A new generation of the enterprise information system SAP S/4HANA

The SAP S/4HANA information system represents a new generation of an enterprise solution built on the SAP HANA in-memory technology. This technology enables faster application run as well as faster data processing, thus supporting enterprises in the digital transformation.

Digital transformation is one of the buzzwords of today’s world. It represents the interconnection of data and processes as well as organizations and clients. In today’s dynamically evolving world, it is one of the tools helping enterprises to immediately react to customer requirements and keep up with their expectations. If enterprises want to keep their competitive advantage, they must use modern information technology as an integral part of their business, and take advantage of the technology to support growth.

One of the premises of digital transformation is implementing technologies and services of the so-called third platform, like mobile and social technologies, cloud services, real-time big data processing, as well as solutions supporting the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics or 3D print.


The new generation of SAP

The SAP company is one of the leading supporters of digital transformation. The key products are, among others, the SAP HANA database and the new generation of the enterprise information system, SAP S/4HANA.

The SAP HANA database has been on the market for a few years already. It is a flexible, multipurpose in-memory technology. Instead of processing data and archiving it in hard disks, SAP HANA carries out all those processes in the operation memory, significantly speeding up the access to data. That’s why it’s possible to analyse huge volumes of data from various sources and get results in a matter of seconds, thus making qualified decisions in real time. Additionally, the technology streamlines IT while also reducing operating costs.

SAP S/4HANA is the newest product of the new generation of SAP Business Suite by SAP AG, not a successor of the existing SAP products, and it replaces the existing SAP ERP. It is built exclusively on the SAP HANA in-memory platform, and it embraces modern principles of design and realization of user interface, taking advantage of the SAP Fiori user experience (UX) technology.

One of the essential simplifications is the transition from the transaction model of SAP ERP to the process model of S/4HANA.

SAP S/4HANA brings customers a significant simplification of their business processes (solution adoption, data model, user experience, data for decision-making, business processes and models) and their innovations (big data processing, business networks and mobile access) within new requirements for executing digital business processes. One of the essential simplifications is the transition from the transaction model of SAP ERP to the process model of S/4HANA. In S/4HANA, the users don’t need to know their 10 transactions, which they need to perform one by one; they execute their entire agenda from start to finish using modern applications and modern user interface. By using the in-memory technology, the data processing speed increases significantly, and generating reports, which takes minutes or even hours in the current SAP ERP, is now done within seconds. Thanks to the data model being simplified, the data is also much more trustworthy.


The move to S/4HANA provides

  • Information on the enterprise’s KPIs and key data within seconds, not days – one financial system connecting transaction data, planning and reporting, immediate statements, calculations
  • Connecting finance and controlling – universal journal entry with multiple parameters – costs and profitability of products and services available immediately
  • Material Requirements Planning (MRP) runs available on an individual order level, native integration of Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling (PPDS)
  • Real-time view of stock levels through various entities
  • Order management in a single cockpit – increase in efficiency of business process management
  • SAP Fiori 2.0 interface – launchpad, applications, all transactions have a unified user interface – users work more efficiently

Where next?

Would you like to get more information on moving to S/4HANA, or to discuss the impacts of the migration on your company? Check out the information about the current progress of migration of one of our customers. Would you like to get more information about the HANA platform and S/4HANA?