IT business model 2021

Why the move from on-premises to S/4 Hana Cloud can be worthwhile: In the current economic climate, it is imperative for many companies to keep costs down and take a close look at future ongoing costs. With a cloud solution, you don't have to buy hardware or software upfront, and you don't have the additional costs of your own staff running the data centers.

In addition, updates and maintenance are supported by the cloud service provider. Cloud computing from SAP is a solution for companies where the main costs shift from Capex (Capital Expenditure) to Opex (Operating Expenditure) by using a subscription model.

For accounting purposes, Opex is an expense that is fully tax deductible in the year it is incurred and is deducted from your revenue when calculating profits or losses. This is an attractive option if the business has limited cash flow, and also means you can keep your financial projections stable and predictable.

2020 has taught us that the only certainty is uncertainty. Cloud-based services are therefore ideal in an environment where companies need to remain agile. Unscheduled resources such as additional storage capacity or processors can be added to the S/4 cloud to support peaks or troughs in financial transactions as they arise.

This means that additional functionality can be delivered using additional applications whenever the business requires it. The Opex approach to IT spending, where additional services can be added on demand, also gives organizations the agility and flexibility they need to keep pace with ever-changing business pressures.

As home office working has increased, it is necessary to be able to access corporate data from any device and from anywhere in the world. With S/4 Cloud, data can be accessed from any device, regardless of desktops, laptops or cell phones.

Your cloud provider takes care of all aspects of security, from physical security to network security to backup and recovery, with the appropriate compliance, confidentiality and integration, so your own employees don't have to. Another aspect is that you can put your SAP apps that currently reside on the ERP platform into the cloud. This allows your partners to access your apps as external users without giving them access to your entire ERP system.

Moving to a cloud environment allows companies to implement complex processes while keeping the core ERP pure. This means that future upgrades are easier and risks can be reduced because ERP and cloud can be upgraded independently. Cloud thereby provides a consistent solution that offers the same look and feel, but allows the system to be deployed in both SAP and non-SAP environments - without the infrastructure costs of an on-premises solution.

Ensuring the level of flexibility, security, and cost reduction can help existing SAP customers meet the challenges of changing market demands in the coming years. It is important to identify priorities so that the decision for S/4 cloud transformation is valid.

With the help of implementing a comprehensive assessment of business priorities and how well the available ERP solutions support them now and in the long term, decisions can be made to upgrade the current software landscape.

SCP and Business Network

SAP is expanding its vertical solutions to fill the gap in its portfolio with industry-specific cloud solutions. These solutions leverage SAP Cloud Platform (SCP) with technology such as Abap and Java and are interoperable with SAP Business Network and Business Suite.

Vistex has built on SCP's capabilities to develop a range of industry solutions covering complex business processes such as pricing, incentivization, channel, and rights and royalty management.

The cloud solutions will expand SAP's industry cloud portfolio for the retail and consumer goods industries and support companies in other industries such as wholesale, media and entertainment, and process manufacturing in their digital transformation.

SAP existing customers have the options to get solutions on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment. The focus is on solutions that extend the value of SAP's Industry Cloud and help companies solve business problems. Innovation efforts have been accelerated to focus on enterprise cloud solutions specifically designed to complement SAP's Industry Cloud portfolio.