-certified solution providing deep insights

SAP operational performance data is easily accessible to SAP administrators as it’s stored within SAP systems and can be accessed through monitoring transactions. However, this data may not be readily available outside the SAP environment due to security concerns, specific data models, and many KPIs.

PowerConnect is a SAP-certified solution that’s installed right into SAP systems using the SAP add-on installation tools. It collects all the data and objects exposed via monitoring transactions, APIs, function modules, iDocs, reports, change docs, and CCMS. It can also directly access database tables under the strict control of DBAs.

PowerConnect integrates seamlessly with all leading SAP tech stacks, including the following:

  • SAP Cloud
    • SAP BTP, SAP CPI, SAP Ariba, SAP SuccessFactors, and more
  • SAP Java
    • SAP PI/PO, SAP EP, SAP Business Objects, SAP Data Services, and more
  • SAP ABAP Stack
    • S/4 HANA, S/4 HANA Cloud, SAP Fiori, SAP SCM, SAP CRM, SAP BW/4HANA, and more

When connected to Dynatrace, PowerConnect enables real-time, AI-based analytics of all SAP performance data collected and all other operational management data sources connected to the Dynatrace platform. Dynatrace leverages the power of the Grail™ data lakehouse to model and track topological relationships within SAP and between SAP and integrated systems.

Architectural overview.
Figure 6. Architectural overview.

PowerConnect is certified by SAP for all commonly used SAP solutions, including ABAP, Java NetWeaver, and S/4—up to and including S/4 2023.

SAP certifications
Figure 7. SAP certifications

Start monitoring SAP with Dynatrace

To monitor SAP with Dynatrace and PowerConnect, please contact your Dynatrace Account Team.