SAP ERP has been with us for decades and there is no doubt it underpinnes industries around the world. With the release of its cloud-based solutions businesses were faced with the question, go all in on the cloud, stay with on-premise or use a hybrid solution.
It should be noted there are strengths and weaknesses of each but for now, we will focus on looking at SAP hybrids and what they have to offer industry. For clarity, the SAP ECC platform will be retired in 2027 with support terminating in 2030.
SAP S/4HANA essentially can be deployed in three ways. They are:
- On-premise – SAP runs from your site or a data centre.
- Public cloud – SAP is deployed with a certified IaaS provider such as Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure.
- Managed cloud – Here deployment is handled by SAP or another cloud platform provider.
SAP offers two cloud versions. SAP HANA Cloud platform enables you to host from the cloud and custom capabilities can be added. While SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud is a scalable and private secure private managed solution with a guaranteed 99.5% SLA level.
Now we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a look at the advantages of a hybrid solution.
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Advantages of a Hybrid ERP Implementation
The hybrid system is often used by industry. It has the security of an on-premise system with the flexibility of being able to add sales, CRM, and accounting modules that the cloud version implements easily.
Other advantages include:
- Costs – If you have an on-premise system you have to invest in bulky servers and maintain them constantly. This becomes expensive as you need staff who are fully trained in server management, and there has to be at least a person on call should a server go down in the middle of the night. With a hybrid system, much of this is handled by the cloud provider and is by far a cheaper option.
- Easier to upgrade – Upgrading infrastructure servers is both a time-consuming and costly affair. While your servers are offline you are probably losing productivity and productivity is money. With a hybrid solution, you can add modules easier and as your business expands, cloud computing power is upgraded by handing the problem over to your supplier.
- Flexibility – Hybrid ERPs can work offline and the system simply resyncs to the cloud once an internet connection is established. Given the nature of the hybrid system, it is ideal for professional services due to the ease of adding relevant modules to the build.
Disadvantages of a Hybrid ERP System
Although the hybrid way looks like the best way, consider the following:
- Less secure – Although security is evolving it is still believed that on-premise offers the best security. This is especially important in our data-driven age.
- Asset management – On-premise is often preferred in a manufacturing setting as it can better manage assets.
- Integration challenges – Hybrid systems have to be able to use both the cloud and on-premise to work well. This can cause integration challenges.
The hybrid system is one that should be looked into thoroughly. It could well offer the solution you need at a much-reduced cost.
