SAP certifies Business Suite for production use on Amazon Web Services

IDG News Service - SAP Business Suite customers can now run the software in production form on Amazon Web Services, the companies announced this week during the Sapphire and Tech Ed conferences in Madrid.

Certified modules include ERP (enterprise resource planning), CRM (customer relationship management), PLM (product lifecycle management), SCM (supply chain management) and SRM (supplier relationship management), according to SAP.

SAP had previously given production certifications for AWS to its HANA in-memory database, Afaria mobile device management platform, BusinessObjects BI (business intelligence) software, the midmarket Business All-in-One ERP suite, and Rapid Deployment Solutions.

Companies interested in AWS deployments can use a Quick Sizer tool from SAP to figure out how much compute power they'll need to purchase from Amazon. Software licenses are still sold by SAP or its channel partners, according to Amazon's website.

In addition, customers must have a current maintenance agreement with SAP as well as either a Business or Enterprise level AWS support contract, according to Amazon's website.

The move brings SAP into parity with rival ERP vendor Oracle, which had already certified its ERP applications for production on AWS.

A study by research firm VMS, released earlier this year in conjunction with SAP's announcement of production certification for All-in-One on AWS, found that customers could realize significant savings on infrastructure costs compared to an on-premises deployment.

SAP didn't release new numbers specifically pertaining to Business Suite, which is generally used only by large enterprises. But reflective of Business Suite's target audience, an Amazon white paper describes how to configure SAP software for high availability on AWS.

Offering Business Suite on AWS has a broader strategic goal for SAP, as it gives customers the ability to do public cloud deployments now, rather than wait an unknown amount of time for SAP to offer the option directly.

It's not clear whether enterprises will move their Business Suite instances entirely over to AWS, but the option allows them to add new users without investing in new hardware.

Deployments on AWS and similar services could get even easier soon, as SAP is also developing the Cloud Appliance Library, which provides "preconfigured virtual appliances that are easy to deploy in a public cloud," according to its website.

The next major version of Business Suite is expected to be rewritten for cloud deployments, but it's not clear when the update will be released. As of now, SAP is rolling out a series of enhancement packs for the Suite that add new functionality with less work required than a full upgrade.

Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris' email address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com