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SAP S/4HANA has been the Holy Grail for companies that wanted to amplify their business workflows for the digital economy. The kind of strategic benefits they have unlocked—more efficiency, more automation, and more value—have been momentous and far-reaching.
Despite the many advantages of SAP S/4HANA, there’s an important aspect which has left many scratching their heads.
It’s SAP S/4HANA Deployment.
A Guide to Choose SAP S/4HANA Deployment Option
Many enterprises have figured out that the path to S/4HANA isn’t a straight line. However, it is a decision that SAP customers have to figure out eventually. Making an informed decision will require enterprises to think through their process models and define a viable deployment model that addresses the highs and lows across workflows. Along with that, companies must decide where they want to host their future S/4HANA?
With so many SAP S/4HANA deployment options being touted in the marketplace, selection of the right deployment methodology and hosting option for any particular company has become extremely confusing. We have developed an easy and explanatory guide to SAP S/4HANA deployment that includes guidelines on enabling a sustainable, value-delivering deployment that allows the company to transform at pace.
While a quick take on the web clearly explains that there are three options for deployment. So, let’s dive right into the options.
Cloud vs. On-Premise vs. Hybrid
Due to differences in terminology, choosing a viable SAP S/4HANA deployment option can be a bit confusing. Officially, there are only three:
1. On-premise
On-premise deployment is hosting SAP S/4HANA in your own data center, which isn’t mandated by SAP’s upgrade cycle. Under this scenario, the HANA appliances are hosted on partners/customers’ existing data centers, dovetailing with other SAP applications. This deployment model is a perfect fit for organizations looking for enhanced flexibility, coupled with a wide range of functionalities.
2. Cloud
a. Private Cloud
Under a private cloud setup, the HANA infrastructure operates on a private cloud exclusive for the use of an organization. This scenario can be managed internally or by a third-party and can be hosted internally or externally. It works best for companies looking for on-demand scalability, complete management control, and security prioritization for their IT assets while combining both on-premise and cloud solutions. So, the Private Cloud option is fundamentally on-premise deployment hosted in a secure private cloud.
b. Public Cloud
SAP offers a pure Public Cloud option—Software-as-as-Service (SaaS)—such as SAP Cloud, Google Cloud Platform, AWS, or Azure, to name a few, which hosts and manages the entire HANA infrastructure, including the quarterly upgrades. Companies that choose SAP Cloud have another decision to make, i.e. whether to run in Public cloud (HANA Cloud Platform) or Private cloud (HANA Enterprise Cloud).
3. Hybrid Cloud
There’s one more option that people tend to make—Hybrid Cloud. However, it’s important to note it’s just a variation of the above three. The Hybrid Cloud option involves using a cloud provider as either IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) or PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service). With either option, the organization must manage a portion of their on-premise assets and associated services while the rest of the portions are managed by the Cloud service provider.
It is strongly recommended that the organizations must seek professional help from experienced SAP S/4 Hana partners to ensure that they make the right deployment decision that facilitates future growth and agility. We, at Kellton, have created a matrix of criteria and decision factors based on client-specific needs. Our team has helped global companies breeze through their deployment and unlock the transformative value of SAP S/4HANA.
Powered by SAP S/4HANA, our clients, have successfully reduced the efforts, risks, and costs of managing complex business operations, and are establishing unprecedented growth benchmarks.
If you are still uncertain about a move to S/4HANA, our industry experts can quickly develop a Proof of Concept (PoC) to allow you to evaluate the benefits, identify potential roadblocks, and accurately assess the resources and budget necessary for a successful migration regardless of the deployment method you select.
