SAP Is Getting Rid of TAO: What Are the Alternatives?

SAP TAO (Test Acceleration and Optimization) is a method for automating testing in SAP. But now, SAP TAO is coming to an end. What does that mean for businesses currently using SAP TAO? And what are the alternatives? We'll dive into that and more in this blog post.

Testing has changed profoundly since the founding days of SAP TAO. There are now easier and smarter ways to build test automation in complex software systems.

With the adoption of new tools and technologies, businesses relying on SAP to perform business-critical processes can release faster, smarter, and with higher quality.

Comparison chart: end-to-end automation for SAP

What is SAP TAO?

TAO is SAP’s own testing tool. It is used as an aid for building automated tests in SAP systems.

It is used for end-to-end testing because it helps to break down software into smaller components to make it more manageable.

These components are then uploaded to HR Quality Center (HPQC), and executed by Quick Test Professional (QTP).

What does the end of SAP TAO mean for you?

SAP is getting rid of TAO. However, it’s yet to be clear when they are phasing the vendor out.

Even so, users should consider alternative SAP test automation tools. This is especially true for enterprises running tests that are no longer supported by TAO, as this opens up the risk of downtime.

For many, testing teams will be forced to search for an alternative. So what are the alternatives, and can they make it easier for businesses to increase productivity, minimize risk, and save time building tests?

What are the alternatives for SAP test automation?

There are a few avenues for organizations using SAP TAO. Create an in-house automation framework, or adopt a commercial solution.

An in-house automation framework would mean investing in expensive SAP developer resources to create and maintain this automation. This avenue is both expensive and takes lots of maintenance. The maintenance burden alone will prevent businesses from scaling their automation beyond testing, or beyond a particular technical skill-set. This is counterintuitive to automation.

On the other hand, a commercial no-code automation tool presents an opportunity - one for businesses to make their processes and testing within SAP more efficient and less manual, without having to invest in costly SAP developers.

What to look for in an SAP automation tool

In a monolithic platform like SAP, change isn’t simple. But it’s inevitable.

When a business undergoes a drastic change in SAP, like the change in a testing tool, or the move from SAP to SAP S/4Hana, the tools you choose should help you test smarter.

They also need to work for a lot of different people, especially if you’re looking to automate both testing and processes.

With that in mind, there are two key areas you should look for in your tool:

• Cross-technology functionality, allowing businesses to test across all integrations.
• An intuitive and visual language rather than code, making automation design and maintenance easy.

With these capabilities under your belt, you can:

• Increase productivity by freeing up SAP developer resources for more business-critical tasks
• Minimize risk by catching errors before they get to the production line with new SAP releases.
• Reduce the time it takes to automate manual and repetitive tasks in testing and business processes.

Leapwork is an automation solution for SAP that strips away the complexity of the system. Your organization can accelerate digital transformation, mitigate risk, and achieve a 3-10x faster time to market. If you're interested in Leapwork as an automation tool for SAP, download this solution brief to learn how to ramp up and benefit from SAP automation faster.

Or you can learn more about codeless automation, and watch a demonstration of no-code automation in SAP in Leapwork’s partner webinar with NNIT.