SAP, the ERP market leader for over two decades, continues to innovate its products to meet the changing needs of its customers. SAP S/4HANA, SAP’s most advanced enterprise resource planning system, is one of its most powerful products today. SAP S/4HANA Cloud was released in 2018, bringing all of the functionality of the on-premise version to the user’s fingertips, as well as the benefits of the cloud – increased scalability, lower IT costs, and a more agile environment.
On the other hand, SAP’s ERP cloud customers come in all shapes and sizes, from growing businesses looking for a complete solution to large enterprises looking for a platform to support their digital transformation efforts. Companies have many options for where to deploy their SAP landscapes, including S/4HANA. Furthermore, SAP landscapes no longer operate in isolation. You will almost certainly deploy systems across multiple clouds. This has the disadvantage of increasing integration and complexity, but the advantage is that you can fine-tune and optimize your landscape to meet various business needs.
SAP encourages its clients to use its cloud offerings rather than remaining on-premises. Nonetheless, most are hesitant because the SAP cloud is complicated. The following information will attempt to simplify SAP’s innovative cloud-based solutions so that you can benefit from what cloud-based software offers.
What are the different SAP Cloud Deployment Options?
SAP customers have three primary cloud deployment options:
Public cloud
The public cloud is essentially the do-it-yourself option for SAP cloud deployment. It is a good option if you already have an experienced SAP technical team that is responsive and eager to learn new technologies. You have the time to give them the time they need to become familiar with SAP nuances on public cloud platforms.
SAP-managed: HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC)
For SAP cloud deployment options, HEC is the standard. Because HEC includes technical application management services, it is a step up in services from public cloud providers. This is a perfect option if you have a relatively simple landscape and are currently satisfied with SAP’s support levels and processes.
Managed private cloud
The tailored suit option is managed private cloud, where you have a personal tailor who takes a good time to understand what you like and need and creates something that fits just right. This is the perfect option if you have specific needs and need a long-term partner who can adapt to you rather than the other way around. Companies in this space can offer various options at varying price points.
What are the types of SAP Cloud Offerings?
With an understanding of cloud-based software service models and deployment options, here are SAP’s available options for your company. First, let’s look at SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud. From here, we will narrow our focus and look at the SAP HANA Cloud platform to better understand the cloud foundry environment before arriving at SAP HANA Cloud with any innovations.
SAP HANA ENTERPRISE CLOUD (HEC)
SAP’s IaaS offering is known as the HEC. HEC is a privately managed cloud solution that runs in trusted data centers using either a Hyperscaler or an SAP data center. It depicts the future of ERP while achieving previously unthinkable levels of visibility, agility, and TCO.
As an infrastructure-as-a-service offering, you can run your SAP-based operations in its hosted environment while reaping the advantage of migrating your systems to the cloud. HEC will bring your software landscape closer to industry standards. This primarily reduces the time, money, and resources required for software access. HEC enables you to easily adapt or scale your operating model while allowing you to innovate at your own pace.
SAP Private Cloud
Hosting an SAP landscape in a private cloud environment is called “SAP Private Cloud.” To be clear, a private cloud is infrastructure (hardware, network, software, compute, storage, and so on) built with a cloud software architecture but run on a private, on-premises platform. Many businesses continue to develop their private clouds; however, why would they do so? If they want cloud services, why not use AWS or Microsoft Azure? The answer is that some businesses enjoy the benefits of cloud architecture, such as agility, virtualization, and on-demand scaling, but only in a setting where they have complete control.
SAP partners such as Secure-24 host SAP private clouds. A reasonable level of SAP expertise is required to establish and manage such a facility. It also necessitates a significant investment from that partner. However, for the customer, the benefits include the cloud’s flexibility and low-maintenance appeal, but with a high level of control. There is also the possibility of isolating each customer’s environment for efficiency, security, and compliance.
SAP Private Cloud vs. HEC
Determining the best option can be difficult when comparing HEC and SAP private cloud. The two models are very similar. SAP undoubtedly possesses the resources and experience required to provide a superior private cloud. However, a private cloud organized by an SAP partner may be beneficial for various reasons.
With a private cloud partner, the configuration can be much more customized. It is possible to keep older, legacy components of the SAP landscape running on-premises while migrating others to the SAP private cloud. Establishing hybrid cloud links between on-premises and cloud-hosted instances of the software is more flexible. The private cloud solution can be combined with specialized professional solutions such as Basis Management.
Final Thoughts
If you’re ready to take your operations to the next level with industry-leading cloud ERP, the good news is that now you do not have to settle for a solution that doesn’t meet your company’s requirements. SAP has created distinct editions to cater to various business types. Allow our team of SAP experts at TekSkilled to assist you in making your SAP learning journey even more efficient. Our team will listen to your needs and ensure you have the best experience possible.
