Technical white paper

March 2009

Alloy software by IBM and SAP

Alloy software by IBM and SAP
Page 2
Table of Contents
2 Introduction to Alloy software
by IBM and SAP
4 How Alloy works
5 A practical example
6 Requirements for deployment
7 Software
7 Skill set
8 Example project plan
9 Deployment options in
enterprise environments
9 Proof-of-concept deployments
9 Enterprise deployments
10 Scalability
10 Single sign-on and
user mapping
12 Brief technical overview
of the solution
13 Advanced Customization
14 Customization
scenario example
15 Conclusion
Introduction to Alloy software by IBM and SAP
Alloy TM software by IBM and SAP is a solution that presents information and
data from SAP applications in the context of what millions of business users
are familiar with – the IBM Lotus® Notes® collaboration software user interface.
Business users need easy, consistent access to people, processes and
information to improve their productivity. With Alloy, they can easily access
SAP software and information from within the Lotus Notes environment,
both online and offline. Since these users work in the familiar Lotus Notes
environment, training is minimized, which helps speed adoption. As a result,
organizations can make business users more productive, improve decision
making and increase compliance with corporate policies.
Alloy 1.0 software provides access to selected business process functions and
data from SAP applications through Lotus Notes:
• Reports management – Users can personalize, schedule and access reports
from SAP Business Suite applications via Lotus Notes while maintaining
data security. Reports can be shared with coworkers without violating security
rules, and can be viewed both online and offline.
• Leave and travel management – Enables users to approve and submit leave and
travel requests from the familiar Lotus Notes environment. Permits the view-
ing of contextual information to make approval decisions. Leave and travel
requests are processed according to approval guidelines in SAP ERP, ensuring
optimum cost-effectiveness and compliance with corporate policies.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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• Workflow decision management – In addition to out-of-the-box Leave and

Travel Management, Alloy software allows an organization to bring decision
steps from other SAP business processes into Lotus Notes. For example, an
organization can expose decision steps in processes such as recruitment,
hiring, purchases, etc., in the Lotus Notes client.

Alloy is also customizable. To make process decisions, business users need

access to contextual information to improve decision making. For example,
to approve a travel request, a manager needs to know the current travel
policy and how much money is left in the travel budget. Alloy software
allows organizations to display the customized contextual information from
SAP applications in the Lotus Notes.

Customization can be done using standard tools like Lotus Notes Designer,
LotusScript® and the workbench for the SAP ABAP TM programming language.
The contextual information can be displayed in the Lotus Notes sidebar as
any HTML element like graph, table, text or link.

Alloy also takes advantage of the offline and collaborative capabilities inherent
in Lotus Notes and Domino.® For example, existing reports can be viewed while
not connected to the network, and new reports can be scheduled. Approvals
that have been downloaded can also be processed. The next time the computer
is connected to the network, it is synchronized with the SAP Business Suite.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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How Alloy works

Alloy establishes a gateway service between SAP software (e.g., SAP Business
Suite or SAP NetWeaver BW) and an IBM Lotus Domino® server. The service
is enabled by two add-ons: the SAP Alloy Add-On and the IBM Lotus Domino
Alloy Add-On. Also, a small set of plug-ins is provisioned to the Lotus Notes
client – these plug-ins handle some Alloy metadata for performance improve-
ments as well as a central Alloy sidebar component. Any message from the
SAP systems to Lotus Notes travels through the gateway using Web services
and XML.

IBM Lotus SAP

Notes client Alloy software by IBM and SAP NetWeaver
Business
Warehouse

IBM Lotus Notes SAP Alloy

Alloy add-on add-on

IBM Lotus
Domino
mail servers SAP
IBM Lotus SAP NetWeaver ®
Business
Domino server Application Server
Suite
(J2EE)

Fig. 1: Alloy architectural diagram

Unlike previous integration approaches, Alloy is driven through metadata.

This enables better performance and flexibility. SAP configurations are auto-
matically reflected from the SAP Business Suite in Lotus Notes. For example,
when a report definition on the SAP side is changed, the business user gets
the latest report parameters on the Lotus Notes side.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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A practical example

Fig. 2: Alloy process example

Figure 2 is an example of an approval for a leave request. In this case, the SAP
workflow reaches an approval step where a manager has to make a decision.
This work item triggers an event for the SAP Alloy Add-On software that con-
verts the object and sends it via a Web services call to the IBM Lotus Domino
Alloy Add-On. The object gets converted to a Lotus Notes document by the
IBM Lotus Domino Alloy Add-On and is sent via e-mail to the user’s inbox.

The Lotus Notes document appears as a form that incorporates data from the
SAP Business Suite needed by the manager to make a decision. In addition,
there is a Lotus Notes sidebar panel that can be customized to display fur-
ther contextual information from SAP applications and other sources that the
manager might need. For example, the sidebar can display the team calendar
so that the manager can know who else is on leave and if there are important
projects coming due during the time the employee has requested leave.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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When the manager makes an approval decision, a message is sent back

to the IBM Lotus Domino Alloy Add-On, which then converts the message
to a Web services call to the SAP Alloy Add-On software. The SAP Alloy
Add-On, in turn, transfers the changes to the SAP Business Suite and
advances the workflow.

Requirements for deployment

This section focuses on prerequisites for deploying Alloy in your environment.

It lists the required software versions on both the SAP and IBM side, an
overview of the skill set for running Alloy and an example project plan.

The following tables describe the planned requirements. Since these are
subject to change, please verify through the standard channels such as the
SAP Service Marketplace before making commitments.

Software Version

IBM Lotus Notes Client Release 8.02

IBM Domino Server Release 8.02

SAP ERP SAP ERP 6.0 SPS 14 running on NetWeaver 7.0 SPS 17
with the Enterprise Service Architecture (ESA) Add-On:
ECC-SE 602 or higher

SAP BW (optional) SAP NetWeaver BW (Business Warehouse) 3.5 – SP 23 or

SAP NetWeaver BW (Business Warehouse) 7.0 – SPS 17

Alloy Server Software • SAP Alloy Add-On 1.0 running on NetWeaver 7.0 SPS17
Java and
• IBM Lotus Domino Alloy Add-On 1.0 running on an 8.02
Domino Server
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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Software
The operating systems of the SAP Business Suite software and the IBM
Domino Mail Servers are not restricted, but the Alloy software requires
the following:

Software Version

IBM Lotus Notes Client • MS Windows XP (Professional editions) or

• MS Windows Vista (Business, Enterprise editions)

IBM Lotus Domino • MS Windows 2003 Server (32 bit)

Alloy Add-On (Standard, Enterprise) with Domino Server installed

SAP Alloy Add-On All NetWeaver 7.0 Java stack platform constellations.
For example:
• AIX® with MaxDB or
• IBM zLinux with IBM DB2 ® or
• MS Windows X86_64 with MS SQL or
• MS Windows X86_64 with MaxDB or
• AIX with Oracle 9.2

Skill set
This table is a rough guide to requisite skills required to deploy Alloy.

Skill Description

SAP ERP Administration To perform regular administration tasks like

role assignments.

SAP J2EE Administration The SAP Alloy Add-On runs on a WebAS 7 server,
which requires the typical administration tasks as well
as installation of the Add-On.

SAP Reporting Alloy allows reports to be requested from Lotus Notes –

Customization (optional) therefore, some customization and administration tasks
are required to expose a report as a report template
to business users using Lotus Notes.

SAP Workflow The generic workflow pattern of Alloy is able to handle

Customization (optional) any SAP decision workflow in Lotus Notes. To expose a
workflow in Lotus Notes, a set of configuration and optional
customization steps are required.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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Example project plan

This plan provides a high-level outline of a typical Alloy deployment project
and should be treated as a guideline only. Depending on the deployment
scenario in an enterprise environment, additional steps will be required.

Alloy example project plan

Planning • Prepare scoping document and define Alloy implementation scenarios

• Task assignment, team setup and availability time line
• Project kick-off meeting for business and IT
• Validation of system landscape readiness
• Define planned Alloy system landscape

Project • Configure SAML on WebAS and set up name mapping on Domino

preparation and • Final validation of Alloy system landscape readiness
blueprinting • Final validation of test end-user client readiness
• Document landscape and any information required for installation

Realization • Installation of Alloy server components (Domino)

• Configuration of authentication for use in Alloy
• Set up of Alloy components
• Configuration of Alloy scenarios in the SAP software
• Execution of landscape validation checks
• Rollout of Alloy client components

Final preparation • Scenario testing

• Post-project review

Customization • Definition of new processes and requirement blueprint

and creation of • Implementation of new processes
new scenarios • Testing of new functionality
• Production of new functionality
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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Deployment options in enterprise environments

This section focuses on two common deployment models: a single deployment

in a proof-of-concept (POC) environment and an enterprise-wide deployment
in a large-enterprise IT landscape with distributed Domino servers and various
SAP systems.

Proof-of-concept deployments
In the case of a POC deployment, the requirements are relatively simple and
provide an initial test environment that is easy to install and maintain.

Server OS Software

SAP ERP 6.0 Any supported • SAP ERP 6.0 with appropriate service pack level
(see the Requirements for deployment section
on page 6)
• SAP WebAS 7.0 with SAP Alloy Add-On

IBM Lotus Windows • IBM Lotus Domino 8.02 with IBM Lotus
Domino 8.02 Domino Alloy Add-On

Enterprise deployments
Real-life deployment in an enterprise environment is more structured, to
enable enterprise-standard change management. Alloy has to interact with
existing servers for both the SAP and Domino environment.

The deployment in this case should be similar to the POC scenario above,
with the major exception that the Domino mail server is not on the same
machine as the Domino server hosting Alloy. The server hosting IBM Lotus
Domino Alloy Add-On should be registered in the Domino environment
and be able to route mail to the existing Lotus Notes domains in the IT envi-
ronment. It is also a good idea to consider replication of the Lotus Notes
metadata application to several servers if the environment is widely spread.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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In general, it is a good idea to put the Domino server with Alloy Add-On next
to the SAP J2EE server that hosts the SAP Alloy Add-On, which should be
located in the same network as the SAP Business Suite. For high-security
deployments where SAP systems are protected by a special firewall and many
security restrictions apply, a WebAS and Domino server can be installed inside
the firewall and the SAP work items sent via encrypted Lotus Notes channels
to a Domino server outside the firewall.

For production deployments, consider installing the following two pieces

of the Alloy solution on two separate machines for better performance.

Server OS Software

SAP WebAS Windows SAP WebAS 7 with SAP Alloy Add-On

(Java)

Alloy Domino Windows Lotus Domino 8.02 server hosting a set of mail
server users and IBM Lotus Domino Alloy Add-On

The SAP business software that is connected to Lotus Notes via the Alloy
solution needs to be on the appropriate service pack level as well.

Scalability
Scalability of the project is an important consideration. From an architectural
perspective, scalability is supported through existing technologies. The sys-
tems are built so that using standard server technologies, like an HTTP load
balancer, can distribute the load between the systems either to several Domino
servers or to WebAS servers. This provides a basic architecture that can grow
with an expanding deployment of Alloy in the enterprise.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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Single sign-on and user mapping

One of the basic capabilities of Alloy is single sign-on (SSO) between Lotus
Notes and SAP software. The solution is based on an open standard called
Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), which allows systems to interact
and exchange credentials.

When the user issues a request to SAP, the work item travels as an e-mail
signed by the user. The IBM Lotus Domino Alloy Add-On server validates
the signature and requests an SAP logon ticket on behalf of the user with a
SAML request. The SAP WebAS server receives this request and calls back
to the IBM Lotus Domino Alloy Add-On server to validate the request.
On a positive response the SAP WebAS server returns an SAP logon ticket
to the Domino server, which is then used to authenticate the user who
initiated the call to the SAP system.

This mechanism requires a mapping of user names between the two systems.
Since the system is standards-based, a variety of solutions can be used to
do the mapping. The suggested way is to maintain the SAP user name in the
person document in the Domino directory. The field that is used for this
purpose is configurable. The default is an entry in the Fullname Field of the
form “sapid = C12345.”

The synchronization between the SAP directory and the Domino directory
can be readily performed by IBM Tivoli® Directory Integrator, which is
included with the IBM Domino server software.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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Brief technical overview of the solution

Within Alloy, the information flow is mostly asynchronous. This means that
if a user requests a report or a leave, the item is sent and there is no immedi-
ate response from the system. Technically, SAP schedules a job that runs the
request and sends the response back as soon as it is available.

For example, for an approval work item, once the item reaches the SAP WebAS
server, it is converted into XML data, which is sent via the SOAP protocol to
the Domino server. On the Lotus Notes side, regular mail routing functionality
transfers the work item to the end user’s mailbox.

When the user opens the SAP work item in his/her mailbox, an event is sent
to the Lotus Notes sidebar which triggers the lookup of the appropriate side-
bar fragment for the SAP type. Also, the sidebar element is currently the only
case where a synchronous call might happen back to the SAP system as it can
initiate data lookup requests or a request to render data as a chart. In this
case, the suggested behavior (configured through customization; see next page)
is to have the sidebar call a component on either the Domino server or another
Web server via HTTP that interacts with the SAP Business Suite and returns
the data as HTML, so the client can render it directly. One example of this
kind of interaction is a Google Chart component.

At the point when the user takes an action on the SAP work item, a mail
message is generated that is sent back to the Domino server via standard
mail routing capabilities. Once it reaches the mail-in application on the
Domino server, an agent reads the content from the mail and transforms it
into a Web services call to the appropriate WS endpoint on the WebAS server.
The Alloy server processes the XML information and sends the response to
the SAP software.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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Advanced customization

Alloy leverages existing technologies where applicable and meaningful, which

makes the most of existing skill sets.

System Main development pattern (all optional)

Domino server Inbound/outbound applications

• LotusScript
• Java agents

Lotus Notes Lotus Notes applications

• Lotus Notes design elements (such as forms, views, and agents)
Sidebar
• HTML

Customization can be done almost completely with existing tools from

SAP and IBM or public domain tools such as HTML editors.

Customization of the full solution can be done on various levels of the

SAP and IBM software.

Customization

SAP SAP Business Workflow

• New generic decision workflows/exposure of existing decision step
• More information included in work item container
• Data-enrichment interfaces for certain information, such as
travel budgets

IBM • Handling of additional SAP Items (BoundItemType)

• Rendering of Workflow Container (exposed as Lotus Notes fields/
XML data) in custom Lotus Notes form

Client components • Additional fields in Lotus Notes forms

• Customized sidebar
• Additional links in the sidebar
• Integration with additional IT systems via links
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
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Customization scenario example

A typical customization example is the exposure of an existing SAP Business
Workflow from SAP to a Lotus Notes client through Alloy – in this case the
approval of Material Master in SAP. This description outlines the process, at
a high level, and represents only a small sample of the extensibility possible
with Alloy.

Step 1: Connect workflow to SAP Alloy Add-On

To enable the workflow item to be routed through the Alloy infrastructure,
the workflow needs to be configured to use a specific set of capabilities
that are available in the system after the setup of Alloy. With this very simple
configuration step an event is sent to the SAP Alloy Add-On once a work item
for an Alloy user requires a decision. This event triggers a Web services call
from the SAP system to the Domino server that creates the work item on the
IBM side. The required configuration is the addition of a BoundItemType to
the decision step of the workflow.

Step 2: Customize handling on the Domino server

The inbound proxy of Alloy on the Domino server receives the work item and
transfers the item into a Lotus Notes document. Through a configuration step
stored in the Alloy configuration database, the SAP BoundItemType included
in the Lotus Notes document is used to assign a specific Lotus Notes form
to this document. Because the workflow pattern on the IBM side is built
as generically as possible there should be no need to make any changes on
the IBM side. But if specific handling of the item is necessary – for example,
enrichment of the document or customized user-interface design – a Domino
developer can create LotusScript code to allow the item’s use in a special
Lotus Notes view or form. This code can also change the address the item
will be sent to (for example, a central application) or associate the item with a
newly created Lotus Notes form that allows better handling of the work item.
Alloy software by IBM and SAP
Page 15

Step 3: Create sidebar for workflow

As each work item is associated with a specific sidebar fragment, the
process requires a new sidebar design, which is basically a small HTML
file. A developer creates this new HTML fragment either from scratch or
by using an existing one as a starting point. Because the Lotus Notes client
has the means to replace HTML strings while rendering the content, a very
flexible sidebar can be built that references both static and dynamic data
fragments – even from a server – to show real-time information to the user.

Conclusion

Alloy is a highly effective and flexible means of improving worker productivity

at enterprises where SAP software is deployed, by providing SAP functionality
directly to Lotus Notes users – thus enabling them to integrate SAP workflows
into their normal routine simply and easily. By leveraging existing, familiar user
software, adoption by workers is dramatically simplified. The Alloy messaging
architecture is straightforward and efficient, providing ease of deployment,
transparent integration and scalability, with no impact on the performance of
either SAP or Lotus Notes.

Find out more

If you would like to learn more about Alloy and its potential benefits,
please visit:

ibm.com/software/lotus/alloy, www.sap.com/alloy

or contact your local IBM or SAP representative.

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2009 © 2009 by SAP AG

All rights reserved.

IBM Corporation
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Produced in the United States of America
March 2009
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