Frequent readers of this Blog may have come to think of me as the SAP guy. In some ways, I suppose that’s true, though I work with all of our products and deal with customers in a variety of countries and industries. One aspect of the LRS-SAP relationship I do know better than most is the SAP certification process. I also work with other software and hardware vendors as well to verify that LRS products seamlessly interface with these third-party solutions.

Why is certification and interoperability testing important? Simple: when a customer spends time and money on a solution, they need to know it does what it says on the tin. To ensure product compatibility, application vendors like SAP, Epic, Oracle, and others rely on standardized, documented interfaces (APIs) and/or extensive testing protocols. Such measures ensure that products from different vendors communicate in a seamless, secure manner, providing all the necessary feedback (for errors, successful job completion, etc.) needed for efficient customer workflows.

Customers and even my own colleagues ask me a lot of questions with regard to certifications and compatibility with third-party solutions. Listed below are several of the most common ones:

Q: What technical advantages does an SAP certification deliver?

A: None at all! SAP certification simply means that experts at SAP have validated that a vendor’s solution is using the provided interface in the way that SAP meant it to be used. Clearly, anyone can write code and sell it, using any function within a particular SAP interface. But the way that vendor uses that interface may be poor and could even cause instability or poor performance in the SAP application. Sticking to products that are SAP certified for an interface mitigates that risk. Although SAP does not generally verify the quality of a third-party vendor’s code, the certification process ensures that the vendor is using the interface in the way that it should be used.

There is another, frankly, non-technical advantage of using an SAP certified solution: should SAP modify one of their interfaces, SAP will notify the vendor of such changes before the change takes place. This means vendors can test and address any issues before they arise and issue the appropriate fixes. If another vendor’s solution is NOT certified, then of course SAP has no knowledge of it and will not be able to inform that vendor. So, if the SAP change causes a problem, the customer using a non-certified solution may have to endure a lot of finger-pointing between various parties while one or another vendor tries to fix it.

1. What does the certification “Works with RISE with SAP” mean?
2. Strictly speaking, we are not “certified” for Works RISE with SAP. This is simply a label applied to our BC-XOM certificate. Generally, Works with RISE with SAP means that the solution may be used in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private installations, i.e., installed on the SAP supplied, supported, operated and maintained system.

In the case of LRS, it means that because of the way BC-XOM works, we require the installation of our LRSQ component, and that SAP will do that install (this also includes the Hyperscale environments SAP RISE/ECS landscape). The LRSQ component is “whitelisted,” meaning SAP has checked that LRSQ was not harmful to the operating system stability in any way. It also means that as they are operating a system that they control and are fully responsible for with the installed product, the install and operation does not change what they have to do or expose the system to any other “operational” issues (for example a daemon that needs monitoring and restarting occasionally).

1. What other important certifications does LRS possess?
2. Modern IT environments incorporate hardware and software from numerous vendors, some of which have their own certification programs. For our MFPsecure/Print and MFPsecure/Scan solutions, the part of our embedded software that actually runs on an MFP will normally need certification by that hardware manufacturer. That certification is more than just a piece of paper; the software LRS writes is actually electronically signed by the manufacturer when it is certified and would not run without such a signature. We also possess certain procedural certifications, for example showing our compliance with standards like ISO-27001.

Q: Which SaaS solutions are available that include certified LRS solutions, and are these certified?

1. Well, LRS does provide all of its software as a SaaS offering directly from LRS, and we are not fussy about where you are running our software. It can be on premise, in your Cloud tenant, or even run in a hybrid manner. Notably, we have agreements with most of the large Managed Print Suppliers (MPS) so that they can offer LRS products as part of their service portfolio and thus deliver an end-to-end service including the hardware to customers. All of those MPS providers will not only have some degree of operational and hardware certification, but also due to their relationship with LRS, are well trained in the operation and service of our solution.
2. Does LRS have a standard and documented solution for (Cloud) platforms and XYZ and LRS products?
3. For some solutions like Epic there is no formal certification. However, such solutions usually have marketplaces, and to be offered in those marketplaces you need to be approved. Others list us as having technology partner status like Zebra, which means that you have some certainty that they work well together.

Some Cloud providers also have technology or architectural blueprints for solutions that run on their platforms, for example the following AWS Prescriptive Guidance: “Amazon Web Services (AWS) Prescriptive Guidance provides time-tested strategies, guides, and patterns to help accelerate your cloud migration, modernization, and optimization projects. These resources were developed by AWS technology experts and the global community of AWS Partners, based on their years of experience helping customers realize their business objectives on AWS.” (Click here for a concrete example.)

Compliant, Compatible, Certified – What’s in a name?

With all of the different compatibility claims, it may seem like a bit of a jungle. In some cases, there is a clear-cut document (like an SAP certificate) that is more or less self-explanatory. In others, like being a member of an alliance, partnership, or consortium, the benefits to the customer may not be obvious. At the end of the day, most customer organizations simply want to partner with companies that help them mitigate risk and safeguard their IT investments.

So how do LRS certifications and other industry partnerships benefit customers in the real world? Here’s a recent example: one of the largest SAP installations in the world worked with their IT provider T-Systems to implement LRS’ certified VPSX/OutputManager software in their product delivery environment. As part of their production process, they use Zebra printers that are mounted along the conveyor line. These devices receive data from SAP applications when triggered by laser scanners monitoring items on the moving conveyor belt. It is important that labels only print when an item passes the scanner and that only one copy of the label is printed for each trigger event. The entire print process for may take hours or days and may include pauses for shift changes, worker breaks, etc. Throughout the process, the printing systems cannot miss a beat or business processes will suffer.

The VPSX/OutputManager solution is certified for use with SAP applications, which gives this customer the assurance that their print infrastructure properly interfaces with their SAP systems. LRS also partners with the manufacturer of Zebra printing devices and has worked to add page and device-level PJL Status feedback support to our software. Finally, LRS has a relationship with the customer’s service provider, T-Systems, providing clear lines of communication that help our technical staff provide seamless service to our mutual customers. In the case of this large SAP customer, the work LRS has done to prove our solutions paid off in a stable, high-performance print environment.

Partnerships, alliances, and certifications: all great ways to reduce risk and ensure you get the most from your technology investments. You can check out our list of alliances and partners at this link, and as always, feel free to contact LRS anytime for prompt and honest answers to your output management questions.

Best Wishes from the Odenwald.

—Al