SAP ACTIVATE: THE SAP BEST PRACTICES OPTIMIZED FOR S/4HANA

It's now been a couple months since Sapphire 2015, and the announcement of SAP Activate. As a quick refresher, SAP Activate is  a unique combination of SAP Best Practices, methodology, and guided configuration to simplify your consumption of SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA). And just last week, we got a glimpse into the methodology story, so we thought now would be a good time to provide some more details about the SAP Best Practices optimized for S/4HANA.

But before we get to that, perhaps it's worth restating what SAP S/4HANA is in the first place: SAP's next-gen business suite. It is a new product built on the most advanced in-memory platform out there (SAP HANA) and includes SAP's new modern user experience (SAP Fiori). It is deployable in the cloud or on-premise and is built to drive a new level of value across most all lines of business and industries.

But how do you get to S/4HANA from wherever you are today? Easy. That's where SAP Activate comes into play. You can start with a new implementation or you can choose to integrate your current landscape with S/4HANA. Or, as yet another option, you can migrate your current system to SAP S/4HANA. The choice is yours and SAP Activate is there to empower you, whichever route makes the most sense for your situation.

So what exactly are the SAP Best Practices included as part of SAP Activate?

These are the ready-to-run business processes optimized for S/4HANA that also cover the integration and migration fundamentals. And the best part is that they are still based on the same comprehensive and flexible model that the SAP Best Practices team has cultivated from implementations in more than 50 countries with well over 10,000 customers.

These particular best practices (for SAP S/4HANA as part of SAP Activate) are business processes that include finance and logistics. They can be integrated with other cloud solutions, such as SucccessFactors Employee Central or Ariba Network. Or if you choose the migration scenario, these business processes will guide you through the optimal steps, whether it be a migration from a legacy SAP system or a migration from a non-SAP database. And last but not least, included as part of these SAP Best Practices is a reference solution running in the cloud and details on extensibility for how best to enhance SAP processes for your own needs.

In short, SAP Activate starts with SAP Best Practices for any implementation and uses one methodology for any deployment mode – cloud, hybrid, on premise, or mobile. Our goal, and the goal of SAP Activate, is help you take advantage of all the power and potential available via S/4HANA but tailored to your circumstances and business needs.

Run Simple with SAP Activate: Best Practices, Methodology, & Guided Configuration:

In case you missed the news at Sapphire, SAP announced SAP Activate, which is a combination of SAP Best Practices, guided configuration, and methodology optimized for S/4HANA. Following up on that first look, let's take a closer look at what SAP Activate is all about.

First up: SAP Best Practices

These are the ready-to-run business processes optimized for S/4HANA and also cover the fundamentals of integration and migration. Included in these best practices is a reference solution in the cloud as well as details on extensibility for how best to enhance SAP processes for your own needs.

Next up: Guided Configuration

You can think of guided configuration as the set of tools for an assisted implementation for everything from initial implementation of a project to "go-live" and then some. Meaning, guided configuration let's you apply updates and changes to your configuration and stay continuously on the innovation track and adapt agilely without disruption. Being guided by business processes is what empowers business and IT to work together.

Last but not least: Methodology 

Any implementation starts with best practices. The methodology uses a consistent approach used for any deployment mode chosen: cloud, hybrid, on premise, mobile. Also, you can choose to do it yourself or with an SAP partner or SAP directly. The methodology is designed for partner extensions. So, if you are a partner of SAP, you will definitely want to get to know SAP Activate!

Conclusion: SAP Activate 

In short, this combination of SAP Best Practices, guided configuration, and methodology allows you to build smart andrun simple. SAP Activate gives you the freedom to run fast (with a reference solution), beautifully (with a state-of-the-art Fiori UX), lean (with a lower TCO and continuous innovation), far (built-in extensibility to fit your needs), andflexibly (do it yourself or with a preferred partner or with SAP).

Source: Sap Activate: What's The Story Behind The Sap Best Practices Optimized For S/4hana?
Complementary Source 1: Run Simple with SAP Activate: Best Practices, Methodology, & Guided Configuration - SAP SCN
Complementary Source 2: SAP Activate - A new implementation approach for a new tool S/4 HANA Digital Core
Complementary Source 3: Elements for Designing a Transition Roadmap to SAP S/4HANA
Complementary Source 4: Welcome to the Roadmap Viewer in SAP Solution Manager 
Complementary Source 5: