The Cloud Mindset

Hello everyone,

It has been a long time since my last blog post, but it feels good to get some time back for writing. I will keep this blog fairly simple and focus on the one thing we have been focussed on for many years now, ‘the cloud mindset’.

For most customers out there public cloud is still a bit further down the road, and the private cloud environment is the best fit for some companies right now. Not to worry, that is completely ok. However, we still want to foster that cloud mindset by adhering to Fit-to-Standard and Agile implementation and deployment which SAP Activate is built on. The goal is to focus on SAP standard processes wherever possible and deploy the solution incrementally with short releases and sprints.

The 5 Golden Rules for implementing SAP S/4HANA Cloud and keeping with the Cloud Mindset are the following:

1) Foster the cloud mindset by adhering to the Fit-to-Standard and Agile deployment detailed in SAP Activate.

2) Use Pre-configured solutions with pre-defined processes and leverage SAP Fiori UX

• SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA
• SAP Enterprise Management Layer
• Qualified Partner Package

(Rule #1 & #2 Image)

3) Ensure use of modern integration technologies **(Refer to support note 2920697 for detailed guidance for extensibility)

(Rule #3 Image)

4) Ensure use of modern Extensibility technologies 

• Use the SAP Extension Suite (SAP BTP)
• Develop customer extensions in a side-by-side approach
  using the SAP Business Technology Platform
• Backend enhancements should be avoided

(Rule #4 Image)

5) Ensure transparency of Deviations 

• As the customer has full flexibility to do IMG configuration, custom code, etc. Any deviation has to be clearly documented as part of the S/4HANA Cloud implementation

(Rule #5 Image)

What are the immediate benefits of these 5 Golden Rules? 

• Faster implementation by using standard processes (SAP Best Practices or SAP Model Company)
• Lower efforts in upgrades – less classic extensions, no changes in SAP Code
• Business value driven implementation of extensions and integrations
• Lower efforts in future implementations of additional capabilities by re-using new versions of Best Practices and Model Company

For much more information and details on RISE with SAP please visit our Roadmap Viewer for all the implementation and deployment details.

Inside SAP S/4HANA Podcast

As always, I would like to encourage you to subscribe to our podcast “Inside SAP S/4HANA”. This podcast leverages the unique knowledge and expertise of SAP S/4HANA product experts, partners, and customers to address your needs by sharing product insights and project best practice. There is no customer success without product success and project success; we help you get to the next level and make your SAP S/4HANA projects a success. Subscribe now and benefit from the shared knowledge.

openSAP microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA

Just a couple of months ago, we launched openSAP microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA as an exciting new learning opportunity. What began with a small batch of 20 videos, has now become a channel with more than 50 microlearnings that have generated over 20,000 views since then. Today we cover multiple lines of business, like Finance and Manufacturing & Supply Chain, and key technology topics like Master Data Management, Extensibility, User Experience, and Upgrade Management. We are continuously adding new microlearnings to the SAP S/4HANA channel, so make sure you check them out.

Your Voice Matters!

If you want to learn more and actively engage with SAP subject matter experts on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, join our SAP S/4HANA Cloud Community – now fully integrated with SAP Community. The community brings together SAP S/4HANA Cloud customers, partners and SAP experts and has a clear mission: deliver an interactive community to engage with one another about best practices and product solutions. We invite you to explore the new SAP S/4HANA Cloud Community ‘one-stop shop’ as the central place for all resources, tools, content questions, answers and connect with experts to guide you through your SAP S/4HANA Cloud journey.

For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, check out the following links: 

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud: New Product Releases here
• Latest SAP S/4HANA Cloud Release blog posts here
• SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation Content here
• SAP S/4HANA PSCC Digital Enablement Wheel here
• Inside SAP S/4HANA Podcast here
• SAP S/4HANA Cloud Community here
• SAP Activate Community here
• Best practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud here
• Help Portal Product Page here
• What’s New here