Introducing the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Deployment Options

The cloud, in technology terms, is made possible by the Internet. The devices within our physical space (i.e. computer, phone, tablet) have limitations. For example, the storage capacity on a hard drive is finite. However, we can use our devices to access near infinite resources in other locations with a simple internet connection.

Select each icon below to explore the benefits of Cloud Computing.

A cloud deployment model defines how a cloud service is made available to users.

Select the buttons below to explore characteristics of public, private, and hybrid cloud models, and how a customer can leverage a multi-cloud environment.

Cloud software is delivered "as-a-Service", where a consumer of the service is billed on a subscription basis for what they use. The subscription-based digital model is highly flexible and agile because you can easily scale up or down as needed.

Select the buttons below to compare three common models to find out what you can expect from a Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Most companies now use a mix of the three, and the lines between them can sometimes blur.

SAP is one of the world's leading producers of software for the management of business processes, developing solutions that facilitate effective data processing and information flow across organizations. We have more than 100 solutions covering all business functions, and the largest cloud portfolio of any provider.

Select the buttons below to see examples of SAP's software solutions mapped to the SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS computing services.

SAP S/4HANA is an acronym for SAP Business Suite 4 the SAP HANA database

SAP S/4HANA is the next generation of the SAP business suite software. SAP S/4HANA enterprise software is the digital core of your organization, and is designed to run an Intelligent Enterprise. In an Intelligent Enterprise, data feeds into intelligent analytics, which in turn feeds process automation and innovation. SAP S/4HANA is integration-ready, and includes capabilities within the applications to easily make extensions and customizations to tailor the solution to your needs.

The SAP S/4HANA solution can be deployed in a public cloud, private cloud, or on premise to fit customer needs. The library of pre-delivered business processes and applications help you manage your customers, supply chains, networks, employees, and core processes. The business suite is built on the SAP HANA database, and the user experience is enhanced with the SAP Fiori user interface to provide a consistent and intuitive user experience, both in desktop and mobile apps.

RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition is a standardized public cloud solution with a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) scope and selected industry and Line of Business (LoB) scenarios. RISE with SAP refers to the additional resources and benefits on top of the core SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition software that are designed to support a customer's transition to the cloud.

The SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition software lives in a multi-tenant server and each customer accesses their software through a unique link over the internet. Multi-tenant means that two or more tenants (customers) are sharing the bandwidth of one server. This multi-tenant server resides in an SAP data center. Your cloud provider (SAP) is responsible for maintaining the technical backend of your system and runs your software service in the server where your tenant resides.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition has the fastest innovation, meaning regular release cycles, where new features and enhancements to existing functionality are released. SAP maintains your system with bi-weekly hotfixes and installs the release upgrades to customer systems on the defined release schedule.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition has the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO), because multiple customers are sharing the cost of a server, and because more standardization means SAP can provide far more pre-delivered resources to make the implementation and running the solution as easy as possible.

If you have subscriptions to multiple solutions in addition to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition (e.g. SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Concur, etc.), you will have an individual tenant for each software server that may or may not reside in the same data center as your SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition ERP solution.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition has a comprehensive ERP scope with end-to-end business processes delivered by preconfigured SAP Best Practices and selected industry-specific scenarios. Detailed information regarding individual scope items is available in the SAP Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition package in SAP Best Practices Explorer.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition covers 48 local versions and 29 languages. Please note, local versions may not include all available solution scope (business processes).

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Localization-specific features can be found in the SAP Help Portal

RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, is a cloud solution with the full SAP S/4HANA on premise scope, including all lines of business and 25 industries. It has the elasticity, resilience, and TCO of cloud infrastructure, with the capability for customers to convert their existing SAP ECC systems to a cloud deployment. RISE with SAP refers to the additional resources and benefits on top of the core SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition software designed to support a customer's transition to the cloud.

Customers can protect the investments already made into their existing SAP ERP software by converting their on premise solution into the private cloud. A new implementation of SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition can also be done to start fresh with a clean system.

In SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, customers have full access to the on premise extensibility framework, supporting in-app and side-by-side extensions in addition to code enhancement and modifications. Expert configuration is possible with full IMG access, and the operating expense model is subscription-based.

The solution is deployed with SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, to provide the private cloud infrastructure and managed services. All services, from RISE, to infrastructure management, to the core software is delivered under one contract with SAP.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition has the same functional scope of the SAP S/4HANA On Premise solution. This includes the extended line of business processes and all 25 industries. Detailed information regarding individual scope items is available in the SAP Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA (on premise) package in SAP Best Practices Explorer.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition has the same localization coverage as the SAP S/4HANA On Premise solution, including 64 local versions in 39 languages.

Note

Localization-specific features can be found in the SAP Help Portal.

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system needs to be both agile and reliable, so an organization can quickly respond to evolving business conditions, while also maintaining a sustainable environment that serves stakeholders and business users. A two-tier ERP strategy is when a company implements different ERP for separate parts of the business. By combining two different deployments of SAP S/4HANA, a business can take advantage of the fast innovation in public cloud, while still allowing for a high degree of customization for strategic processes in the private cloud or on premise.

Building an effective two-tier ERP strategy is about more than just integration scenarios. It is critical to conduct a thorough analysis of the functionality necessary for each subsidiary or satellite, and the strategy must define how the interdependence of the organizations will affect reporting, in addition to business processes. For example, the reporting strategy for intercompany transactions and enterprise level reporting should be defined up front. In addition, master data management will follow integrated process requirements, and therefore should also be planned for early in an implementation project. Last, change enablement is multi-dimensional, because there are new systems that require sufficient end-user training, and potential changes to business processes with the interdependence between organizational entities.

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Learn more about Two-Tier ERP in SAP Community.