Global SAP environment
on AWS well managed

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the most popular cloud platforms in the world that has gained recognition among companies using SAP S/4HANA. One of the reasons is special EC2 instances optimized for SAP systems, which allows for efficient use of computing resources.

The scalable AWS cloud makes it easy to adapt to the company’s changing computing power and memory requirements, which is especially important for dynamic SAP business process workloads. In addition, AWS offers a range of security tools and features, such as AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), network security, as well as the ability to use encryption services, which is crucial for ERP systems.

Security is a key aspect of AWS management. The use of services such as AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) enables accurate identity management and resource access control. That is why it is so important to properly configure permissions and roles.

The prerequisite for effective management of large infrastructures in the cloud is automation. Services such as AWS CloudFormation and Terraform are responsible for the automatic creation and management of cloud resources using templates. Terraform follows the Infrastructure as Code (IAC) principle, which means that the entire infrastructure is managed by code, making it easier to track changes, replicate environments, and maintain the infrastructure as code.

Scalability of cloud services allows for optimization of costs. Knowledge of the AWS payment model is very important. AWS Cost Explorer supports cost effectiveness of managing and maintaining infrastructure in AWS. Understanding how resource fees are charged helps manage them consciously and reduce our customers’ costs.

Regular cost reviews, monitoring resource usage and adapting optimization strategies to changing requirements will help keep costs low while maintaining operational efficiency.

As you can see, optimal use and efficient management of services on the AWS platform requires not only a lot of work, but also a lot of experience and broad competencies. As always in similar cases, it is worth considering whether to perform these tasks within an internal competence center or outsource them to a specialized provider.

All for One Poland has expertise in both cloud services and SAP applications, which ensures consistent and comprehensive customer support. This eliminates many customer problems, such as the need to maintain resources and expand competence in these areas, so that the customer can focus on their own business.

By providing services of administration of customer systems, including SAP systems, All for One Poland ensures the continuity of application operation, using solutions for monitoring, analysis and management of the SAP environment such as Amazon CloudWatch, Zabbix or SAP Technical Monitoring. Such a wide “workshop" of tools allows you to collect, monitor and analyze data on resources and applications and receive immediate notifications of potential problems. This, in turn, helps quickly respond to potential problems and optimize performance.

One of the companies that maintain their SAP systems in the AWS cloud is Kingspan Insulated Panels (West Europe, Asia & Pacific) manufacturing a range of high-performance insulation roof and wall panel and other building envelope products. They are a division of Kingspan Group who focus on the manufacture of products for the building envelop.

In mid-2023, the company entrusted All for One Poland with the management of the AWS platform for SAP. We are responsible for maintaining the SAP ERP system environment, which is critical for the customer and is used by employees on several continents. We maintain SAP, HANA databases, and operating systems along with the entire infrastructure. The services are also responsible for monitoring and configuration of AWS cloud backup solutions, including system replication and Disaster Recovery tests.

Disaster Recover Resilience in AWS is based on an architecture that ensures replication of the system to another location within the AWS cloud with a guarantee of security even in the case of unavailability of the entire geographic region. By placing resources in different regions and/or availability zones, you can minimize the risk of loss of availability due to failure in one area. An additional guarantee of security is provided by performing systematic backups and tests of system recovery from Amazon S3.

An effective Disaster Recovery strategy in AWS is a combination of these elements, and their configuration depends on individual requirements, application characteristics and the level of advancement of the customer’s environment. It is important to regularly test the DR process to ensure that the environment is ready for use in the event of a failure. Such tests should be performed at least once a year. All for One consultants test the business continuity plan without affecting the production system environment.

Kingspan uses DRC in the AWS cloud, but has not conducted regular recovery tests so far. This was the first large task performed by All for One consultants as part of services of managing the AWS platform for SAP. In a completely separated environment in another region, a copy of production systems was created. This approach ensures data security and excludes interference with the customer’s production system. The tests of key users made after the recovery process confirmed that the system replication went well and all services are fully available.

It is worth noting that in the DR environment the system can be recovered repeatedly, creating ad hoc constructions to test the selected problem or new module.

As part of its monitoring services, All for One has launched the Zabbix system for Kingspan. It is an open source tool used for monitoring IT infrastructure in the cloud. Another tool that we use when providing services for this customer is SAP Solution Manager Technical Monitoring. This solution enables monitoring and management of the technical infrastructure of the SAP environment. It is a wide range of activities and actions that includes aspects of performance, availability, as well as monitoring of system and application resources. Daily monitoring is available to both the customer and the administrators on our side.

The scope of services under this contract is gradually expanding. Competence and many years of experience of All for One consultants in the administration of SAP systems and cloud systems build customer trust.