Comparison with similar tools
Alternatives
How do Business Rules differ from existing tools?
Of course, there are also various tools and functions directly from SAP to monitor data and send messages. In some cases these are even more suitable for you than Flexus Business Rules. To give you a first overview of which alternatives still exist and how Flexus Business Rules differs from them, we have tried to list the differences and respective advantages and disadvantages here.
- Business Rule Framework Plus (BRF+)
- Business Rules Management (BRM)
- SAP Lumira
- SAP Analysis Path Framework
- Warehouse Management Monitor
- EWM Alert Monitor
- SAP Master Data Governance (Data Quality Management)
Business Rule Framework Plus (BRF+)
BRF+ is a business rule engine from SAP based on ABAP that can be called and used by other SAP applications. In BRF+, for example, logics/decision tables can be created and tested, which are then used by SAP Claims Management. The focus is on creating a few but complex rules that are subsequently used by programs and not by humans.
You can find more information here:
| Adavantages (to Flexus Business Rules) | Disadvantages (to Flexus Business Rules) |
|---|---|
| Ready-to-use functions like 'CONVERT_TO_CURRENCY' | Creating a business rule is very complex |
| Own formula builder with support for all SAP data types | Only in the SAP GUI |
| In addition to the formula builder, Decision Trees and Decision Tables are supported | No external connectors (email, teams, Splunk). Focus on internal data processing, only XML export. |
| Mandatory for 'SAP Claims Management', so possibly already in use | Old system from 2013 |
Summary:
It has a different goal than Flexus Business Rules. BRF+ is intended to create decision-making centrally in one place that can be used by other SAP applications so that they are not hard-coded there.
Business Rules Management (BRM)
BRM allows users to create business rules that aim to automate decisions. As with BRF+, the focus is on making decisions (e.g. confirm or not confirm, report or not report, ...) for other SAP applications. BRM is Java based.
You can find more information here:
| Adavantages (to Flexus Business Rules) | Disadvantages (to Flexus Business Rules) |
|---|---|
| Entire programs can be created in scripts (loops, if-else, variable, ...) | Creating a business rule is very complex, almost like programming |
| In addition to the formula builder, Decision Trees and Decision Tables are supported | External programs (Rule Composer and Rule Manager) |
| No external connectors (email, Microsoft Teams, Splunk) |
Summary:
Like BRF+, BRM has a different goal: decision logics should be created centrally in one place and be usable from other programs. The advantage is that these logics can be used multiple times in different programs and can also be managed and adapted centrally.
SAP Lumira
The purpose is to create interactive dashboards, graphics, visualizations. The goal of Lumira is only the preparation and nice presentation of data from SAP systems. It is more or less PowerBI from SAP.
You can find more information here:
| Adavantages (to Flexus Business Rules) | Disadvantages (to Flexus Business Rules) |
|---|---|
| Many display options (charts, maps, graphics) | Only for visualization, no automation or triggering of follow-up actions |
| Many setting options for the visualizations (colors, groupings, time periods, filters) | |
| Real-time data from SAP systems |
Summary:
In Lumira, no decisions are to be made, processes started or notifications sent, but only data prepared and beautifully presented.
SAP Analysis Path Framework
APF is a framework or Fiori app that can be used to create interactive, drill-down charts and analyses. Like SAP Lumira, the focus is on the visual, i.e. creating beautiful charts and graphs from the data. However, APF goes even further than Lumira and focuses on drill-down, i.e. finding and identifying problems/causes. In concrete terms, this means that in SAP Lumira, for example, you can see a chart with specified data. In APF you can see the same chart with the same data, but you can 'click through' (drill down) and try to find insights further and further in the data - all within charts and graphs.
You can find more information here:
| Adavantages (to Flexus Business Rules) | Disadvantages (to Flexus Business Rules) |
|---|---|
| Many display options (charts, maps, graphics) | Only for visualization and discovering problems/causes, no automation or triggering of follow-up actions |
| Many setting options for the visualizations (colors, groupings, time periods, filters) | |
| Interactive 'exploration' of the data |
Summary:
No direct competition, because the goal is different. In APF, the goal is that, without the cumbersome search in database tables, you can track down problems or backgrounds of any data. I.e. it is rather used once per problem/purpose, afterwards one has either found the problem or knows where the data comes from and can build a view in Lumira.
Warehouse Management Monitor
In the warehouse management monitor (/scwm/mon) there are ready-made evaluations. In these tables can be read, filtered and columns can be summed or counted. Afterwards, predefined actions, e.g. 'Assign storage task' or 'Cancel storage task' can be executed automatically.
You can find more information here:
| Adavantages (to Flexus Business Rules) | Disadvantages (to Flexus Business Rules) |
|---|---|
| Robust data filtering and calculation of sums and other functions | Hardly any new use cases possible, as there are predefined nodes and fixed actions per node/table |
| Useful predefined functions | No notifications or exporters to other systems |
Summary:
For specific use cases, there is overlap here with Flexus Business Rules, as it represents a very similar principle: Reading in data, filtering it and then executing actions. However, the goal of the warehouse management monitor is to call system-internal, predefined functions. Flexus Business Rules goes one step further and allows to call arbitrary functions and send data externally (email, Microsoft Teams, Splunk, ...).
EWM Alert Monitor
In here only the alerts for the warehouse management monitor are maintained. That means, it is standalone program to create alerts or business rules. Via the 'Alert Notification Engine' message channels like email, SMS, pager and fax can be defined.
You can find more information here:
SAP Master Data Governance (Data Quality Management)
Of all the tools already presented, SAP Master Data Governance's Data Quality Management is most similar to Flexus Business Rules. It has almost the identical goal: to ensure the quality of master data by establishing rules and checking them each time new master data is entered. These so-called quality criteria or business rules are implemented and executed in BRF+ (presented above). Afterwards, the development of the data quality can be tracked in a dashboard. If your goal is only to monitor the data quality of master data, we actually recommend you to use this tool. Flexus Business Rules goes one step further and checks all data, including transaction data and customizing settings and has as an integral part the triggering of follow-up actions. So it should not only be monitored, but also actions (sending messages, triggering workflows, starting reports) should be triggered.
You can find more information here:
| Adavantages (to Flexus Business Rules) | Disadvantages (to Flexus Business Rules) |
|---|---|
| Many possibilities when creating rules through BRF+ | Focus is on monitoring and not actively, automatically fixing problems |
| Extensive integration into SAP standard processes, e.g. when entering data | Hardly any external connections (such as Microsoft Teams or Splunk) |
| Detailed analyses of data quality over time | BRF+ is on the one hand robust and comprehensive, on the other hand also an old system with corresponding legacy issues |
Summary:
For automatically checking and monitoring data quality, this tool is superior to Flexus Business Rules. So if this is indeed the only goal you have: Use SAP Master Data Governance's Data Quality Management. If you want to go one step further and trigger any action or you want to monitor not only the quality but also other aspects of the data, we recommend Flexus Business Rules. Apart from the actions that can be triggered, the goal is different: We do not only aim to find poor quality data, but also correct data that should nevertheless trigger certain actions.
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