Managing the technology
In our last article, we looked at why some companies are still struggling to determine the best approach to transitioning to SAP S/4HANA on Cloud due to the complexities that can arise. In the second of this three-part series, we turn our attention to managing the technology within the RISE with SAP option.
Start by Scoping It Out
To start, let’s look at the scope of RISE with SAP. For example, which products are allowed, how do you make it work if you want to do RISE for some of the workloads and not others and how should older SAP applications be addressed?
Clearly, SAP S/4HANA (the Cloud or Private Cloud Edition (PCE) is the key product that SAP is expecting customers to gain the most value from when choosing RISE. Other options are potentially available under a PCE agreement which would allow a further Bill of Materials (BoM) extension, but this needs to be agreed with SAP. We highly recommend that potential RISE with SAP customers evaluate the Roles and Responsibilities documentation to understand what activities are covered by SAP by default, and which are optional and excluded.
It’s also worth noting that SAP will allow customers to move ECC into RISE, as long as they have a clear plan to move to SAP S/4HANA at some point. BW/4HANA and BW are also part of the approved product set for RISE and SAP plans to add other products to the RISE scope in the future.
What about non-SAP applications that need to be integrated?
Most Enterprises have other SAP and non-SAP products they also want to move to Cloud. SAP will not typically migrate these systems to RISE, so you will likely need a partner to do this with you. The good news is that savvy Systems Integrators can build a ‘side-car’ area in the Cloud for these systems then integrate them with your systems on RISE and even support the adoption of cloud-native capabilities, like Data Lakes, ML, etc.
Automation and Integration
We also see customers looking to automate SAP operations. After all, Cloud is mostly software, and everything virtual and even physical can be instantiated and controlled with API calls. The automation of Cloud artifacts and DevOps (more specifically DevOps for SAP) is a must if you want to drive agility into your SAP landscape and increase your speed of execution.
Over the years, we’ve seen the hyperscalers release more and more automation for SAP customers, and we predict this will continue at a fast pace. Forward-thinking service providers focus on enriching the automation provided by the hyperscalers, as well as developing proprietary automation where there is a gap in functionality, then providing the orchestration platform for it. Often customers need help with integration of automation and other Cloud technologies such as their ITSM solution or SIEM solution, which is another area a good service provider can be of great help.
Remember also to talk to SAP about the automation already available in RISE, as well as what automation you can adopt straight away for the non-RISE components of your landscape.
What does RISE with SAP offer customers who want to integrate across their Enterprise Apps?
It’s important to frame this question with some of the trends we are seeing in the ERP market. Enterprises are looking beyond the Omni-Suite solutions of the 90s and want to consume components from different vendors. While this sounds like a great idea, the complexity of integrating across these solutions successfully is something to consider and be prepared for.
As a possible solution, SAP offers SAP Business Transformation Platform (SAP BTP) as part of the RISE subscription + Industry Clouds. SAP BTP comes with some great SAP-to-SAP integration content which could then be extended for non-SAP solutions. Additionally, we’re seeing customers start with Cloud-Native integration solutions and then attempt to force SAP and other applications to fit into those.
It’s still early days but the most promising aspect of integration is that you can then orchestrate your business processes seamlessly across your applications. This will likely become a critical item over the next 3-5 years for all SAP customers.
One last perspective to conclude this article: Your technology considerations and evaluations don’t stop with your plans for SAP S/4HANA. The intent of the “Intelligent Enterprise” is to open up new opportunities and value through data lakes, Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and beyond. However, it is critical to not make the transition to SAP S/4HANA on Cloud a project unnecessarily difficult. Modernizing your SAP systems is an ongoing process and pragmatically planning for continuous improvement across your systems should always be part of your “business as usual”.
Read the three-part series: Decisions, decisions, decisions! Is complexity stalling your transition to SAP S/4HANA on Cloud?
Part 1: The Facts
Part 2: Managing the Technology
Part 3: Making Informed Decisions
Recommendations: Migrating to SAP S/4HANA on Cloud / Book an SAP on Cloud Discovery Workshop
