SAP Process Orchestration vs. PI: What’s the Difference & What’s Next?

For years, SAP Process Integration (PI) and SAP Process Orchestration (PO) have been at the core of enterprise integration strategies. But as cloud adoption accelerates and businesses seek more intelligent, agile automation, the lines between these platforms and their future relevance are shifting fast.

In this blog, we’ll unpack what SAP PI and PO are, how they differ, what’s replacing them, and where modern technologies like Agentic AI fit in.

What is SAP Process Orchestration?

SAP Process Orchestration (PO) is an integrated platform that enables businesses to design, execute, and monitor automated processes across disparate systems. It combines three main components:

• SAP Process Integration (PI): For integrating systems using a middleware approach
• SAP Business Process Management (BPM): For modelling and managing workflows
• SAP Business Rules Management (BRM): For managing decision logic outside the application code

Together, these allow users to build complex, end-to-end process automations, whether between internal systems or external partners.

What is SAP PI?

SAP Process Integration (PI) is the original middleware solution from SAP designed to enable application-to-application (A2A) and business-to-business (B2B) integrations. Previously known as SAP XI (Exchange Infrastructure), PI manages message routing, transformation, and communication protocols.

It’s primarily used for integrating SAP systems with third-party applications via adapters (IDoc, SOAP, REST, etc.).

What is the Difference Between SAP PI and CPI?

The main difference lies in deployment model and cloud-readiness.

• SAP PI: On-premises integration platform for traditional, static middleware integrations
• SAP CPI (Cloud Platform Integration), now SAP Integration Suite: Cloud-native, flexible integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS)

Deployment

• SAP PI: On-prem
• SAP CPI / Integration Suite: Cloud (iPaaS)

Scalability

• SAP PI: Limited
• SAP CPI / Integration Suite: Elastic, cloud-scale

Modern APIs

• SAP PI: Limited support
• SAP CPI / Integration Suite: Native support for REST, OData

Updates

• SAP PI: Manual
• SAP CPI / Integration Suite: Automatic, continuous

Future-proofing

• SAP PI: Legacy
• SAP CPI / Integration Suite: SAP’s strategic direction
  
  

What is Replacing SAP PI?

SAP Integration Suite (formerly CPI) is SAP’s next-generation integration platform, and the official successor to PI/PO for cloud-first, hybrid, and API-led integration strategies. It supports:

• Cloud and on-premise systems
• Pre-built connectors for SAP and non-SAP systems
• API management
• Event-driven architecture

SAP has made it clear: Integration Suite is the future, and organizations should plan migrations accordingly.

What is the Difference Between PI and PO in SAP?

• SAP PI is just the integration engine.
• SAP PO includes PI + BPM + BRM, offering a full process orchestration suite.

Think of PI as a subset of PO. If you need more than data routing, like workflow automation and rule-based decisioning, PO is the more comprehensive solution.

Is SAP PI Obsolete?

Technically, not yet. But functionally, yes.

SAP PI is in maintenance mode and will not be enhanced going forward. SAP is encouraging customers to transition to SAP PO or SAP Integration Suite depending on their cloud strategy.

Support timelines:

• SAP PI 7.5: Mainstream maintenance ends in 2027, with extended support to 2030.

If you’re still on PI, now is the time to plan your exit.

How to Migrate SAP PI to PO

If you’re moving from SAP PI to SAP Process Orchestration, here are the general steps:

1. Assess Scope: Identify interfaces, adapters, and workflows currently in PI.
2. Upgrade Infrastructure: PO requires newer NetWeaver versions and may need new system provisioning.
3. Migrate Design Objects: Use SAP-provided tools like Integration Directory Migration Tool.
4. Test Extensively: Validate each integration scenario post-migration.
5. Optimize Processes: Take advantage of BPM and BRM capabilities in PO to streamline workflows.

This migration is often a stepping stone toward a future move to SAP Integration Suite.

Agentic AI for Process Orchestration

Here’s where things get exciting.

With the rise of Agentic AI, autonomous, task-oriented agents, businesses can now layer intelligence on top of process orchestration. Rather than simply automating workflows, AI agents can:

• Identify inefficiencies across SAP processes
• Trigger automations dynamically based on context
• Negotiate with systems and users to resolve exceptions
• Continuously optimize processes without human intervention

Platforms like Rio are pioneering the use of Agentic AI within SAP environments, integrating directly with SAP PO or BTP to not just run processes, but think through them.

Ready for What’s Next? Time to Evolve Beyond PI

If you’re still relying on SAP PI, now is the time to consider your next move. Whether it’s upgrading to PO, transitioning to SAP Integration Suite, or layering in intelligent automation with Agentic AI, the integration landscape is evolving rapidly.

Future-proofing your architecture starts with understanding your options and knowing when legacy tools have outlived their strategic value.

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