Taking SAP to new heights – beyond hybrid

We launched a range of Nordcloud SAP on Azure solutions, where we run your SAP on Microsoft’s public cloud, Azure, to bring you the agility and scalability your business needs. Some may ask, why only public cloud? So we felt we needed to cover why we believe so strongly that hybrid solutions are already a thing of the past.

Hybrid is a great short-term solution. With the right hybrid environment, you can enjoy the flexibility and agility of public cloud and the safety of on-premises, by deploying to your own data centre with no issues because of the continuity of the systems. Azure and Azure Stack, for example, share the same interface and most services so transitioning between the two is very easy. (If you are looking into hybrid and the systems are not completely integrated, then steer clear. Your developers will be re-building or re-coding everything multiple times for different environments.) But there are at least two things I want you to consider, relating to the most common misconceptions:

1. Security – Is your data actually safer in your data centre than in public cloud?

All data centres can be categorised into Tiers I to IV, based on their physical components, cooling and power infrastructure, redundancy level, and promised uptime—with I being the simplest and IV being the best. On-premises data centres are often a Tier I. This means it has a single path for power and cooling to the server equipment, typically no backup cooling system or generator, no redundant components that would start up and replace the output of a piece of failed equipment instantly, and cannot be updated and maintained easily without downtime. Basically, your on-premises data centre is likely expensive, hard to maintain and update, susceptible to downtime, and you require secondary infrastructure for a proper disaster recovery plan. Security is also layered on top, instead of built-in. On the other hand, Azure is practically in a category of its own. Each individual data centre in Microsoft’s massive network would be categorised as at least a Tier IV. A Tier IV data centre has fault tolerant infrastructure (meaning it can function as normal even in the event of one or more equipment failures), high levels of redundancy (multiple cooling units, backup generators, power sources, chillers, etc), and maintenance can be done without downtime. The promised uptime level is 99.995%. Plus, additional layers of security and encryption are built-in to the software that powers Azure, and updated regularly by a team of architects and engineers. Migrating your SAP to this environment would not only be make it more agile and cost-effective, it could also dramatically improve security and continuity.

2. Productivity – Have you really considered the long-term effects on productivity?

Moving SAP workloads and data between clouds can waste time and money. You can rather implement a multi-cloud procurement approach, where the threat of other clouds keeps the price in check, and the best workload movement solution. Not to mention, Azure implements hundreds of new services every year. Do you think you can keep up with a dedicated team of specialists working round-the-clock to make their cloud safer, better, and more innovative? Others already using public cloud to its full extent will benefit from that level of innovation immediately and build on top of it to create unique solutions. If you’re still focused on maintaining your private cloud infrastructure or cloud brokerage platforms for SAP, you can’t focus on what you do best, or on growing and innovating productively.

It’s your decision, but you know where we stand

For some applications, hybrid is an easier transition. It’s a trade-off because you get less overall benefits from the cloud platform, but you start your cloud journey sooner and can decommission old, legacy infrastructure faster. So for some, it is the right choice. But we always want to bring you the best choice, and for long-term scalability and agility for your SAP systems, the best is Azure public cloud. With SAP on Azure, you can future-proof your business by innovating in an elastic, cost-effective way, and modernise without putting your business on pause. With Azure’s network of Tier IV data centres, your SAP data and business-critical processes will most likely be safer, benefitting from built-in encryption, redundancy, and tested failover to ensure continuity. We also migrate your entire SAP infrastructure to Azure with minimal impact to day-to-day business, so you can become more productive and enjoy the hundreds of innovative services Azure has—let it become the launchpad for your business growth. If you would like more information on how Nordcloud can help you with SAP on Azure solutions, visit our services page, or contact us here. By providing the most agile and cost-effective platform for your SAP applications, we help you optimise and accelerate your business. Download our eBook on SAP on Azure and learn more on our services. Download SAP on Azure eBook