SAP Cloud Providers

SAP Cloud Providers: An Overview and Key Considerations

What are SAP Cloud Providers?

For those moving SAP workloads to the cloud, there are multiple choices available in terms of where those solutions and their associated data repositories are located. For years organizations have been using hosting partners or managed service providers for infrastructure, though these are now referred to as private cloud environments.

At the other end of the spectrum are the SAP Hyperscalers (link to landing page) or what are called public cloud providers. These large organizations often have software or data from multiple customers running on the same hardware or systems in different virtual environments, called multi-tenant public cloud. These public cloud providers can also offer single-tenant public cloud environments where they ensure that software and data from only one organization is present on any given infrastructure.

SAP Cloud Providers: An Overview and Key Considerations

What are SAP Cloud Providers?

For those moving SAP workloads to the cloud, there are multiple choices available in terms of where those solutions and their associated data repositories are located. For years organizations have been using hosting partners or managed service providers for infrastructure, though these are now referred to as private cloud environments.

At the other end of the spectrum are the SAP Hyperscalers (link to landing page) or what are called public cloud providers. These large organizations often have software or data from multiple customers running on the same hardware or systems in different virtual environments, called multi-tenant public cloud. These public cloud providers can also offer single-tenant public cloud environments where they ensure that software and data from only one organization is present on any given infrastructure.

Other environments considered to be SAP Cloud Providers include larger managed service providers that offer their own hosting services in combination with infrastructure from larger public cloud providers. Some examples of these providers working in the SAP space include, but are not limited to:

• Atos
• DXC Technology
• HCL
• Navisite
• NetApp
• NTT Data
• Rackspace Technology

The last type of SAP Cloud Provider is the managed environment on-premise offered by large technology companies. In these environments, organizations pay based on usage as they would with a public cloud or hyperscaler, but the hardware is physically located in their own data centers. Organizations offering these solutions for SAP are:

• Dell Technologies
• HPE

Key Considerations for SAPinsiders

• Ensure that you understand as much about your cloud service provider as you can before moving workloads. Every organization will want to understand how much it will cost them to start running workloads in the cloud, and how security can be assured on the data that they have located there. But there are other questions that you should also get answered before selecting a cloud service provider. This blog covers six basic questions that you should ask your cloud service provider before you start moving your SAP workloads and provides a starting point for making sure you know everything you need to know before making a commitment.
• Understand what sort of cloud environment you need and what best suits your requirements.There are many choices when it comes to cloud environments, including private cloud and public cloud, and a combination of these environments referred to as a hybrid landscape. Not every environment is suited for every deployment or every organization, and understanding the pros and cons of each choice is one of the most crucial parts of moving to the cloud. This article interviews multiple executives who made different choices when it came to cloud deployments in their own organizations, and why those made sense to them. Understanding these options is important to ensuring your own cloud success.