Exploring how SAP S/4HANA Public and Private Cloud Edition are Integrated

SAP Subscription Billing can be integrated with both SAP and non-SAP software using APIs and events. Standard out-of-the-box integration content is readily available for SAP systems through the SAP Business Accelerator Hub (a resource that is covered in the following units). However, non-SAP systems may require the building of custom integration content using the Cloud Integration Suite. This suite provides the tools and capabilities to create custom integration flows that facilitate seamless connectivity between SAP Subscription Billing and non-SAP software, allowing for the exchange of data and information to support end-to-end business processes.

Many events selections are built in as part of SAP Subscription Billing. Other events can be found in the SAP Business Accelerator Hub. SAP Subscription Billing is designed to provide an event-driven architecture to handle various events through SAP Event Mesh. These events can include actions that trigger subscription activations, renewals, cancellations, upgrades, downgrades, or any other changes in the subscription lifecycle.

Depending on the integration scenario, an event is distributed by either SAP Event Mesh or SAP Cloud Application Event Hub for SAP Cloud applications. SAP Event Mesh is required for event integration of non-SAP systems. For integration of SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud, use SAP Event Mesh or SAP Cloud Application Event Hub. For integration of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, use SAP Event Mesh.

SAP S/4HANA is available in either the Public Cloud edition or in the Private Cloud edition. The integration approach for these two editions differs primarily in terms of deployment, customization, and extension capabilities.

Let's review the key differences between the integration of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Cloud Edition and SAP Cloud Private Edition.

SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud supports a multitenant environment, meaning multiple companies share the same cloud infrastructure managed by SAP as a Software as a Service (SaaS). Companies using SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition do not have to manage the servers and storage.

In the following SaaS model, customization and flexibility are limited because updates and changes are managed by SAP and apply to all tenants in the shared infrastructure. However, it is also the more cost-effective option: costs are spread among all tenants and easier to implement and maintain.

The process begins with SAP for Me, a personalized and central entry point for SAP customers to access and manage their SAP products and services, which include the different systems and tenants involved in the process, from initial setup to production.

The software tenants are supported by the SAP Cloud ALM Production Tenant for application lifecycle management, SAP Cloud Identity Services to support both test and production tenants for identity management, and finally SAP BTP Global Account, which represents the SAP Business Technology Platform global account that integrates various services.

The following scenario represents the flow and interaction between different systems and tenants within the SAP S/4HANA Cloud implementation landscape.

Unlike SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud with a shared multitenant environment, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition exists in an environment where each customer has their own dedicated instance of the SAP S/4HANA system. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition can be hosted on-premise in the customer's data center or off-premise in a data center managed by SAP or another provider. The private cloud option provides more flexibility for customization and control over updates. However, it also requires more technical expertise to manage and maintain and is more expensive as all costs are borne by the single customer.

This dedicated instance of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition system can be configured in many ways according to the following scenario:

1. SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) contains applications with Adobe Document Services that integrate with SAP S/4HANA. Meanwhile, the Internet will provide an external network where users can access the SAP system.
2. Load Balancing ensures that incoming traffic is distributed evenly across servers to avoid overload.
3. Cloud Connector facilitates secure integration between on-premise systems and cloud applications.
4. SAP Web Dispatcher acts as a load balancer and reverse proxy, managing HTTP(S) requests to the SAP system.
5. SAP S/4HANA is the core system comprising the SAP HANA Database that stores and processes data for the SAP S/4HANA system.
6. The SAP ABAP Platform is the application server that runs ABAP applications and services.

Every organization's needs are unique, so whether the public cloud or private cloud is the better choice depends on the specific needs and resources of the organization.