As an IT administrator, one of my constant concerns is security compliance. With multiple systems, services, and configurations to manage, it’s not always easy to answer simple questions like:
Are my systems compliant with SAP security recommendations?What changed since yesterday?Which configuration needs immediate attention?
This is where Configuration & Security Analysis (CSA) in SAP Cloud ALM became extremely useful in my daily operations.
In this blog, I’d like to share my hands-on experience with CSA—how I set it up, how I use it, and how the new Validation capabilities helped me move from monitoring to real-time compliance management.
Getting Started – Setting Up CSA
To start with, I enabled data collection in CSA – Data Stores app.
For our on-premise ABAP systems, the setup was straightforward but required a few prerequisites.
After ensuring ST-A/PI and ST-PI were installed, I logged into the relevant client and executed /n/SDF/ALM_SETUP. In the Activate Use Cases step, I flagged Configuration & Security Analysis as active. From that point onward, the system started pushing configuration data to SAP Cloud ALM once per day. More information here.
Tip: When something doesn’t work as expected, transaction SLG1 (Object: /SDF/CALM, Sub-object: CSA) quickly helped me identify data collection issues. For example: please refer SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
For SAP Cloud services, the experience was even smoother—data collection was already handled via SAP Managed Connectivity, and all I had to do was switch the data collection to ON in the CSA app. For more information, click here.
First Impression – CSA Data Stores Application
Once data collection was active, I spent most of my time in the CSA Data Stores application analysing my configuration items. This quickly became my go-to place to understand what’s happening across my services and systems.
Store Browser – Starting Point
The Store Browser gave me a consolidated view of configuration stores across all systems. I could drill down into individual configuration items , status of the event, latest data collected date & time.
Changes – Tracking Modifications Over Time
The Changes page shows what changed, when, and how—ideal for audit reviews and root-cause analysis. This was particularly useful during audits, when I needed to explain: “What exactly changed, and when?”
Search – Finding What Matters
While the Search page allows for quick searches across configuration keys and values. This is a lifesaver when investigating specific parameters across landscapes.
Administration – Delivers an overview
The administration page provides data quality insights for each service and system, helping identify incomplete or outdated data collections.
The Missing Piece – What Do I Do With This Data?
While CSA Data Stores gave me excellent visibility, I initially felt something was missing.
I could see the data,
I could monitor changes,
…but I still asked myself:
“Is my system actually compliant?”
You can get the compliance status of the items through the store browser but it is quite a cumbersome process analysing each item key and value and the corresponding security recommendation. (Refer to Content)
That’s when SAP introduced the Configuration & Security Analysis – Validation application—and that changed everything.
Validation – Turning Data into Compliance Insights
The Validation app allows me to run compliance checks against SAP-recommended security rules. For the first time, I wasn’t just looking at raw configuration data—I was seeing meaningful compliance results.
Validation Overview Page
The Validation Overview page provides:
A compliance score per systemClear graphical and tabular viewsA quick way to identify non-compliant systems
Since the results are always based on the latest data collection, I didn’t have to worry about outdated information.
The next level drill down displayed all the checks associated with the service/system.
I was glad I could get the necessary information of the relevant check like store ID, store name, and the configuration items in detailed view.
Let’s see how a check is evaluated and a service/system is rated complaint or non-complaint.
Understanding a Check – A Real Example
Let’s take a pre-shipped ABAP check:
Check Name: login/no_automatic_user_sapstar = 1Purpose: Prevents login with the hardcoded SAP* user after deletion—an essential security control.How it Works:Configuration key: NAME = login/no_automatic_user_sapstarValue = 1 → check is considered CompliantValue = 0 → check is considered Non-Compliant
This clarity makes compliance decisions easy and auditable.
When I saw a system flagged as non-compliant, I could immediately drill down to see the exact configuration value that caused it. This made follow-ups much more efficient.
Drilling Down – From Overview to Root Cause
What I really liked about CSA is the navigation design:
Landscape Level – Overall compliance statusSystem Level – Check results per systemCheck Level – Detailed explanation, configuration items, and runtime details
This step-by-step drill down felt intuitive and helped me quickly move from “something is wrong” to “this is what needs to be fixed.”
Configuring Checks – Staying in Control
As an administrator, I also appreciated the Configuration capabilities.
From the Validation Overview page, I found an option to Configure a Service/System based on my needs. All I had to do was to click on Configuration button.
From the Configuration page, I could enable or disable data collection per system
Details of each fields are described here.
Upon navigating to next level, I could
View the details of the checksActivate or deactivate checksAssign scope to checks
Since the checks are pre-shipped by SAP, I couldn’t modify their logic—but honestly, that gave me confidence that the rules were aligned with SAP best practices. Supported checks.
I tried my experience by logging to SAP’s demo tenant. User details for Configuration & Security Analysis can be found here.
Enhanced Visibility in Data Stores Cards
Another small but valuable improvement was seeing check compliance directly on the Data Stores card view. Even without opening Validation, I could immediately spot systems with poor compliance based on the card status.
This helped during quick health checks and having discussions.
What CSA Changed for Me
From a user perspective, CSA helped me move from:
Centralised visibilityAutomated compliance checksProactive security monitoring
Conclusion
Using Configuration & Security Analysis in SAP Cloud ALM has significantly improved how I manage security and compliance across my landscape. With the addition of the Validation app, CSA is no longer just about monitoring—it’s about actionable compliance insights.
Over to You
How has your experience been with Configuration & Security Analysis in SAP Cloud ALM?
Are there specific checks or scenarios where CSA helped you the most?
Feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments—happy to exchange experiences with the community!
As an IT administrator, one of my constant concerns is security compliance. With multiple systems, services, and configurations to manage, it’s not always easy to answer simple questions like:Are my systems compliant with SAP security recommendations?What changed since yesterday?Which configuration needs immediate attention?This is where Configuration & Security Analysis (CSA) in SAP Cloud ALM became extremely useful in my daily operations. In this blog, I’d like to share my hands-on experience with CSA—how I set it up, how I use it, and how the new Validation capabilities helped me move from monitoring to real-time compliance management.Getting Started – Setting Up CSATo start with, I enabled data collection in CSA – Data Stores app.For our on-premise ABAP systems, the setup was straightforward but required a few prerequisites. After ensuring ST-A/PI and ST-PI were installed, I logged into the relevant client and executed /n/SDF/ALM_SETUP. In the Activate Use Cases step, I flagged Configuration & Security Analysis as active. From that point onward, the system started pushing configuration data to SAP Cloud ALM once per day. More information here.Tip: When something doesn’t work as expected, transaction SLG1 (Object: /SDF/CALM, Sub-object: CSA) quickly helped me identify data collection issues. For example: please refer SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private EditionFor SAP Cloud services, the experience was even smoother—data collection was already handled via SAP Managed Connectivity, and all I had to do was switch the data collection to ON in the CSA app. For more information, click here.First Impression – CSA Data Stores ApplicationOnce data collection was active, I spent most of my time in the CSA Data Stores application analysing my configuration items. This quickly became my go-to place to understand what’s happening across my services and systems.Store Browser – Starting PointThe Store Browser gave me a consolidated view of configuration stores across all systems. I could drill down into individual configuration items , status of the event, latest data collected date & time.Changes – Tracking Modifications Over TimeThe Changes page shows what changed, when, and how—ideal for audit reviews and root-cause analysis. This was particularly useful during audits, when I needed to explain: “What exactly changed, and when?”Search – Finding What MattersWhile the Search page allows for quick searches across configuration keys and values. This is a lifesaver when investigating specific parameters across landscapes.Administration – Delivers an overviewThe administration page provides data quality insights for each service and system, helping identify incomplete or outdated data collections.The Missing Piece – What Do I Do With This Data?While CSA Data Stores gave me excellent visibility, I initially felt something was missing.I could see the data,I could monitor changes,…but I still asked myself:“Is my system actually compliant?”You can get the compliance status of the items through the store browser but it is quite a cumbersome process analysing each item key and value and the corresponding security recommendation. (Refer to Content)That’s when SAP introduced the Configuration & Security Analysis – Validation application—and that changed everything.Validation – Turning Data into Compliance InsightsThe Validation app allows me to run compliance checks against SAP-recommended security rules. For the first time, I wasn’t just looking at raw configuration data—I was seeing meaningful compliance results.Validation Overview PageThe Validation Overview page provides:A compliance score per systemClear graphical and tabular viewsA quick way to identify non-compliant systemsSince the results are always based on the latest data collection, I didn’t have to worry about outdated information.The next level drill down displayed all the checks associated with the service/system.I was glad I could get the necessary information of the relevant check like store ID, store name, and the configuration items in detailed view.Let’s see how a check is evaluated and a service/system is rated complaint or non-complaint.Understanding a Check – A Real ExampleLet’s take a pre-shipped ABAP check:Check Name: login/no_automatic_user_sapstar = 1Purpose: Prevents login with the hardcoded SAP* user after deletion—an essential security control.How it Works:Configuration key: NAME = login/no_automatic_user_sapstarValue = 1 → check is considered CompliantValue = 0 → check is considered Non-CompliantThis clarity makes compliance decisions easy and auditable.When I saw a system flagged as non-compliant, I could immediately drill down to see the exact configuration value that caused it. This made follow-ups much more efficient.Drilling Down – From Overview to Root CauseWhat I really liked about CSA is the navigation design:Landscape Level – Overall compliance statusSystem Level – Check results per systemCheck Level – Detailed explanation, configuration items, and runtime detailsThis step-by-step drill down felt intuitive and helped me quickly move from “something is wrong” to “this is what needs to be fixed.”Configuring Checks – Staying in ControlAs an administrator, I also appreciated the Configuration capabilities.From the Validation Overview page, I found an option to Configure a Service/System based on my needs. All I had to do was to click on Configuration button.From the Configuration page, I could enable or disable data collection per systemDetails of each fields are described here.Upon navigating to next level, I couldView the details of the checksActivate or deactivate checksAssign scope to checks Since the checks are pre-shipped by SAP, I couldn’t modify their logic—but honestly, that gave me confidence that the rules were aligned with SAP best practices. Supported checks.I tried my experience by logging to SAP’s demo tenant. User details for Configuration & Security Analysis can be found here.Enhanced Visibility in Data Stores Cards Another small but valuable improvement was seeing check compliance directly on the Data Stores card view. Even without opening Validation, I could immediately spot systems with poor compliance based on the card status.This helped during quick health checks and having discussions.What CSA Changed for MeFrom a user perspective, CSA helped me move from:Centralised visibilityAutomated compliance checksProactive security monitoringConclusionUsing Configuration & Security Analysis in SAP Cloud ALM has significantly improved how I manage security and compliance across my landscape. With the addition of the Validation app, CSA is no longer just about monitoring—it’s about actionable compliance insights.Over to YouHow has your experience been with Configuration & Security Analysis in SAP Cloud ALM?Are there specific checks or scenarios where CSA helped you the most?Feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments—happy to exchange experiences with the community! Read More Technology Blog Posts by SAP articles
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