Sharing externally with customers, suppliers and partners is inevitably and, at times, a challenge in many companies that use SAP and keep traditional practices that are not recommended such as sending documents via email or using shared folders that should only be internal. This leads to silos, errors, risk of non-compliance and loss of traceability.
OpenText Extended ECM for SAP Solutions, using Core Share, offers a comprehensive solution that allows collaboration with external users in a secure, traceable way and fully integrated with SAP.
Technical challenges when it comes to sharing externally
Who has never saved a document on the desktop to “later” upload it to the correct folder? And that's where it stayed... These issues affect operational efficiency, traceability and regulatory compliance.
Organizations that manage processes with external suppliers or clients often face problems such as multiple versions of documents, since when sharing through different channels, such as email, it is difficult to ensure that everyone works with the correct version. In addition to this, there are other practices, generating lack of control in access, exposing shared data to unauthorized users, as well as fragmentation of information. Consequently, files are dispersed between repositoriess, emails, local servers or personal computers, so when it's time for an audit, panic sets in. There is no centralized record of accesses, modifications or approvals.
The OpenText solution: Core Share integrated with Extended ECM in an SAP environment
Core Share is a OpenText cloud cloud extension that integrates Extended ECM, to allow sharing and synchronizing odf documents with external users without compromising security or traceability. Its key technical features include:
Automatic document synchronization with OpenText Extended ECM
• Documents uploaded to Core Share are synchronized in real time with the corresponding Business Workspace in Extended ECM.
• Changes from external users are automatically reflected in SAP and Extended ECM, maintaining consistency of data and metadata.
• It allows you to integrate with internal workflows to activate approvals or automated processes when receiving external documents.
For example: during the process of registering a new supplier, they can send key documentation (certificates, tax data, contracts) through Core Share and, thus, a notification is sent to the person responsible for purchasing or finance. From there, the document goes through the different phases of the process, validation, approval or adding comments, without the need for manual intervention or exchange of emails.
Granular permission control
• Permissions by document, folder and user, with roles such as reading, editing, commenting or approval.
• Integration with the SAP Authorization Concept and corporate security policies.
• Ability to set link expiration, automatic notifications and download restrictions to increase security.
Multi-interface document integration
• This solution allows users to access documents and processes from different environments or, rather, interfaces, —such as web, mobile or more traditional interfaces (Smart View, Mobile or Classic View) without affecting the experience or the control of information.
For example: one user can start a process from their computer, another can review it from their mobile and a third party approve it from another environment. A new adapted way of working, offering multiple access points, but without compromising document management.
Full information traceability and auditing
• Detailed record of all actions on documents and history of changes: accesses, views, edits, versions, comments and downloads.
• Audit information is managed centrally in OpenText Extended ECM, maintaining the link with business objects in SAP (through metadata and relationships).
• Facilitating compliance with regulations such as GDPR, SOX or ISO 9001, thanks to traceability capabilities, access control and retention policies.
Advanced data security
• Secure transmission of information using encrypted protocols (TLS/HTTPS) and protected storage in the documentary repository.
• Integration with corporate authentication mechanisms such as SAP Single Sign-On (SSO) or external identity providers (IdP).
• Advanced management of roles and permissions, ensuring that each user only accesses the information that corresponds to them.
• Alert generation to comply with corporate policies and security.
Recommendations for implementing OpenText Core Share in SAP environments
To maximize the integration of Core Share and Extended ECM of OpenText in SAP environments Some of the best practices based on our experience at Brait are:
1. Define roles and permissions
• Identifies the types of internal and external users (employees, suppliers, partners).
• Assign specific permissions by type of document, avoiding unnecessary access and complying with security policies.
• Configure groups and roles within Core Share to simplify future management.
2. Set up Business Workspaces
• Automatically synchronizes documents with Business Workspaces linked to SAP objects (suppliers, customers, contracts).
• Establishes the folder and metadata structure so that each Workspace reflects relevant SAP information.
• Ensures that document updates from any interface are replicated in real time.
3. Integrate workflows and notifications
• Connect the workflows of approval of Core Share with SAP, allowing actions to be executed from both systems.
• If approval logic is complex, use WebReports to automate specific conditions.
• Set up automatic alerts and notifications to keep users informed about pending tasks.
4. Activate reporting and auditing
• Enables usage reports, auditing and traceability for each document and Workspace.
• This ensures that the organization can demonstrate regulatory compliance (GDPR, SOX, ISO 9001) and maintains a complete history of actions.
5. Apply additional security
• Configure the expiration of shared links for external documents.
• Activate multifactor authentication (MFA) for all users accessing from outside the corporate network.
• Generate automatic alerts for unauthorized access attempts or suspicious activities.
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From manual external collaboration to integration from SAP
If you want to wear the Document Management of your company to the next level, at Brait we can help you. We have a department specialized in OpenText with extensive experience in projects that have turned the corporate collaboration of many companies into a secure, automated and fully integrated process with SAP and/or OpenText Extended ECM.
¡Contact us and we will advise you!
