Migrating to SAP S/4HANA: Why a Linux Platform is Integral to Success

Savings, new business models, and competitive advantage are a few of the benefits offered by SAP S/4HANA. See why SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications is a leading platform for SAP solutions on Linux technology, which is required for harnessing SAP S/4HANA.

According to a recent survey, two-thirds of SAP customers are planning their company’s future technology path with SAP S/4HANA. It’s no secret why: Running on the in-memory power of SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA offers a simplified business suite that takes advantage of a reworked underlying table architecture that can boost data use and access. And with a “Google-like” search experience, data is much more accessible, providing for a richer analytics experience.

It’s not just about ease of use. The difference is quantifiable: One estimate indicates that organizations can save 37% across hardware, software, and labor costs. These savings, paired with the new capabilities, can lead companies to new business models and competitive advantage.

But to harness SAP S/4HANA, the underlying operating system for SAP HANA must provide enterprise-level reliability and availability, be easy to manage and scale into the future, and have lock-down security.

Reliability, Availability, and Security with Linux

SAP S/4HANA requires Linux technology, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications offers a number of features that explain why it is a leading platform for SAP solutions on Linux:

High availability with automated failover: Since 2011, SUSE has worked with SAP to improve the scalability and high availability of SAP HANA so that companies can grow their deployments to include multiple nodes for system replication and application failover across multiple geographic locations.

OS security: Hackers often attack the OS and not the database directly, so security of the underlying OS is just as important as the security of the database. SUSE has focused for a long time on IT security and has an aggressive international security certification program. In addition, SUSE offers an integrated antivirus solution for SAP environments.

Simple management: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications includes the agents to be managed by SUSE Manager, which enables the efficient management of Linux systems. SUSE Manager helps to package and update sources, which are organized as repositories.

Uptime and performance: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications consistently provides outstanding uptime and performance, even under full CPU loads and high memory stress.

Options in the cloud: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications is based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, a Linux platform that is proven in the cloud and selected for use with SAP cloud solutions such as SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud and SAP Cloud Platform. Furthermore, SUSE has a strong relationship with other virtualization and cloud market companies, such as VMware, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, and works with a broad global ecosystem to ensure that companies have access to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in the public cloud of their choice. Whatever path to the cloud that organizations are taking, Linux supports any data center plan that companies could have for their SAP systems.

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Since SAP S/4HANA is the future for SAP customers, companies need to make sure their Linux platform is in place — and highly functioning. For any deployment scenario, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications represents a choice that can support companies well into the future as they seek to gain benefits from SAP S/4HANA. For more information, visit here.