All SAP ERPs must be migrated to HANA technology by 2027. Upcoming hardware upgrades or cloud migrations are good opportunities to tackle the transformation to S/4HANA.
It is an undisputed fact that the future lies in the cloud – and this also applies to the SAP landscape. Many companies, however, are wondering when their SAP systems should be migrated to the cloud. Is it better to migrate in the near future so they can take advantage of the many benefits of the cloud as soon as possible? Or is it better to wait a little and continue to use their on-premises ERP while it is still in working order? ‘There probably isn’t a perfect time to carry out a project of this kind; they are usually very complex,’ says Omar Bumann, Head of Business Applications at Swisscom. ‘But there are several reasons why we should take the matter in hand early so that the transformation to the cloud and to S/4HANA can be a success.’
‘There is an urgent need to switch to the new SAP database technology HANA. If you start now, you benefit from the experience of your service partner, who has already managed various migrations for their customers.’
Omar Bumann, Head of Business Applications at Swisscom
Switch to HANA technology imminent
Success story: SAP S/4HANA
Through its SAP transformation, international manufacturing company Oetiker wanted to become more agile, offer its customers more options and lay the groundwork for innovation. Oetiker has achieved process time savings of 95 percent and has significantly accelerated its analysis processes.
From 2027 onwards, on-premises SAP solutions such as SAP R/3 or SAP ECC will no longer be developed and support from SAP will become expensive. ‘The preparatory work for the change consists of deciding on a course of action at an early stage, planning the specific change and having an idea of how the systems should be operated in the future,’ says Omar Bumann. An SAP expert, he knows that many companies are still reluctant to make the switch. However, he also knows that a migration to the cloud may be the perfect time to switch to S/4HANA.
Many companies are in the process of the S/4HANA transformation, while others do not yet have a specific plan for these projects. ‘There is an urgent need to switch to the new SAP database technology HANA. But if you start now, you benefit from the experience of your service partner, who has already managed various migrations for their customers and knows what it takes to make this a success.’
‘In times shaped by a shortage of skilled workers, finding the necessary staff and training them in a timely manner poses a major challenge for many customers. Outsourcing special tasks to service partners makes sense for most companies.’
Omar Bumann, Head of Business Applications at Swisscom
SAP in the cloud instead of complex hardware changes
If the hardware is going to reach its end-of-life soon, it will be necessary to upgrade to HANA-certified hardware in order to be able to operate the new SAP S/4HANA system. ‘But instead of updating your own servers, you should definitely evaluate the option of migrating to the cloud at this point,’ advises Omar Bumann. ‘Shifting to a cloud-based SAP-certified environment creates the ideal conditions for operating your applications flexibly and securely.’
His experience shows that these kinds of a coupled projects are complex, but they are feasible and, ultimately, more efficient. ‘One of our customers tried to run a test environment for S/4HANA on their own infrastructure, but it didn’t work as intended. However, after moving to the MS Azure public cloud, their systems were running smoothly, securely and with the most efficient services.’
‘Instead of updating your own servers, you should evaluate migrating to the cloud at this point. Shifting to a cloud-based SAP-certified environment creates the ideal conditions for operating your applications flexibly and securely.’
Omar Bumann, Head of Business Applications at Swisscom
Specialists with cloud skills are needed
Many IT employees who have been managing on-premises systems at companies for years are now gradually retiring. ‘While many IT specialists at companies remain familiar with existing data centres and networks, there are still not many, usually, who know much about the transformation to HANA and the cloud,’ says Omar Bumann. ‘In times shaped by a shortage of skilled workers, finding the necessary staff and training them in a timely manner poses a major challenge for many customers.’ The fact that only SAP-certified experts are allowed to access the systems makes the installation and operation of sometimes complex SAP environments a specialist area for experts. ‘For most companies, outsourcing these special tasks to service partners makes sense.’
Swisscom SAP Services
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