Lessons learned: S/4 Public Cloud

Traditional SAP ECC projects were characterized by extensive blueprint phases, individual developments and complex customizing. Numerous exceptions and special rules in invoice processing, for example for workflow control, definition of upper limits or similar, were mapped directly in the ERP core. The public cloud, on the other hand, relies on a clearly structured implementation approach with predefined standard processes as a starting point. Customizations and extensions are configured in the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). The SAP standard is therefore adopted as such, evaluated and only supplemented if deviations are absolutely necessary. In invoice processing in particular, this means questioning special approaches that have become familiar.

The biggest cultural change

Many companies first have to get used to accepting defined standards as a starting point - not as a restriction, but as a basis for speed, stability and future viability. Expecting the wrong thing only causes unnecessary frustration. Many functions that were naturally available in ECC or the SAP S/4 Hana Private Edition are deliberately no longer available in the public cloud. This is not a shortcoming, but a direct consequence of the clean core principle.
For this approach to be successful, it must be clear: The public cloud is not a 1:1 replica of historical processes. Rather, numerous processes are being scrutinized in terms of their benefits and future viability. Ultimately, users are not necessarily aware of what exactly is missing. This is precisely why it is important to actively address these gaps in the project. So that everyone - IT, business and management - is clear from the outset what they can expect. This also applies to extensions and add-ons on the BTP. Ideally, they should be selected in such a way that they strengthen standard processes instead of creating new shadow worlds.

Change is crucial

The challenges in public cloud projects are therefore less technical than organizational. Everything stands and falls with the behavior of the employees. For years, they have worked with highly customized processes and now have to let go of the routines they have grown fond of. This takes time and targeted change management.

In accounts payable, this often means a change of role: instead of processing every exception manually, the teams are increasingly defining rules, workflows and escalation paths - and working closely with IT to implement these in the cloud architecture. Standardization does not mean less efficiency, but rather forms the basis for digital transformation, automation and future innovation capability. This perspective must be actively communicated.

The same applies to IT: instead of developing individual solutions, it should now design standardized processes and make sensible use of the Business Technology Platform. As a result, its role is changing from a traditional „system builder“ to an orchestrator and architect of the system landscape. It takes care of integration, API management and data flows and implements solutions on the BTP together with the specialist departments. The spectrum of its technical expertise is spreading to the areas of platform strategy and application landscape.

The particularly cloud-savvy

SAP Cloud ERP brings the greatest benefits if you consistently adopt the public cloud approach instead of trying to replicate old processes 1:1. If you have this mindset, you have already done most of the work for a successful move to the public cloud. In practice, it is not (yet) found in all companies. However, the move to the public cloud offers particularly high potential for certain scenarios. These include subsidiaries or regional units (so-called satellites), companies that are new to the SAP world and are consciously opting for the public cloud (newbies), as well as SAP-experienced companies that are switching directly from SAP ECC to the public cloud (the brave ones). These three archetypes are therefore the most common in projects.

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