More and more, businesses are seeking solutions that offer agility, scalability, and seamless integration. One such transformation solution? SAP migration to Azure. This strategic move combines the robust capabilities of SAP, a leader in enterprise resource planning (ERP), with the unparalleled flexibility and innovation of Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.
Azure remains the platform of choice for nearly half of enterprises looking to migrate their SAP environment:
- 47% of respondents to a survey kept Azure top of mind for their SAP migration to a public cloud environment
- 21% preferred Google Cloud
- And 18% preferred AWS
Most importantly, the synergy between SAP and Azure presents an opportunity to streamline operations, enhance collaboration, and drive data-driven decision-making.
“Many SAP clients find it makes business sense to leverage existing relationships with Microsoft when choosing a cloud platform for their SAP estate. Microsoft has worked diligently to bring many market leading features to SAP on Azure, and works closely with SAP on developing and extending those features,” said Cynthia Borgman , Chief Delivery Officer at apiphani.
“At apiphani, we integrate our management platform into these features to give our clients the best possible experience, driving operational excellence and consistency, and offering actionable insights from data.”
In this blog post, we’ll go into the intricacies of SAP migration to Azure , offering insights, best practices, and a roadmap to ensure a successful transition.
The Power of SAP On Azure
The benefits of SAP services on Azure are threefold, making the synergy between the two much more powerful than these tools on their own.
Synergy Between SAP and Microsoft
Azure facilitates easy integration, allowing businesses to harness the power of both SAP’s robust ERP solutions and Microsoft’s suite of productivity tools.
(Think along the lines of Power BI and Office 365, which both support the use of SAP HANA.) This integration not only streamlines operations but also enhances collaboration, data analysis, and decision-making processes.
Nearly 100% Availability
But perhaps one of the most compelling reasons for businesses to adopt SAP on Azure is its promise of near 100% availability. With Azure’s robust infrastructure supporting SAP, businesses like yours can operate confidently, knowing that mission-critical workloads are running on a platform that prioritizes reliability and uptime.
Apiphani’s predictive Deep Automation™ technology can improve availability even more, preventing issues before they can cause major disruptions.
And the good news? You can likewise migrate SAP HANA to Azure . (HANA runs only on a single instance in Azure.)
Azure is Hybrid
One of the primary reasons businesses are gravitating towards this combination is Azure’s hybrid nature. This hybrid capability ensures that businesses can seamlessly integrate on-premise data centers with the cloud. Data is always automatically replicated, and you can create additional backups.
Taking the Stress Out of Your SAP Migration
Our SAP consultants are here to help, backed by years of experience.
Migrating SAP to Azure Cloud: What We Recommend
1. Initial Readiness Assessment
At the heart of this assessment is the SAP migration readiness scan, a detailed examination that delves deep into the intricacies of your existing system. This scan is instrumental in providing a clear picture of its current state, highlighting potential challenges, and setting the groundwork for subsequent migration phases.
Another crucial aspect of the assessment is the analysis of the current SAP environment. By understanding the existing infrastructure and its needs, you can identify gaps and areas of improvement. This analysis also sheds light on growth patterns, offering insights into how the system has evolved over time and predicting future scalability requirements.
Evaluating workloads is another essential component. You can ensure that once migrated, these workloads operate optimally, leveraging the best of what Azure has to offer. Migrating inefficient processes to the cloud can result in wasted spending on cloud resources.
Your assessment also needs to define storage provisioning, allocation, and performance needs. You need to ensure that data is not just migrated but is also accessible, secure, and performs well in the Azure environment. This consideration also extends to network bandwidth.
Also make sure to keep tabs on your compliance, security, and application requirements during this stage so you can avoid any unnecessary reworking later on in this process.
| Tip: Unsure if your readiness assessment is as comprehensive as it needs to be? Consider working with apiphani or another SAP consulting partner—their expertise and knowledge of SAP Managed Services will help prevent you from missing anything important during your assessment. |
2. Build Your SAP Migration Blueprint
When you’re considering a significant transition, such as SAP migration to Azure, it’s essential to have a clear roadmap. Starting with a Proof of Concept (POC) is a smart move. Before you dive into a full-scale migration, a POC allows you to test the waters, giving you a firsthand experience of what the migration might entail.
Remember the initial risk assessment you went through? It’s time to leverage all that valuable information. By integrating insights from the risk assessment and referencing established architectures, you ensure that your blueprint is grounded in research and best practices.
Now, think of your SAP applications . Which ones could serve as ideal candidates for a pilot migration to Azure? By selecting specific applications for this pilot phase, you’re setting the stage for a controlled and manageable migration.
Starting with low-risk applications is a strategic move—it allows you to gain invaluable experience without exposing your core operations to potential risks.
As you progress, it’s crucial to determine and prepare your target Azure environment. Think of it as setting up a new home for your applications. You want to ensure that this new environment is not only ready to house your applications but is optimized for their performance.
Lastly, consider the resources you’ll need in Azure. Determining these resources and conducting a test migration ensures that when you’re ready for the full-scale migration, you have all the tools and resources at your disposal. It’s like rehearsing before the main performance.
Why Businesses Are Migrating SAP to Azure: An Overview
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3. Migrate Your Environment to Azure and Go Live
It’s time for you to provision the necessary Azure licensing . This step ensures that you have the right tools and permissions in place, laying the foundation for a smooth migration.
Migration is an active process that demands constant vigilance. By allocating a high-priority migration team dedicated to closely monitoring the migration, you will ensure the likelihood of success. This dedicated team can swiftly address any challenges, ensuring that the migration remains on track and any potential issues are promptly addressed.
Lastly, the migration process’s integrity hinges on the accuracy of data transfer. By performing interactive test cycles, you ensure that the data transfer is not just precise but also efficient. These test cycles act as a final checkpoint, ensuring that no data is lost or corrupted during the transition.
Interested in Migrating to SAP S/4 HANA?
Keep your process seamless. Learn more from our guide.
4. Continuous Optimizations
After the migration, it’s essential for you to fine-tune the SAP Cloud environment. By making adjustments based on real-world usage and performance metrics, you ensure that your SAP systems in Azure are running at peak efficiency.
Apiphani has learned from long experience that this is an ongoing process, and apiphani client service teams work continually to optimize the performance of SAP on Azure.
Azure offers a suite of capacity and cost management tools designed with businesses like yours in mind. By leveraging these tools, you can gain insights into your resource utilization, ensuring that you’re getting the most out of your investment.
Additionally, staying updated is key. Azure is a dynamic platform with continuous technological advances. By monitoring these updates and incorporating them into your SAP environment, you ensure that you’re always at the cutting edge, benefiting from the latest innovations and enhancements.
With Azure’s monitoring capabilities, paired with apiphani’s AI-based Deep Automation technology, you gain real-time insights into your SAP systems, improving system availability and performance. You also benefit from advanced threat detection, ensuring that your systems remain secure.
Speaking of security, ensuring data integrity and protection is paramount. By harnessing both Azure services and SAP’s inherent capabilities, you can craft a robust security framework, ensuring that your data remains protected against potential threats.
Lastly, technology is only as good as its users. Organizing training sessions for your end-users ensures faster adoption of the new environment. By empowering your team with the knowledge and skills to navigate the Azure-based SAP systems, you’re setting the stage for operational excellence.
Unlock the Full Potential of SAP on Azure with apiphani
From the initial assessment to the final go-live and beyond, our team of experts stands by your side, offering insights, best practices, and hands-on support. Our deep understanding of both SAP and Azure allows us to craft migration strategies tailored to the way you do business.
We recognize the importance of ensuring near100% availability, optimizing costs, and ensuring data security. With our expertise, you can confidently embark on this transformative journey, knowing that every aspect is meticulously planned and executed.
With our comprehensive services, expertise, and commitment to excellence, we ensure that your SAP migration to Azure is not just a technical transition but a strategic move towards future-ready business operations.
Ready to elevate your business with SAP on Azure? Get in touch today.
