SAP S/4HANA is an enterprise resource planning software for large enterprises

developed by SAP SE. It is the successor to both SAP R/3 and SAP ERP, and is
optimized for SAP's in-memory database SAP HANA.

Purpose
[edit]
SAP S/4HANA is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software package meant to
cover all day-to-day processes of an enterprise (for example, order-to-cash, procure-
to-pay, plan-to-product, and request-to-service) and core capabilities.[1] It integrates
functions from lines of businesses as well as industry solutions, and also re-
integrates portions of SAP Business Suite products such as SAP SRM, SAP
CRM and SAP SCM. As SAP Business Suite 4 only runs on the SAP
HANA database it is packaged as one product: SAP S/4HANA.[2] SAP's classical R3,
ERP and ECC based business suite and related products were designed to run on
several database platforms, including those from Oracle, Microsoft and IBM.[3]

History
[edit]
The SAP HANA platform has been available since 2010, and SAP applications like
SAP ERP and the SAP Business Suite are able to run on the SAP HANA database
and/or other supported database systems.[4]

The new suite, SAP S/4HANA,[5] launched on 3 February 2015 at the New York
Stock Exchange. The event introduced cloud and on premises editions, with the on-
premises edition becoming available on the same day. The cloud edition went live at
SAPPHIRE NOW (SAP’s annual customer conference) on 6 May 2015 in Orlando,
Florida.[6]

SAP S/4HANA was called SAP's biggest update to its ERP strategy and platform in
over two decades.[7] Post-launch, Gartner analysts noted that SAP S/4HANA
represented a "transformational shift," but raised questions about functionality,
availability, pricing and migration issues surrounding S/4HANA.[8]

By 21 April 2015, 370 customers had purchased S/4HANA. After the first half of
2015, positive growth was confirmed for SAP. During the third quarter earning calls
that took place in October 2015, SAP confirmed that S/4HANA had more than 1,300
customers.[9][10][11][12] [13] By the end of Q4 2016, SAP announced that 5,400 customers
had implemented SAP S/4HANA, growing to 8,900 customers by 30 June 2018.[14]

Editions and deployment

[edit]
SAP S/4HANA can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or through a hybrid
model.[15] The S/4HANA product offering consists of various editions: SAP S/4HANA
Cloud: previously called essentials edition (ES) and Multi-Tenant Edition, SAP
S/4HANA Cloud extended edition: previously called Single-Tenant Edition, SAP
S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, SAP S/4HANA On-Premise.[16]
SAP S/4HANA On-Premise is similar in terms of coverage, functionality, industry-
specific support, and localization to the current SAP Business Suite (in 39
languages, 64 country versions).

SAP also offers SAP S/4HANA Cloud (in 18 languages, 33 country versions).[17] SAP
has emphasized the product as pivotal to its cloud shift.[18]

Both editions consist of functionality for finance, accounting, controlling,

procurement, sales, manufacturing, plant maintenance, project system, and product
lifecycle management, plus integration with SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP
Hybris, SAP Fieldglass and SAP Concur.

Overview of releases
[edit]
SAP S/4HANA (on-premise) releases are once per year, SAP S/4HANA Cloud
releases are 2 per year. Version coding for cloud edition: YYMM example 1709 -
September 2017. Version coding for on-premise edition (since 2020): YYYY example
2020 - Release 2020.[19]

SAP S/4HANA On-Premise releases:

 SAP S/4HANA Finance 1503: March 2015

 SAP S/4HANA 1511: November 2015 - (Component S4CORE 100)
 SAP S/4HANA Finance 1605: May 2016
 SAP S/4HANA 1610: October 2016 - (Component S4CORE 101)
 SAP S/4HANA 1709: September 2017 - (Component S4CORE 102)
 SAP S/4HANA 1809: September 2018 - (Component S4CORE 103)
 SAP S/4HANA 1909: September 2019[20] - (Component S4CORE 104)
 SAP S/4HANA 2020: October 2020[21] (new nomenclature: switch to YYYY
from YYMM) - (Component S4CORE 105)
 SAP S/4HANA 2021: October 2021 - (Component S4CORE 106)
 SAP S/4HANA 2022: October 2022 - (Component S4CORE 107)
 SAP S/4HANA 2023: October 2023 - (Component S4CORE 108)
SAP S/4HANA Cloud releases:[22]

 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1603: March 2016

 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1605: May 2016
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1608: August 2016
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1611: November 2016
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1702: February 2017
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1705: May 2017
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1708: August 2017
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1711: November 2017
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1802: February 2018
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1805: May 2018
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1808: August 2018
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1811: November 2018
  SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1902: February 2019
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1908: August 2019
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1911: November 2019
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2002: February 2020 [23]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2005: April 2020
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2008: August 2020[24]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2011: November 2020[25]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2102: February 2021[26]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2105: May 2021[27]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2108: August 2021[28]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2111: November 2021[29]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202: available February 2022[30][31]
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2208: August 2022
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2302: February 2023
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2308: August 2023
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2402: February 2024
 SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2408: August 2024
Implementation
[edit]
There are various ways to get to S/4HANA. This depends on a customer’s starting
point. For example, new implementation, system conversion, and selective data
transition.[32]

 New implementation - This is a new implementation of SAP S/4HANA

("greenfield"): Customers who are migrating from a non-SAP legacy
system or from an SAP ERP system and implementing a fresh system that
requires an initial data load. In this scenario, the SAP S/4HANA system is
implemented, and master and transactional data are migrated from the
legacy system, thus standard data migration tools and content has to be
used.
 System conversion - This is a complete conversion of an existing SAP
Business Suite system to SAP S/4HANA ("brownfield"): Customers who
want to change their current SAP ERP system to SAP S/4HANA. This
scenario is technically based on Software Update Manager (SUM) with
Database Migration Option (DMO) in case the customer is not yet on SAP
HANA as the underlying database. Nowadays, companies prefer the
brownfield method (system conversion).[33]
 Selective Data Transition[34] (formerly: Landscape Transformation) - This is
a consolidation of current regional SAP systems into one global SAP
S/4HANA system[35] or a split out of different parts of a system: Customers
who want to consolidate their landscape or carve out selected entities
(such as a company code) or processes into a single SAP S/4HANA
system.[36]
Product lifecycle
[edit]
Both SAP S/4HANA on-premises and the SAP S/4HANA cloud editions have release
strategies. The cloud editions are released semi-annually. The on-premises edition
has one new release per year and receives additional functionality and corrections in
the form of Feature Pack Stacks (FPS) or Service Pack Stacks (SPS) each quarter.
[37]

On-premises: Each year, SAP traditionally shipped a new product version of its on-
premises SAP S/4HANA product (e.g., SAP S/4HANA 1610), followed by three
successive Feature Pack Stacks (FPS) on a quarterly basis. Subsequently, the
previous product version received Service Pack Stacks (SPS) quarterly until the end
of mainstream maintenance. However, with the release in October 2023, SAP
introduced a significant shift in its release and maintenance strategy for SAP
S/4HANA. The product now follows a two-year release cycle, providing a longer
seven-year mainstream maintenance period per release. This change aims to offer
customers greater opportunities for continuous innovation and a flexible path to
cloud readiness. Additionally, more easily adoptable feature packs will be introduced
every six months during the first two years of a release, reducing the need for
disruptive upgrades and lowering total implementation costs.[38]

References
[edit]

1. ^ Denecken, Sven. "SAP S/4HANA – Frequently Asked Questions – Part 8 –

1511 update". SAP.
2. ^ S/4HANA: What Procurement Teams Should be Doing Now,
UpperEdge.com, 26 August 2015
3. ^ The SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA) FAQ, Bluefin
Solutions, 3 February 2015
4. ^ Are You Ready For An Architectural Evolution With Converged
Applications?, Forrester, 1 April 2013
5. ^ SAP Unwraps a New Enterprise Suite Based on HANA, PCWorld.com, 3
February 2015
6. ^ SAP Launches S/4 HANA Cloud Edition, RCRWireless.com, 6 May 2015
7. ^ "All Eyes on SAP S/4HANA and Cloud in SAP's Q1 Results". Forbes. 20
April 2015.
8. ^ "SAP S/4HANA Is a Transformational Shift for SAP and Its Users, but Hold
on to Your Wallets for Now". Gartner Report. 24 February 2015.
9. ^ "SAP Second-Quarter Earnings Tempered by Cloud Demand". Bloomberg.
21 July 2015.
10.^ "Accenture to deploy SAP S/4HANA solution at Stryker's ERP
system". InfotechLead. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
11.^ "SAP S/4HANA Exceeds 1,300 Customers". SAP News Center. 20 October
2015. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
12.^ "SAP Outpaces Rivals, Sees Robust Pickup for New Software". Bloomberg.
20 October 2015.
13.^ "SAP Q3 2015 results: On-premises [sic] and cloud grow in parallel, says
Cohen". ComputerWeekly. 20 October 2015.
14.^ McKenna, Brian. "SAP Q2 2018: Cloud revenue shows momentum, 600
more S/4 customers". ComputerWeekly.
15.^ "Transitioning to SAP S/4HANA- Choosing a deployment
Option". SapGurus. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
 16.^ "SAP S/4HANA Cloud and On-Premise Deployment Options | SAP
Blogs". blogs.sap.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
17.^ SAP launches S/4HANA cloud edition, RCRWireless.com, 6 May 2015
18.^ "What is SAP S/4HANA? 13 Questions Answered". SAP News Center. 19
March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
19.^ "Deciphering the World of SAP S/4HANA | SAP Blogs". blogs.sap.com.
Retrieved 9 October 2020.
20.^ "Intelligent ERP: SAP S/4HANA 1909 Release". SAP. 20 September 2019.
Retrieved 12 February 2020.
21.^ "SAP S/4HANA 2020 Release | SAP Blogs". blogs.sap.com. Retrieved 9
October 2020.
22.^ "SAP S4HANA implementation - Greenfield and
Brownfield". SAPS4HANAERP blog. 1 December 2016.
23.^ "SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2002: Release Highlights". SAP. 30 January 2020.
Retrieved 12 February 2020.
24.^ "SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2008 Release". gambit.de. Retrieved 9
October 2020.
25.^ "S/4HANA cloud customer community". s4hanacloud.community.sap.
Retrieved 9 October 2020.
26.^ "SAP S/4HANA Cloud Release". Retrieved 9 March 2021.
27.^ "SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2105 Release | SAP Blogs". Retrieved 21
September 2021.
28.^ "New Product Releases | SAP S/4HANA Cloud | SAP Community".
Retrieved 21 September 2021.
29.^ "Highlights of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2111 Release | SAP Blogs".
Retrieved 18 December 2021.
30.^ "What's New Viewer - SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 (Preliminary Version) |
SAP Help". Retrieved 25 January 2022.
31.^ "Custom CDS Views – What's New in 2202 | SAP Blogs". Retrieved 25
January 2022.
32.^ "How do you Migrate to SAP S/4HANA". SAP. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
33.^ "SAP S/4HANA Study 2023: Trends and Highlights". valantic. 23 May
2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
34.^ "How to Move to SAP S/4HANA | SAP Blogs". blogs.sap.com. Retrieved 9
October 2020.
35.^ Michael, Naveen. "Generative AI with SAP: From Symbolic to
Statistical". blog.sap-press.com. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
36.^ "SAPS/4HANA Selective Data Transition". NTT DATA Business Solutions
Deutschland (in German). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
37.^ Baranouski, Artsiom (1 October 2023). "What is The Cost of ERP
Freelance Consulting Services in Supply Chain?". Medium. Retrieved 1
October 2023.
38.^ "SAP Announces Changes in Release and Maintenance Strategy for SAP
S/4HANA". SAP News. Retrieved 9 November 2023.

Further reading
[edit]

 Saueressig, T.; Stein, T.; Boeder, J.; Kleis, W. (2021). SAP S/4HANA
Architecture. SAP PRESS Englisch. Rheinwerk Publishing. ISBN 978-1-493-
22023-6. LCCN 2020946677.
  Densborn, F.; Finkbohner, F.; Freudenberg, J.; Martina, H.; Matha K.; Rubarth,
B. (2021). Migrating to SAP S/4HANA. SAP PRESS Englisch. Rheinwerk
Publishing. ISBN 978-1-493-22094-6. LCCN 2021000564.
 Singh, V. (2017). Manage Your SAP Projects with SAP Activate: Implementing
SAP S/4HANA. Packt Publishing. ISBN 978-1-788-47762-8.
 Kulkarni, Sanket (2019). "Organizational Change Management in
S/4HANA". Implementing SAP S/4HANA. Berkeley, CA: Apress. pp. 121–
135. doi:10.1007/978-1-4842-4520-0_8. ISBN 978-1-4842-4520-0. S2CID 2034
60198.
 Fuchs, Dominik; Haas, Mathias; Dombrowski, Julian; Göpfert, Nicolas (2019).
"Opportunities for Supply Chain Processes by SAP S/4HANA". In Buttkus,
Michael; Eberenz, Ralf (eds.). Performance Management in Retail and the
Consumer Goods Industry. Springer International Publishing. pp. 425–
442. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12730-5_27. ISBN 978-3-030-12730-5. S2CID 197
897830.
 Poschadel, Frank (2019). "SAP S/4HANA: Performance Management in Real
Time?". In Buttkus, Michael; Eberenz, Ralf (eds.). Performance Management in
Retail and the Consumer Goods Industry. Springer International Publishing.
pp. 137–151. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12730-5_9. ISBN 978-3-030-12730-5. S2
CID 197879938.
 Baumgartl, A.; Bardhan, D.; Choi, N.S.; Dudgeon, M.; Górecki, P.; Lahiri, A.;
Meijerink, B.; Worsley-Tonks, A. (2021). SAP S/4HANA: An Introduction. SAP
PRESS Englisch. Rheinwerk Publishing. ISBN 978-1-493-22055-
7. LCCN 2020054563.

hide
 v
 t
 e
ERP software

 List of ERP software packages

Commercial  Acumatica
 Eclipse ERP
 Certinia
 JD Edwards Enterprise One
 Microsoft Dynamics 365
 NetSuite
 Oracle ERP Cloud
 Oracle Applications
 Sage 300
 Sage X3
 SAP Business One
 SAP ERP (SAP S/4HANA)
 Tally.ERP 9
 Traverse
  Unit4 Business World
 MetaERP

 Adaxa Suite
 Adempiere
 Apache OFBiz
 Compiere
 Dolibarr
 ERP5
 ERPNext
 GNU Enterprise
 HeliumV
Open-source  iDempiere
 inoERP
 IntarS
 Kuali
 LedgerSMB
 metasfresh
 Odoo
 Openbravo ERP
 Postbooks
 Tryton

 Category
Categories:
 2015 software
 SAP SE
 ERP software
 Enterprise software
 Business software
 Cloud applications
 Cloud platforms
 This page was last edited on 17 September 2024, at 10:00 (UTC).