Cloud ERP has become a major focus for SAP ERP users – and for good reason. Many of SAP’s newest innovations are Cloud-only, and the end-of-support dates for ECC are fast approaching.
While many SAP users have started migration projects, over half of SAP users are still planning or haven’t begun at all. Just selecting a solution for Cloud ERP can be a complicated first step.
At Rev-Trac, change management and complex SAP environments are our core business. Drawing on our deep knowledge in Cloud ERP migrations, we’ve created this three-part series to distill practical insights and strategies.
- Part 1 – explores selecting the right Cloud ERP path
- Parts 2 and 3 – go deeper into the technical realities of managing change across hybrid environments and supporting complex, multi-landscape migrations
For this discussion, we assume you are an existing SAP user with at least one landscape of ECC or S/4HANA in production, and you aren’t starting from scratch. You likely have customizations critical to keep or at least redevelop in a new ERP solution.
With this perspective, let’s evaluate some of the considerations and options in SAP Cloud ERP.
Cloudy with a Chance of Custom Code
It’s tempting to frame Cloud ERP selection as a simple binary – Public Cloud versus Private Cloud – but the reality is more complex.
Public Cloud ERP is often described as a standardized, SAP-managed solution with a Clean Core – where customizations are limited to external platforms like BTP. Private Cloud, in contrast, offers more flexibility, especially for customers who need to retain legacy customizations.
While true, this is far too simplistic a viewpoint. For starters, the “commonsense” notion that Public Cloud-based solutions are one-size-fits-all and inflexible is wholly untrue. The real difference isn’t whether you can customize –it’s where and how.
In Public Cloud, customization mostly occurs outside the core system, on platforms like BTP. For Private Cloud ERP, there are at least a dozen unique flavors, many aimed at specific end-user requirements, such as where Cloud ERP is run, or on what underlying technology.
Cloud a la Carte: Private, Sovereign or Hyperscaled?
Most large enterprises will land on some edition of Private Cloud ERP. Over time, SAP has expanded the core offering of Private Cloud ERP (formerly known as “RISE”) to cover many unique needs of existing customers. Each of the following flavors of Private Cloud ERP targets a specific situation and sometimes combines commercial and architecture flexibility, creating a better Cloud ERP option for specific submarkets.
- SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition is the classic “RISE with SAP” option and the right choice for many enterprises
- SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition, Tailored customizes the contracted options per unique customer requirements and may include contracted coverage for many responsibilities considered customer concerns in the base offering
- SAP Cloud ERP Private Sovereign Cloud offers Cloud ERP with all data and processing within a given jurisdiction or geography. It’s ideal when technical or regulatory requirements make traditional off-site hosting unviable
- SAP Cloud ERP Hyperscaler is Cloud ERP Private running on the hyperscaler of customer choice, often leveraging an existing customer hyperscaler relationship
- SAP Cloud ERP Hyperscaler Tailored is a modified version of the Cloud ERP solution running within the customer’s hyperscaler relationship. This option offers additional flexibility for deployment architecture and may be more suitable for the migration of highly integrated or otherwise complex existing on-premises implementations
- SAP Cloud ERP Customer Datacenter Edition provides Private Cloud ERP reference architecture and implementation hosted in the customer’s datacenter. Ideal when, for technical or data security reasons, traditional Cloud ERP hosted in a remote datacenter isn’t a viable option
- SAP ERP Premium Supplier Model is similar to the Customer Datacenter Edition but runs on IBM Power 9 or other infrastructure outside the standard Private Cloud ERP reference architecture. A Cloud-hosted version of this is available as SAP Cloud ERP Premium Supplier Model
- SAP Cloud ERP Premium Plus Edition offers standard Private Cloud ERP with additional AI tools, simplified spend compliance and other options
- SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition Transition Option is a primarily commercial offering designed to help customers make a Cloud migration commitment while concurrently extending support for existing on-premises implementations, including plans to operate ECC under support past 2027 and through 2033
- SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition Option for SQL Server is a combination Cloud service and commercial offering for running ECC as a Cloud ERP option
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper may not technically be a Private Cloud ERP option but is especially useful for early adopters of S/4HANA facing end of support and planning a move from on-premises operations to Cloud ERP
When evaluating Private Cloud ERP solutions, ask questions… and keep asking questions. There are more options available than most SAP customers realize, and perhaps more than many SAP account managers are aware of. Thorough research may help identify better options for your business than basic private and public options.
Part Deux: Managing change during transition
In Part 2, we’ll explore the hard realities of managing change during transition, including retrofitting, dual maintenance, and the governance challenges of hybrid environments.
For more information about Private Cloud ERP and how Rev-Trac Platinum supports RISE, contact one of our SAP change management professionals.
