With the increasing demand for customers to embrace an SAP move to the Cloud, be that as a hybrid model (mixing on-premise and cloud components) or in its entirety, one of the most important decisions to be taken is – Who should I work with? Furthermore, if you have done your research and it concludes SAP on Azure migration is the best option, your next question might be – Do I need to work with an SAP or Azure expert, or both?
It may be that you have some internal skills across the SAP and Microsoft disciplines, or that you wish to outsource such a project to a preferred and certified partner. In either scenario, it is clear that assuring a successful move requires the interaction of a trusted, certified, and knowledgeable partner. In this blog post, I will cover why a combined SAP and Azure expert skill set is crucial for successful cloud migrations.
Why working with SAP and Microsoft Azure specialist team with a combined skill set is important?
Working with two IT giants like SAP and Microsoft can be a daunting task for both customers and partners, regardless of size. Both have differing views to the preferred route for transition, both require different skills and capabilities to get the best practitioners, but both have an agreed framework for successful customer project delivery:
- Multi-cloud deployment model consisting of SAP and Microsoft Cloud Services
- Capability model of unified SAP and Microsoft Centre of Excellence
- Mapping of SAP Technical role to that including Microsoft training and certification
This requires a seamless unification of two centres of excellence into, what essentially should be, ONE. In other words, having or sourcing the two skillsets separately would miss the mark. The incorporation of SAP and Azure expert skillset is crucial and would ensure transparency, operational efficiency, and innovative deployment across the joint platforms for SAP and Microsoft.
When an SAP to Azure Migration takes place, usually the NetWeaver, Basis, HANA teams would not have an idea of what Azure infrastructure is about. Vice-versa, the Azure platform team do not have SAP specialist knowledge. This makes it important for an SAP Technical Architect, NetWeaver, or Basis HANA Consultant to be trained and certified on Azure. After the migration is completed, and as part of a steady state-run, is where full benefits of running an SAP workload on Azure can be realized through these unified capabilities.
Get some insights into real-life SAP migrations to Azure by watching our recent webinar replay here:
How do you build a combined SAP and Azure expert skill set?
As an SAP PCoE and Microsoft Azure specialist Absoft have recognised the importance of building a blended SAP and Azure expert skills model for our Senior Technical Specialists. This includes incorporating the typical SAP Basis expert role with the necessary training skills and certification for Microsoft Azure. Over the last two years, we have seen our Basis team certified to Microsoft Expert level to provide co-platform services. This is essential when speaking to clients around topics relating to SAP Azure solution architecture, knowledge transfer, and project migration.
Employing this blended skill set model has recently seen Absoft engaging more closely with Microsoft on joined-up activities as well as a nomination in 2021 towards Country Partner of the Year for SAP Azure Migration. A popular example of a recent project completed together is our Solution Assessment tool built to help SAP customers define their exact cloud needs.
Over the last couple of years, we at Absoft have been involved in the direct delivery or acting as the Trusted Advisor on 17 SAP migrations to Azure. While each posed its own challenges – all resulted in a successful outcome, providing business benefit and cost reduction in all cases.
Get some insights into those SAP migrations to Azure by watching our recent webinar replay here:
