Navigator in the SAP Cloud

The cloud is omnipresent and is seen as a panacea for any IT architecture. Nevertheless, it is struggling in this country. Hardly any other IT paradigm polarizes so strongly and divides the community into two camps: On the one hand, there are the "visionaries" who can no longer imagine a future without the cloud in the context of IoT.

On the other hand, there are the "worried" who, against the backdrop of the NSA affair, the Safe Harbor agreement overturned at EU level, its successor "Privacy Shield" and justified data protection concerns, are completely banning the cloud from their IT plans.

However, the cloud is also becoming increasingly important thanks to the metamorphosis of software manufacturers. SAP's transformation into a cloud company can be seen in the number of cloud services on offer.

SAP's cloud belly store is expanding its business with enterprise software, which was previously focused on on-premise, to include the Hana Cloud Platform (HCP), Hana Cloud Integration (HCI), the SAP Jam collaboration platform and solutions such as Lumira, SAP Cloud4Customer and the Ariba marketplace.

As an SAP user in particular, you need to take a close look at the meaning and purpose, risks and opportunities, as well as the operation and organization of cloud solutions. The concept of the cloud is extremely flexible, as the cloud can be used in a variety of ways depending on the manufacturer and product.

The cloud DNA

If the solutions are evaluated according to availability for the user, the following categories can be formed: Public cloud and private cloud.

Public cloud refers to a solution that is in principle available to any authenticated user via the internet. In addition, the public cloud almost always consists of a single central system that can be used by several companies at the same time thanks to multitenancy.

A special form of public cloud is the so-called community cloud, which restricts access to a defined group of selected companies or users.

Private cloud refers to a customer's own solution platform in their own or rented data center. With the introduction of a virtualization solution, you are already at the initial stage of a private cloud infrastructure that can be developed into a fully-fledged cloud platform.

A special form of private cloud is the virtual private cloud. This consists of a virtual cloud environment provided by a service provider to which only the company has access (usually via VPN).

The combination enables the use of a sealed-off private cloud solution without the need to purchase and operate the necessary infrastructure.

Service scope

A further distinction between cloud offerings can be made with regard to the scope of the services provided:

Infrastructure as a service is to be understood as classic sourcing, i.e. the rental of computing capacity for a defined period of time. This becomes interesting when the resources are billed according to actual consumption as part of a pay-per-use model.

Platform as a service: This form of cloud solution not only provides simple resources (hardware, network, storage), but also a comprehensive solution platform including licenses to create your own applications. A prominent example of this would be HCP, which offers a Hana platform for creating your own analyses or tools.

Software as a service: The next stage of cloud evolution provides infrastructure as well as licenses and the final application. Prominent examples include Microsoft Office 365, SAP Cloud4Customer and Salesforce.

The aim is to provide a self-sufficient application, including maintenance and support, so that users can focus fully on their business processes.

Process as a Service: This officially uncommon term describes an extension of the pure provision and maintenance service to include the execution and application support of a business process.

The cloud dilemma

With so much choice and so many offers, it's hard to decide. Which cloud offering is right for me? A complex question. Time and again, cloud projects tend to be driven by technology.

For example, when purchasing classic on-premise solutions, the software actually required is discounted to the maximum and a cloud license is sold in addition. Caution! Only a fact-based evaluation of the architectural landscape prior to purchase makes it possible to match requirements and offer features.

Some things can also become a show stopper for cloud integration, such as the issue of data protection. This is particularly true in the currently still legally unclear interim phase since the ECJ ruling on Safe Harbor and the launch of its successor, the Privacy Shield. However, organizational maturity and performance aspects (e.g. due to latency) should also be taken into account.

Three typical application scenarios are emerging for the sensible use of the cloud:

1. commodity: Provision of basic IT services (e.g. e-mail, messaging, etc.) for which there are no customer or industry-specific requirements. The most prominent example is Office 365.

2. pay-per-use: Short-term, very limited provision of resources to compensate for bottlenecks, speed up recurring routine work and for training or project purposes.

3. availability: Optimization of access times through lower latencies, e.g. when using international cache servers for web applications.

SAP LatAm Cloud

The cbs SAP LatAm Cloud is a successful example of the benefits of hybrid cloud solutions. There are strict legal and tax requirements in Latin America. These range from official notifications, such as the legally required "SAP Nota Fiscal Eletrônica" in Brazil, to taxes and duties and frequent changes to the law.

The SAP consulting firm cbs has incorporated its expertise from more than 50 SAP rollouts in Central and South America into the LatAm cloud solution. This is a cloud solution based on SAP software that enables electronic communication with authorities in countries such as Brazil (SAP GRC NFE), Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru to be handled in compliance with the law.

As an SAP Partner Managed Cloud (SAP PMC), cbs offers the LatAm Cloud as a public cloud solution. It is hosted in the German data center of the IT full-service provider Materna GmbH, the cbs parent company.

This ensures data protection in accordance with German law. In addition to infrastructure operation in an ITIL-compliant, TÜV and ISO27001-certified data center, the cloud service also includes managed services for basic operations, such as monitoring, alerting, security and performance adjustments.

The offer also includes application support, which assists with configuration in the ERP backend, analyzes the authorities' feedback codes on request and recommends corrective measures.

The service is available 24×7 with 99.9 percent annual availability. Support is provided in the local time zone (e.g. Brazil) in German and English. In technical terms, the user companies connect the LatAm Cloud to their SAP system landscape via standards such as Remote Function Call (RFC).

The cloud service handles the signing and encryption of government communications. The solution is a hybrid model in which the companies connect their global SAP systems with the cloud solution from cbs.

The data is transmitted via an encrypted VPN tunnel. The cbs LatAm Cloud is a good example of Process as a Service in the form of a Virtual Community Cloud, as it provides all the elements required for the processes associated with electronic government communication.

The support process and the implementation of legal requirements are completely outsourced, creating maximum freedom. The public cloud also offers maximum synergy effects in operation and support, thereby saving costs.

Conclusion

The cloud is unstoppable and - thanks in particular to SAP's cloud efforts - is making a triumphant advance in Germany as the new key IT technology in the SAP environment. But not all clouds are the same!

And it is certainly not a panacea. Before appropriate solutions are selected and implemented, it is advisable to structure the requirements from an organizational, process and architectural perspective and to design a suitable solution scenario on this basis.