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SAP is one of the leading cloud-based software dealers with multiple data centers and more than 100 million global subscribers. The dealer invented SAP HANA in 2010. In 2016, the dealer introduced SAP S/4HANA Cloud and rebranded SAP HANA into SAP Cloud Platform in 2017. In 2021, the SAP HANA Cloud Platform will become extinct, paving the way for SAP. Technology Platform (SAP BTP). SAP BTP is a PaaS offering directed at the intelligent enterprise. The four pillars of SAP BTP are analytics, application development and integration, intelligence technologies, and data/base management.

SAP Cloud Solutions include SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Ariba, Concur, Business ByDesign, SAP application lifecycle management for its cloud solutions, and SAP customer experience. SAP calls on its customers to leverage its cloud offerings to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in its operations. In this article, we have simplified SAP cloud integration to make customers understand the three cloud solutions offered by SAP.

Types of SAP Cloud Service Models

SAP cloud service models include infrastructure-as-a-service(IaaS), Platform-as-a-service(PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service(SaaS). IaaS helps companies to outsource the equipment they need to aid their operations. Such types of equipment include servers, hardware, networking, and storage facilities. SAP, the IaaS provider, handles the equipment’s operation, storage, and maintenance. Often, IaaS forms the basis for more extensive cloud service offerings like Microsoft Azure, Rackspace, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services.

PaaS is a comprehensive software platform with related services such as authentication and connectivity. It offers a platform to enable clients, independent vendors, and partners to build innovative cloud-based software applications faster.

SaaS also referred on-demand software. The software and related data are hosted centrally on SAP systems. The model is best for non-differentiating and non-core business processes such as customer relationship management and procurement.

Types of Clouds Offered by SAP

The SAP solutions available for customers include SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, SAP HANA cloud platform, and SAP S/4HANA cloud.

SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC)

SAP HEC is a private cloud edition run in credible data centers. Customers can choose Hyperscaler or SAP data centers. It is SAP’s cloud edition through which you can achieve agility, the total cost of ownership, and visibility. The IaaS offering helps SAP customers reduce software access costs, time, and financial resources with the freedom to scale their operating models.

SAP HANA Cloud Platform/SAP Cloud Platform

SAP Cloud Platform has evolved into an all-inclusive PaaS offering. The evolution has simplified cloud application development and operation, making it possible to create extensions for other SAP solutions depending on business needs. It is the SAP cloud foundry for innovative applications and product lines developed around machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT). Developers can use the SAP S/HANA Cloud Platform to create customized SAP applications or improve existing ones. With this offering, you can make decisions based on real-time data or integrate information from several sources to form an Oracle database.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud

SAP launched the SAP S/4HANA Cloud in 2017 to provide advanced intelligent Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to help SAP customers and companies achieve optimal digital transformation. The SAP HANA Cloud is built on SAP HANA, making it an effective SaaS model, courtesy of HANA’s real-time data access and in-memory processing capabilities. Digital assistant, machine learning, and predictive analytics are the three cloud solutions that form the basis for intelligent enterprise resource planning.

Options for SAP Cloud Deployment

Software deployment is a dealer’s approach to providing such software via the cloud. Software deployment options differ in software lifecycle management, infrastructure offerings, and diverse licensing. The main cloud-based software deployment models include

• A hybrid cloud that combines public and private applications to form an information technology infrastructure that provides efficiency and data security.
• Public cloud where several SAP customers access shared resources through the web. Clients’ shared resources are hosted by the dealer.
• Managed cloud in which the vendor dedicates resources to one client. The client accesses the resources through a VPN or cloud Vlab. The software dealer manages the infrastructure operations in the managed cloud option through their data center.
• The private cloud is where a specific client, to whom the dealer dedicates resources, possesses the infrastructure. The client is the owner or the manager of the infrastructure in their premises.