The first articles in this series outlined the basics of IT automation and how we use it to manage around 10,000 SAP instances and releases in a cost-efficient way. Now we are presenting automated processes and standards with which we can quickly and securely implement the migration of SAP systems to the private, hybrid, or public cloud. And reveal what is important when migrating data.
From Current Mode of Operation (CMO) to Future Mode of Operation (FMO): We guide companies along their path to a modern SAP landscape – regardless of where they start. The old SAP environment might, for example, be located in the company's own data center or with a service provider. Or perhaps the customer already uses our managed services.
The changeover itself is most often about the step into the cloud: SAP users are increasingly either switching to a private cloud – for example based on T-Systems' Future Cloud Infrastructure (FCI) – or choosing to run SAP with hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
Our intelligent tools and field-tested standards make it possible to flexibly migrate SAP systems to the private cloud or to hybrid or multi-cloud environments. Bundled in the Cosmos Automation Suite, they facilitate the transition by automating processes in the target system: from the sizing of the new environment to the deployment and installation of databases and the operating system. The advantage: In cases where T-Systems is already operating the old SAP landscape, all performance data is available – meaning that configurations can be easily transferred.
Cloud transformation goes as follows: We install a landing zone, handle the subscription, provide suitable network connections, and handle the data migration. The Cosmos Suite functions as a central management dashboard: it allows for automated management of storage and computing capacity, configuration of networks, and control of system restart procedures. Security information is also integrated, ensuring fail-safe, high-availability operation.
The transition to live operation in the new SAP infrastructure then follows. The System Management Suite from T-Systems runs continuous checks to ensure that the configuration and performance are indeed appropriate.
And: because all processes are equally automated for both private and public clouds, "SAP @ Any Cloud" becomes possible.
Customers benefit from our experience in every transition: We manage more than 10,000 SAP systems worldwide and have carried out around 1,000 SAP migrations annually over the last 15 years. The synergies from all projects have been incorporated into our tools and best practices. We always know what is important in the test phase in order to ensure that SAP solutions function smoothly later on and can be scaled flexibly.
In general: The more best practices that are in place, the more manual operations are eliminated and the more automated SAP operations become. Typical sources of error can be eliminated at an earlier stage and customers benefit from higher quality, shorter delivery times, and lower costs.
Everything has been thought of from a technical point of view during system and data migration and during ongoing SAP operation – but have organizational and legal aspects also been addressed? Our next article discusses potential pitfalls and explains how infrastructures can be optimally designed with the help of intelligent automation tools and standards.
