3.1 Classifying Applications: An Introduction to Fiori App Types

SAP strategically categorizes Fiori applications into three distinct types: Transactional, Fact Sheets, and Analytical. This classification is not arbitrary; it is based on both the function each app performs and its underlying infrastructure requirements. Understanding these categories is crucial for making informed implementation and architectural decisions, as each type serves a different business purpose and has unique dependencies on the underlying database and system components.

3.2 Transactional Apps: Executing Business Processes

Transactional Apps are designed to perform transactional business tasks, such as creating a leave request, approving a travel expense, or raising a purchase order. They represent the evolution of simple, frequently used SAP GUI transactions into modern, mobile-friendly applications. The primary goal of these apps is to allow users to execute simple business processes quickly and efficiently from any device.

A key technical characteristic of Transactional Apps is their database flexibility. While they run best when powered by the SAP HANA database, they can be deployed on any database with acceptable performance. The first release of SAP Fiori included 25 such applications, forming the initial foundation of the Fiori experience. Thus, these apps democratize common tasks and drive efficiency at all levels of the organization.

3.3 Fact Sheets: Exploring Key Business Objects

Fact Sheets are designed for exploration and information retrieval. Their purpose is to provide a 360-degree view of key business objects, allowing users to drill down into contextual and essential information. For example, a user could start with a tile for a vendor contract and then explore related details such as vendor information, contract terms, and specific line items.

A defining feature of Fact Sheets is their navigational capability. Users can navigate from one fact sheet to related fact sheets or even launch a Transactional App to take action based on the information they find. Some Fact Sheets also integrate geographical maps for location-based data. Critically, Fact Sheets have a strict dependency on the SAP HANA database and an ABAP stack, as they rely on its search capabilities. They cannot be ported to an SAP HANA Live tier-2 architecture, making their infrastructure requirements a key consideration during planning. Their primary value is in supporting ad-hoc inquiry and informed decision-making by providing a comprehensive, single view of key business entities.

3.4 Analytical Apps: Gaining Real-Time Insights

Analytical Apps provide role-based, real-time insights into business operations by combining the analytical power of SAP HANA with the SAP Business Suite. These applications are designed to help users monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), perform complex aggregations and calculations on massive data volumes, and react immediately to changing market conditions.

They empower business leaders and analysts with a detailed, up-to-the-minute understanding of performance. Like Fact Sheets, Analytical Apps have a strict requirement to run on the SAP HANA database. They leverage Virtual Data Models (VDMs) within HANA to process and present data, making them a powerful tool for data-driven decision-making. These apps are strategic tools for management, enabling data-driven oversight and the ability to steer the business in real time.

This discussion of application types logically leads to an examination of the core technologies that enable communication and data retrieval for these apps: SAP NetWeaver Gateway and the OData protocol.