Enterprise composability: the key to agile migration to the cloud

A flexible and extensible company: the keys to composability

In a market characterised by digitalisation and constant change, working in the cloud provides organisations with many advantages. Running business systems in a cloud environment reduces maintenance costs, facilitates the use of cutting-edge technologies such as AI and machine learning, and provides access to new opportunities for collaborative development.

It’s therefore no surprise that most companies are in the process of transitioning to the cloud or, at least, planning their migration. But for many of them, updating their systems and adapting them to this environment is proving to be a challenge. This has once again highlighted the importance of composability, a strategy for defining the architecture of new landscapes that more and more organisations are applying to their own internal architecture.

The concept of composability is based on creating customised solutions for each function using a series of standardised components, which streamlines the process. In the business arena, composability means a new concept of modularity, where business units, solutions and working processes can quickly and easily be combined with each other. It’s now being applied to ERPs, which have traditionally been monolithic. Keep reading to discover the advantages of this principle and the keys to integrating it into an organisation.

What makes an enterprise platform composable

In the technological applications market, there are a number of solutions, such as SAP, that cover practically all processes and business areas, from customer experience to purchases and acquisitions, finance, etc. These are large platforms, sometimes with rigid infrastructures, whose migration to the cloud can be a real challenge.

The most important thing when moving a company’s software architecture to a cloud environment is that changes can be applied at scale in the different business units. For this to be possible, composable platforms must meet four basic principles:

1. Modularity. All modules in the tech environment must be based on the same, standardised components, which must be easily reconfigurable.
2. Integration. The design must allow for connectivity so different business modules all work in a coordinated way.
3. Autonomy. The integration of modules should not mean they don’t function autonomously. Each must be independent and replaceable, without affecting the rest of the architecture.
4. Orchestration. These types of platforms are like an orchestra: each instrument must be well-tuned for the ensemble to sound good. To keep track of all the modules’ operation, it’s important that users have access to a complete system overview.

The latest research and development initiatives from major technology providers are aimed at providing this much-needed composability to any intelligent enterprise. Among its wide range of tools, SAP offers organisations S/4HANA Cloud, a platform with an extensible model that represents the ideal solution in this regard.

S/4HANA Cloud and the advantages of the ‘clean core’

One of the features for which SAP S/4HANA Cloud stands out is its ‘clean core’ concept. Companies leveraging this cloud tool will not have to make changes of any kind to the SAP Business Technology Platform core; it remains intact. However, even if the core platform doesn’t undergo modifications of any kind, users will be able to adapt the platform’s different tools. They can also add new peripheral functions to adjust the solution to their business’s objectives and daily operations. This has two major advantages:

• Security: thanks to this model, maximum core integrity is maintained, ensuring that the main applications always work optimally. This high degree of security is especially important when working in the cloud.
• Customisation: as mentioned, users are free to add extensions to the platform. Furthermore, since they’re hosted in the cloud, these extensions can easily be developed collaboratively. Companies using S/4HANA Cloud have access to SAP’s entire portfolio of modular applications and its tools for creating new solutions.

Core protection reduces incidents, while its high customisability gives users more autonomy. As a result, staff at organisations working with S/4HANA Cloud will be less dependent on IT support.

NTT DATA: the key to personalisation

Composability has a clear objective: to increase organisational flexibility and extensibility. Using the right system is not enough. You have to know how to make the most of its capabilities. In this sense, having an implementation partner such as NTT DATA helps ensure the software is adopted in an agile way, ensuring that different teams learn to use it optimally.

Furthermore, what happens when a company wants to use tools from more than one brand? When integrating solutions from other suppliers into the system, technological advice from a specialised partner will be critical. Specifically, NTT DATA takes this approach: S/4HANA Cloud is the base platform. New components are added to it, which can be from SAP or other developers.

NTT DATA’s team has been working with SAP tools for years. That’s why we’ve received the Validated Partner distinction from RISE with SAP, which recognises the most experienced and knowledgeable partners in a wide range of implementations. We have a deep understanding of their applications, as well as the specific demands of each sector. After a specific case study of each client, we identify which additional functions they need. We help them create customised solutions and achieve a consistent operating model with clear business rules. With this model, they can adapt easily to market trends and achieve operational efficiency as quickly as possible.