Demystifying S/4HANA – a #SAP4U Summary

Last week I attended a sold-out pre-conference session at SAP for Utilities in lovely San Diego.  Special thanks to Marc Rosson for all of his hard work on this conference and SAP’s Bhagya Subbareddy

Source: SAP

Source: SAP

The legal disclaimer applies; things in the future are subject to change

Source: SAP

SAP has been around for 47 years

Source: SAP

S/4HANA is a “business imperative”

3K innovations not in ECC – real time analytics, ML, RPA

“Best in class warehouse management”

“Simplification to financials” – universal journal

“Best to the core”

Source: SAP

Above shows the pillars

HANA is DB and a platform

Predictive to core

Not only built ECC, next gen S4

Native user experiences that now mobile

Voice

Automate business processes that are mundane

110 machine learning apps to core

Build predictive insights

Source: SAP

Machine learning is infused in S4 via business processes

Best sourcing partner

Invoice reconciliation

Source: SAP

Use for manual upload of spreadsheets

Financial document upload (replace LSMW)?

Source: SAP

Chat bot

Alexa

Business processes that are voice enabled

Default a supply

Workflow automation

Not only voice

Chat in S4

Communicate with colleagues

Source: SAP

Who is buying

Who is implementing

3900 live in S4

125 on journey

Customers are going live

8 ISU customers are live

Source: SAP

How to get to S4

Is it real?

5 myths

Source: SAP

S/4HANA is “not just ERP on a faster database”

Huge transformation

Real time access to value of data

ECC not dead; maintenance until end of 2025

Source: SAP

New SAP system

Many aspects in addition to industry functions

At the heart of a digital transformation in government is a simple paradigm: a person or machine is perfectly equipped with all the necessary information to predict, decide, and act.

SAP S/4HANA provides the digital core and fights complexity by simplifying data models, processes and also the user interface. SAP S/4HANA also fights complexity by helping to consolidate system landscapes. For example you can combine on-premise and cloud. Thirdly the pre-defined integration scenarios help fighting complexity.

To make this happen, we have combined transactions and analytics on the same platform. Uniting structured data (e.g., finance) and unstructured data (text, video, voice) will change the way governments plan, act, and innovate. The necessary speed comes from a breakthrough innovation: in-memory computing on the SAP HANA platform.

The transformative power of in-memory computing unleashes a groundbreaking reimagination of government models, processes, and work. Governments become frictionless when they:

Leverage Big Data from sensors, weather, social, and geospatial sources to achieve real-time situational awareness about disasters in order to derive the best possible decision and procedure, executed by people or processed machine-to-machine
Interoperate with other government agencies and private business partners in real time via advanced cloud-based business networks to leverage loyalty programs to drive adoption of both private and public sector offerings

Modernize government processes, running them in real time with neither data replication nor batch programs, ultimately leading to individualized and tailored service delivery, acknowledging specific needs of each applicant for social benefits

This platform requires an IT architecture that provides both stability and long-term reliability for core government processes, and at the same time allows for flexibility in areas where change is happening on a constant basis. The digital core is the foundation for the core processes that need to run consistently and flexibly. It provides uninterrupted, real-time transactions and analytics, the ability to work with Big Data, and connectivity to line-of-business extensions that enable supporting processes such as talent sourcing or emergency response..

SAP S/4HANA® was specifically developed to represent the digital core in this “bimodal IT architecture.” It provides government agencies with a proven framework to adopt industry best practices while attaining operational excellence – specifically across core financial, procurement and planning processes. (source: SAP)

Source: SAP

Continue to invest in S/4HANA

Extend to edges – C/4HANA

IoT

It starts with the Digital Utilities Platform in these 3 main areas

S/4HANA with IS-U Simplification including integration with S4 based solutions, transitioning to the new Fiori User Interface, simplifying the processes and code.

SAP’s focus continues to increase in the Cloud for Customer, Multichannel foundation, C/4 HANA marketing and commerce integration. It is extremely important that utilities have state of the art tools to engage customers in Omnichannel methods which can be deployed fast to market. Cloud delivery is the only way to provide that capability.

And as IT/OT convergence becomes reality, SAP’s IoT focus is to deliver SAP Energy Cloud solutions delivering Energy Analysis, enhanced Energy Data Management with smart meter capabilities, asset health solutions as you saw earlier and establish strategic partnerships working with key partners like Accenture and Siemens (Source: SAP

Source: SAP

Customers using it

125 S/4HANA ERP Utilities – globally

Over 40 globally bought into solution

7 live utilities (meter to cash)

5 active projects

Source: SAP

Core data services, additional functionality, user access, main focus, make it easier to consume

Bring the work to the agents

Overview – work universe, drill down to individual items, make a decision

Virtual data models – VDMs

Different SAP tables

Execution being done down in HANA

Operational reporting

Didn’t change ISU data model

Finance – removed aggregate tables

Source: SAP

Additional automation to solutions, more machine learning

Source: SAP

Huge potential for it

Guidance to agent

Release document without analysis

Source: SAP

Looking for feedback

Source: SAP

Add CRM to S4

Took pieces from digital core

IC is part of it

Part of the SAP CRM roadmap
SAP CRM, integrated in S/4 HANA
Major parts of CRM 7 move into S/4 as part of the long-term strategy
Some parts have already moved or will move somewhere else (marketing, loyalty, …)
Utilities specific CRM
Same technology, WebClient
Some UI improvements w/ Fiori theme
We know that many utilities used CRM for the better UI, better process support and better technology (data, view, logic)
Keeping the good, removing system complexity
Eliminated the middleware
Eliminate a system
Huge positive impact on TCO (source: SAP)

 

Source: SAP

Continue to innovate

SAP road maps cover innovations that focus on business solutions and processes. They span products that are relevant for customer lines of business in their industries and explain how our innovations can add value to your business. In SAP road maps, you can learn about our innovations along three different timelines:
Recent innovations for our solutions have been launched in the past weeks or months and can already be purchased.
Planned innovations for our solutions are expected to be launched in the short term or midterm.
Future direction provides a long-term perspective on high-level development plans on innovations for our solutions (source: SAP)

Source: SAP

On premise, can consume in cloud

Subscribe to solution (right side)

Cannot do modifications in cloud

Can use enhancement point

More enhancements you do, the harder it is to upgrade

Not building a net new – build integration

Source: SAP

Cloud for utilities, building integration points

Source: SAP

Invest in both worlds

What – heard from SAP IBU

Now what and how

Source: SAP

Data model is same

Can still use SAP Gui transactions

Source: SAP

Moved features

Is there change? Yes, new version, new level of SAP system

Not completely new

“SAP Gui will run beyond 2025”

Special thanks to the Eventful Conferences team for a great event.