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SAP from below

Should existing customers now believe SAP that cloud computing is very attractive: Faith belongs in the church and the cloud is a bad cloud cuckoo land. But a good foundation is the guarantee for success.
Peter M. Färbinger, E3 Magazine
31 May 2023
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This text has been automatically translated from German to English.

On-prem, private and public cloud

The word Wolkenkuckucksheim comes from a comedy by the ancient poet Aristophanes. In the comedy "The Birds," Cloud Cuckoo Land refers to a city in the clouds that the birds have built for themselves as an intermediate kingdom. SAP CEO Christian Klein, however, sees cloud computing not as an intermediate step, as another milestone in IT evolution, as one of many proposed solutions for digital transformation, but as the end point of an ERP evolution. Just as Christian Klein does not want to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the private and public cloud and its alternative on-prem - he also does not want to discuss an S/4 successor.

End time mood

If SAP's existing customers listen to CEO Klein, they get the impression of a final goal: Everything should have been achieved with S/4 and cloud computing? This paradigm will not hold. From the past, every computer scientist knows that algorithms and data structures are an incontrovertible fact, but nevertheless continue to evolve. There will also have to be successors for Hana and S/4. Of course, it may happen that these successors do not come from SAP, that they may even be programmed by ChatGPT V.9 in 2030 - on the SAP Business Technology Platform with Steampunk.

Basic warranty

Much has changed and much will change in computer science, certain principles of a Von Neumann calculator remain. Boolean algebra endures - with an exception, of course, see quantum physics. But as a dear schoolmate used to say to me: You will be a compiler builder and I will be a quantum mechanic. Really, I stayed with the traditional zeros and ones and SAP should stay more at the base and have it more in focus. The success of an S/4 conversion is still decided at the grassroots level. Digital transformation also needs a stable IT foundation.

Basic Answers

One answer to the IT staff shortage can be found at the grassroots level. Automation can relieve those responsible of routine work, can create free space and reduce the workload, see also E-3 Cover Story June 2023. Here tell Nagarro and Avantra on grassroots progress with structural automation and end-to-end monitoring. The list of possible grassroots answers is long, as our roundtable discussion in the E-3 video studio (YouTube) and the SAP Competence Center Summit show in Salzburg.

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Peter M. Färbinger, E3 Magazine

Peter M. Färbinger, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief E3 Magazine DE, US and ES (e3mag.com), B4Bmedia.net AG, Freilassing (DE), E-Mail: pmf@b4bmedia.net and Tel. +49(0)8654/77130-21


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Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

This gives the Competence Center strategic importance for existing SAP customers. Regardless of the S/4 Hana operating model, topics such as Automation, Monitoring, Security, Application Lifecycle Management and Data Management the basis for S/4 operations.

For the second time, E3 magazine is organizing a summit for the SAP community in Salzburg to provide comprehensive information on all aspects of S/4 Hana groundwork.

Venue

More information will follow shortly.

Event date

Wednesday, May 21, and
Thursday, May 22, 2025

Early Bird Ticket

Available until Friday, January 24, 2025
EUR 390 excl. VAT

Regular ticket

EUR 590 excl. VAT

Venue

Hotel Hilton Heidelberg
Kurfürstenanlage 1
D-69115 Heidelberg

Event date

Wednesday, March 5, and
Thursday, March 6, 2025

Tickets

Regular ticket
EUR 590 excl. VAT
Early Bird Ticket

Available until December 20, 2024

EUR 390 excl. VAT
The event is organized by the E3 magazine of the publishing house B4Bmedia.net AG. The presentations will be accompanied by an exhibition of selected SAP partners. The ticket price includes attendance at all presentations of the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2025, a visit to the exhibition area, participation in the evening event and catering during the official program. The lecture program and the list of exhibitors and sponsors (SAP partners) will be published on this website in due course.