Dedicated IBM namespace for SAP Add-On

Initial Situation
The customer is currently using an on-premise SAP S/4 HANA system, in which several third-party add-ons are installed. The objects of these add-ons are stored in the respective vendor-specific namespaces. Additionally, there are extensive customer-specific developments whose objects are located in the Z-namespace designated by SAP for this purpose. To ensure the quality of these customer developments, a code scanner is used that checks all objects within the Z-namespace.

Now, the IBM add-on ICCSAP is to be installed, whose SAP objects also reside in the Z-namespace and are fully modifiable by the customer.

Furthermore, the S/4 HANA system is planned to be migrated to the private cloud—either to SAP or another data center provider—by the end of 2027.

Risks and Challenges

1. Namespace Collisions

• The Z-namespace is reserved by SAP for customer-specific developments. Third-party objects in the same namespace can lead to overlaps with existing objects.
• This increases the risk of malfunctions, especially during transports, upgrades, or parallel development.

2. Quality Assurance via Code Scanner

• The code scanner checks all objects in the Z-namespace. Third-party objects are thus evaluated using the same rules and metrics as customer developments.
• Possible consequences:
  • False alarms or unnecessary testing efforts, as third-party objects may not comply with internal coding standards.
  • Distorted quality metrics if third-party objects influence the overall evaluation.
  • Unclear responsibilities when errors or violations occur in third-party objects—who is accountable?

3. Maintainability and Upgrade Capability

• Without a clear namespace, it is not evident which objects belong to which vendor.
• Customer modifications can lead to incompatibilities in future versions of the add-on.
• The third-party vendor may refuse support if objects have been modified.

4. Loss of SAP Compliance

• SAP recommends that third-party vendors store their objects in a dedicated namespace (e.g., /XYZ/).
• Using the Z-namespace for third-party objects contradicts this best practice and may lead to SAP support limitations.

Conclusion
Installing a third-party add-on with objects in the Z-namespace is technically and organizationally risky, especially in a system with:

• intensive customer-specific development,
• automated quality assurance,
• and a long-term maintenance strategy.

With the planned cloud migration of the SAP systems by the end of 2027, it must be reassessed whether the add-on can continue to be operated under the then-valid conditions. This will incur additional efforts, which will be significantly increased if the add-on cannot be used further and a switch to another vendor’s solution becomes necessary.

The customer therefore requests that the objects of this IBM add-on be moved to a dedicated IBM namespace that can be used in our S/4 HANA system.