The potential uses of Cloud services for SAP customers are already numerous and they are constantly increasing. SAP customers are faced with one important question when it comes to SAP Hana and S/4, even when shifting from SAP to a Cloud service provider: How can I use Cloud services in a meaningful or appropriate way for my requirements? All For One Group can help.
In this context, the trend is shifting towards Hybrid Multicloud environments and specifically to infrastructure, with Infrastructure as a Service, in short: IaaS. Another area of focus is Platform as a Service: PaaS, also as SAP offerings via the SAP Cloud platform.
The fact of the matter is: the service offerings of Public Cloud providers are increasing or improving for the SAP environment and practically permanently with reference to IaaS, especially from a financial perspective. On the other hand, the use cases for appropriate and beneficial IaaS application are increasingly options for Hana and S/4 deployment. The enhanced benefits for customers from the increased collaboration of SAP between Microsoft are evident.
Public Cloud offerings from Microsoft Azure are especially popular among SAP customers. Even the investment survey of the SAP user group DSAG in German-speaking countries (which was conducted at the beginning of this year) has proven this. It is important to note that topics and specific questions related to Cloud usage in SAP infrastructure increasingly matter to customers. This was evident during the recent NetApp Summit 2019 and the “Modernize SAP infrastructure” roadshow organized by the All for One Group, which also addressed SAP-on-Azure scenarios.
How to plan and implement?
How to use Cloud for each SAP infrastructure? How to plan and implement such a project? What are potential pitfalls to avoid? Or: what will be the required cost and efforts and what are the benefits that can be achieved through Cloud IaaS? Many SAP users are faced with these and similar questions when it comes to Cloud usage.
Overall there is an increased need to expand Cloud knowledge. Some customers would like to explore the Cloud path on their own. Other customers just want to concentrate on core activities. For example, they might want to bundle the existing resources to cover application and process ideas in combination with SAP S/4 Hana and to outsource SAP infrastructure operations to an experienced managed service provider. This also includes complete outsourcing.
All for One Group acts as an SAP total solution provider and provides a bundled service for Cloud deployment to SAP customers with the service package called “Managed Service SAP on Azure.” This can also be a partial package. All for One Group is also a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP). The service offering is oriented towards the customers of All for One Group and to other customers of the SAP community.
It covers all aspects of “plan, build and run,” including Application Management or Service Management based on SLAs defined in Azure Cloud. In addition: intelligent integration of SAP and Microsoft applications (for example Fiori/M365, IoT and more), which is implemented with the help of Azure as a platform, has strategically relevant value adds as its core, which are in turn based on the digitalization strategies of the customer.
Bundled SAP and Microsoft Know-How
The solution is strengthened by long-term experience and knowledge as a hosting and outsourcing provider and as a Managed Services specialist with more than 2500 system environments (on Cisco/NetApp and in Azure). These are supported by the All for One Group for domestic and international SAP customers in major data centers at Germany’s biggest Cloud data center in Frankfurt.
Likewise, it also supports Managed Service SAP on Azure based on profound knowledge and comprehensive practical experience. It takes application and infrastructure requirements for SAP into consideration and provides support for Microsoft in conjunction with Azure Cloud.
Managed Service SAP on Azure covers consulting services and architecture consulting as well as design/set-up, orchestration and operations services for SAP IaaS and PaaS Cloud usage. And all this is from an organizational, technical and operational and application-specific perspective.
Cloud Usage in Practice
According to the knowledge and experiences of the All for One Group, Cloud usage scenarios are increasing almost constantly. Customers and even Managed Service providers are using Azure today as part of SAP backup and restore or for disaster recovery as cost-effective infrastructure. Or to operate SAP development, training and test systems in the Public Cloud.
But the fact of the matter is: some customers are already productive globally on Azure. And more and more companies are thinking about using Cloud for productive operations.
For example: there are active international roll-outs of SAP systems, regardless of where a branch or a subsidiary company is located. One can say: Azure is marching ahead and is already there. It is applicable everywhere SAP S/4 Hana is in focus. Many IT managers are faced with an expiration date for their conventional infrastructure and see an opportunity to shift to Azure.
This is the fourth article of a series. If you want to read the first one, click here. If you want to read the next one, click here.
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