Against the current

The path to the cloud is complex and only a few members of the SAP community see it as a real alternative.

cbs is cooperating with Microsoft to develop a new offering for the use and integration of Microsoft Azure Cloud in SAP system landscapes. This is designed to enable global companies to evaluate business-critical cloud applications and interfaces in an Agile Shell even before the switch to SAP S/4. They benefit from early innovation and gain access to efficient and scalable Microsoft infrastructure: Azure offers 192-gigabyte to 12-terabyte Hana-certified virtual machines. 

Combining consulting expertise with Intelligent Cloud capabilities accelerates innovation: Agile development methods improve business models, in conjunction with a lean and clean approach to S/4 as the ERP backbone.

The target architecture is hybrid, its structure a shell model: The agile shell links the digital core S/4 via the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) with the Microsoft Intelligent Cloud and Azure environment - not to be confused with the Intelligent Enterprise from SAP itself. New enhancements and customer developments based on Azure are future-proof - companies get a cloud roadmap and reduce costs through efficient hosting, higher performance and productivity.

"It's about comprehensive business solutions across the entire value chain - not just with ERP or S/4 Hana, but also with apps via Microsoft Azure to SAP"Examples include predictive insights to deploy technicians before production stops or to support production planning from process monitoring to sequencing, scheduling and material ordering.

The transition from prototypes and minimum viable products to production applications can be rapid. "Companies can realize business value with BTP and Azure through intelligent analysis of sensor data processed in smart factories from assets to SAP - and even before S/4 Hana", adds Karsten Kötter, cloud expert at cbs.

Ultimately, companies can approach the S/4 transition secondarily - by decoupling the move to Azure Cloud, business and IT benefit from rapid value. This continuous modernization prepares for the move to S/4 and reduces the stress curve and complexity of the final transition. Until then, the companies use BTP and Azure as a strategic development platform.

"As infrastructure shifts to a hyperscaler, we improve end-to-end business processes in SAP with the inclusion of innovative cloud technology and transform ECC to S/4", says Holger Bock, Managing Director cbs Asia Pacific.

If S/4 is not highly prioritized, it can be implemented step by step: Step one moves ERP/ECC 6.0 to Azure, with reduced data volume and limited custom solutions. Step two leads to digital innovation in the Agile Shell, but limits custom solutions in ECC to a minimum. In this case, the move to S/4 on Azure is the final step as continuous innovation - by 2027 at the latest. 

As part of the partnership with Microsoft, cbs provides cloud applications, SAP-
Competencies and know-how for innovative business processes provided by technical and functional consultants who manage the integration.