SAP Users: Hybrid Scenarios Dominate, Cloud on the Rise

According to a joint survey by SAP user groups in the DACH region (DSAG), North America (ASUG), Great Britain (UKISUG), and Japan (JSUG), more than two-thirds of all respondents use cloud solutions generally for operating enterprise applications, workloads, or storing data. At the same time, the survey confirms the coexistence of on-premises and cloud solutions, or already implemented as well as planned hybrid deployment scenarios, which has been predicted by user representatives for some time.

"In international comparison, we see that cloud usage is also steadily increasing among our members – albeit with a different dynamic than, for example, in the USA," comments Jens Hungershausen, Chairman of the German-speaking user representation, the results. Specifically, 76 percent of users in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are expected to follow SAP into the cloud, at least in part. In the USA, this figure is already 84 percent. In Japan and Great Britain, SAP customers are still somewhat more reserved, with 72 and 70 percent, respectively, for service procurement from the cloud.

The future is hybrid

When asked about the currently deployed system landscapes across all applications, 78 percent of DSAG members are operating with hybrid on-premises and cloud scenarios (ASUG: 49 percent, UKISUG: 56 percent, JSUG: 55 percent). Seven percent rely solely on private cloud (ASUG: 23 percent, UKISUG: 14 percent, JSUG: 10 percent). Public cloud as the sole procurement method for application services is hardly existent among German-speaking members at one percent. In Great Britain (8 percent), as well as America and Japan (4 percent each), public cloud services find more acceptance. A mix of both cloud operating models is encountered significantly more often (DSAG: 7 percent, ASUG: 24 percent, UKISUG: 17 percent, and JSUG: 27 percent).

Users are still hesitant to fully procure their business applications from the cloud, as SAP promotes with Cloud ERP (formerly S/4HANA Cloud), especially in German-speaking regions. The manufacturer's newly structured cloud (modernization) offerings – the so-called Rise and Grow journeys – only offer limited help. Only one in ten companies believes that these offerings will fundamentally accelerate their move to the cloud. The responses from Great Britain are similarly cautious at 15 percent, while in America and Japan, over 20 percent expect benefits.

The on-premises scenario still shapes S/4HANA usage in Europe. 55 percent of DSAG members rely on self-operation – for ASUG, this is 28 percent, for UKISUG 23 percent, and for JSUG 18 percent. 18 percent of DSAG respondents use S/4HANA in the Private Cloud Edition variant (ASUG: 33 percent, UKISUG: 18 percent, and JSUG: 44 percent). Four percent of the surveyed German-speaking users currently use the public cloud option (ASUG: 10 percent, UKISUG: 10 percent, JSUG: 13 percent).

Regarding planning, on-premises is still favored in Europe with 31 percent (ASUG: 15 percent, UKISUG: 10 percent, and JSUG: 6 percent). Private cloud is a focus for 35 percent (ASUG: 50 percent, UKISUG: 35 percent, JSUG: 28 percent). Interest in public cloud procurement of ERP software rises to a modest seven percent for DSAG (ASUG: 11 percent, UKISUG: 10 percent, JSUG: 16 percent).

Data protection important, but not most important

According to Hungershausen, the reluctance towards public cloud is partly due to the complexity of existing IT landscapes. There is a fear that system adjustments and established functions would be lost during the transition. This fear of loss is particularly pronounced in the DACH region and Great Britain, at 63 percent and 58 percent, respectively. In America, this applies to only 36 percent, and in Japan, to 49 percent. Regarding security and data protection when operating central SAP workloads and applications in the public cloud – itself a domain of the German-speaking region – the survey indicates stronger concerns in America (52 percent) and the UK (47 percent) compared to the DACH region (45 percent).

(mma)