SAP S/4 Hana Cloud Or On-Premises: Which Option Is Right For You?

Migrating your existing ERP system to S/4 Hana is not a trivial task. S/4 Hana requires significant technical redesign and complex conversion that can take a lot of your time, resources, and money.

S/4 Hana offers three deployment options: cloud, on-premises and hybrid. Whether you are migrating an existing ERP solution or creating a new one from scratch, you have to choose the deployment option based on your business needs, budget, and resources. This article compares two out of the three options: cloud and on premises.

What is SAP S/4 Hana?

SAP S/4 Hana is an (ERP) business suite based on the Hana database. SAP S/4 Hana Cloud enables companies to analyze business data in real-time and perform transactions.

S/4 Hana was released in February 2015 as a successor to Business Suite. S/4 is designed to simplify administration by processing large amounts of data. The ERP system is available in the cloud and on premises, including hybrid deployment models. If you want to run SAP on Azure, AWS, or GCP, managed services are available. There is also a managed service available directly from SAP.

S/4 Hana in the cloud

Cloud environments enable companies to use high-performance computing that covers their core business strategies, while providing flexibility, and fast upgrade cycles. The light and flexible database platform of S/4 Hana is suitable for middle size businesses interested in growing at scale. 

S/4 Hana on premises

On-premises S/4 is suitable for large enterprises with proven business processes. The system is located on a local server to enable more effective monitoring and configuration workflows than in the cloud. SAP 4 Hana technology in cloud.

S/4 Hana with a hybrid model

A hybrid model is suitable for companies interested in quickly transforming their business while avoiding setup costs. A hybrid model combines both cloud and on-premises versions. The on-prem version stores data and applications on the organization’s hardware. The cloud version enables you to make changes to the system and adopt new opportunities without additional advance charges.

Infrastructure and maintenance

On-premises S/4 Hana deployment requires companies to invest in their own database, hardware, and networks. Companies also need to have dedicated IT teams to maintain on-premises infrastructure. The initial deployment of on-premises S/4 may be expensive, but you will have more control over costs later. Furthermore, you do not need to immediately rebuild the entire system every time there is a new upgrade. You can upgrade at your own pace.

Cloud deployments of SAP are responsible for the entire infrastructure, including maintenance. You do not need to invest in your own databases or IT staff. Cloud SAP systems are upgraded automatically every quarter. You will always have the latest version of the software. However, you do not have control over the system since it is entirely managed by a third-party solution. Here is an example of SAP S/4 Hana Cloud Or On-Premises. Which one is right for us? SAP S/4 Hana Cloud Or On-Premises. This is an example of SAP HANA technology in Cloud.