Claranet teams up with Mandant to offer a reliable migration path and ability for SAP customers to gain more value from data.
Claranet, the global technology provider, has today put out a call for SAP customers to accelerate their cloud-first strategies and the transition to S/4HANA, teaming up with SAP technology specialist Mandant to help make this happen
The release and deployment of S/4HANA has left SAP customers with an important choice to make. With support set to expire for existing SAP ECC 6 ERP applications by the end of 2027, businesses can either upgrade to S/4HANA, remain in a private cloud environment, or use this as an opportunity to move to the cloud.
Whilst a significant project, the benefits of migrating SAP to the cloud are many, including lower infrastructure costs, flexible scalability, fast and actionable insights, improved cybersecurity, enhanced business continuity, and continuous technology innovation.
Nevertheless, the complexity and critical nature of ERP upgrades require careful planning and comprehensive implementation strategies to reap the rewards. Leaders who don’t successfully address the complexities of cloud ERP projects expose their organisations to significant risks, including costly disruptions to business services.
As Mark Turner, Claranet’s Director of Hybrid Cloud, says:
Massive change is on the horizon for the 2,000 businesses in the UK that rely on SAP. As Gartner reports, 35% are estimated to have started planning upgrades to S/4HANA by the end of this year, with a further 65% yet to actively start their transition or roadmap planning.
What’s more, a significant number of these companies are also building their cloud-first strategies and deciding which cloud environments present the best solution for their business.”
However, in our experience, trying to do both at the same time is a step too far. For the majority of businesses, the better approach is for them to focus on migrating their current SAP platform to the cloud first, and then to make the switch to S/4HANA further down the line.”
To support this, Claranet has teamed up with Mandant, an SAP Certified Technology Specialist, delivering SAP solutions for large organisations including HMRC, BMW, Office Depot, and British Gas.
As Mark explains:
Our expertise is in modernising and running critical applications and infrastructure in the cloud. We help businesses to accelerate their migration to the cloud - be it AWS, Azure, or GCP - with security-first processes and automation already in place. From here, we can drive a journey of innovation using cloud native technologies to help customers get more out of their applications and data.”
Our partnership with Mandant means customers can then get the highest level of SAP cloud integration and advice when they make the move and, together, we can offer a managed solution backed by both cloud and SAP experts.”
Gary Kwei, director and co-founder of Mandant added: “Our partnership with Claranet will provide SAP customers with a complete solution around SAP public cloud migration, optimisation, and management.
“Claranet’s migration expertise can help businesses to move to the cloud at speed but with minimal downtime or risk. Mandant’s credentials as a team of SAP certified technical consultants working with leading integration technology means companies can manage and integrate their SAP applications in the cloud so they are ready to achieve real business modernisation that supports digital transformation.”
Gary added: “By choosing the right technology partners, businesses can develop a phased transition strategy that capitalises on advanced analytics and the increased processing power available in the cloud, along with the benefits of a modern ERP platform.”