We selected the SAP job scheduler alternatives based on the features, pricing, and market presence metrics of leading solutions.
Alternatives to SAP’s Job Scheduler Service have grown in importance and sophistication, offering features that enhance integration, scheduling flexibility, and workflow management.
We explore each option in detail, highlighting their unique features and advantages and how they compare to SAP’s offering.
SAP Job Scheduling Service Review
The SAP Job Scheduling Service, often called SAP Native Scheduler, is a feature within the SAP system that facilitates scheduling and automating various jobs within the SAP environment. (See Figure 1) These tasks include data backups, database updates, report generation, and other processes.
Figure 1: SAP Job Scheduling Service 1
Pros
- Integration with SAP Landscape: It is integrated with the SAP environment, providing operation with SAP applications and processes.
- Ease of Use: For SAP users, the native scheduler is familiar and easy to navigate, reducing the learning curve.
- Less expensive option: It comes as part of the SAP system, eliminating the need for external scheduling tools and associated costs, which are generally expensive. The pricing for the SAP Job Scheduling Service is $180 per 10,000 jobs 2
- Standard SAP Security and Auditing: It adheres to SAP’s security model, ensuring that job scheduling and execution are secure and compliant.
- Centralized Management: Allows for centralized management of jobs within the SAP system, facilitating easier monitoring and control.
Cons
- Dependency on SAP Environment: Being native to SAP, it cannot manage or schedule non-SAP processes, limiting its utility in heterogeneous IT environments. Therefore, users would need to rely on multiple tools to manage their workloads.
- Lack of Cross-System Capabilities: It is less suited for scenarios that require integration across different systems and platforms outside the SAP ecosystem.
- Limited Functionality: Compared to specialized scheduling tools, SAP Native Scheduler might have limited functionality in terms of complex scheduling needs.3
- Scalability Issues: For very large or complex landscapes, the SAP Native Scheduler might not scale as efficiently as specialized third-party tools.4
The choice between SAP Native Scheduler and other third-party scheduling tools often depends on the organization’s specific needs, the complexity of its IT environment, and the level of integration required with non-SAP systems.
Why Consider Alternatives?
The native SAP Scheduler, including SM36 for defining jobs, SM37 for monitoring them, SM38 for executing programs, SM39 for batch input monitoring, and SJOBREPO for job repository (See section “What is SAP’s Job Scheduler for more information), has limitations, as covered above. They might lack in areas like integration with non-SAP applications or advanced monitoring and reporting features that tools like ActiveBatch and Redwood RunMyJobs offer.
Alternatives to SAP Job Scheduler
RunMyJobs (RMJ) provides direct out-of-the-box integration with S/4HANA and SAP-certified integrations with RISE and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, allowing customers to keep their SAP core systems clean. Therefore, customers can manage automation tasks on RunMyJobs without tampering with their core system. This facilitates maintenance and updates of the SAP systems.
RunMyJobs is a SaaS product. Users can automate workloads without deploying specialized software for integrations. Redwood has been supporting SAP customers for more than two decades. For more information and key points regarding RunMyJobs and SAP, follow the link.
Check their offerings in the video below:
One of the key features of ActiveBatch is its collaborative software development tools, which are adept at automating application deployment workflows. This is especially useful in complex IT environments that include both multi-cloud and on-premise systems. ActiveBatch provides a Super REST API Adapter, allowing you to match JSON responses to return variables.
Stonebranch allows users to integrate with various platforms or applications, offering pre-built integrations, options for custom development, or access to integration templates available on the community-supported Stonebranch Integration Hub. Stonebranch can also integrate with SAP services such as SAP S/4HANA.
Check their offerings below:
JAMS supports a range of platforms, including Windows, UNIX, Linux, IBM, and applications like SQL Server, Oracle, SAP. It utilizes PowerShell by leveraging the .NET framework. The JAMS module comprises over 50 cmdlets, enabling direct management, maintenance, and administration of JAMS via PowerShell.
IBM Workload Automation offers a scalable solution for scheduling and executing various jobs, tasks, cloud resources, and processes in distributed settings. IBM Workload Automation integrates predictive analytics to assess and forecast the time required for jobs along a critical path. It helps predict if essential jobs are at risk of missing a service level agreement and includes advanced what-if analysis capabilities.
What is SAP’s Job Scheduler Service?
SAP Job Scheduling Service is compromised of these modules:
SAP SM36 (Job Definition): This transaction is used in SAP to define or create batch jobs. It’s a part of SAP’s native job scheduling capabilities. Through SM36, users can specify when and how often a job should run, along with other parameters.
SAP SM37 (Job Monitoring): This transaction is used to monitor jobs that have been scheduled in SAP. It lets users view the status of jobs, whether they are running, completed, or have encountered errors.
SAP SM38 (Queue Maintenance): This transaction is less directly related to job scheduling but is important for managing queues, which can impact how jobs are processed and prioritized.
SAP SM39 (Job Analysis): This transaction is used to analyze batch jobs. It helps understand job performance and can be used to optimize the scheduling and execution of jobs.
SAP CPS (Central Process Scheduling by Redwood): This is an advanced job scheduling solution offered by SAP. It’s designed to integrate complex business processes across different systems and applications. CPS allows for more sophisticated scheduling options compared to SAP’s native job scheduler (SM36/SM37).
SAP BPA (Business Process Automation by Redwood): Similar to CPS, BPA is a solution provided by Redwood for automating and managing business processes. It’s another layer of sophistication over the standard SAP job scheduling. It is important to note that SAP will withdraw its support to SAP BPA by the end of 2024, so it becomes essential for businesses to consider alternatives.
SAP CCMS (Computing Center Management System): While not directly an enterprise job scheduler, CCMS is a monitoring and alerting system within SAP. It can be used to monitor background jobs and trigger alerts based on job outcomes or performance.
SAP’s native job scheduling capabilities (SM36/SM37) are fundamental for routine job scheduling tasks. They are straightforward and are typically used for standard batch job scheduling.
Tools like SAP CPA and BPA offer more sophisticated scheduling options, including cross-system integration and complex scheduling scenarios that go beyond the capabilities of the native scheduler.
Understanding SAP Scheduler and Its Limitations
SAP’s native scheduler includes tools like SAP CPS, SAP BPA, and various SM series (SM36, SM37, SM38, SM39). These tools are designed to automate and manage tasks within the SAP environment. While effective, they may lack advanced scheduling, cross-platform integration, or user-friendly interfaces, leading businesses to seek alternatives.
Top Criteria to Compare SAP Scheduler Alternatives
When evaluating alternatives to SAP Job Scheduling Service, consider the following criteria:
- Cross-platform support: Ability to schedule jobs across SAP and non-SAP environments.
- Cloud readiness: SaaS-based delivery with scalability and minimal infrastructure requirements.
- SAP-certified integrations: Support for S/4HANA, RISE, ECC, and NetWeaver.
- Workflow orchestration: Support for advanced job dependencies, alerts, and retries.
- Security and compliance: Adherence to audit requirements similar to SAP’s native tools.
- Ease of use: Modern UI, low-code/no-code interfaces for job configuration.
SAP BPA & SAP CPS FAQ
FAQ
Reference Links
Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE and NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and resources that referenced AIMultiple.
Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.
He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.
Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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