The future of SAP S/4HANA looks promising, and SAP has been actively encouraging its customers to transition to S/4HANA by offering various incentives and support. Many organizations have already started migrating or planning to migrate to S/4HANA to take advantage of its improved functionalities, user experience, and data capabilities.
Regarding the replacement of SAP ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming), it's important to note that SAP ABAP is a programming language used for developing custom applications and enhancements within SAP systems. SAP S/4HANA, on the other hand, is a business suite built on a different technology stack, utilizing SAP HANA as its primary database.
While SAP S/4HANA doesn't eliminate the need for ABAP altogether, it does introduce a new development paradigm with SAP Fiori, which focuses on user-centric and responsive design principles. Fiori applications are built using web technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript.
Here's a key point to understand: SAP S/4HANA supports both traditional ABAP-based developments and the development of new applications using SAP Fiori/UI5 (User Interface 5). The shift towards Fiori and UI5 development has been encouraged by SAP as it aligns with the modern trends in user experience and mobility.
While SAP Fiori/UI5 brings significant advantages in terms of user experience, flexibility, and ease of development, it doesn't mean that ABAP will become obsolete. ABAP-based customizations and integrations are still relevant for many organizations that heavily rely on the SAP ecosystem and have a substantial investment in ABAP-based solutions.
In summary, SAP S/4HANA is the future of SAP's ERP landscape, and it will continue to evolve and be enhanced by SAP. However, it doesn't replace SAP ABAP entirely, but rather complements it with newer development approaches like SAP Fiori and UI5. Organizations will need to evaluate their specific needs and existing systems to decide how best to leverage both technologies in their SAP environments. For the most current information and updates, I recommend checking SAP's official documentation or contacting SAP directly.