In today's IT era, it seems that the future lies in the Cloud. We see companies moving entire IT landscapes to the Cloud. Other companies are tackling it step by step by implementing one or more SAAS solutions within their organization. About 10 years ago, the term SOA (Services Oriented Architecture) was very hot. I think I even heard once that SOA was even sold when it wasn't even a product or service.
SAP Composition Environment
The SAP Composition Environment is a product that is a key element, especially in a SAP oriented landscape, to help realise an SOA. SAP offers with the Composition Environment a platform on which web applications are developed with the possibility of integration with an existing SAP landscape as well as third party systems. These applications can then be accessed via the SAP Portal, which is also present on SAP CE as a component. 10 years ago Java Web Dynpro was the standard for the frontend development, which is currently evaluated to SAP UI5 and OPEN UI5.
Companies that have currently implemented SAP CE will have to upgrade to the latest version of Netweaver by the end of 2020; namely 7.5. However, such an upgrade involves a lot of work, especially when complex applications are built on it. This has to do with the upgrade of both Netweaver and Java, which rises from version 1.6 to 1.8. Moreover, an end-of-maintenance of the latest Netweaver version is already known and will be released at the end of 2024.
Alternative options for SAP CE
It is wise to think about making such an investment now or just when the time has come to change strategy and replace SAP CE. My experience is that the companies that have implemented SAP CE have the goal of being able to offer specific compiled data to the end users. Without the need to open 6 or 7 SAP screens and other applications.
If such applications have been created on SAP CE to merge the data from multiple systems and make it accessible via web applications, which cannot be overcome by a standard SAAS, a Platform As A Service (PAAS) is the solution for the replacement of SAP CE. With a PAAS, the end customer has control over which applications he can implement and there is also the possibility to further develop the applications themselves.
All maintenance of Hardware, Servers, Operating Systems and Runtime is offered as a service and the customer no longer has to worry about this. If the customer wants to have more control over Runtime, Middleware and Operating Systems, they can decide to switch to an Infrastructure As A Service (IAAS).