Deutsche Telekom’s Hybrid Cloud Journey to RISE with SAP
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Key Takeaways
⇨ Deutsche Telekom is undertaking a significant digital transformation by migrating to RISE with SAP and the cloud, highlighting the importance of planning and flexibility for large enterprises.
⇨ Choosing the right partners, such as T-Systems and Google Cloud, is crucial for successful cloud migration; a strong partner ecosystem can provide guidance, diverse solutions, and application support.
⇨ Embracing a hybrid and multi-cloud approach allows enterprises to optimize performance, cost, and security, ensuring that their SAP systems meet specific needs and compliance requirements.
For large enterprises navigating the complex landscape of digital transformation, the move to SAP S/4HANA and the cloud is a significant undertaking. Telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom recently embarked on a mission to adopt RISE with SAP. The company tapped partner T-Systems and SAP to help them make the move to take advantage of the flexibility of the cloud while still holding firm on the business’s security requirements within the RISE with SAP framework.
Making the Move
Initially, Deutsche Telekom was hesitant to make the move to RISE with SAP. Four years ago, the company evaluated RISE with SAP and decided to stay with on-premises versions. However, near the end of 2023, circumstances had changed. “Deutsche Telekom was like many companies, using the strategy ‘Kick the can down the road,’ so do as little as late as possible,” says Joop Jansen, Senior Vice President Finance at Deutsche Telekom IT.
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Deutsche Telecom’s technology needs are significant. The company spends more than 1.6 billion Euros each year on IT and has a complex and expansive IT infrastructure with over 782 applications and 83 SAP systems. And it has about 35 million customers in its CRM systems. The 83 SAP applications were running in about 1,200 instances, and the company was looking to consolidate.
Kicking off in 2024, by 2030 Deutsche Telekom plans to have streamlined its on-premises deployments and moved many systems to the cloud. They expect to transition to having about 300 RISE with SAP systems running on T-Systems Private Cloud and another 130 on Google Cloud Platform, with a few legacy systems running on premises. They intend to keep some more specific SAP landscapes, like those focused on the German or Hungarian markets, under their existing contract conditions (referred to as “Viking”) directly with T-Systems, outside of the RISE with SAP contract.
Choose the Right Partner
This long-term perspective, spanning five to six years for the complete migration, underscores the scale and complexity involved in such transformations for large organizations, and Deutsche Telekom’s Jansen has advice for others looking to make the leap to the cloud and RISE With SAP.
‘If you start with RISE, flexibility is key. Make sure that you don’t take a standard one size-fits-all approach,” says Jansen. “Especially if you’re a large enterprise, it is required to have multiple possibilities to implement your SAP journey.”
He recommends finding a partner ecosystem, like the collaboration between T-Systems, SAP and Google Cloud, that can help guide you on the migration journey. “It’s crucial that you not only have SAP to work with, but you also have a very strong integration partner, a system partner.”
A good partner, he says, will be able to facilitate applications operations and provide a variety of cloud solutions. “Don’t put all your load in one cloud, or don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” he says.
Deutsche Telekom’s experience with RISE with SAP offers valuable lessons for other large enterprises looking to move their SAP operations to the cloud. Their emphasis on flexibility, strategic partnerships within a strong ecosystem, a multi-cloud approach tailored to their needs, and the necessity of comprehensive long-term planning provides a practical roadmap for those considering this transformative journey to a future-proof SAP landscape.
What this means for SAPinsiders
Take the time to undertake comprehensive planning. The moment a RISE with SAP contract is signed, engage in full-fledged planning with clear decisions for every SAP instance regarding its future – cloud version, retirement, security, and compliance requirements – extending to a target date. This will give your teams a clear vision and goals, as well as help strategize what to move, when and how. Deutsche Telekom set a six-year timeline for its migration.
Cultivate Strong Partnerships: Seek out both a strong relationship with SAP and a capable system integration partner like T-Systems. This partner should provide application operations, access to varied cloud solutions, and support for services beyond the standard RISE with SAP offering, such as consulting and migration services.
Embrace Hybrid and Multi-Cloud: Don’t be afraid to leverage different cloud environments (public and private) to optimize performance, cost, and security based on specific application needs and data restrictions.
