SAP Cloud ALM
Why ALM for the Cloud? Many people think “In cloud, ALM is done by SAP as provider! Therefore a cloud customer does not need an ALM solution at all.” But even cloud customers need ALM.
In the cloud, the provider offers the cloud service and ensures its availability and performance. But the provider does not control how you configure (Build) and use (Run) the service. Like on premise, you, as a customer, are still responsible for setting up your master data and organizational structure in a cloud application (SaaS). You must define whether optional steps in a business process shall be executed or not. And you should check if any business exception (like a blocked account) requires an action. All of these activities are part of the application management life cycle. So, ALM is relevant for you in the cloud.
If you use more than one cloud service in an integrated fashion (e.g., SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP SuccessFactors), it is not the responsibility of the individual cloud providers to manage the integration. You must take care of building and monitoring the integration or checking data consistency. This is part of ALM as well.
And if you use the SAP Cloud Platform (PaaS) to enhance e.g. SAP S/4HANA Cloud, you develop and run your own (or 3rd-party) software. The platform provider will ensure the availability and performance of the platform, but it will not build, test, deploy, and operate the software. These aspects of ALM are also in your responsibility.
Watch Marc Thier, SVP Application Lifecycle Management, to learn:
· Why ALM is required in the cloud?
· How SAP Cloud ALM fulfills this requirement?
· What is the three-years ambition of SAP Cloud ALM?
This video is part of a video series explaining the entire ALM roadmap of SAP.
What is SAP Cloud ALM?
On September 18, 2018, SAP announced SAP Cloud ALM (Cloud Application Lifecycle Management), a cloud-based Application Lifecycle Management offering tailored to the needs of SAP Cloud customers.
The first step into SAP Cloud ALM is the implementation portal for SAP S/4HANA Cloud planned to be available in 2019. SAP intends to extend SAP Cloud ALM step-by-step from implementation support to the entire lifecycle and from SAP S/4HANA cloud to all SAP products with the entire roadmap planned to become available by 2021. SAP cloud solution customers will get access to SAP Cloud ALM based on their existing contract.
“As SAP customers continue to pursue cloud-based applications, providing access to cloud-centric ALM offerings is more important than ever,” said Andreas Heckmann, Senior Vice President, Support Delivery, SAP. “With SAP Cloud ALM, we're giving customers an Application Lifecycle Management offering that is ready for immediate consumption and thus best fits their solution preferences, and business needs.”
The implementation portal for SAP S/4HANA cloud will offer customers increased guidance, including:
- Quick Team Onboarding and Scoping: At the beginning of every SAP S/4HANA cloud implementation project, SAP customers will be equipped with product and release-specific task lists based on the SAP Activate S/4HANA cloud implementation roadmap, that specify sequencing of tasks, and assigned roles to boost efficiency.
- Support Fit-to-Standard implementation approach: SAP Cloud ALM fully supports the SAP S/4HANA cloud implementation methodology by providing all the tools required for fit-to-standard workshops, which give customers at the outset of the project a clear view of the steps required for successful deployment in the cloud. It is based on the SAP Best Practice Content for S/4HANA cloud.
- Configure SAP S/4HANA Cloud and track project progress: SAP Cloud ALM guides the customer through the implementation process and tracks project progress automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please click the link below to access the frequently asked questions regarding SAP Cloud ALM.