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Enterprise-ready automation for SAP

Accenture has worked closely with AWS to build specialized tools that automate SAP deployments and operations on AWS. These tools include AWS infrastructure and SAP architectural deployment blueprints that enable integrated testing and validation, as well as customizable and scalable deployment solutions. The tools make it easy to operate, administer and integrate advanced capabilities so that your SAP environment runs effectively on AWS.

The need for better SAP deployments

Most SAP deployments are manual, time-consuming and prone to human error, all of which can cause significant delivery issues and compromised quality. In the enterprise world, you may not have a standardized and streamlined path of deployment, which results in SAP environments that are set up differently and can lead to unexpected delays and expensive operational costs.

In response, some companies have tried to throw more people or money at the problem, while others have made attempts to use infrastructure automation tools. These tools, however, come with a steep learning curve and heavy lifting from the infrastructure team, which many times does not have deep SAP experience. This is how companies can end up with semi-automated and inconsistent deployments.

Why are Accenture DevOps automation tools important?

Accenture and AWS have challenged the status quo with Accenture DevOps automation for SAP on AWS. The tools standardize SAP system deployments and provide a series of capabilities to streamline the entire operations lifecycle while integrating services that AWS provides. The Accenture automation tools can reduce time to market while improving the consistency and resiliency of SAP system architectures and enhancing the customer experience.

The benefits and business outcomes of industry-leading automation

Accenture DevOps automation for SAP on AWS brings many benefits to our clients:

• Leading practices by default: We manage and continuously maintain SAP and AWS leading practices in the tool by pulling in lessons learned and the newest SAP and AWS features.

• Reduced time to market: By using templates and defining everything as code, SAP landscapes can be deployed in a matter of hours. Deployments of components are massively parallellized.

• Reduced deployment costs and increased service reliability: We significantly reduce manual labor and its associated errors.

• Reduced run costs: We automate SAP Basis and infrastructure operations which results in lower costs vs. manual management.

• Increased compliance and auditability: The template-based approach allows companies to meet strict compliance requirements. Our everything defined as code approach delivers a real-time, up-to-date configuration management database.

Accenture DevOps automation for SAP on AWS

Integrated components

Accenture DevOps automation for SAP on AWS contains four essential components:

• Accenture cloud builder contains up-to-date best practices from SAP and AWS to produce cost savings, more consistent deployment and landscape management, as well as auditability. It uses various automation tools to deploy an SAP environment, including foundational pieces like VPC, subnets and security groups. Deployment is carried out by populating easy-to-use web forms which are passed on to API-driven automation tools like Jenkins and Chef.

• After the SAP instances are deployed, Accenture cloud runner can be used to enable automated application-consistent start/stop activities for non-production SAP environments. These can be scheduled within a given uptime window and can help clients save on infrastructure costs by having specific systems like sandbox, training and even development only available as needed. The tool equally enables auto-scaling for production systems, allowing us to size for a steady state and not for peak activity.

• Accenture cloud admin provides automation capabilities for various lifecycle actions like backups, system copies, refreshes and OS patching. This can substantially simplify SAP administration activities and allow customers to focus on more strategic and value-driven activities. Cloud admin puts the keys of the house in the hands of SAP Basis admins by automating SAP Basis activities including the scripting of the underlying infrastructure tasks.

• Accenture cloud monitor provides end-to-end monitoring across compute, network, storage, operating system and database all the way into the SAP application. This provides a consistent, “single pane of glass” view to customers, without having to look at different siloed logs and connecting the data points. Cloud monitor delivers 250 KPIs, metrics and alerts out-of-the-box and comes integrated with AWS CloudWatch.

Conclusion

Accenture and AWS have changed the market for SAP implementations and operations on AWS by deploying Accenture DevOps automation tools for our client engagements to implement and operate an end-to-end solution. Using the guiding principle of “everything as code,” Accenture and AWS are helping clients deploy SAP and cloud infrastructure at extraordinary speed and scalability, and with unprecedented consistency. We are making development automation happen today.

Contact persons

For more information on how Accenture DevOps automation for SAP on AWS can help you deploy and run SAP environments better, faster and at lower costs, please contact:

Jim Klein – Accenture Global Platform Director, SAP on AWS

Steve Delien – Accenture Chief Technology Architect, Journey to Cloud SAP