Recap of TechXchange 2025
A personal recap of the TechXChange and what I learned from it. What ABAP topics were covered, and how did the exchange go?
Table of contents
In this short blog, I would like to share my impressions of this year's TechXchange, shed some light on some background details, and provide some insights.
Introduction
The TechXchange was organized for the second time by the DSAG and is a new format designed to appeal to the entire developer community. Rather untypically for the DSAG, the event will be held in English. This year, the focus was primarily on hands-on experience and fewer presentations, a new experiment to test the event. Officially, it was also the last stop for SAP TechEd as "TechEd on Tour." That's why the Developer Garage was also on site, supervised by the Developer Advocates. In the run-up to the event, the SAP Mentors also did a lot of advertising for the event.
Impressions
Before I begin my personal statement, here are some impressions from the community. Since I usually don't take pictures at events, here are a few impressions of the event:
Sessions
There were various hands-on formats for the developer throughout the day. With almost 48 sessions, there was enough material to find something for yourself. As always, I focused primarily on ABAP so I could attend a few sessions and engage with my colleagues. So, I looked at the following topics:
Develop Applications with SAP Build Code and ABAP
Use SAP Build to create and later deploy an RAP application? ABAP Cloud is now integrated into SAP Build. In this session, you learned exactly how the integration works and how you can use it to build and deploy an application. Details were provided on the SAP Build Lobby and the Tool Bridge in ADT.
Clean Core Extensions with the 3-Tier Model
The session covered building a wrapper in TIER-2 using the ACO_PROXY transaction and using the wrapper in a RAP application. You can easily create a wrapper using this transaction if you have entered the appropriate information into the system. The wrapper was then implemented in a RAP application to demonstrate its use within ABAP Cloud.
Build Extensions with ABAP Cloud and Joule
Finally want to try out Joule? The AI sessions were well attended that day, whether using Joule or Copilot. In this session, I was able to build a RAP application with Joule. He supported various tasks, such as setting up unit tests, where Joule identified and mocked the dependencies. Finally, he also generated unit tests and mock data, which made my life as a developer easier. However, there were still some minor errors and deviations; the next iterations of the model will certainly bring improvements here.
Further Sessions
There were also further sessions from SAP, as well as from partners such as Neptune. There were sessions from a wide variety of areas, and not just for ABAP developers:
- Creating SAP Fiori Apps with GenAI
- SAP Build Process Automation
- SAP Business Data Cloud
- SAP Datasphere
- Copilot Studio
- ...
Little Things
The DSAG also thought about the little things surrounding the sessions, so there were two massage seats where you could get a massage. This was supposed to make the coding sessions a little easier and relieve tension. In addition to plenty of drinks and fuel for the developers (coffee), there were also sweet snacks and ice cream scattered around to recharge after an intense session.
Personal Opinion
The event was a little over a day ago, and the many impressions have now settled in. Basically, it was a good event and I took away a lot of things for myself personally.
- Exchange - The exchange with the community was again very good; we talked about the various challenges in everyday developer life, such as the introduction of ABAP Cloud, the upskilling of developers in the company, and the "new" Development in the ABAP area.
- Insights - Not everyone in the company has the opportunity to test and try out the latest technology; having the chance to play with the latest systems is very good.
If I had a wish, I would also have a few points that could be improved next year.
- Sessions - Personally, and based on feedback from other developers, four hands-on sessions in a row are simply too much. After just the second session, a certain amount of fatigue had set in, and my mind was no longer as sharp and alert. Next year, I'd like to have more presentations as a change.
- SAP Mentors - I think a separate track for SAP Mentors would be good. This way, each mentor could present live demos or coding sessions from their area of expertise, and participants could get into closer contact.
- Food - There was generally enough food, and I didn't have to struggle as much as I did at the Technology Days. But it could probably also be a bit healthier for the developer or address topics like sugar intolerance.
Conclusion
What will happen next year with TechXchange, especially since there will probably be "only" one SAP TechEd in Berlin this year? I'm curious to see which formats will make it next year and whether there will be more community content. In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing many of you again.
