What Does Application Link Enabling Mean?
Application link enabling (ALE) is the technical basis for integrating business processes in a distributed system environment. It handles the exchange of messages across independent R/3 systems – a comprehensive set of business applications by SAP – or between external systems and R/3.
ALE allows SAP customers to interconnect programs across a number of platforms and systems, thus providing a program distribution framework.
Techopedia Explains Application Link Enabling
The primary purpose of ALE is to ensure a distributed but integrated R/3 installation. It involves business-controlled message exchange using data across loosely linked SAP applications. These applications are integrated using synchronous and asynchronous communication instead of using a central database.
Application link enabling is made up of three layers:
- Application services
- Distribution services
- Communication services
