SAP Integration Suite on SAP BTP is a powerful platform for enterprise integration, but like any powerful tool, it can be misused. After delivering dozens of Integration Suite implementations, we have seen the same mistakes made repeatedly. Here are the five most common — and how to avoid them.
Mistake 1: Treating Integration Suite Like Your Old Middleware
Many organisations migrate from SAP Process Orchestration (PO) or third-party middleware to Integration Suite and simply recreate their existing integration patterns. This misses the opportunity to modernise.
The fix: Use the migration as an opportunity to redesign integrations using modern patterns — event-driven architecture, API-first design, and reusable integration components. Invest time in defining integration standards and patterns before building.
Mistake 2: Ignoring Error Handling
Integration errors are inevitable. The question is whether you discover them proactively through monitoring or reactively when business users report missing data. Many Integration Suite implementations have inadequate error handling — messages fail silently, retry logic is missing, and alerts are not configured.
The fix: Establish error handling standards before building any integrations. Every integration should have: structured error logging, retry logic for transient failures, dead letter queues for persistent failures, and operational alerts for business-critical integrations.
Mistake 3: Not Using API Management
Many Integration Suite implementations use Cloud Integration for everything — including exposing APIs to external partners and internal consumers. This bypasses API Management's security, rate limiting, and developer portal capabilities.
The fix: Use API Management for all external-facing APIs and internal APIs that require governance. Cloud Integration should be the integration engine; API Management should be the API gateway.
Mistake 4: Hardcoding Configuration
Integration flows with hardcoded URLs, credentials, and configuration parameters are a maintenance nightmare. Every environment change requires code changes, and credentials embedded in integration flows are a security risk.
The fix: Use Integration Suite's externalized parameters for all configuration, and store credentials in the secure store. Integration flows should be environment-agnostic, with all environment-specific configuration managed externally.
Mistake 5: Neglecting Governance
Integration Suite implementations without governance quickly become the new integration sprawl — dozens of integration flows with no documentation, no ownership, and no standards. This recreates the problem you were trying to solve.
The fix: Establish integration governance from day one. This includes: a naming convention for integration flows and artefacts, documentation standards, a change management process, and regular integration health reviews.
Building Integration Excellence
Avoiding these mistakes requires investment in integration architecture, standards, and governance — not just technical implementation. At Aarini, our Integration Suite implementations include a governance framework, standards library, and operational runbook as standard deliverables.
Contact us to discuss how to build an Integration Suite implementation that delivers long-term value.