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Lesson 5 of 5

Hybrid orchestration with SAP Cloud ALM and ABAP transports

10 min

Contoso's releases rarely live in one landscape. The fleet contract number change needs an ABAP workbench request with a new API field in S/4HANA, a customizing request for the output, an update to the fleet order status app on BTP, and a change to an integration flow. If the BTP parts reach production before the ABAP parts, the app calls a field that does not exist yet. A hybrid release needs one plan, one order and one record across both transport worlds.

SAP Cloud ALM featureThe unit of delivery: one feature per change, linked to its requirement, with history and traceability
ABAP transportsWorkbench and customizing requests for CMD, CMQ and CMP, created and released from the feature for private edition and on-premise systems
CTMS transportsBTP app and integration content, assigned to the same feature
DeploymentDeploy to test, then, when the feature is ready for production, deploy to production
SystemsSAP S/4HANA, BTP subaccounts and integration tenants
How SAP Cloud ALM can orchestrate ABAP and BTP transports for one change.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-rel-203

SAP Cloud ALM features

In SAP Cloud ALM, a feature is the vehicle that deploys functionality through the landscape by orchestrating transports for different software components and keeping a traceable history. SAP Learning describes the hybrid flow for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition and SAP BTP: transports for the ABAP system (customizing or workbench) can be created within a feature, choosing the export tenant and target from the project's system groups and transport routes. Transports created in SAP Cloud Integration through SAP Cloud Transport Management can be assigned to the same feature. The feature's Release action releases its assigned transports; Deploy schedules deployment to test; and a feature must reach the status Ready for Production before it can be deployed to production, either on its own or together with other features.

  1. Requirement and featureFleet contract number on invoices: feature created from the requirement
  2. Create ABAP transportsWorkbench and customizing requests created in the feature for CMD
  3. Assign BTP transportsIntegration flow transport assigned from CTMS; app transport assigned the same way
  4. Release and deploy to testRelease assigned transports; deploy to CMQ and the test nodes
  5. Test and set Ready for ProductionEnd-to-end tests pass; the feature status is set by the responsible person
  6. Deploy to productionFeature deployed to CMP and the production nodes in the change window
One hybrid change from requirement to production, orchestrated as a SAP Cloud ALM feature.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-rel-203

Wiring it up

Integration is configured per deployment provider. The CTMS documentation names its standard instance plan as the one for standard integrations, including SAP Cloud ALM and Change Request Management of SAP Solution Manager, and SAP Learning notes that an SAP Cloud ALM API service key is needed to establish the connection. SAP also advises not to place the transport service in the SAP Cloud ALM subaccount. For customers still on SAP Solution Manager, an integration with Change Request Management and Quality Gate Management exists, and nodes can be marked as controlled by Solution Manager; but Solution Manager's mainstream maintenance ends at the end of 2027 and SAP recommends moving to SAP Cloud ALM before then, so new hybrid designs usually start in Cloud ALM. The Enhanced Change and Transport System (CTS+) is another documented option for hybrid landscapes in some setups.

Order across landscapes

Whatever orchestrates the release, the dependency rule is the one from ABAP transports: what is used must arrive before what uses it. An API or field in S/4HANA goes before the integration flow or app that calls it. An integration flow that a BTP app relies on goes before the app. Configuration that switches a feature on goes last.

  1. 06:00ABAP import into CMPWorkbench and customizing requests for the feature, Import All in order
  2. 06:45ABAP smoke testMaria checks a fleet sales order and invoice in CMP
  3. 07:15CTMS import: integration flowLakeside purchase order flow imported into the production tenant
  4. 07:45CTMS import: fleet order status appMTA imported into cmc-ext-prod
  5. 08:15End-to-end checkOrder status visible to Great Lakes Fleet Services; test purchase order reaches Lakeside
  6. 09:00Go or roll forwardLuis confirms with Dan and Maria; issues fixed forward through the same path
A Saturday change window for a hybrid release at Contoso. Order follows dependencies.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-rel-203
  1. Does the BTP content call something new in S/4HANA?Yes → import the ABAP transports first and smoke test · No → continue
  2. Does the app depend on a new or changed integration flow?Yes → import the integration content before the app · No → continue
  3. Is anything switched on by configuration?Yes → switch it on last, after the technical checks · No → import in any safe order
Which goes first? Sequencing a hybrid release.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-rel-203

What would you do?

In a release rehearsal, the integration flow is imported into production at 06:00 and the ABAP transports at 07:00. Between 06:00 and 07:00, purchase orders to Lakeside Components fail. What went wrong, and how should the runbook change?

Key points
  • Hybrid changes span ABAP transports and BTP content; plan them as one release.
  • A SAP Cloud ALM feature can hold ABAP transports and assigned CTMS transports, and deploy them through the landscape.
  • CTMS integrates with Cloud ALM through the standard instance plan; keep CTMS out of the Cloud ALM subaccount.
  • Solution Manager integration exists, but mainstream maintenance ends in 2027; Cloud ALM is SAP's recommended path.
  • Sequence by dependency: ABAP first when BTP content calls it, then integration, then apps, then switches.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. In SAP Cloud ALM, what deploys functionality across the landscape by orchestrating transports?

  2. 2. Which status must a Cloud ALM feature reach before production deployment?

  3. 3. Which CTMS instance plan is used for integration with SAP Cloud ALM?

  4. 4. An integration flow calls a new field in S/4HANA. Which should be imported first?