Today SAP announced SAP S/4 HANA - you can read the press release here. This is a topic I have discussed since Simple Finance was launch at SAPPHIRE in May 2014. See my previous blogs here - for R/4 and here - for impact of s-innovations.
As a man who has never been known for understatement, Bill McDermott described it as "The most important SAP product launch for 23 years" - and I think I agree with him.
That launch was SAP R/3 which still sits at the heart of what is now called SAP Business Suite (often referred to as SAP ERP).
Why should you be interested in S/4HANA ?
Existing Customers
As an existing SAP Business Suite customer, you should be interested, as SAP want you to be moving to S/4 (and that is where a significant amount of your maintenance fees will be going)
These are the reasons why you need S/4 :-
- You will be able to take much of your investment from R/3 (Business Suite) to S/4, especially that expensive configuration.
- S/4 will have Fiori user interface built in to the new Simple Modules
- S/4 Simple Modules will have features that Business Suite never had e.g Predictive Actions
- S/4 will (only) run on SAP HANA and this means you get real time data for transactions AND reporting plus a platform that is ready for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Digital Transformation (DT)
- S/4 will deliver cloud qualities in terms of management and cost of ownership, offered at the pace that makes sense, from On Premise to Public Cloud
New Customers
For new customers looking for an Enterprise grade solution, you can now get the know-how from 40 years of running business processes, with cloud simplicity, information at the speed of thought, a responsive User Experience and a platform ready for IoT / DT.
What should you do next ?
What you do next will depend upon your views on how much your business model will be disrupted by Digital Transformation and the Internet of Things - most people seem to think the answer is "quite a lot" (note the English understatement :lol: ). For those who want to learn more sign up for this OpenSAP course - Digital Transformation and Its Impact which starts on the 24th Feb.
For new customers visit the S/4 HANA sales site and sign up for a free trial (coming soon).
For existing customers visit the same site to understand S/4 and then start preparing your Business Suite for the migration.
Business Suite To do List for 2015
- Upgrading to EhP7 and move PI to Intelligent Business Operations (IBO)
- Analysing your modifications to see if you can replace with standard features or built on top in HANA Cloud Platform or IBO (fewer mods will make migration easier)
- Get your system running on SAP HANA
- Move operational reporting into the core
- Implement Simple Finance and look at which public cloud solution you will implement (SuccessFactors, Concur, FieldGlass, Cloud 4 Customer, Ariba,and Hybris)
- Implement the SAP Fiori applications and go mobile with HCP Mobile Services
- Decide which deployment model is right for you - Private Cloud, Public Cloud or On Premise - see this blog for help.
With the above achieved you will be perfectly placed to migrate to S/4. Which tasks are right for you will depend upon where you / your organisation sits on the adoption cycle - Keep ahead of the Pack, At the front of the Pack, In the Pack or At the back of the Pack.
- SAP Managed Tags:
13 Comments
