What is SAP ERP?
Today, the term SAP ERP stands for S/4HANA – a modern cutting-edge ERP solution based on the in-memory database HANA and available for both on-premise and cloud deployment. Meanwhile, there's also SAP ECC, a previous generation of SAP ERP (and a successor to the SAP R/3 system) still widely used despite the announced end of support in 2030. No matter which of those SAP ERP solutions you choose, ACBaltica can help you with the implementation and support of your SAP ERP solution. With our 20+ years in business, we'll find the solution that suits your needs perfectly!How is SAP different from other ERP solutions?
Released over 50 years ago, SAP remains the global leader in ERP solutions, consistently recognized in Gartner's Magic Quadrant. SAP customers drive 87% of global commerce, with 77% of the world's transaction revenue flowing through SAP systems. But what makes SAP ERP so exceptional?
First, SAP ERP solutions are incredibly versatile, with a wide range of modules that support business processes across industries, ensuring seamless data flow and efficiency. With over five decades of experience, SAP deeply understands evolving business needs, offering best practices for industries and markets worldwide to enhance business management.
SAP's extensive network of skilled consultants and partners means you'll always have support for your solution. Use the SAP Partner Finder tool to find the perfect partner for your SAP ERP needs.
Moreover, SAP's adaptability—offering both on-premise and cloud environments—paired with its robust compliance tools, makes it the preferred choice for enterprises looking for a powerful, future-proof solution.
And there's more! While ERP solutions are SAP's core product, they also provide software for customer experience, human capital management, advanced analytics, data management, and more. All SAP products are designed for seamless integration, with every integration point rigorously maintained and tested with each update. Companies running their core processes with SAP software never have to worry about integration issues.
Keep reading to explore the variety of SAP ERP solutions and find out which one fits your business best!
What is SAP S/4HANA
Introduced in 2015, S/4HANA is known to be the business suite reinvented for the digital edge. Being a simple and innovative system, S/4HANA relies on SAP's 40+ years of experience and best practices across industries – and yet, it provides the most modern tech features (like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more). The solution has a friendly Fiori interface optimized for both desktop and mobile devices; it is available for both on-premise and cloud deployment. And there's even more: thanks to the HANA in-memory database, S/4HANA provides businesses with impressive reporting capabilities.
Benefits of SAP S/4HANA
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Simplification
SAP S/4HANA allows you to restructure your IT landscape to simplify its management and administration. The system ensures the centralization of hardware and network resources, resulting in more efficient workflow and business processes.
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Improved performance
With S/4HANA, you can plan, execute, and generate real-time reports and get faster access to your data. For example, it took hours for SAP ECC to create an accounting report – and a massive load to the whole system, resulting in a significant slowdown in all applications' performance. With S/4HANA, the same report is available in less than a minute. Big Data analysis is no longer an issue: S/4HANA empowers data-driven decisions and allows you to perform complex transactions in no time.
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Friendly user experience
Unlike SAP ECC, S/4HANA supports SAP Fiori for all its applications, which provides an intuitive yet customizable and highly responsive user interface. Prompting questions and accessing required details has never been so easy – no matter the device or deployment.
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Flexible deployment options
You can host S/4HANA on-premise – or choose a public, private, or hybrid cloud solution.
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Innovation support
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, or the Internet of Things (no matter the device or OS) – you can smoothly integrate all these technologies with S/4HANA.
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Industry best practices
With S/4HANA, you can implement your industry's best practices: integrate any specific module providing you with the functionalities tailored to your line of business – or customize them to your business processes.
SAP S/4HANA delivery options
SAP S/4HANA has a few delivery options, each of which would suit different needs and has pros and cons.SAP S/4HANA On-Premise
On-premise edition for maximum control (also known as S/4HANA Any Premise).
S/4HANA on-premise edition is an internal platform located on your servers. You take care of the system maintenance and all the hardware. SAP releases updates for the system once every two years – and it's your team's responsibility to ensure everything goes smoothly. Although the solution relies on industry best practices, there are also rich opportunities for customization – which makes it a perfect solution for enterprise-level companies with complicated business processes.
SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud
Public Cloud edition for agility, scalability, and fast time-to-value
Public Cloud edition is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. It is hosted on SAP servers maintained by SAP – so you save on infrastructure support. Updates are released every six months (with corrections and feature updates coming more often) – and they do not require as much support and preparation as the big update of the on-premise solution.
SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud
Private Cloud edition for the full functionality of S/4HANA and extended geographical reach
In simple words, S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition is the same solution as the on-premise edition – but it's hosted in the private cloud (Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Alibaba Cloud). It combines the benefits of on-premise deployment (customization, control, functionality) with the flexibility and scalability gained with cloud deployment.
Comparison of SAP S/4HANA delivery options
| SAP S/4HANA On-Premise | SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition | SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Licensing
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Traditional Licensing Model* | Subscription fee (SaaS) | Subscription fee (SaaS) |
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Infrastructure and Maintenance
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Deployment and infrastructure maintenance are managed by the IT staff of a customer, not SAP | System infrastructure and maintenance are handled by the cloud provider | System infrastructure and maintenance are under SAP's control |
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Update management
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The customer performs both testing of the updates and then implementation of those updates | The customer is responsible for testing the updates, while SAP manages the implementation of these updates | |
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Customization
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Highly flexible customization to comply with individual business requirements, no matter the line of business | Predefined best-practice configuration with limited specialization | |
* — SAP has recently introduced a system hosting service for companies with S/4HANA licenses that don't want to deal with servers' hosting and management. This deployment option is called S/4HANA On-premise, Managed by SAP
SAP ECC
Released in 2004, SAP ECC is still a widely popular ERP solution for large enterprises. Although SAP has officially announced the end of support for ECC in 2030, you can still use it to manage and support your business. We can help you make the most of your legacy (let's admit it) ERP.
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Why ACBaltica?
- Flexible and agile. Whether you're an SME with only tens of employees or a large enterprise numbering tens of thousands of people, our teams will adjust to your processes and help you leverage the potential of SAP solutions.
- Deep expertise in SAP solutions. For over 20 years, we've worked with SAP solutions (including SAP ERP) and know all product versions released since then. If you already have integrations of your ERP solution with other SAP products, or if you need to extend the functionality of the ERP system via new integrations, we'll help you do that.
- Competitive prices and exceptional quality. With our delivery center in Eastern Europe and 20+ years of expertise in SAP, we can guarantee that our price/quality ratio will fit both your needs and budget.
- Diverse domain knowledge. We have experience integrating SAP ERP solutions for 10+ verticals. We know how to leverage the full potential of SAP products – no matter the industry.
- 130+ SAP developers and consultants. We have enough resources to provide you with attention at any project stage.
- A wide variety of services. Not only can we implement an SAP ERP system for your business – we can develop any customizations for you (including all kinds of integrations), support the solution, or you can hire us as an internal SAP team.
Have more questions? Contact us!