DSAG assessment of SAP operation in AWS infrastructure

According to Amazon, thousands of SAP customers operate their systems in the AWS infrastructure, many of them productively. The SAP user association DSAG welcomes cloud migration projects - as long as they serve to increase efficiency. However, there is one important aspect that needs to be thoroughly checked in advance:

"Cloud offerings such as AWS score points with their ready-made services, for example for machine learning or the Internet of Things. Customers don't need to bring their own expertise to benefit from the functions"

says Otto Schell, Deputy Chairman of the DSAG Executive Board.

He adds:

"However, the more such services a user company integrates into its own landscape, the more difficult it will be to switch cloud providers later."

This so-called vendor lock-in is well known per se. However, without in-depth market insight, it is difficult for users to estimate how time-consuming a migration to another cloud provider or possibly back to their own data center can be.

Or there is already a lack of knowledge about which turnkey solutions the respective cloud provider has on offer. If these ready-made offerings remain unused, cloud customers may miss out on the benefits they had hoped to gain from migrating their SAP solution. The DSAG working group with AWS therefore offers a platform for the open and efficient exchange of information.

Against this backdrop, the association first examines the question of what conditions need to be created so that SAP customers can get the most out of the solution providers' cloud infrastructures.

"DSAG therefore endeavors to be available to SAP user companies as a platform for exchange and information gathering on this topic as well - e.g. on topics such as integration, sustainability or roadmap as well as digital platforms with AWS"

explains Jean-Claude Flury, DSAG Board Member for Business Networks Integration. Based on the mandate of its members, AWS could be approached at an early stage, for example to discuss the future design of further services in the context of SAP Leonardo.

"DSAG is in the position of being able to communicate specific requirements from customers in all segments to providers such as Amazon Web Services in order to maximize the practicality of the offerings"

says Jean-Claude Flury.

Whether lower infrastructure costs, flexible scaling, demand-oriented use or access to ready-made services: There are various reasons for using the cloud. This is why SAP also began to build partnerships early on alongside its own cloud ambitions and has been working together with AWS since 2008.

The result: SAP users run a large number of productive SAP workloads on AWS. For SAP Hana users, there are special offers with very large working memory (currently up to 12 terabytes).

"As a German-speaking SAP user group, it is therefore essential for us to seek cooperation with AWS in order to support our members in the best possible way with our own AWS working group"

explains Otto Schell, Deputy Chairman of the DSAG Executive Board.

At the same time, DSAG is in close consultation with SAP on all aspects of the SAP Cloud Platform and plans to establish a central working group on this topic.