Cloud Computing - Skepticism towards the S/4 Cloud?

The Rise with SAP cloud initiative has become much better known this year. In addition, SAP's private cloud offering is also becoming increasingly popular. Overall, it can be said that skepticism towards the cloud has noticeably decreased for the first time this year. Companies are increasingly valuing the advantages of the private cloud architecture, where they can take advantage of the proven cloud benefits and at the same time avoid possible uncertainties of the public cloud in terms of data security, downtimes or compliance requirements. Nevertheless, some companies still have some residual doubts about cloud migration. 

Modifications and customizing

First and foremost is the concern about the large number of existing in-house developments that have been operated locally to date and cannot be transferred to the cloud, or can only be transferred in part. This is immediately followed by concerns about a lack of customizing options, especially in the public cloud, as well as data protection and data security concerns. At least with regard to the integration and development of extensions, the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) can serve as a solution approach.

Although the opportunities offered by BTP are multifaceted, they do not yet seem to have fully arrived at numerous German companies. According to the survey results
34 percent of respondents already use BTP - 13 percent are at least in the process of implementing it. The other half have not yet sufficiently dealt with SAP BTP. In contrast, just under 18 percent of respondents are concerned about the cost factor of implementation. 

When considering costs, the famous apples should not be compared with the no less famous pears. Total costs of ownership (TCO) are the keyword here. When considering costs with regard to the use of the BTP, the costs of the BTP must be compared with the total costs that arise when the platform is not used. Expensive upgrade projects for on-stack extensions instead of the implementation of side-by-side extensions are mentioned here as examples, as is the cost-intensive operation of interfaces without the use of modern integration concepts/technologies such as API-based and event-driven integration.

Agile and intelligent companies have a clear competitive advantage because they act proactively and adapt quickly to new market conditions. Their success relies on real-time data as the basis for decisions, seamlessly integrated business processes across different systems, and the ability to extend applications as needed and develop new ones. 

This is where PaaS (Platform as a Service) solutions like BTP come in. These platforms provide services for integration, application development, automation, artificial intelligence, data and analytics in a unified environment. 

Companies receive comprehensive, scalable and secure services, modern, powerful tools and ready-made business content for all digital transformation tasks. This enables them to implement new business scenarios and models quickly and economically.

For companies planning their S/4 migration, the SAP BTP can represent a central component of their future system landscape. In most cases, the S/4 Hana system must be integrated with a variety of other systems. In addition, enhancements are needed that differentiate companies from their competitors and create competitive advantages. This is where BTP can play to its strengths, offering all the necessary services and tools for all conceivable integration scenarios as well as for enhancements and innovations, especially for SAP-focused application landscapes.