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How to Kick Start your SAP S/4HANA journey with SAP Services

Shonali Kellogg

SAP ERP is nearing its maintenance, so our customers are starting to embark on their SAP S/4HANA journey. So whatever scenario you are embarking on, SAP Services and Support will support your transformation journey through First Use, Full Use and Future use of your technology.

This blog will cover the Services available from a technical architecture and infrastructure perspective for a brownfield conversion.

For those just starting with SAP S/4HANA transformation, brownfield is where you decide to convert / upgrade and migrate (if source is non-HANA database) your SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA.

To start your journey, SAP recommends using the SAP Activate Methodology which entails various phases in your project lifecycle. SAP Services and Support can help guide you through each of these phases. A look at the graphic below will guide you with the services available from the Platform and Infrastructure space.

 

Phases with Technical and Infrastructure SAP Services

Let’s begin with the DISCOVER phase

DISCOVER

With the architecture point of view (APoV), customers can get support in an early phase of their project on how to approach their long-term transformation needs. The service contains components for various topics like the analysis of solution-specific transformation routes, or initial evaluation of adopting SAP S/4HANA, initial guidance in the analytics and data management area, specific solution and technology focused topics, or a deep-dive into SAP’s enterprise architecture and road mapping approach. These services require architects from different solution area and is not delivered by just one consultant.

When starting digital transformations, SAP customers need to define the target architecture and the roadmap to layout how to get there. The target architecture assessment focuses on existing artifacts that the project team has produced and reviews them against the industry reference architecture and the SAP road map. As a result, the necessary adjustments to the target application architecture and transition plans are jointly evaluated.

 

This service component helps you consolidate and simplify the system landscape of your enterprise with a new instance strategy, looking at business strategy, deployment, operations, and technology. We discuss pros and cons of architecture options in the context of your enterprise transformation. With a qualitative and quantitative assessment, we rate the best options against a catalog of SAP’s best practice criteria.

After the handover from the DISCOVER phase, we support the customers Journey from PREPARE to DEPLOY to RUN Phase. The results from previous services are used as inputs for the next steps. Example: Target Architecture Assessment provides a viewpoint for the Services team in which areas the customer has agreed upon and which areas to focus on.

The main services in the PREPARE phase are as per the graphic below:

Prepare Phase

The starting point for any SAP S/4HANA journey, this service component provides support in implementing and executing SAP Readiness Check when a customer requires support with the otherwise self-service tool set. This service component is only available in conjunction with the scheduling and delivery of a value and implementation strategy service or a migration and upgrade planning workshop.

This service component supports you planning the conversion to SAP S/4HANA of an existing SAP ERP system and clarifying the functional and technical scope and project management setup of the conversion project. The target system can be on premise or on an infrastructure provider of choice.

During the MPW service, we often realize that customers would like to reduce their technical downtime. To understand the different options available, we have the Minimized Downtime Service. Minimized Downtime Service is designed for customers considering a SAP S/4HANA conversion in minimum downtime to ensure business continuity as much as possible. The focus is on the additional activities and requirements on top of a standard SAP S/4HANA conversion project to achieve this.

This service component supports you in the technical design of a scalable, flexible, and maintainable SAP solution that fits your specific requirements. This is especially relevant when you plan to migrate or transition to SAP ERP on SAP S/4HANA.
Major focus is on SAP solutions deployed on private cloud, hosted private cloud and hyperscaler (IaaS).

This service component enables customers to evaluate the implementation of SAP products on premise in a short period with their real business scenarios using their data, enabling them to quickly validate the value addition and identify and mitigate risks. The goals and uses cases are defined or validated as in scope of the project. The customer and SAP define and agree on a project plan as well as the tasks and responsibilities in the project.

PREARE is the pathway to EXPLORE with main services as below

 

This service component prepares, executes, and supports all activities required to meet the functional prerequisites for a system conversion from SAP ERP 6.0 to SAP S/4HANA. The focus is on mandatory changes only. In addition, all steps required to perform the technical conversion of application data are prepared, executed, and monitored.

This service component sharpens the initial sizing in the planning phase. Sizing turns new business requirements into technical requirements for all type of SAP solutions like SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP S/4HANA, Embedded Analytics, applications based on SAP Fiori, and so on. By projecting the main (new) volume drivers, sizing is an important exercise prior to planning performance tuning and optimization. Sizing helps to reliably plan infrastructure costs.

This service component allows the customer to choose between different types of coaching for the platform enablement. The goal is to enable the customer to understand and run platform execution tasks under his own guidance and responsibility. Based on the SAP Activate methodology, the component provides high-quality service and predictable results with minimum impact to business.

This service component provides a proactive quality assurance review of the design of the SAP solution that is being implemented. We conduct an analysis of all aspects of the solution design across all relevant design perspectives that can lead to early detection of potential solution risks and offers actionable risk mitigation recommendation.

This service components helps minimize business downtime. Experts analyze each business step and its dependencies within the affected system landscape to support efficient downtime planning and reduce the business impact during cutover. They provide guidance selecting the most appropriate tools and methods to optimize the cutover plan and to reduce the impact on the availability of production-critical processes.

This service component supports the customer’s project team at the early stage of the SAP solution implementation, after the business blueprint and the technical design are complete. It focuses on the technical feasibility of the planned SAP solution in terms of infrastructure, sizing, integration requirements, and so on for identified core business processes. SAP checks that the proposed design is technically realistic, robust, maintainable, and supportable.

This service component supports the selection and definition of an IT infrastructure for a SAP solution connected to SAP Business Technology Platform. The focus is on SAP solutions deployed on private cloud, private hosted cloud and/or IaaS. The workshop can define a detailed design, but also verify an existing architecture to prepare the installation of the landscape.

This service component supports the customer leverage the learning and documentation from the prototyping service project to realize the value during project implementation for production use. SAP and the customer evaluate the project results based on the measured success criteria and create a list of recommendations for an implementation project, and a proposal for a service plan for continued SAP engagement.

By the end of EXPLORE phase you are now ready for REALIZE phase, under REALIZE there are fewer but critical services as below:

Customers running their SAP solutions on premise or on private hosted cloud with hyperscalers have defined service level agreements. To identify potential gaps in the landscape design and minimize unplanned downtime, extensive testing is essential. This service component supports customers with the review of their implemented landscape as well as with testing activities and thereby helps to maximize their system’s uptime. Customers benefit from our expertise and experience to keep their SAP systems on and enable their business to operate properly.

This service component helps reassure customers that the results of volume testing for implementation projects, upgrade projects, or major rollouts are reliable. With reliable test results, customers can determine with confidence whether hardware resources are sufficient and the system configuration is suitable for a go-live.

This service component supports the customer configure the solution in an optimal way. The identification and elimination of costly performance bottlenecks help optimize the response times and throughput of the SAP solution.

During the DEPLOY phase when you are ready for the Cutover and Go-live, we can help you with our Going Live Support Services.

This service component provides support during production cutover and hypercare to stabilize and optimize the customer’s solution. It considers support for issue resolution, system monitoring, and optimization.

The Services mentioned here are very specific to Technical Architecture and Instructure and during execution of an SAP S/4HANA project there are other areas to consider such Project Management, Solution Adoption, Application Design and Configuration, Data Management, Extensibility, Integration, Analytics, Testing, Operation and Support. Thus, depending on your requirements, we can tailor a plan with the Services that map your specific needs. Reach out to your SAP TQM or SAP AE to engage with us in your journey to SAP S/4HANA.

NOTE: These SAP Services are valid as on 13th September 2023

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