Product Information
SAP S/4HANA Cloud and On-Premise Deployment Options
Last updated: March 22 2023 (No Bring Your Own License for HEC option, GROW with SAP)
This blog targets SAP solution architects and explains the different deployment options for SAP S/4HANA. I have used the latest terminology. It covers cloud, on-premise and hosted deployment options. Here are the options discussed:
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition: This is SaaS public cloud.
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition
- SAP S/4HANA On-Premise managed by SAP (HEC)
- SAP S/4HANA On-Premise: On-Premise or managed by cloud provider Hyperscalers
Deployment options 1 and 2 are the most commonly positioned options for new SAP customers and are available through a RISE with SAP contract. Option 1 is available through a GROW with SAP contract.
I cover the following aspects of each option: infrastructure, license, how upgrades are managed, scope (functional, country and industry), configuration, extensibility (how solution can be extended beyond configuration) and implementation (possible approaches). All options can be implemented by the customer, SAP or a partner.
I also cover which roadmap of the SAP Activate implementation methodology is relevant, what SAP Best Practices are used and what tools are relevant. See my other blog for an overview of SAP Best Practices and the SAP Enterprise Management Layer.
1. SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition
Commonly used by net new customers that want the full cloud approach with regular upgrades that include new configuration and new software. This is a SaaS public cloud offering. Also used for subsidiaries alongside SAP on-premise implementations.
- Infrastructure: public cloud shared with other customers and hosted and operated by SAP only
- License: subscription for Software as a Service (SaaS) available as RISE with SAP or for new customers in the mid market through GROW with SAP.
- Upgrades: managed by SAP. fixed and mandatory (configuration and software). The upgrade of configuration is unique to the public edition. SAP and customer do automated and manual regression tests.
- Scope: core ERP (subset of full ERP), specific industries and 42 countries.
- Extensibility: key user (in-app) extensibility, developer extensibility and extensions through SAP Business Technology Platform Extension Suite (side-by-side extensibility) with whitelisted APIs.
- Configuration: use SAP Central Business Configuration and Self Service Configuration User Interfaces (SSCUIs) based on fit-to-standard workshops in the Explore phase
- Implementation: greenfield only (new implementation)
- SAP Activate roadmap: SAP Activate Methodology for SAP S/4HANA Cloud
- SAP Best Practices: scope is selected from these cloud-specific Best Practices. https://rapid.sap.com/bp/#/BP_CLD_ENTPR
- Partner content: partners can add configuration manually.
- Use SAP Cloud ALM (Application Landscape Management).
Unlike all the other deployment options, the user interface is purely Fiori and configuration is done using SAP Central Business Configuration and not the IMG.
2. SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition
Has advantages of the cloud with the scope and flexibility of the on-premise solution. Existing SAP ECC customers can move to private cloud using a system conversion and retain their configuration and extensions. Has standardized infrastructure processes, services and SLAs.
- Infrastructure: dedicated landscape on cloud infrastructure operated by SAP and running at a Hyperscaler e.g. Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud)
- License: subscription for software but not SaaS (available as RISE with SAP).
- Upgrades: available like on-premise but you chose your own speed but must stay in mainstream support. The customer must manage the upgrade process. SAP does specific technical aspects of the upgrade only.
- Scope: on-premise S/4HANA functional scope. 64 countries, 39, languages and 25 industries. Some third-party add-on limitations.
- Extensibility: key user (in-app) extensibility, developer extensibility and extensions through SAP Business Technology Platform Extension Suite (side-by-side extensibility). Classic ABAP extensibility is still available but modifications are not recommended.
- Configuration: use the IMG based on fit-to-standard workshops in the Explore phase.
- Implementation: greenfield (new implementation), system conversion or selective data transition
- SAP Activate roadmap: SAP Activate Methodology for SAP S/4HANA Cloud private edition
- SAP Best Practices: SAP Best Practices are available. Enterprise Management Layer is available for a production system Note: the on-premise Best Practices are used https://rapid.sap.com/bp/BP_OP_ENTPR
- Partner content: partners templates allowed.
- Customers use SAP Solution Manager and/or Cloud ALM to manage their project design.
Also see this blog on the 5 golden rules to adopt some of the lessons learnt from public cloud. https://blogs.sap.com/2018/07/28/the-5-golden-rules-for-implementing-sap-s4hana-cloud-single-tenant-edition/
3. SAP S/4HANA On-Premise managed by SAP (HEC)
An on-premise solution with individual and private hardware and infrastructure hosted by SAP, a hyperscaler or in your own data center. Infrastructure management is delegated to SAP with flexible service offerings. This can be used for combinations of solutions that are not available in SAP S/4HANA cloud, private edition.
- Infrastructure: customer specific landscape on SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC) in SAP data centre or at a hyperscaler
- License: infrastructure subscription
- Upgrades: you choose your own speed of adoption of software upgrades. Customer is responsible for managing the upgrade.
- Scope: full S/4HANA functional, country and industry scope and partner add-ons
- Extensibility: customization, modification, and extensibility possible as with ERP
- Configuration: use the full IMG based on a fit-to-standard approach in the Explore phase
- Implementation: new implementation, system conversions or selective data transition
- SAP Activate roadmap: Transition to SAP S/4HANA
- SAP Best Practices: all SAP Best Practices are available. https://rapid.sap.com/bp/BP_OP_ENTPR
- Partner content: partner templates allowed.
- Customers use SAP Solution Manager to manage their project design. Most customers use SAP Best Practices activated using SAP Solution Builder or set up by SAP through a “Enterprise Management Layer” service.
4. SAP S/4HANA On Premise: On-Premise or managed by cloud providers Hyperscaler
Classic on-premise SAP S/4HANA managed by the customer in their own data centre or managed by a third party.
- Infrastructure: customer data centre or hosted by hyperscaler (e.g. e.g. Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud)
- License: perpetual or Bring Your own License
- Upgrades: you choose your own speed of adoption of software upgrades. Customer is responsible for managing the upgrade..
- Scope: full S/4HANA functional, country and industry scope and partner add-ons
- Extensibility: customization, modification, and extensibility possible as with ERP
- Configuration: use the full IMG based on a fit-to-standard approach in the Explore phase
- Implementation: new implementation, system conversions or selective data transition
- SAP Activate roadmap: Transition to SAP S/4HANA
- SAP Best Practices: all SAP Best Practices are available. https://rapid.sap.com/bp/BP_OP_ENTPR
- Partner content: partner templates allowed.
- Customers may use SAP Solution Manager to manage their project design. Many customers use SAP Best Practices activated using SAP Solution Builder or set up by SAP.
Which Deployment Option is Right?
The SAP Activate roadmap has 3 approaches to implement SAP S/4HANA:
- New implementation (also known as greenfield)
- System conversion (also known as brownfield)
- Selective data transition.
New implementation: for new customers or existing customers that want to reset and start again with a clean system.
System conversion involves converting your existing ERP system into SAP S/4HANA by migrating the database, applying software updates and doing a data conversion from the old data model to the new S/4HANA data model. The system must be converted to S/4HANA in one go meaning a single big bang go-live.
In the “selective data transition” approach, configuration and custom code from your old ERP system are used in the new SAP S/4HANA instance. For example, this can be done with a “shell copy” of the old system that leaves all master and transaction data behind and is followed by a system conversion to S/4HANA.
What will influence your choice of deployment option? Organizations that are completely new to SAP will do a new “greenfield” implementation and can choose any option 1 to 4. What about if you are currently running the on-premise ERP ECC and want to move to S/4HANA?
- The route selected by 50% of customers is a “system conversion” where your existing system is converted to S/4HANA. This means option 2, 3 or 4.
- If you want to start again on a new page and do a “new implementation”, you can choose any deployment option. Note: option 1 may not cover all the processes and scope in an existing SAP ERP solution.
- The “selective data transition” approach allows you to take some of your existing solution into a new S/4HANA instance. Option 2, 3 or 4 can be used. Around 5% of customers choose this approach.
See me related blog on moving to S/4HANA from ERP: https://blogs.sap.com/2019/10/30/how-to-move-to-sap-s4hana/. This blog may also be helpful:https://blogs.sap.com/2020/05/11/sap-s-4hana-deployment-on-hyperscalers/
When using the Transition to SAP S/4HANA SAP Activate roadmap, be sure to select the approach on the content screen. See below.
Note: there is an option called SAP S/4HANA Cloud, extended edition but this is no longer available for customers buying SAP S/4HANA now. This was an earlier variation on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition.
I hope you found this blog informative.
Amin Hoque
Enterprise Architect at SAP Services UK
Amin, I like the article but one thing concerns me presently in the area of Data Privacy.
1809 Cloud Edition has 1J7 Best Practice describing the implementation of ILM-full or partial to support data privacy such as GDPR.
However, 1809 Single Tenant Edition does not. Is this a documentation error or do we have an issue with full support for Data Privacy on Single Tenant?
J1809
Hello David
See my comment below
Amin Hoque.
Hello David
This is really out of my area of expertise, so I cannot provide a 100% answer.
However, single tenant edition is like any other on-premise solution and can be managed to meet data privacy legislation in the same way as other SAP deployments.
Cloud S/4HANA is the special case where a customer has less control and flexibility that in the other deployments. That is why Best Practice scope item 1J7 is provided to show how data privacy is met.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque
Thank you Amin for this excellent overview.
I am slightly confused between Option 2 - S/4 HANA Cloud - Single Tenant and Option 4 - S/4 HANA On-Prem particularly if I am going to deploy it on public cloud infrastructure like AWS/Azure.
Am I right to say that both are pretty much the same, but Option 2 is managed by SAP whilst Option 4 allows me to choose who to manage it (be it my own IT or outsource to a 3rd party AMS vendor)?
Thank you
Hello Steven
That is partially correct.
Only SAP offers S/4HANA Cloud Single Tenant. This is Software As a Service. The SAP Best Practices are always used. SAP hosts and looks after things like the operating system, SAP software and upgrades.
Partners like Azure, AWS and Google offer IAAS (Infrastructure As A Service). You might not use SAP Best Practices. They look after networking, storage, servers and virtualization. The customer looks after the operating system up including upgrades.
Cheers
Amin
Hello Armin,
First of all thank you for your very concise and informative overview.
I can tell you from my discussions with customers as a former SAP colleague there is still a lot of confusion and misleading information out in the market.
In your response to Steven Wong's comment last November you mentioned that S/4HANA Single Tenant (now Extended Edition) is only offered by SAP. However, in your current version you mention that also hyperscalers can manage this option. Am I missing something here or has this changed with the renaming?
Thank you for helping to clarify this.
Best regards,
Thomas
Hello Amin,
Thank you for this really helpful article. I have a couple of questions.
Can we perform a landscape transformation for SAP S/4 HANA Cloud Single Tenant Edition? And further, where will this be hosted (public cloud providers/SAP Cloud Platform)?
For a transformation from SAP ECC 6.0 in Cloud to SAP S/4 HANA, what deployment model would be most suitable and feasible?
Thank you!
Hello Simran
"Landscape Transformation" is now called "Selective Data Transition".
You can move to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Single Tenant Edition with Selective Data Transition or a New Implementation. You cannot do a system conversion.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Single Tenant Edition can be hosted by SAP or Hyperscalers.
If you want to go to S/4HANA Cloud (previously called Multi Tenant Edition) the only option is a New Implementation.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque
In this Webinar, they said EX is hosted by HEC. https://gateway.on24.com/wcc/gateway/elitesapenterprisesupport/1904844/ My doubt is
Thank you. i got it now
Amin
For the S4 HANA cloud STE,do we have the SAP GUI available for custom code development and modifications?
SAP GUI is currently available in the S/4HANA Cloud extended edition (previously called STE). There are long term plans to limit access to SE80 and move to purely browser based access.
Hello Amin,
Can local (in-country) cloud providers provide the infrastructure services for options #2 and #4? If so, what are the requirements to be certified and provide these services?
Regards
Hello Nicolas
Currently the cloud providers are Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, AWS or Alibaba Cloud.
Other potential partners should contact SAP. See https://www.sap.com/uk/partner/become.html
Regards
Amin Hoque.
Hi Amin
Really nice and helpful article. I have a couple of queries:
1. Is it possible to have SAP S/4HANA Cloud extended edition (EX) on infrastructure provided by cloud hyperscalers like AWS, AZURE? In your article you have written it is possible. However as far as I have read, this is a SAAS provided only by SAP? Please confirm.
2. Is it possible to have SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud managed by SAP (HEC) infrastructure provided by other hyperscalers like AWS, AZURE?
Thanks
Akhilesh
Hello Akhilesh
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
This has now changed with the launch of S/4HANA Cloud private edition in 2021.
Thanks Amin for nice and informative blog.
I have few queries and will be great if you can help -
1. Do we get SAP Data Services as free with STE.
2. Is there any difference in Migration cockpit approach in different deployed solutions like on premise or STE.
3. How can I check which version or S4 hana deployment we are using.
Regards,
Kamal
Hi Kamal
With Essential Edition, you use the SAP Data Migration Cockpit on its own. See this presentation in the SAP Learning Hub:
https://jam2.sapjam.com/groups/5gwxDPWQPRtOvMO8Xnd32Q/documents/rYDXIPTtHeckofh5x51Erq/slide_viewer
With the other deployment approaches, you can also choose to use SAP Data Services for Extract Transform Load (ETL) e.g. Analysis, Extract, Clean, Validate, Load and Reconcile.
See the new openSAP course: https://open.sap.com/courses/s4h16
I do not know whether Data Services is included in extended edition. Contact your IT team to find out what deployment you are using.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Amin is coorect the afirmation that deployment option 3 (SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud managed by SAP (HEC)) has same functionalities that deployment option 4 (SAP S/4HANA On-Premise).
BR
Molina
Amin, The S/4 MTE(ES) edition is only hosted and managed by SAP and there is not much in the area of customization, correct?
Hello John
Yes, S/4 Essential edition is only hosted by SAP.
There is configuration through SSCUIs in Essential Edition but no access to the full IMG which has 1000s of configuration activities. Release 2002 has 1633 SSCUIs. For configuration approach see this page of the roadmap viewer. https://go.support.sap.com/roadmapviewer/#/group//roadmap/IMPS4HANACLDENMGMT/node/001999B7BD851ED68D97F853D2DC42CE:
See the PDF called Using Configure Your Solution and SSCUIs.pdf (SAP Customer)
Cheers
Amin
Dear Amin,
Thank you for this great overview of the different options.
Is there also a functional difference between the two cloud editions?
Hello Caelen
Yes. Currently, Extended Edition offers nearly all of the scope of regular SAP S/4HANA on-premise. Nearly all the configuration is available.
Essentials Edition offers a reduced set of the on-premise functionality, transactions, industries, countries and languages. It is a simplified version of ERP. The configuration is also reduced meaning that there is less flexibility than in on-premise.
Cheers
Amin
Dear Amin,
Thank you for this wonderful overview of the different options.
Is there by any chance also an outline of the functionalities the different options offers, or at least where they deviate from each other? I understand that the Essentials Edition offers a reduced set compared to the on-prem version, but I would like to understand what functionality is currently not supported by S/4HANA Cloud (essentials edition) compared to e.g. the on-prem version.
Many thanks for your feedback.
Cheers, Jan Willem
Hello Jan Willem
SAP S/4HANA Cloud (previously Essentials Edition) is the only option with less solution functionality.
For detail, I would suggest you compare the Feature Scope Descriptions of S/4HANA Cloud with S/4HANA. These are in the help.sap.com. This also includes country availability. Contents page give a summary.
https://help.sap.com/doc/7c9e0bbbd1664c2581b2038a1c7ae4b3/2105.500/en-US/FSD_CE2105.pdf
https://help.sap.com/doc/e2048712f0ab45e791e6d15ba5e20c68/2020/en-US/FSD_OP2020_latest.pdf
Kind regards
Amin Hoque
Hi Amin,
This is insightful and brings clarity.
Also, does SAP MTE ( now ES) support multi-country instances e.g 1instance for US business & other for APAC/China?
How mature is the SAP MTE product for China in terms of local compliance (Data regulations, tax & Payment gateway integrations)?
Hello Mustafa
Yes. SAP ES can have many countries all running in one instance. The solution for China draws on the same codeline (product) as the on-premise solution. There are many features for country localisations. It would be best for you to look at the scope items for China in BPX at this link: https://rapid.sap.com/bp/#/BP_CLD_ENTPR/S4CLD/2005/CN/20
I do not know whether there are specific on-premise features for China that are not in S/4HANA Cloud Essentials Edition.
Regards
Amin Hoque
Thanks Amin for this very interesting overview.
Regarding S/4 HANA cloud STE (or EX), assuming to use the ABAP restricted functionality and all new syntax rules.
It is possible to create ABAP custom development into the system or we need to assume that only side-by-side and extension-in-app are possible? Shortly, can I create a custom report with, for example, user parameters and an ALV output and run this from SAPGUI?
Thanks in advance and regards
Federico
Hello Federico
Always refer to this SAP note: https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2920697. It is called "Extensibility Guide for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, extended edition". Things can change from time to time.
I found this in the SAP Activate roadmap: https://go.support.sap.com/roadmapviewer/#/group//roadmap/5368adff269741c9/node/901B0E6D3F501ED8A2DE7458B1932446:
Cheers
Amin
Very nicely explained and a timely article!
Hello Amin,
With reference to option 2., what do you mean by "There is a minimum number of users." Does it mean that the EX edition intended for small/midsize companies. Cou you pls comment on this, why, how many users, limitations etc.
Thanks, Daniel
Hi Daniel
This means Essentials Edition is not available to small organizations. It is for mid size and large only. The minimum number of users changes from time to time.
Regards
Amin
Hi Amin,
Thanks for explaining the deployment options.
Can you please help in some of below clarifications on STE?
Does S/4 cloud STE(extended addition) support proxy for integration? Can we connect to SAP PI/PO using proxy based integration as STE is more similar to on-premise S/4 or we have to leverage API’s, SOA services only?
Do we have to use DRF replication and output management through fiori for master data distributions through IDOCs or we can create partner profile through WE20 and traditional RFC destinations/ports to push data to middleware systems?
Is restriction mentioned this note on IDOCs usage – https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2653671 for S/4 cloud is applicable to STE as well ? If Yes, What is recommended approach for master data distribution – material, customers, etc. on STE based on change pointers?
Thanks,
Ankit
Hello Ankit
I am sorry but your question goes beyond my knowledge of Extended Edition features. I suggest you try posting a questions into the community described here:
https://blogs.sap.com/2020/05/20/welcome-to-the-sap-s-4hana-cloud-extended-edition-customer-community/
Cheers
Amin
Amin, thank you for the blog. It provided great information. Couple of aspects I am not clear about is related Infrastructure and Extensibility.
S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition : You blog says ' Infrastructure: dedicated landscape on cloud Infrastructure operated by SAP and running at a Hyperscaler e.g. Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud). But your reply to one of the questions says 'No, the private cloud is only available with SAP (HEC) infrastructure'. So, I am not a bit confused here. Can S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition be hosted only on SAP HEC or can be hosted on both HEC as well as Hyperscalers?
Extensibility in case of S/4HANA Cloud Essentials Edition: I read in another blog that in-app extensibility can be done without impacting other tenants. Is it correct?
Thank you.
Regards,
Kiran
Hello
The new SAP S/4HANA Cloud private edition can be hosted by a Hyperscaler. Private Edition is new in 2021. The previous question was before it launched in 2020.
Yes... in-app extensibility can be done in S/4HANA Cloud (essential edition) without impacting any other tenants.
Amin
Thanks a lot, Amin. So, can I conclude as follows:
Thank you.
Regards,
Kiran Maddineni
Thank you Amin Hoque for keeping this blog up-to-date!
As announced on TechEd there are plans to offer an "embedded steampunk" in some of the S/4HANA Cloud Variants. Could you add information on where this is to be expected?
Regards,
Wolfgang
Hello Wolfgang
This is planned for SAP S/4HANA Cloud (public version previously called Essentials). There is no firm release date. Initially, it would be for new customers only.
Amin Hoque
Dear Amin,
I'd like to set the same settings in on-premise, what I could do in the 'Manage my solutions' application in case of cloud, e.g. function or type for "Teams and Responsibilities" application. How could I do in on-premise system? Could you help me, what is the same point in SPRO?
Thank you,
Bence
Hello
Note: some SSCUIs do not have an equivalent IMG activity in SPRO.
Go to this SAP Activate page:
https://go.support.sap.com/roadmapviewer/#/group//roadmap/IMPS4HANACLDENMGMT/node/001999B7BD851ED68D97F853D2DC42CE:
Open the Excel:
Expert Configuration and SSCUI Reference.xlsm (SAP Customer)
Find your SSCUI. The column Activity ID has the technical name of the IMG activity. You can try searching on this in SPRO. If that does not work:
To find the transaction code for the IMG activity use SE16 on table CUS_IMGACH with the Activity ID.
Kind regards
Amin
Cheers
Amin
Hi Experts,
I am seeing SAP ERP PCE also (in HEC Agreement Site). Looks like starting this year ERP PCE is also possible. If I am not wrong this is old BS (ECC) as/in PCE offering? Can somebody comment on this? I still don't get it why SAP has come up with this offering?
Suggest/Validate below deployment table as well:
S4 Deployments
Hi Mukul
SAP ERP on RISE with SAP is offered as an interim step to PCE which is based on S/4HANA. SAP ERP on HANA along with all SAP products being moved to RISE will need to be on ASE or HANA DB.
Thanks
Adil
Hello
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition (previously referred to as PCE) is new in 2021. It is the S/4 on-premise software solution stack offered in a private cloud (managed by hyperscalers). Key point is that existing ERP customers can move to it using a System Conversion. This was no possible in previous cloud editions. It is available under a RISE subscription contract.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hello Amin,
You mention that with S/4HANA Cloud EX only greenfield is possible. Other sources state that also System Conversion and Selective Data Transition is possible with EX.
I would like to know if an existing S/4HANA system can be migrated to S/4HANA Cloud EX?
Thanks and kind regards
Julia
Hello Julia
My understanding is that SAP S/4HANA Cloud private edition must be used to do System Conversion and Selective Data Transition. This is option 3 in the blog. It is similar to the old Extended Edition (option 2) but SAP does not own subsequent upgrades. This would be the normal approach.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hello Amin,
Until now, S/4HANA Cloud extended edition, has mandatory upgrades every 2 years as of April.
S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, has mandatory upgrades every 5 years.
Is it the same 5 years period, for S/4HANA Cloud extended edition now?
And in which contractual document is it specified?
Thanks
Kind regards
Marta
Hello Marta
I checked FAQs and updated the blog. S/4HANA Cloud extended edition must be upgraded at least once every 2 years. S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition must stay in mainstream maintenance which is an upgrade within 5 years.
For questions on where this documented in a contract, please contact your SAP Account Executive.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hello Amin,
Please share any link for SAP S/4 HANA Cloud editions comparison document , as the naming convention is changing often 🙂
Hi Amin:
Thank you for your helpful info, may I ask a question:
How to proceed the system conversion from ECC 6 to SAP S/4HANA Cloud private edition ?
And any difference between conversion to OP, any guide book for it, thanks.
Best Regards
Hello Kane
The best place to look is the SAP Activate roadmap that is specific to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition.
https://go.support.sap.com/roadmapviewer/#/group/658F507A-D6F5-4B78-9EE1-0300C5F1E40F/roadmapContentPage/a11ec6d657054bf9
Roland Hamm's blog is a good place to look:
https://blogs.sap.com/2016/11/02/sap-s4hana-system-conversion-at-a-glance/
You may find more information here:
https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2924833
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Thank you for creating this highly useful summary and keeping it up-to-date. I don't understand why SAP does not have this as a handy table on their S/4HANA product page. When I buy consumer electronics you get these handy tables comparing everything side by side. I suppose there are commercial reasons for wanting to keep it 'cloudy' (pun intended) and speak to their potential buyers first.
I would like to point out a minor update I noticed that has not yet been updated here:
"As of March 2021, SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, customer edition, is now known as
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, customer data center option."
Source: SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, Customer Edition, Launched | SAP News
Kinds regards, WJ
Hello WJ
Thank you for the feedback. I will forward this onto our Solution Management team.
Also thank you for the minor update! I have updated the name as you suggested.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Thanks for this post, for an implementation consultant it's pretty difficult to follow all the product re-namings that happen every year.
Basically I see 2 Products (S/4HANA cloud and S/4HANA on-Prem) with three options to deploy (Public, private and on-prem), but with several ramifications between them with differences in tenants and licensing that change the name of what would be the same core product.
I hope in the near future SAP unifies "S/4HANA Cloud Cloud" and "Cloud extended" in one single thing. I do not know pricing (I just know they are all different materials in price list), but from a functionalities perspective there is not much advantage of Cloud extended over public cloud ( and no advantage over private/on-prem ), if the customers really need more flexibility t the Private option would allow much more than cloud extended.
Hello Renan
There are two different solutions from a functionality and scope perspective:
1) SAP S/4HANA Cloud (public) which is a restricted version of the full S/4HANA version
2) On-premise and all the others options including Cloud Private Edition and Cloud Extended edition that offer the full unrestricted functionality.
Each cloud deployment option provides a different scope of services from SAP. If you want to do a system conversion from an existing SAP ERP system you must choose one of the on-premise deployment options or SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hi Amin,
thanks for the additional comments. It clarified a bit further the naming, I now get what S/4HANA cloud extended is.
In general industry terms we could say that S/4HANA cloud is a public cloud solution and all the other options are Private cloud options ( with several variations in licensinsing like SaaS or perpetual license, extensibility options and deployment/implementation models ).
That's a bit easier to sell and explain from my perspective.
Regards,
Renan Correa
Amin Hoque : Thanks for sharing this blog. I am few question.
Hello Shobhit
You should contact your SAP Account Executive (AE) to change your subscription from Essentials Edition to S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. They will also get the latest information for you. There is no generic answer and you must contact SAP to understand the best options for you.
SAP S/4HANA migration cockpit.
I hope this helps
Amin Hoque
Hello Amin,
Thank you for the blog and for keeping it up to date. With all these name changes by SAP it can be hard to keep up. This blog has been helpful to me multiple times already.
Kind regards,
Martijn van de Ven
Hy Amin,
very interesting article.
Could you tell me if there is a difference in software version between the CLOUD solutions (solutions 1., 2. and 3.) and the ON PREMISE solutions (solutions 4. and 5.)?
The solution "3. SAP S / 4HANA Cloud private edition" what software version does it provide?
Thanks,
Alessandro
Hello Alessandro
SAP operate a cloud first strategy. This means new software features (and any matching configuration) are developed for the regular releases of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. This is option 1 = Public Cloud. There are multiple software releases per year e.g. release 2111.
All the other options (2 to 5) operate on the same software "stack" with the same release strategy. For this stack, most software updates come in one major software release per year e.g. release 2021. Most (but not all) changes in SAP S/4HANA Cloud make it to this "stack".
Option 1 has a smaller scope available than the other options. There is a single S/4HANA code line but with two different sets of active scope.
Hope this helps
Amin Hoque.
Really clear article, Amin & thank you for updating this as time has gone by.
Do we know if any of the S/4 HANA Compatibility Pack Solutions can be deployed on either Cloud Extended Edition or Cloud Private Edition?
I have a client who may need to have CP-SAP Remote Logistics Management compatibility on a target S/4 architecture in order to accommodate their existing Business Suite IS-OIL & Remote Logistics Management functions. I'm wondering if that restricts their deployment options to only the following:
4. SAP S/4HANA On-Premise managed by SAP (HEC)
5. SAP S/4HANA On-Premise: On-Premise or managed by cloud provider Hyperscalers
Regards, John
Hello John
Not a simple answer. Some Compatibility Packs are available in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition if the right license is in place but other Compatibility Packs are not. You will need to contact an SAP cloud architect through your Account Executive. There does not seem to be any public information on this is SAP note: 2269324 which is the place to go for the latest Compatibility Pack information.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hi Amin,
Thank you for the quick reply on this. We're keen to understand if we have a potential Cloud deployment route vs what feels like a less strategic S/4 On-Prem implementation for this specific customer, so I will do as you say and engage our Account Executive.
Much appreciated and keep up the excellent blogs content,
Regards,
John
Hi John,
Happy to discuss further.
Thanks,
Alistair
Hi,
can a customer go to the S/4HANA Cloud PCE without Rise with SAP?
Hello Tobias
As a licensing question this kind of thing is subject to change and therefore it is not wise for me to answer via a blog. Please contact your Account Executive or Partner Manaher.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque
Hi Amin
That is an ambigious answer and would start to concern any Partner.
We are told that RISE with SAP holds two offerings S/4HANA Public Cloud and Private Cloud (PCE) and this is the only allowable offering from a GTM perspective.
We are told there is no other offering in the Market from SAP.
Can you please elaborate on your statement above?
Many thanks
Adil Zafar
Hello
There are no changes to the current offerings that I am aware of as a SAP consultant. My answer is not supposed to raise any concerns at all. It is just best practice from our side that we do not deal with any license topics via blogs.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hi Amin,
I am in a situation where we want to connect a non-SAP system with PCE through interfaces, and we are not familiar with PCE.
My question is how can we do this? What should we do in PCE? Is it the same as in OP (Create Web Service or Via PO)?
Hello
This is a big topic and you should get consulting advice. The usual solution is to use the Business Technology Platform Integration Suite (previously called Cloud Platform Integration).
https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/SAP_CLOUD_PLATFORM_INTEGRATION_SUITE/sap.cp.integration.suite/en-US
https://open.sap.com/courses/cp9
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hello Amin,
is there any SAP document or link or presentation, where the comparison of various editions is documented ? for reference 🙂
Hello
You would need to contact your Account Executive or Partner Contact at SAP to get a presentation like this.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hi Amin,
In case of Private cloud edition & extended cloud edition, Scope, Configuration, Best-practices follows same principle as that of On-premise version.
In that case with respect to Private cloud edition, can you please clarify on below queries?
1. Whether Private cloud will have functionality like Advanced Financial Closing (AFC), which is cloud based or it will be Financial Closing cockpit (FCC) which is for On-premise.
2. These editions are named cloud only based on licensing which is subscription based.
3. While looking for API should we look for On-premise based (https://api.sap.com/products/SAPS4HANA/overview) or Cloud based (https://api.sap.com/products/SAPS4HANACloud/overview)
1. Scope: same S/4HANA functional scope as on-premise.
2. Configuration: use the IMG based on fit-to-standard workshops in the Explore phase.
3. SAP Best Practices: all SAP Best Practices and Model Companies6 are available for sandbox systems. https://rapid.sap.com/bp/BP_OP_ENTPR
Regards
Sandeep
Hi Amin, this is very good read. I maybe found some inconsitencies, like:
Look forwward to hering your comments
Cheers,
Waldemar
Hello
Thank you for your feedback.
In SAP Activate, we now only refer to the Fit-To-Standard approach. The term Fit/Gap analysis is not longer used.
I have adjusted Selective Data Transition section.
Changed hosted on prem Best Practices
Roll-outs are not possible with System Conversion: the whole system is converted with one big bang.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Hi Amin,
thanks for this blog. From my perspective it needs to be updated because the go-to market of SAP sales people tells a different story. In focus are two versions:
Anything else is already confusing enough and a subset of above. For example:
Regards
Martin
Hello Martin
Thanks for feedback. I have made some updates. Yes, Extended Edition is no longer positioned for new customers but customers are still running on it. HEC is less common but again some customers are running on it. New customers are pointed at S/4HANA Cloud or S/4HANA Cloud, private edition.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.
Is there any extensibility hard limitations between S/4HANA Cloud, private edition and S/4HANA On premise?
Hello Sanu
There is no difference in extensibility between S/4HANA Cloud, private edition and S/4HANA On premise
Kind regards
Amin Hoque
When we are looking to sizing perspective, if I have same system same S4 version, I need same sizing config as my on premise? or Private cloud machine need to run any other applications that consome more hardware?
Regards
Rafael
Hello Rafael
Although S/4HANA Private Cloud is similar to On-Premise, you must contact your Hyperscaler on sizing. If you are considering RISE with SAP S/4HANA you can talk to your RISE S/4HANA Cloud Architect.
Kind regards
Amin Hoque.