SAP Infrastructure


What is SAP Infrastructure?

Rapidly evolving from historical on-premise servers to private, public, and hybrid cloud and cloud-like environments, SAP infrastructure includes the systems, hardware, and platforms on which SAP systems and applications are run. Originally, SAP Infrastructure was limited to mainframe computers, though that changed with the client/server architecture included in the SAP R/3 release. While client environments have typically been Microsoft Windows-based systems, host environments normally included Unix systems. Over time, this shifted to include servers running Linux operating systems, though these were still located in data centers local to an organization’s physical locations.

What is SAP Infrastructure?

Rapidly evolving from historical on-premise servers to private, public, and hybrid cloud and cloud-like environments, SAP infrastructure includes the systems, hardware, and platforms on which SAP systems and applications are run. Originally, SAP Infrastructure was limited to mainframe computers, though that changed with the client/server architecture included in the SAP R/3 release. While client environments have typically been Microsoft Windows-based systems, host environments normally included Unix systems. Over time, this shifted to include servers running Linux operating systems, though these were still located in data centers local to an organization’s physical locations.

SAP Infrastructure now includes on-premise or local data centers, private cloud environments or hosting partners, public cloud and managed service providers, and hybrid combinations of these environments. SAP’s transition to a cloud-based company has resulted in a rapidly growing number of solutions and offerings being entirely cloud based, which in turn means that more SAP workloads are moving to the cloud. While these are not always public cloud or hyperscale environments, the infrastructure supporting SAP systems is more cloud based each year.

Organizations offering SAP Infrastructure solutions include: Atos, AWS, Dell Technologies, Google Cloud, HPE, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Navisite, NTT Data, Nutanix, Rackspace Technology, Virtustream, and VMware.

Key Considerations for SAPinsiders:

  • SAP Infrastructure continues to move towards the cloud, but SAP S/4HANA remains top of mind when it comes to infrastructure planning. As organizations make plans for the future, they need to determine what their future infrastructure should be. For many this revolves around SAP S/4HANA, while others are simply looking to eliminate older legacy infrastructure by doing a lift and shift to the cloud. This panel discusses what the priorities for organizations have been for SAP Infrastructure, where SAP S/4HANA plays into the picture, what technologies are areas of investment, and what impact RISE with SAP is having.
  • SAP workloads, and the infrastructure that they are running on, are moving to the cloud. Based on research conducted by SAPinsider, 88% of organizations are running at least some SAP workloads in the cloud. While this isn’t every system, most of those who are still running workloads in on-premise infrastructure say that they plan on moving those systems to the cloud within the next two years. This article covers which workloads are still running on local infrastructure, which are most likely to be running in the cloud, and what approach organizations are taking when it comes to moving those workloads.

33 results

  1. infrastructure

    SAP Infrastructure and Landscape Trends 2024

    Reading time: 1 mins

    Infrastructure is the foundation of any SAP landscape. Although SAP has a goal of becoming a cloud company, many organizations have yet to make the move to cloud-based infrastructure. This is because a significant number of existing systems reside on legacy infrastructure. However, this infrastructure is changing. When SAPinsider first researched infrastructure and landscape trends…
  2. Reply

    Reply Recognized as a Visionary in Gartner’s 2023 Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems

    Reading time: 2 mins

    Reply has been named a Visionary in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems.
  3. Resilience challenges

    Video: How Do You Better Manage Systems and Improve Resilience?

    Organizations today need to keep their business solutions up and running, and infrastructure providers have been focused on activities that help organizations accelerate implementations and reduced both planned and unplanned downtime. However, enterprise landscapes can often be complex to both implement and maintain. This is particularly true for SAP landscapes where there are often multiple…
  4. SAP S/4HANA in the Cloud

    How to Add Value and Mitigate Risk for an SAP Implementation

    Click Here to View the Session Deck SAP implementation services give organizations the support they need to deploy SAP solutions that allow their company to grow successfully. Adding value and mitigating the risks of the implementation process will be shared in the lessons learned on SAP implementations.  View this session deck to: Identify relevant areas…...…
  5. SAP S/4HANA in the Cloud

    Impact20: How AWS and SUSE Helped Customers Modernize and Build a Resilient SAP Landscape

    Click Here to View the Session Deck Are you planning to migrate and modernize your SAP applications in cloud, optimize operation, and reduce risk. During this session, experts from AWS and SUSE will take a case study of an industry leading energy provider, demonstrate how early adoption of AWS cloud and hosting mission critical SAP…...…
  6. SAP S/4HANA in the Cloud

    Your Super User Plan Fell Apart After Your Project Ended?

    Click Here to View the Session Deck Did your Super User plan solve your end user support issues? Are your users getting accurate, timely, and relevant transaction execution support? Are end user errors essentially non-existent? Are work arounds a thing of the past? Is business engagement and ownership at an all-time high? If you answered…...…
  7. SAP S/4HANA in the Cloud

    SAP Cloud Application Security Governance

    Click Here to View the Session Deck Cloud technologies are being increasingly adopted by organizations, regardless of their size, location or industry. When implementing these new technologies, most of organizations face the following challenges: Lack of operating model and clearly defined roles and responsibilities, lack of embedded management operational controls around application security, and lack…...…
  8. Platform

    Video: Building a Platform for the Future

    While most organizations are in the process of updating or transforming their SAP landscape over the next few years, there are a number of challenges that they must address to complete this successfully. One of the biggest of these challenges is the move to SAP S/4HANA, something nearly a quarter of the respondents to recent…
  9. Platform

    Building a Platform for the Future

    Reading time: 7 mins

    Organizations are in the process of transitioning many of their workloads to the cloud. This is particularly true of SAP systems where there is frequently a need for new infrastructure that will provide additional flexibility and scalability while reducing cost. Cloud environments are the most likely choice for organizations as they seek to create a…
  10. Infrastructure

    Video: Building Cloud Infrastructure in Your Landscape

    In order to run today’s SAP systems, you need infrastructure that will not just support SAP HANA, but that which will provide the foundation for future innovation. While some organizations are looking at the cloud to meet these infrastructure needs, others continue to invest in local infrastructure. But the option of a managed environment on-premise…