Preface – This post is part of the SAP on Azure series.

Introduction

Understanding the phases of SAP projects on Azure is a very important aspect for the successful completion of SAP on Azure projects. In this article, we will discuss all the phases in detail and also share official Microsoft Azure documentation.

Phases of SAP on Azure Projects

Phases of SAP on Azure Projects is designed by Microsoft in the form of checklist for the customers who are already using SAP NetWeaver. This checklist helps a client to identify small issues and hence prevents bigger future issues. These phases do not include any tasks that are independent of Azure, e.g. SAP GUI related changes.

Following are the six phases of a SAP on Azure:

1. Project preparation and planning phase
2. Pilot phase (strongly recommended)
3. Non-production phase
4. Production preparation phase
5. Go-live phase
6. Post production phase

Project preparation and planning phase

This phase is where you plan your SAP migration or new SAP deployment on Azure. During this phase, we typically create High-level design and Technical design documents to guide us through the project. They cover:

High-level design document

• (If migrating): inventory of current SAP landscape including components, applications, network, security, compute, operating system, database, & HA/DR
• Build the responsibility assignment matrix (RACI)
• A high-level solution architecture
• Automation & operation plans, procedures, & processes

Technical design document

• A diagram for the solution & architecture including networking, high availability & DR Sizing for computing, memory, storage, & networking
• Operating System, Database, kernel, & SAP support pack versions
• Interfaces inventory including SAP & non-SAP

You can read the checklist here.

Pilot phase (strongly recommended)

This is the pilot/proof of concept (POC) phase. This phase is for testing the designs & approaches from the planning phase. In this phase. it is also common to include a full build of HA/DR, security, & scalability testing. Microsoft strongly recommends having this phase as a part of the SAP on Azure journey. You can read the checklist here.

Non-production phase

In this phase, we deploy non-production SAP systems on Azure. This deployment should include development systems, unit testing systems, and business regression testing systems. You can read the checklist here.

Production preparation phase

In this phase, we deploy production SAP systems on Azure. We incorporate lessons learned & experience from the non-production phase. If migrating we upgrade SAP systems & prepare for data transfer between our current SAP instance location & Azure. You can read the checklist here.

Go-live phase

In this phase, we utilize the playbooks from our earlier phases. We execute the steps that have been tested & practised in earlier phases. In this phase, we freeze all changes in processes and configurations. You can read the checklist here.

Post production phase

The phase is post production and includes monitoring the deployment, operating & administering the systems. You can read the checklist here.

References

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/workloads/sap/sap-deployment-checklist