S/4 HANA, resources, data security, and SAP IT automation.

S/4 HANA transitions

When it comes to transitioning to S/4 HANA, most I spoke to were on their way in one form or another, considering when to transition, how to transition, and where to transition to.

Most seem to have decided when to, and when not to, transition. Our observation is that although SAP has moved the deadline for ending ECC support to 2030, there doesn’t seem to be any rush or urgency.

Of the three methods, Greenfield, Bluefield, or Brownfield, our observation is that most existing customers are taking, or plan to take a Bluefield approach. We have seen one or two Brownfield, lift and shift transitions and are yet to hear of a planned greenfield, new implementation.

Whether to host on-prem, with a hyperscaler has been muddied somewhat with the introduction of RISE. However, although we have seen a couple of existing customers go with RISE, most are looking at hyperscalers like Azure or AWS, with some remaining on-premise.

Resource challenges

In speaking with SAP IT team leaders this past year, most have experienced challenges in retaining and recruiting skilled professionals. It seems there are more roles available than people to fill them.

S/4 projects have sucked a lot into consulting roles, COVID has seen many at the latter end of their careers choose retirement, and internationals have been fewer. At the same time that many IT teams are expanding.

Salary expectations have had to be adjusted, a more effortless adjustment for some organisations but very difficult for others.

SAP Basis and SAP Testing are the two fields of expertise that seem to create the most challenges.

Data breaches

Unexpectedly, a spate of data breaches has put a lot of SAP IT teams on edge. For example, we think of Medibank/AHM and Optus and feel for the teams having to work their way through the mess.

It has catapulted security and data protection into the highest of priorities, with security and data reviews, and security plan reviews as the highest of agenda items.

In speaking with SAP IT teams and responsible persons, the general feeling is that they don’t want it happening to them, and for good reason.

Data breaches damage brands, attract large fines and distract teams.

IT Automation

A promise of S/4 HANA is agility, however, even in agile environments, testing is a bottleneck. Test acceleration is a requirement to benefit from the promise; however, the options are few. They include reduced testing, increased team size, or automation.

Automation reduces reliance on skilled resources and enables even tiny teams to increase output with increased accuracy and consistency.

Other areas, like workflow automation, SAP job automation, and systems refresh automation, work well for teams struggling to retain the people required to complete these tasks manually.

There are a rising number of SAP systems and data security products available providing automated monitoring and alerting. However, nothing is bulletproof. It’s only a matter of time.

For non-production systems during test and project periods, sensitive data held within poses a risk. It's accessible by unauthorised testers and developers and is generally less secure. Automated data masking eliminates the risk.

Vendors to consider: Qualibrate (acquired by Copado), Libelle AG, Stonebranch, SecurityBridge