Microsoft & SAP to accelerate SAP S/4HANA adoption on Azure
Microsoft and SAP have announced an extensive partnership to accelerate customer adoption of SAP S/4HANA and SAP Cloud Platform on Microsoft Azure.
The two companies will work alongside each other and a global network of system integrators to offer bundles that provide unified reference architectures, road maps and market-approved journeys so that customers have a clearer path to cloud.
Microsoft will re-sell components of SAP Cloud Platform alongside Azure, with the intention of making it easier to migrate SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA customers from on-premises to public cloud.
SAP co-chief executive officer Jennifer Morgan says that the partnership is all about reducing complexity and minimising costs for customers.
"Bringing together the power of SAP and Microsoft provides customers with the assurance of working with two industry leaders so they can confidently and efficiently transition into intelligent enterprises," she notes.
SAP will lead with Microsoft Azure to move on-premise SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA customers to the cloud through industry-specific best practices, reference architectures and cloud-delivered services.
This includes future deployment and migration of existing direct SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud customers leveraging hyperscaler infrastructure.
SAP will also continue to uphold its policy of supporting choice for those customers who request alternatives based on business requirements.
"SAP's decision to select Microsoft Azure as its preferred partner deepens the relationship between our two companies in a differentiated way and signals a shared commitment to fostering the growth of the cloud ecosystem," explains Microsoft worldwide commercial business executive vice president Judson Althoff.
"Today's news also reflects our commitment to a customer-first mindset and supporting their cloud transformation, which continues to drive how we at Microsoft approach everything from partnerships to product innovation. It takes co-selling to a whole new level."
Project "Embrace" on Microsoft Azure will provide customers with:
A simplified move from on-premise editions of SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA for customers with integrated product and industry solutions. Industry market bundles will create a road map to the cloud for customers in focused industries, with a singular reference architecture and path to streamline implementation.
Collaborative support model for simplified resolution. In response to customer feedback, a combined support model for Azure and SAP Cloud Platform will help ease migration and improve communication.
Jointly developed market journeys to support customer needs. Designed in collaboration with SAP, Microsoft and system integrator partners will provide road maps to the digital enterprise with recommended solutions and reference architectures for customers. These offer a harmonized approach by industry for products, services and practices across Microsoft, SAP and system integrators.
