SAP

SAP applications are widely used across all industries. Moreover, by 2030 all ERP 6.0 software stacks have to be migrated since their support expires. Many organizations are currently reviewing or are already in the midst of the migration to S/4HANA. Therefore, we provide some best practices on how to model classic ERP 6.0 stacks and S/4HANA stacks in LeanIX.

SAP ERP 6.0

The following illustration shows the standard structure of an SAP software stack:

First, you want to map your SAP systems to your LeanIX data model. Depending on your perspective you want to focus either on a technical perspective or a business perspective. From a technical perspective, we differentiate SAP systems in SAP System IDs (SIDs) as level 1 Applications, SAP client as level 2 Applications and SAP apps as level 3 Applications in Leanix. From a business perspective, we are using only two levels, level 1 for the respective SAP application (e.g. SAP ERP 6.0) and level 2 for the underlying modules (e.g. SAP MM, SAP FI). The following pictures show both options (Best Practice 1: Technical perspective, Best Practice 2: Business Perspective):

The following diagrams show examples of how to model SAP Applications in LeanIX for both options. For all the following examples, please choose first if you want to focus on the technical or the business side. For the sake of simplicity, we only depict in the following the business perspective.

It is important to map your SAP product versions to LeanIX. We recommend mapping them to LeanIX IT Components / Tech Category. The following diagram shows an overview of the SAP product structure:

As already explained, SAP SIDs, clients, applications, and modules are Applications in LeanIX. However, an SAP application typically uses multiple product versions of a software. Therefore, it is best practice to map the SAP product versions, enhanced packages, add-ons, and industry solutions to an IT Component in LeanIX. In addition, SAP software components can also be added using IT Components in LeanIX:

The following diagram shows an example of how to model SAP product versions in LeanIX:

Of course, it is also possible to map your SAP technical objects and systems in LeanIX. Use IT Components to include your application servers, databases, operating systems, etc.:

If you want to map the Interfaces between your SAP systems to LeanIX, use the Fact Sheet type "Interface". The technology that an interface uses can be modelled as an IT Component in LeanIX. Both the interface and the technology behind it can be partially extracted from SAP PI. Use our Integration API to automate the data exchange. Get in touch with your Customer Success Manager if you want to know more:

The following diagram shows an example of how to model SAP Interfaces in LeanIX:

It is also possible to map your SAP company codes and providers to LeanIX. We recommend mapping them to LeanIX User Groups / Providers. The company codes can be extracted from SAP FI. Providers of product versions can be extracted from SAP Solution Manager. To maintain data and keep it up-to-date, please be sure to assign a responsible person to the respective Fact Sheets. To automatically synchronize your data, use our Integration API to connect to your SAP Solution Manager instance. You can also use the .xls interface to export and import data between SAP SolMan and LeanIX. If you need more details on this, please get in touch with your Customer Success Manager.

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Import Template

Use the following link (click here) to get your own copy of our SAP ERP import templates and kick-start your SAP ERP modeling with LeanIX.

SAP S/4HANA

There is no major difference in modeling SAP S/4HANA in comparison to SAP ERP 6.0. Again, you can model S/4HANA either from a technical or from a business perspective. Since S/4HANA uses a different technical backbone than ERP 6.0 (the database HANA is used; in addition, S44HANA environments are also often cloud-based), the IT Components look different:

The basic composition of an SAP S/4HANA system is the same as with SAP ERP 6.0. Level 1 applications are used to model the respective SAP system (S/4HANA or S/4HANA Cloud) and Level 2 applications model the Line of Businesses (Finance, Sourcing and Procurement, Marketing, etc.) which is very similar to the modeling of SAP Modules as Level 2 applications. With the introduction of S/4HANA another business layer has been introduced, Fiori apps. Fiori apps can be moduled as Level 3 applications. Depending on the level of granularity that you want to model, you can either go for one, two, or three application levels. Our recommendation is to model your SAP landscape with at least two levels.

Please find in the following SAP S/4HANA import templates which can serve as a starting point for your own modeling. Our import templates focus on On-Premise, Cloud and Hybrid SAP S/4HANA deployments. The following diagrams represent a simplification of the import templates and are intended to provide you some best practices on how to model the different deployment models.

On-Premise Deployment:

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Import Template

Use the following link (click here) to get your own copy of the on-premise deployment import template and kick-start your SAP S/4HANA modeling with LeanIX.

Cloud Deployment:

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Import Template

Use the following link (click here) to get your own copy of the cloud deployment import template and kick-start your SAP S/4HANA modeling with LeanIX.

Hybrid Deployment:

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Import Template

Use the following link (click here) to get your own copy of the hybrid deployment import template and kick-start your SAP S/4HANA modeling with LeanIX.