Transition to a Cloud-Based ALM

What should be considered when transitioning to a Cloud-Based ALM?

The end of maintenance for SAP Solution Manager has been scheduled. What does this mean for customers, and how can they respond?

SAP Solution Manager, the highly integrative and powerful Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) suite from SAP, has been in use for nearly 20 years, with its first release (version 3.2) made available to customers on October 22, 2004. However, it is likely that October 2024 will mark the last significant anniversary for SAP Solution Manager, as its maintenance end has already been determined. Mainstream maintenance will conclude on December 31, 2027, with extended maintenance ending on December 31, 2030. Despite its impending end of life, SAP Solution Manager has enjoyed widespread popularity. Over the years, SAP has continuously advanced the development of Solution Manager. Existing functionalities were consistently enhanced, and new features were implemented. For many companies, SAP Solution Manager became a reliable component of their SAP IT landscape, particularly in areas such as process management and test management. Now, these organizations face the challenge of phasing out Solution Manager in the near future and finding a replacement for the functionalities it currently provides.

However, SAP is not leaving its customers without a solution as Solution Manager reaches its end of life. As an alternative to the on-premise SAP Solution Manager, SAP offers a cloud-based solution: SAP Cloud ALM. The functionalities in Cloud ALM are closely aligned with the best practices established by the ALM processes in Solution Manager. Since both solutions are SAP products, a seamless transition to Cloud ALM is planned.
 

Transition to a Cloud-Based ALM
Transition to a Cloud-Based ALM: Efficient Modernization and Continuous Optimization through regular Updates and Automation.


What are the advantages of transitioning to Cloud ALM compared to on-premise solutions?

On-premise solutions are often outdated, monolithic, and particularly maintenance-intensive systems. In today's world, where the security of IT systems is of utmost importance, keeping system landscapes up to date with the latest software patches and upgrades is critical. However, this constant "staying up to date" is both time-consuming and resource-intensive. Additionally, implementing patches in on-premise systems can lead to downtime, resulting in operational disruptions.

In contrast, cloud-based solutions like Cloud ALM automatically and regularly roll out software patches and upgrades to their respective tenants. Cloud ALM follows a bi-weekly patch cycle, meaning new features or patches are deployed every two weeks. Moreover, these patches do not need to be tested by the company’s IT or business teams, as SAP conducts automated testing of patches and upgrades. Aside from enhanced security, this also ensures that the latest functionalities are always available, allowing companies to benefit from a shorter time-to-value.

Leverage our expertise to learn how to successfully transition to Cloud ALM!

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