End of Support for SAP ITK: FAQ
As of December 31, 2023, SAP will no longer support SAP Ariba's Integration Toolkit. What your organization will need to do to replace it depends upon what technologies you're using now.
What is the Deadline for End of Support?
There are several important SAP deadlines to be aware of these days. One that seems to be flying under the radar is the end of support for SAP Ariba’s Integration Toolkit (ITK).
According to SAP “end of support” means that ITK will not be supported by SAP support or consulting teams after December 31, 2023.
Specifically:
Before December 31, 2023
- Only critical security issues will be addressed between now and December 31, 2023.
- ITK has been removed from SAP official download sites with no exceptions.
- There are no planned releases or updates for SAP Ariba Integration Toolkit (ITK).
After December 31, 2023
- There will be no new features or bug fixes provided, and there will be no enhancements for security or compliance to the latest standards.
- There will be no innovation releases.
What is ITK?
Ariba’s Integration Toolkit (ITK) allows buyers to integrate Ariba with any ERP system to exchange master and transactional data via CSV file upload and download. It’s made up of two tools, the SAP Ariba data transfer tool and the DB Connector.
The SAP Ariba data transfer tool is a command-line utility. It facilitates CSV file transfer in batch mode between an SAP Ariba system and the back-end system, manually-maintained data, or some other system.
The DB Connector is a command-line utility that allows the extraction of master data and transactional data from JDBC-based back-end system database tables. It can then be saved to CSV files or the data can be uploaded to the ERP system.
What is Replacing ITK?
That depends.
If you are a SAP ERP customer, you can move to SAP’s Managed Gateway for Spend and Network, formerly the Cloud Integration Gateway (CIG), to integrate ERP with Ariba solutions.
Additionally, for SAP ERP customers, you may choose to replace ITK with the SAP Integration Suite on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). This is SAP’s recommended option if you currently run or are planning to migrate to SAP S/4HANA.
If you use a non-SAP ERP or ad-hoc integrations with SAP Ariba or Intelligent Spend and Business Network solutions, SAP offers two options:
- SAP Integration Suite on the SAP Business Technology Platform.
- Third-Party Integration Tool ITK Replacement (Custom Build).
We go into more detail into ITK’s replacement options in our follow up article, Navigating your ITK Transition: FAQ.
What does this mean for my organization?
Plan
The first step is to plan for this transition. Reach out to your SAP Account Executive or CSP to discuss the transition options for your organization. One key change is that unlike ITK, there is no longer a ‘free’ option offered by Ariba similar to ITK. Your account management team can advise you on the best solution for your organization and help you to upgrade your subscription as needed.
Prepare
After you have selected the correct solution for your organization, you need to ensure your organization is ready for the deployment. If you are planning to work with a third-party implementation partner, you will need to contact them for a customized implementation timeline and quote. Prepare your functional and technical stakeholders to be available during the course of the deployment to ensure there is no downtime during the implementation. In order to ensure there will be no disruption in your current ITK-based integrations, you should plan to be live with your new integration solution before December 31, 2023.
Deployment and Go-Live
You should work with a trusted deployment partner that has experience in standard and custom integrations for Ariba. They will ensure that there is no disruption in your deployed integrations and can help you understand what options work best for your organization. Additionally, a good partner can help to advise you on additional improvements that may be undertaken as part of this integration upgrade that will help you to further automate your processes and improve functionality of your tools.
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