Ultimate Guide to
Understanding SAP BTP
(Business Technology Platform)
Introducing ELSA: Your Ally for
Legacy System Decommissioning
Summary
01
02
page_03
page_04
What is SAP BTP and
how does it work?
03
Four Benefits of
using SAP BTP
page_05
05
ELSA: Your trusted ally
for decommissioning
SAP and non-SAP
systems
page_09
What is included
in SAP BTP?
04
Keep the core clean
when decommissioning
legacy systems
page_08
06
Key
Takeaways
page_10
What is SAP BTP
and how does it work?
01
There has been a lot of excitement surrounding SAP’s Business Technology Platform, (SAP
BTP). After being regarded as a relatively ‘closed’ ecosystem for many years and the preserve
of a community of ABAP developers, SAP has finally created a unified, business-centric, and
open API platform, designed for use across the entire SAP ecosystem. This is SAP BTP.
SAP BTP is a revolutionary concept for a company like SAP, and its reach goes way beyond
the functionality within a single system. An open access, cloud-based digital transformation
platform, SAP BTP enables users to expand the functionality of core SAP solutions, integrate
niche applications to customise IT capabilities and generate far greater value from their data
and business processes.
It brings together data and analytics, artificial intelligence, application development,
automation, and integration in one, unified environment. SAP BTP is like a shopping mall,
where enterprise users can find applications and source development services to rapidly
build customised applications.
By having the ability to continuously extend their SAP landscapes with third-party solutions
from within BTP, users benefit from endless flexibility to meet their ever-evolving business
needs. SAP BTP provides the means to future proof every organisation’s investment in SAP.
Some would argue it is SAP’s best kept secret, which is the reason behind producing this
e-Book. Not enough people understand what SAP BTP is and how they can benefit from it.
In this e-Book, we outline everything an existing SAP user should know
about SAP BTP and how to start benefiting from this brilliant addition to the
SAP ecosystem today, with TJC Group. We also highlight how to get a head
start on migration to S/4HANA using Enterprise Legacy System Application
(ELSA) as a legacy system decommissioning solution, available within SAP
BTP.
03
What is included
in SAP BTP?
Most people love eating burgers and SAP is using this idea as a clever metaphor to describe
how SAP BTP sits within its Intelligent Enterprise Framework. When you go to a burger restaurant
you can pretty much, please everyone, whatever their dietary requirements. Choose from an
array of special sauces, have cheese, bacon, veggie, or vegan options. Anything is possible
and the more you add, the bigger (and juicier) the burger gets.
The same applies to BTP. Users can endlessly extend and enhance their applications to fill
the gaps where standard SAP Core system does not cover the entire scope of their business
processes. There is always a need for a new app, a new report, or some new functionality, but
custom building these add-ons is time consuming, costly, and cumbersome. Instead, SAP
BTP allows users to extend their Intelligent Suite with new applications that are pre-approved
by SAP and immediately compatible. Hosted either at SAP’s data centre or a hyperscaler like
AWS (Amazon Web Services), the BTP Applications Layer allows users to capture new data
and extract greater value from existing data, using it to make more confident decisions.
Figure 1. SAP® Intelligent Enterprise Framework and SAP BTP. Source: SAP®
Looking ahead to the future, SAP BTP will ultimately become a marketplace for certified SAP
Partners to offer ready to deploy applications using their own IP, based on the “Bring Your Own
Licence” (BYOL) model. In this way, SAP BTP will be like an enterprise software version of Amazon
Marketplace, a hub for buyers to connect with sellers, but even better. Some developers have
already started offering specialist solutions. This is the case of Enterprise Legacy System
Application (ELSA). Developed by TJC Group, ELSA is a cloud native application built on SAP
BTP, using TJC Group’s own IP and offered as a separate solution within SAP BTP.
04
Four Benefits of
using SAP BTP
For SAP users, SAP BTP offers some key sources of value.
SAP BTP Benefits
03
Figure 2. SAP BTP Benefits. Source: SAP®
1
Accelerated the
move to the cloud
The idea of moving to the cloud is
straightforward. You stop hosting
applications on premise and get
a service provider to take care of
everything. Sounds easy but the
reality is much more complex unless
you are content with wasting hosting
budgets on legacy applications
and data. Before migrating to the
cloud, data needs to be cleaned
and archived off where necessary.
Finally, legacy applications should
be decommissioned after migration.
After that, historic data can be re
accessed with legacy applications
like ELSA by TJC, a cloud application
that enables legacy data can be re
accessed once the legacy system
has been decommissioned.
2
Keep the
‘core’ clean
One
of
the
most
important
recommendations to come from SAP
in recent years is the idea of keeping
the core clean. It is central to the
advantages within SAP BTP and also to
ELSA. In the past, SAP ECC (Enterprise
Core Component) users would rely
on having a wide range of ‘add-ons’
within their systems for the specific
functionality needed by the business.
It was a cumbersome model but now,
these additional solutions reside in
SAP BTP, an external layer outside of
the core SAP ERP system. Having the
option to plug extended functionality
into a clean, central core means
enterprise users can stay agile, driving
rapid innovation without business
interruption.
05
WHY SHOULD YOU KEEP THE CORE
CLEAN WHEN MOVING TO S/4HANA?
The simplest way to visualize why keeping the core clean makes sense, is to consider what
would happen if you downsized your home. Moving from a house to a modern apartment
involves decluttering. You need to save space and the same principle applies to SAP migrations.
If SAP ECC were the large family home, S/4 HANA would be like the new apartment. It is a more
‘minimalist’ way of living, just as running SAP in the cloud (S/4 HANA) is a quite unique way of
running your business.
Making decisions about what to retain and what to discard is complicated. You might
need those things again in the future. Where data is involved, these decisions are further
complicated by regulatory requirements like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation),
and corporate governance standards. Using BTP with ELSA simplifies the process
and takes away the pressure to ruthlessly decommission, by creating a
convenient ‘garage’ where all the data you are not sure about can be stored
– away from the core system and expensive hosting providers.
Within ELSA, users can retain the legacy data from all their legacy systems in the “original
structure”, with data held in future proof, ‘ais-flat-file’ formats. This new BTP ‘garage extension’ sits
securely alongside S/4HANA and its contents can be accessed at any time by authorized users.
Available now within SAP BTP, ELSA by TJC makes it possible to immediately begin
decommissioning legacy applications like SAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management),
SRM (Supplier Relationship Management), Warehouse Management, or non-SAP systems. Users
can be selective about what they migrate to the cloud and reduce costs because they have the
reassurance of being able to easily access legacy data for any future requirements very easily.
06
3
Optimize and
automate business
processes
The
advantage
of
sourcing
complementary SAP applications
through BTP is the guaranteed
seamless integration offered. This
makes it possible to run a ‘fully
connected enterprise, by streamlining
integrations using out-of-the-box
content, eliminating inefficiencies
with pre-built automations for
manual tasks. Although SAP is
feature rich, every organization will
have custom requirements and
through BTP, enhanced capabilities
can be plugged into a standard
integration layer, extending SAP
S/4 HANA processes to suit specific
adaptations. This makes it possible
to respond quickly to new realities,
by extending current processes and
building new business models.
4
Drive decisions
based on data
SAP BTP opens the door to real-time
data for advanced decision making
that is informed by advanced data
science capabilities. The platform
means users can plan and forecast
across
all
departments
with
confidence, using integrated planning
and analytics content based on a
single source of truth. AI (Artificial
Intelligence) and Machine Learning
support allows users to anticipate
change and trends, with predictive
analytics and integrated forecasting.
The
process
automation
standardization within SAP BTP offers
other benefits too. As a sector, IT is
currently facing a skills shortage
and SAP skills are one of the most
highly sought after, attracting
premium rates. SAP BTP allows
routine maintenance tasks to
be driven by prebuilt bots,
reducing
your
reliance
on hard-to-find human
resources.
07
Keep the core clean when
decommissioning legacy systems
Using Enterprise Legacy System Application simplifies the whole decommissioning process
by creating a convenient ‘garage’ where all the data you are not going to bring into S/4
HANA can be stored – away from the core system – to avoid increasing hosting costs and
compromising system efficiency. ELSA is an SAP-native application built and certified on SAP
BTP. It ensures all legacy data is stored securely and can be re-accessed both before and
after migrating to SAP S/4HANA.
It is possible to plan the system decommissioning phase well ahead of the
actual migration, so that when the switch to S/4 HANA takes place, the core
system remains ‘clean’ and the move across is more manageable (faster
because there is less to migrate). A clean switch with decommissioning also simplifies
the system architecture, because many structural elements within S/4HANA are organized
differently to their legacy SAP ECC equivalents.
Migrating data to S/4HANA does not guarantee that existing data remains complete or
unchanged. But ELSA does. This application protects and future proofs legacy data – like
archived tax records - and makes it readily accessible from either S/4HANA and from a UI5
web app. The tax archive created within ELSA complies with future tax and audit requirements
and all international data privacy laws.
Within ELSA, users retain the legacy data from all their legacy systems in the "original
structure", with data held in future proof, ‘ais-flat-file’ formats, creating a tax archive. This new
BTP ‘garage extension’ sits securely alongside S/4HANA and its contents can be accessed at
any time by authorized users directly. It saves time, money, and resources, whilst keeping
the user fully compliant.
08
WHY WAS ELSA (ENTERPRISE LEGACY SYSTEM APPLICATION)
BUILT ON SAP BTP?
TJC Group was quick to identify the future potential of SAP BTP and as long-standing SAP
partners, we selected this platform for ELSA because of its outstanding capabilities. It offers
users all the traditional benefits of using SAP, but within a robust cloud environment, offering
watertight cybersecurity, plus full interoperability with other SAP solutions.
Why ELSA for decommissioning
legacy systems?
·
ELSA is the only decommissioning solution built on SAP® BTP and a natural choice for ECC
users;
·
Users have the option to run ELSA several databases. Currently ELSA can run with SAP HANA,
SAP HANA Cloud, MySQL, or PostgreSQL database. It is also possible to run ELSA with the
customer preferred database option.
·
Using ELSA as a cloud-based solution for legacy systems decommissioning will reduce
your organization's carbon footprint by cutting the volume of data stored.
Why SAP BTP for future IT
infrastructure management?
·
A perfect cloud solution for
any SAP customer wishing
to centralise legacy and
future applications within
a single, safe, and secure
environment;
·
SAP BTP manages security
at the highest levels and
long term - it is flexible,
extensible, and easy to use
for cloud development.
09
5
ELSA: Your trusted ally for decommissioning
SAP and non-SAP systems
When it comes to Data Management for S/4HANA migration,
the question of what to do with legacy systems can create
a roadblock. Regardless of your industry sector, extracting
100% of your legacy systems is by far the safest option to
guarantee future compliance with regulatory tax, audit,
and data privacy requirements.
ELSA by TJC gives end customers the certainty that their data
can always be accessed in the future, at any time. When
extracting the legacy data, information is converted into
flat files (AIS format) and remains otherwise unchanged.
ELSA is also open source andfully compatible with other industry - specific SAP solutions –
used in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and the public sector.
Given the level of financial investment needed for S/4 HANA, it is imperative to select partner
applications that are future proof and offer open access. ELSA brings together data from
different systems and sources – legacy and archived data – and keeps it accessible.
Within SAP BTP, ELSA is deployed in a Cloud Foundry environment, protecting your investment,
and minimizing future cost of ownership.
Four key benefits of using ELSA
View video:
ELSA by TJC for Legacy System Decommissioning
·
Leave SAP ERP or older systems behind and access all legacy data from a single cloud
application, regardless of origin.
·
Legacy data, documents and reports are re-accessible from ELSA or via SAP’s S/4HANA
custom Fiori application.
·
Achieve vast TCO savings by retiring legacy systems. Once SAP legacy system contents
have been extracted, it is possible to simplify decommissioning, reducing infrastructure
and resource costs.
·
Optimize your SAP landscape and reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
LEARN MORE AT: www.tjc-group.com/elsa
Key
Takeaways
These are the final takeaways to take home:
06
1.
SAP BTP unlocks the door to outstanding business performance but within the platform
lies many options, each of which comes with its own set of challenges.
2.
Your organisation may not be ready for some of S/4 HANA’s advanced capabilities,
but secure data decommissioning is an integral part of intelligent information lifecycle
management.
3.
It is why we describe ELSA as one of the ‘low-hanging fruits’ within SAP BTP and suitable
for every SAP user, regardless of where they are on the road to S/4 HANA.
4.
Keep the core clean when migrating to SAP S/3HANA. This is, build the additional solutions
in SAP BTP that functions as an external layer outside of the core SAP ERP system.
5.
Regardless of the industry, create a tax archive to protect your organization. Extracting
100% of the ERP legacy systems is the safest option to ensure future compliance for tax,
audit, and data privacy requirements.
6.
Elsa by TJC gives end customers the certainty their data can be re always accessed.
When extracting all the legacy data, the information is converted into flat files (AIS
format) and remains unchanged.
10
About TJC Group
Experts in SAP Data Archiving and ILM, Legacy System Decommissioning and
SAP Tax compliance. TJC Group helps organizations craft an efficient Data
Management strategy to extend the lifespan of SAP systems or prepare data
for SAP® S/4HANA migration. We leverage decades of expertise in helping
customers worldwide to tackle Data Management challenges whilst ensuring
global fiscal compliance.