SAP Business Suite on HANA vs.

S/4HANA [Guide]

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SAP ERP has been evolving and improving since the 1970s, but
the release of SAP HANA represented a sea of changes in the
SAP landscape. Rather than continuing to design their enterprise
software to run on databases built by other companies, SAP SE
Categories
created their own innovative database, designed to move
customers toward a faster, more flexible all-SAP landscape.
Cloud Computing

As companies plan their transition to the next generation of SAP Compliance

software, the need to choose between SAP HANA cloud
migration, appliances and TDI, and weigh the benefits of IT Cyber Security
managed services against in-house support. But deciding whether
to move straight from SAP ECC to S/4HANA or to choose Disaster Recovery
Business Suite on HANA can be the most challenging decision.
Enterprise Resource
Heres what they need to consider: Planning

SAP HANA Basics Expert Insight

Managed Services
As we explained in What is SAP HANA, HANA is the backend that
runs the SAP landscape. Its central feature is an innovative, ON DEMAND
column-based Relational Database Management System
SAP HANA and Big Data
(RDBMS), which is used to store, retrieve and process data on
core business activities.

SAP HANA itself doesnt Recent Posts

determine what sorts of tasks a
business does it can 3 Ways
ControlPanelGRC Is
accommodate any type of data. Changing SAP
Businesses install applications Compliance for IT
that run on top of HANA, such as
SAP applications for finance, HR 3 Types of HANA
and logistics. As such, Migration Whats Your
Journey? Part 2
companies have to make
choices about what software SAP Public Cloud, SAP
best meets their current needs. Private Cloud, or HANA
Enterprise Cloud?
The design of SAP HANA allows
Cloud Disaster
it to drastically boost speed for
Recovery: Getting Ready
both Online Transaction and Staying Ready
Processing (OLTP) and Online
Analytical Processing (OLAP). Most databases store the majority The Making of a
Successful SAP
of their information on the hard drive, and can only keep a limited
implementation
amount of information in main memory; hard drives are relatively
slow, which limits how fast they can recall information. Because
SAP HANA resides in-memory, it can retrieve, process and
transmit data much more quickly.

SAP HANA also has a simpler structure and lower memory

footprint than other RDBMSs. In most competing systems, OLAP
and OLTP are stored and processed in separate databases, which
is inefficient, and leads to a lot of redundant information bloating
the database footprint.

Additionally, most RDBMSs are oriented, and require indexes to

speed up performance. SAP HANA, on the other hand, is column-
oriented and combines OLAP and OLTP into a single structure,
cutting memory usage by a factor of 10 or more and improving
performance.

As a result, SAP HANA can do real-time analytics, crunching data

nearly instantaneously. This allows businesses to react more
quickly to changing conditions, providing significant strategic
benefits.

SAP HANA isnt just a new choice for enterprise computing;

because it handles data very differently from other databases, its
designed to run SAP software. SAP SE has been reworking their
core ERP applications to better harness HANAs speed and
flexibility, and will only support older versions of the software until
2025, at which point customers need to have completed their SAP
HANA migration, and upgraded to the new software.

SAP ECC and Suite on HANA

SAP ECC, or Enterprise Central Component is the pre-HANA
enterprise suite used for ERP modules like logistics, warehousing,
financing, and human resources.

Theres a lot of overlap between the terms ECC, R/3 and SAP
ERP, which can cause confusion. The software developed from
SAP R/3, which was first released in the early 90s. Starting with a
2003 release, the company started using the term SAP ERP.
From 2004 on, the term SAP ECC was used more or less
interchangeably with SAP ERP. Got all that? If not, dont worry
for simplicity, well stick with the term SAP ECC.

The new front end of SAP ECC is SAP Fiori UX. Fiori replaced the
SAPgui with a standardized User Experience (UX) based on
innovative design using input from SAP customers. This UX gives
a commercial-grade, design-focused feel to enterprise software,
which is a radical departure from how SAP worked in the past.
There are a wide range of Fiori apps, including:

Transactional apps to perform tasks

Analytical apps to simplify data analysis, and
Fact sheets to show relationships between business objects

SAP Fiori apps are designed around the most common tasks
users have to do, rather than the structure of the SAP modules
themselves. This boosts productivity and ease of use, allowing
users to choose and customize apps based on their roles and
needs, rather than having to dive deep into SAPgui to find the
right tools.
Because SAP ECC predates SAP HANA, companies using it
generally started on other databases. When ECC users perform a
SAP HANA migration without changing the front end, it becomes
SAP Business Suite on HANA. Although SAP HANA Business
Suite has a different backend, it still has Fiori UX, and the same
SAP applications. This lets businesses benefit from the
performance boost of SAP HANA without restructuring the
application layer; the process is relatively simple, and users dont
have to adapt to a new system.

SAP S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA is SAPs next generation business suite. Its meant
to replace SAP ECC/ERP, with a simplified tool designed
specifically to work with SAP HANA. Currently, SAP is reworking
the code behind the SAP ECC modules, optimizing them for the
way the HANA database is set up.

However, S/4HANA is an ongoing project. So far, SAP has

reworked the finance module, and improved logistics as part of
the core S/4HANA features. In other areas, the business benefits
of S/4HANA over Business Suite on HANA are less significant.

ECC users have to pass through SAP HANA Business Suite to

arrive at S/4HANA. The databases and tables will have to be
converted into the columnar structure of SAP HANA, with
unneeded indices and aggregate tables removed. Additionally,
applications designed or modified by the customer will need to be
evaluated; in some cases, new HANA functionality may render
them unnecessary, while in other cases, they may have to be
adjusted to work properly with the new backend.

S/4HANA is designed to use Fiori UX. Customers can still use the
old user interface during the transition, however theyll be able to
take advantage of the power and flexibility offered in HANA S/4
with Fiori. For some organizations, the current S/4 features may
not outweigh the added complexity of moving past ECC. As time
passes and new SAP S/4HANA functions are added, the benefits
of moving away from Business Suite on HANA to S/4 will increase
for a greater range of organizations.

Enhanced functionality of SAP S/4HANA

The greatest benefits of SAP S/4HANA over Business Suite on
HANA lie in financial management and accounting. SAP S/4HANA
Finance is designed to cover the full range of finance tasks,
including planning, analysis, accounting, compliance and risk
management. According to SAP chairman Hasso Plattner, the
HANA S/4 finance app can shrink data more than 10 fold, from
593 GB to 42 GB, with only 8.4 GB being dynamic, current-year
data requiring high availability and backups.

Even more importantly, SAP S/4HANA Finance offers flexibility

that Business Suite on HANA cant match. Traditional databases
are structurally complex, and designed to do certain types of
analysis and reporting. To change the data flow, organizations
have to rework the entire structure, which can require extensive
reprogramming and testing.

Because SAP S/4HANA does away with the supporting data, it

can also do away with the rigid structures. You can rapidly build
models, predicting the effects of business decisions, such as
divestment or acquisition. This flexibility allows predictive
modeling, real-time cost and revenue analysis and cash flow
optimization.

It also makes compliance and monitoring financials easier and

quicker, by centralizing data and eliminating redundant
information. Organizations arent forced to wait until the next close
to get an in-depth look at financial KPIs they can analyze data
in real time over any range and at the desired depth, which
provides better insight into the health of the company.

SAP S/4HANA Finance also allows companies to automate risk,

compliance, international trade and other activities. By proactively
minimizing risk and compliance violations, the software makes it
easier to optimize business operations, protect assets, and
improve financial performance. HANA S/4 also provides real-time
fraud detection, and can even predict and block future fraudulent
behavior.

SAP S/4HANA Supply Chain provides compelling advantages

over Business Suite on HANA in a range of logistics uses,
including sales and procurement, inventory management and
capacity planning. SAP HANA S/4 allows real-time tracking of
current inventory, transportation of goods, production costs and
other data. Costs and profits are instantly reflected in accounting,
providing better visibility into the companys current finances.

S/4HANA logistics can even synchronize with mobile devices in

individual trucks, automating invoicing and route planning, and
posting problems such as missing goods. It also analyzes the flow
of goods to reduce bottlenecks and help materials planners
minimize inventory levels.

Moving to HANA S/4 vs. Suite

Moving straight to SAP HANA Business Suite and S/4HANA are
very similar processes. In both cases, the organization needs to
carefully calculate their hardware requirements. SAP HANA has
exacting hardware requirements that are different from those of
SAP ECC on other databases. In order to ensure future SAP
support, an SAP-certified team will need to crunch the numbers
based on use case, and either install a new SAP HANA appliance,
build out existing hardware using Tailored Data Center Integration
(TDI) or provision appropriate resources in a private cloud or
hybrid cloud.

Installing either SAP Business Suite on HANA or S/4HANA

requires adjustment at the backend. SAP HANA is able to support
all ECC functionality, but the different structure of the database
necessitates good SAP Basis support, plenty of testing and
backups, and some post go-live tweaking to ensure everything is
working properly.

If your company has custom applications, legacy servers or

multiple environments, it can further complicate things. An SAP
partner with extensive SAP HANA migration experience can help
you plan the best way to adapt complex or custom ERP
environments to HANA. In many cases, HANA functionality can
obviate the need to use custom code.

To get to S/4HANA, companies have to pass through HANA

Business Suite. The road to SAP S/4HANA is fairly simple for
companies running SAP Suite on HANA ERP 6, but requires extra
steps for companies using older versions of Suite.

In either case, organizations will need to upgrade Netweaver,

adjust and tweak the new applications, and provide some
additional training using HANA S/4 applications and updates.
Companies may also benefit from optimizing their ERP landscape
(for example, by merging multiple SAP HANA Business Suite
systems or migrating legacy systems to HANA), which adds extra
complexity to the project.

Making the Choice

SAP will continue to support and update ECC and Suite, allowing
businesses to plan their SAP HANA migration and S/4 upgrade in
a way that makes sense to them. Good planning can maximize
strategic benefits, while minimizing disruptions.

For most SAP ECC users, the best bet is to start with SAP
Business Suite and save S/4HANA for another project. It provides
many key benefits of HANA S/4, and is simpler, less expensive
and less disruptive. However, for companies in finance industries
and, to a lesser extent, logistics the advantage of S/4HANA
may be profound enough to warrant the additional complexity of
upgrading all at once.

For companies upgrading from a legacy or non-SAP system, SAP

S/4HANA is usually the best bet; theyll be building and migrating
to a completely new system anyway, so theres no benefits to
moving to SAP Business Suite on HANA, and no disadvantage to
moving to S/4HANA. For companies with a complex blend of SAP
ECC and other ERP environments, however, the choice can be
more complex, and a multi-phase project may make the most
sense.

Your companys attitude toward cloud and IT infrastructure

upgrades is also a factor. If your organization is reluctant to take
on big IT projects, migrating straight from SAP ECC to S/4HANA
may make the most sense, in spite of the added complexity.

Get the Most Benefit Out of SAP Business

Suite on HANA or S/4HANA
When it comes to migrating to ERP on HANA, the right business
partner can make all the difference. Symmetrys experience in
cloud and hosting, IT consulting and ERP managed services
makes us the right partner for every step of your journey. From
choosing between SAP Business Suite and S/4, to planning and
executing your SAP HANA migration to tweaking and running your
SAP HANA cloud post go-live, we can maximize the benefits of
SAP ERP, while minimizes costs and disruptions. Contact us to
learn more about how we can help you get the most out of HANA.

About Kevin Knuese - Vice President of SAP

Solutions
As Vice President of SAP Solutions, Kevin Knuese leads Symmetrys
SAP Cloud Hosting and SAP HANA solution development efforts. After
decades of problem solving within the IT world, Knuese provides
strategic leadership to help navigate the complex world of SAP
application management for Symmetrys valued customers. Working
shoulder to shoulder with our customers executive management team,
Knuese assess business requirements to ensure the IT infrastructure in
place is meeting the enterprise needs, while providing operational
guidance to leverage emerging technologies. Knuese ensures
Symmetry customers are delivered tailored enterprise cloud solutions
that are expertly managed, with state-of-the art security and built in
scalability to grow as our customers businesses grow. He is a sought
after thought leader and can be frequently seen presenting on the main
stage at leading edge IT conferences in the U.S. and around the world.
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