SAP HANA and SAP S/4 HANA: ERP system with in-memory database

With S/4HANA, SAP has not only created its 4th generation of ERP systems or merely a successor to the SAP ECC Business Suite, but has also demonstrated the future of ERP systems. SAP S/4HANA is the biggest technological leap in the SAP world for decades. Far-reaching new possibilities and perspectives arise not only from a technical but also from a user perspective.

With S/4HANA the current and future requirements of ERP software are covered:

Fast processing of large data volumes through the in-memory database HANA
Integration of machine data into the ERP system for the implementation of IoT solutions
Analytical evaluations, available at any time – on the fly with Analytics

SAP S/4HANA exists as an on-premise and cloud version, whereby the use of a HANA database (High Performance Analytic Appliance) is mandatory. In addition, it is possible to operate an SAP S/4HANA system in the form of a side-by-side approach, a hybrid ERP system architecture that exists partly in the cloud and partly on-premise in parallel.

The cloud version of SAP S/4HANA can be operated either as a private cloud edition or as a public cloud edition. Both are subscription-based cloud ERP systems. The Private Cloud Edition is more flexible than the Public Cloud Edition in terms of customizability of the system. The Public Cloud Edition is only customizable via customizing, but there is no Z-coding as known from an SAP S/4HANA on-premise.

Both versions of the SAP S/4HANA cloud solution receive one update per quarter, the on-premise version only once a year. The updates can either contain bug fixes and/or new business functions.

S/4HANA has been on the market since 2015 and is offered in parallel with ECC Business Suite – the latter is officially supported by SAP until 2027. Currently, SAP has announced 2040 as the end of maintenance for S/4HANA.