Unraveling the Core of SAP S/4HANA

Over the years, SAP has shown itself to be an adaptive industry giant, inherently aware and ready to seize the potentials of technology shifts. Let's revisit the remarkable journey of SAP's evolution that reproduced the landscape of business applications and created unparalleled industry standards.

The year was 1979, a significant era for technology, with mainframe technology making its prominent mark. SAP, cognizant of the immense possibility this brought, pioneered the development of a standard enterprise software. The result was SAP R/2 - a real-time, multi-currency supportive application. SAP R/2 transcended the existing norms and laid the foundation for SAP's success in the coming decades

Fast-forward to 1992. The personal computer was all the rage and SAP was quick to act. The Client-Server architecture was the catalyst that SAP needed, thereby initiating a rewrite of its application software. SAP R/3 was born, a much-needed departure from monochrome screens, offering users a seamless experience through a Graphical User Interface loaded with menu and customizing options.

As the influence of the internet reflected heavily on businesses in 2004, SAP's vision led to the establishment of SAP NetWeaver, an advanced integration platform reflecting a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). Concurrently, SAP ERP became an integral part of the diverse SAP Business Suite, poised to manage relationships with customers and supply chains more effectively.

The year 2015 marked another milestone for SAP. As technology offered increased computing power and memory at reduced costs, SAP harnessed this opportunity to redefine its application software. The result was SAP S/4HANA. This digital core was the simplified successor of SAP ERP, uniquely designed to optimally run on the SAP HANA platform, eliminating redundant data models.

Transcending to the year 2020, we saw the rise of SAP Business Technology Platform , conceived to steer enterprises towards the digital revolution. The concept of the SAP Intelligent Enterprise evolved with the integration of intelligent technologies like Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) run by user-centric SAP Fiori. By then, SAP S/4HANA had become synonymous with Systems Applications Products (SAP) Simple 4th Generation (S/4) High Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA). Furthermore, RISE with SAP was born as a service committed to customer-specific business transformation.

This journey of SAP captures not only technological shifts but also the company's commitment to anticipating, adapting, and navigating the ever-evolving nuances of business solutions, thereby reaffirming SAP's position at the forefront of business applications innovation.

In the fast-paced arena of big data and the digital economy, SAP S/4HANA emerges as the beacon of the new generation of business applications. Simplicity is at the heart of this designed-for-digital era software that re-imagines the potential of enterprise software.

At the core of this innovation is SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management. This solution focuses on simplifying major business processes, positioning it as an ideal point of inception for many customers beginning their journey with SAP S/4HANA.

Transitioning to S/4HANA offers a flexible palette of deployment options, catering to diverse business needs. Whether it's choosing the traditional on-premise set-up, embracing the cost-effectiveness and lesser complexity of cloud computing, or leveraging a hybrid combination of the two, businesses have the liberty to select what suits them best.

Underpinning SAP S/4HANA is the groundbreaking data management and in-memory platform - SAP HANA. Optimized for digital business, SAP HANA boasts of a streamlined data model geared for real-time analysis, significantly enhancing business effectiveness.

Complementing this advanced functionality is SAP Fiori, the newly introduced user interface focused on enhancing productivity. The hallmark of SAP Fiori lies in its user experience, ensuring seamless usage across multiple devices, including desktops, notebooks, and mobile devices.

Enter the SAP Business Technology Platform, the digital transformation command center that propels organizations towards becoming intelligent enterprises. Coupled with the industry-specific best practices offered by the Industry Cloud and the integration capabilities of the Cloud Connector, SAP Business Technology Platform forms a significant foundation of enterprise applications.

The linchpin here is the Intelligent Suite, equipped with the superior ability to embed intelligent technologies into business processes, thereby enhancing their overall value. Simultaneously, the Cloud Connector forms the bridge interlinking SAP Business Technology Platform applications with on-premise systems.

Manifesting these advancements is SAP's vision of an intelligent enterprise, incorporating SAP Fiori and digitized business solutions. SAP Intelligent Enterprise integrates a bouquet of forward-looking technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT), paving the path for the future of business applications.

SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management is the simplified core to support major business processes.

• Lead-to-Cash supports Sales from lead generation and sales order processing to customer payment.
• Meter-to-Cash supports Utilities from consumption determination and invoice creation to customer payment.
• Source-to-Pay supports Supply Chain from source determination and purchase order processing to supplier payout.
• Design-to-Operate supports Manufacturing from engineering and production planning to production order processing.
• Record-to-Report supports Finance from the recording of financial transactions to their reporting in the balance sheet.

SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management is enhanced by multiple line-of-business solutions.

• SAP Ariba combines cloud-based solutions with a web-based global network of trading partners.
• SAP Concur is a mobile solution for corporate travel booking, expense reporting and reimbursement.
• SAP Fieldglass is a cloud-based Vendor Management system to manage workforce and service procurement.
• SAP SuccessFactors is a cloud-based Human Capital Management system for HR core, self-services and analytics.
• SAP Customer Experience supports the business to sell more goods and services through every channel and device.

The versatility of SAP S/4HANA is demonstrated through its flexible deployment options – On-Premise, Cloud, or a hybrid approach. The choice of deployment is pivotal as it determines the licence model and the operational environment.

An On-Premise deployment allows customers to fully own their software and hardware and to manage their operations independently. This includes workflows such as implementation, updates, operation, and future investments. This model offers customers complete control, allowing them to fine-tune SAP S/4HANA in line with their infrastructure.

On the contrary, a Cloud deployment type implies that the software and hardware are provided by a third-party cloud company and rented to the customer. The cloud provider takes the helm in areas such as implementation, operation, maintenance, and investments. Clients benefit from industry tried and tested processes and constant innovation (four times annually), driving faster return on investments and lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

The Cloud Public Edition delivers services over a network accessed by multiple clients of the provider. Offering a shared environment, public clouds offer efficiencies combined with cost-effectiveness, making it an ideal option for budget-constrained businesses.

Alternatively, the Cloud Private Edition delivers services via a private network, secured by a firewall. These can be self-hosted or hosted by a vendor. The Private cloud is central to the RISE with SAP service, ideal for those requiring a higher level of security and control.

A Hybrid deployment incorporates both on-premise and cloud solutions. This approach offers high integration levels between on-premise and cloud components, facilitated by the Cloud Connector. This model allows businesses to manage sensitive data in a private cloud while leveraging public cloud resources.

Regardless of the cloud service chosen, these are based on subscription models that grant access to the latest solutions, reduce costs, and simplify operations.

'As-a-service' models include:

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Here, software is hosted remotely and can be accessed anytime, anywhere, from any device with internet connectivity. The SaaS provider is responsible for backups, maintenance, and updates.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

PaaS offers a cloud-based application development environment, outfitting developers with all necessary tools to build and deploy apps. It empowers developers to choose features and cloud services on a subscription basis or per-use model.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

IaaS allows companies to rent computing resources, such as servers, storage, networks, and operating systems on a pay-per-use basis. This model eliminates the need for hardware investment, allowing for infrastructure scaling as per need.

At the heart of SAP S/4HANA lies SAP HANA, a potent data management and in-memory platform. SAP HANA is a testament to the marriage of high-performance technology with streamlined architecture. This platform is well tailored for the digital business era.

What sets SAP HANA apart is its lean data model, facilitating swift processing of large volumes of real-time data. This data powerhouse offers real-time analysis capabilities, providing organizations with immediate insights for quick and informed decision-making.

SAP HANA's innovative in-memory computing eliminates the time-consuming process of loading data from harddisk to RAM, thereby expediting data queries and analytics, making it an incredibly powerful tool for managing and analyzing vast amounts of data in near-real time.

Such standout features contribute to making SAP S/4HANA a robust, future-ready business suite that harnesses the power of Big Data like never before, dramatically improving business processes and insights.

SAP rewrote its application software to fully exploit the power of the technology advances of the last years:

• Multicore processors enable parallel tasks and therefore more throughput of data and a faster realtime processing.
• Big memory enables to fit an entire organization's database in memory and replace the mechanical spinning disk.
• Cache optimization enables data to pass between memory and core processors more rapidly.
• Cloud computing avoids the complexity and cost of own IT infrastructures.

SAP HANA is the result of technology advances and data reduction during the last years:

• the compression of the SAP database compared to traditional databases
• the introduction of the HANA database with column store already in SAP ERP
• the rewriting of the application software for SAP S/4HANA using column store and attribute index
• the strength of the SAP HANA database to combine OLAP and OLTP processing into one single data model

Traditionally, organizations operated in a framework where Online Transactional Processing (OLTP) was segregated from Online Analytical Processing (OLAP). Simply put, the platforms for transaction management and data analysis were two distinct entities. Therefore, transactional data was available for analysis only a day later, after going through an extraction and transfer process to a separate reporting system.

SAP HANA, however, changed all that by blurring the lines between OLTP and OLAP. It seamlessly brought together transactional and analytical applications within a single system, working from a solitary data model in real time at every level of detail. This converged system eliminated the complexity, redundancy, and latency associated with disparate OLTP and OLAP infrastructures.

In the past, the complexity of traditional hierarchical data models translated directly into a convoluted application code. Much of this application code existed merely to boost performance, adding no functional value. Therefore, integrating with other applications and implementing enhancements often posed significant challenges.

All that changed with SAP HANA's radical streamlining of the data model, doing away with superfluous tables. SAP HANA introduced the capability to aggregate any data view at runtime, all originating from the same source tables. It embraced the column-store data organization, effectively making indexes redundant most of the time.

The net result? Redundant aggregation tables and indexes were no longer necessary, leaving behind a simplified core data model and application code. This simplicity made it significantly easier to integrate with other applications and implement enhancements, achieving efficiency levels that were previously unthinkable. SAP HANA, in essence, became the trailblazer for uncomplicated, efficient, and effective data management.

In the world of modern technology, user interaction and experience have emerged as critical components of effective digital tools. SAP Fiori is a testament to this, serving as the new user experience for SAP S/4HANA, designed to enhance productivity and user satisfaction. With SAP Fiori, role-based user interfaces become seamless experiences on a range of devices, whether desktop, notebook, or mobile.

User Interface (UI) is fundamentally the bridge between the user and a device, with the primary objective of maximizing device efficiency. In contrast, User Experience (UX) pivots on the end-user's perspective intending to create a holistic and emotional connection throughout the usage lifecycle.

SAP Fiori showcases a significant shift from traditional interface design. Its design focuses on the user's role rather than mere functionality. It presents transactions as applications (apps) within a browser, much like the personal applications used on a mobile device. These apps are neatly cataloged for easy assignment to specific roles and users. SAP Fiori is constructed using SAP UI5, leveraging HTML5 standard JavaScript.

Navigating different interfaces, each with their unique styles and features, has always been a challenge for end-users. Consider the task of checking a customer inquiry on SAP Customer Relationship Management and then switching to SAP GUI to check the ERP's stock availability. It was a significant shift in UI – different buttons, different menus, different tools!

SAP Fiori Launchpad has emerged as the much-needed solution to this dilemma. It offers a singular entry point to access all apps, delivering a unified design irrespective of the business task at hand. SAP Fiori has truly revolutionized business user experiences by bringing coherence, simplicity, and efficiency to the forefront.

SAP Fiori apps are:

• simple because they include only what is necessary
• delightful because they create an emotional connection
• coherent because they provide one look and feel across all SAP products
• role-based because they are designed for business user roles and not for functions
• adaptive because they can be adapted to multiple use cases and devices such as desktop, notebook and mobile

SAP Fiori apps are classified into 3 different types with generic templates for a consistent look and feel.

• Transactional apps follow an optimal design for fast transaction processing such as Purchase Order Creation.
• Analytical apps use the core data services of SAP HANA and provide graphs, charts, data mining and drill down features.
• Factsheet apps use the enterprise search of SAP HANA and provide a view of all key information related to one business subject.

For users who opt for the cloud edition of SAP S/4HANA, it's important to note that SAP GUI is not available. In this environment, the system exclusively uses SAP Fiori apps to facilitate the best possible user experience with seamless integration into the cloud-based architecture.

In contrast, for those who opt for the On-Premise edition, SAP GUI remains accessible and can be used in conjunction with SAP Fiori. However, to truly harness the comprehensive capabilities of SAP S/4HANA, it's recommended to gravitate towards SAP Fiori.

SAP Fiori's role-based, user-friendly interface not only offers an enhanced user experience but also enables users to leverage the full potential of the real-time analytic capabilities of SAP S/4HANA. It's a significant step towards ensuring seamless interaction between users and software, thereby substantially improving productivity and user satisfaction.

Aiming to break new ground in digital operations efficacy, SAP collaborated with its customers to pinpoint key areas for maximized value. The result was the evolution of the SAP Intelligent Enterprise, a revolutionary solution embodying a multitude of simplifications and innovations that span across all critical, core business processes.

SAP Intelligent Enterprise signifies a groundbreaking shift in the realm of business solutions; an endeavor to streamline operations, fortify core business processes, and optimize value in the digital landscape. It converges intelligence, operational prowess, and experience management into a unified solution, designed to reorient businesses towards long-term success and sustainability.

At the heart of the SAP Intelligent Enterprise is the SAP Business Technology Platform. The platform is a robust technological backbone that not only inherits SAP HANA's powerful data management and in-memory capabilities but also drives business transformations leveraging advanced solutions like analytics, machine learning, data intelligence, and more.

This combination empowers businesses to become Intelligent Enterprises – those that can deftly manage data, leverage impactful insights, and deliver exceptional experiences, thereby assuring better outcomes not just for themselves but also for their customers.

SAP Business Technology Platform:

• supports the digital transformation to the intelligent enterprise.
• is the foundation for Cloud Connector, Industry Cloud and Intelligent Suite.- integrates business processes End-to-End across SAP and partner applications.
• integrates all technologies to accelerate innovation, optimized for SAP applications.

SAP Business Technology Platform is based on 4 components:

• Analytics
• Data Management
• Application Development
• Integration of intelligent technologies

Together with ecosystem partners, SAP has leveraged decades of experience in different industries and lines of business to provide prebuilt integrations, data models, intelligent services and confidently share information across the company and with partners and customers.