SAP S/4HANA in the Public Cloud: Added Value and Legal Certainty Thanks to Certified EIM

Leading EIM (Enterprise Information Management) providers, for example, offer the necessary interface openness for smooth integration and optimal information management, including archiving. Until now, this has mainly applied to on-premise operation. But what needs to be considered when migrating to the public cloud?

Asset management, finance, manufacturing, purchasing and procurement: SAP SE covers important central business processes with its ERP solutions. In the area of information management in particular, however, flanking solutions can be connected that provide for a significant expansion of the functional scope. Corresponding EIM systems integrate individual applications, for example for contract, invoice or e-mail management, and enable a company-wide flow of information from which all employees benefit.

In addition, the Ceyoniq product nscale, for example, offers support through workflows that control and accelerate document processing. For this, a close interlocking with SAP ERP is a prerequisite, because only the immediate provision of all process-relevant information enables efficient workflows.

Perfect interaction: SAP and EIM

If this prerequisite is met, numerous added values result for the user. With the help of process-oriented file solutions, data is stored and managed in a structured and complete manner. Digital files are often already tailored to industry-specific requirements or prefabricated for specific processes. One example is an order file that contains all relevant documents from the purchase-to-pay process. This means that the right information is always available - thanks to various client approaches - regardless of the location of the person processing the order. 

The fact that software outside of SAP is used for this does not matter to users. Due to the openness of the interfaces, which leading EIM providers realize, deep integration in SAP is possible, making a change of system superfluous: Document management simply takes place in the familiar working environment, so that employees do not have to get used to the introduction of appropriate software.  

To protect documents from unauthorized access in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), information can be provided or denied using configurable rights and role concepts. For example, the role of management can be given universal access rights, while employees from marketing can only open the documents they need for their work. With a suitable connector, data can also be archived in an audit-proof manner and provided with corresponding retention periods or blocking indicators (keyword "legal hold"). When the defined periods expire, it is possible to delete or lock data automatically.

CMIS Interface: Challenge in the Public Cloud

In the meantime, many SAP users are aiming to operate in the public cloud. To avoid any nasty surprises later when archiving documents from the SAP public cloud, great care must be taken when selecting the supplementary archiving system. Because: With CMIS, SAP has introduced a new standard for the archive connection. Compatibility with this interface is a central requirement for a suitable EIM solution with archive. The repository that SAP itself developed for document storage is costly for users and will be phased out in the future. The reason is that tapping this market segment is not one of the software group's strategic goals.

A reliable indicator when selecting a solution is its certification by SAP for smooth integration in SAP S/4HANA. Leading EIM providers prove that the management and archiving of documents such as contracts or invoices within the SAP ecosystem with their product is compliant. The document and archive management functions are available directly in the ERP. This requires the ArchivLink interface, the connection to SAP ILM and the CMIS interface. However, SAP has not yet certified the latter. EIM manufacturers who have already integrated CMIS in their systems will be happy to advise and support interested parties in this area.