Accelerating SAP S/4HANA Migrations with Terraform on AWS
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Key Takeaways
⇨ Organizations migrating to SAP S/4HANA are increasingly adopting Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions, like Terraform, to simplify and automate their transformation processes, especially within tight timelines leading to the 2027 support deadline.
⇨ AWS is heavily investing in enhancing SAP migrations through its tailored open-source Terraform modules, which provide a repeatable and compliant way to deploy SAP infrastructure on AWS, offering significant benefits for enterprises managing complex SAP landscapes.
⇨ The convergence of SAP operations with cloud-native practices emphasizes the need for technology executives to evaluate infrastructure providers based on automation capabilities, validated templates, and integration with governance strategies, ensuring they can meet evolving operational demands.
As SAP customers face tight timelines to migrate to SAP S/4HANA by the 2027 support deadline, many are turning to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions to reduce complexity, risk, and manual effort in their transformation journeys. While many customers are choosing RISE with SAP on hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), some still run SAP natively on AWS. Now, AWS is investing heavily in enabling these migrations through its growing portfolio of open-source Terraform modules, which are tailored for SAP.
Automating SAP Infrastructure Deployment with Terraform
Terraform, developed by HashiCorp, is one of the most widely adopted Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools used to codify and automate infrastructure provisioning. AWS has recently released a suite of modular Terraform configurations for SAP, supporting the creation of SAP-certified infrastructure components by forking a GitHub repository containing templates for use in Terraform implementations. For SAP customers running or planning to run SAP S/4HANA on AWS, these modules offer a repeatable method for deploying compliant infrastructure that aligns with SAP on the AWS Well-Architected framework.
To further automate your SAP environment on AWS and drive greater efficiency, organizations should consider integrating AWS-native services that support operational excellence. Start by configuring CloudWatch to collect monitoring metrics, set alarms, and track events for SAP S/4HANA. The EC2 Image Builder can be used to create standardized base AMIs for SAP installations, streamlining the provisioning process.
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Beyond monitoring and backup, automation can be extended through AWS Systems Manager Playbooks for common operational tasks, and EC2 Start/Stop or Start/Stop 2 for optimizing compute costs. Patch management, compliance enforcement using AWS Config Rules, and automation of high availability (HA) tests all contribute to maintaining a well-governed environment. Additionally, serverless applications can be used to extend SAP functionality in a scalable, event-driven way. Together, these tools and other offerings from AWS or third-party sources offer a robust framework for automating and optimizing SAP operations on AWS.
The Terraform module library from AWS is particularly valuable for large enterprises managing SAP landscapes across multiple accounts, regions, and organizational units. This open-source platform enables implementation teams to enforce consistent naming conventions, tagging strategies, and governance controls. This level of standardization has historically been difficult to achieve in SAP environments, where infrastructure changes often occur through manual interventions or undocumented scripts.
What This Means for SAPinsiders
SAP migrations are becoming infrastructure-agnostic and automation-driven. For technology executives, this shift represents a broader market trend: the convergence of SAP operations with modern cloud-native practices such as IaC. While SAP historically required highly specialized infrastructure setups, platforms like AWS, combined with open-source IaC tools, are democratizing and accelerating SAP provisioning. This not only helps organizations meet the SAP S/4HANA deadline but also fosters ongoing agility, especially in hybrid or multi-account environments.
The competitive landscape is evolving. AWS is not the only provider supporting SAP infrastructure automation; however, AWS stands out for its curated Terraform module library, deep SAP partner ecosystem, and alignment with the SAP on AWS Competency Program, giving it an advantage in complex or regulated deployments. When assessing providers, IT leaders should consider the availability of validated templates, the ease of integration with CI/CD workflows, support for multi-account governance strategies, and the strength of the provider’s SAP-specific support services.
Best practices and implementation guidance. For enterprises to utilize Terraform effectively in SAP environments, a viable approach is to adopt a standardized module architecture, and enforce separation between development, testing, and production environments. Ensure close coordination between the SAP Basis and platform engineering teams to achieve successful outcomes that meet both business and technical requirements. While some teams face a learning curve or encounter challenges with consistency, disciplined Infrastructure Terraform adoption can reduce errors, enhance disaster recovery capabilities, and streamline compliance in large-scale SAP landscapes.
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