SAP has taken a big stride by releasing its 4th generation ERP business suite called S/4. This particular suite has digital as its core while all the business processes have been integrated, by virtue of redesign, with this core. SAP has put user experience at the forefront while conceptualizing the S/4 suite and that is why an enhanced GUI called FIORI and in-memory database called HANA has been added to the suite. SAP offers, at a high level, the S/4 suite in two versions; On-Premise and On Cloud. While On-Premise gives the user the flexibility to customize the product as per their business process, the On Cloud version has limited scope for customization while pushing the customer to adapt to standard best practices.
While S/4 is highly user and business-centric, it comes with its own complexities especially in its approach and adoption. Echelon has helped its customers in their S/4 (Digital) journey by helping them draw the roadmap, plan the implementation/migration and executing it. At a broad level Echelon provides the following services while drawing the S/4 roadmap:
- As-Is assessment of the IT/ERP landscape – this service allows Echelon to conduct an in-depth analysis of the client’s existing IT landscape including systems, processes, integration and data. This is a crucial step before embarking upon any digital journey. Echelon’s proven methodologies and templates gives a dashboard view of the IT landscape thus allowing both Echelon and customer
- Business case – in this service Echelon helps the customer prepare a business case for the S/4 journey and submits a justification required for investing in this digital transformation. The business case includes the efforts/timelines, impact on the organization and required investment.
- S/4 journey – in this service, Echelon focuses on organizational requirements and readiness as far as S/4 is concerned and assists the clients in finalizing:
- The S/4 version
- The critical decision between On-Premise vs On cloud
- The approach – new implementation (Greenfield) or migration (Brownfield)
- The cloud applications to use – S/4 comes bundled with external Cloud applications and choosing the appropriate ones as per business demands is a critical factor in the S/4 journey
