3078041 - SAP Human eXperience Management (HXM) Next-Generation Cloud Delivery FAQs

This document contains the SAP Next-Generations Cloud Delivery Program for HXM frequently asked questions and answers for customers.

1. What is the data center\transition approach? How disruptive will this be to customers' business?
   The customer transition to the Hyperscaler platform will take place during a major infrastructure upgrade window. The existing URLs will be maintained after the transition, eliminating the need for any actions for most customers. 
2. Will the same guidelines and schedules applied currently to the Preview and Production instances be upheld by the Hyperscalers?
   There will be no changes to any interaction with SFSF tenants for customers because of this transition. The Preview, Production, and Patch Release guidelines and schedules will continue to be the same as they are for legacy data centers.
3. Will all my data transfer as part of the instance transition effort?
   Yes, we will transition all your configurations and employee data to your new instance.
4. How will the control environment change with the transition to Hyperscaler?
   There will be no change visible from a customer perspective.
5. Will all my instances transition at one time?
   The transition to the Next-Generation Cloud Delivery for HXM platforms is not a per customer approach. Customers with tenants in multiple landscapes or locations will have multiple transition events.
6. If SAP Fieldglass is not part of the product suite moving to the Hyperscalers, how will this affect the integrations into SAP HXM’s Employee Central?
   There will be no changes to integrations.
7. Will all SuccessFactors Products be available in all future data centers?
   Yes, the future data center infrastructure will allow the enablement of all SuccessFactors Products except for other SAP technologies dependencies, i.e., ECSC (C4C) or BTP innovations (SAC, Work-zone, IAS, SCP).
8. Why are we accelerating this timeframe?
   Our customers demand more innovation, simpler engagement, and more reliable solutions. We don't feel they should have to wait. By accelerating these final steps, we are bringing forward our original timeline by a full year.
9. Will the timing of the transition impact the timing of the bi-annual SuccessFactors release cycle?
   The Transition to Next-Generation Cloud Delivery platforms will not take place on the same dates as planned SuccessFactors Major code releases.
10. How does the move to Hyperscaler change our support interaction model?
    Customer interaction remains with SAP as the SaaS provider.
11. Will SAP SuccessFactors HXM have data centers for Validated Learning application?
    Validated LMS tenants which are there in our existing datacenters will be transitioned to the new hyperscaler environment exactly as it is. There will be no dedicated datacenters for Validated LMS.
12. Customer procured licenses in Jan 2021; will they be in new hyperscaler data center?
    All customers will be transitioned to a Hyperscaler datacenter. The timeline for this transition varies per data center but is planned between Q3 2021 and Q4 2022. You can see the detailed plan in subsequent slides. This slide pack will be shared with the participants after the session.
13. Is there any impact or change to SFTPs?
    There is no impact SFTP URLs endpoints will remain.
14. Does the migration impact IAS/IPS setup or integrations?
    There is no impact on IAS/IPS (Identify Provider System) setup or integrations. No IP addresses are needed. Since the HXM transition will retain all the domains or URLs, the integrations have no impact. Only URLs are required to complete the setup
15. Any impact on cloud platform integration (CPI) foundry and new platforms and data centers?
    There are no impacts to integration tools as the transition team will implement the same endpoint at the new hyperscaler environments.
16. During the SFSF transition, is there a process to “repoint” integration endpoints for data movement interfaces?
    URLs will not change with the SAP SuccessFactors HXM transition. Therefore, integrations will remain in place.
    
17. Will Business Transformation Platform (BTP) Products, i.e., Cloud Platform Integration or any database storage, transition with SAP SuccessFactors Products or remain as is until BTP scheduled moves.
    The Business Transformation Platform and SAP SuccessFactors Products will not transition simultaneously for customers.
    
18. Why is there a provisioning freeze that spans across Preview and Production transition periods?
    Provisioning a customer preview tenant in a hyperscaler environment and a production tenant in the legacy environment could cause confusion for the customer. Since the provisioning activity results in direct updates on the database global schema, any such activity may lead to an increased duration for data replication that can severely affect the cutover window timing.
    
19. Will the transition occur outside of the normal maintenance window, and what is the expected duration?
    The transition will occur during a major upgrade window. This will be an extended duration (up to 36 hours). There are two transition periods, one for non-production and one for production.
20. Why has SAP decided to migrate to GCP for its EMEA customers and MS Azure for its US customers (and not MS Azure for both)? If this is decided from a GDPR-perspective, can you provide further information and (if possible) supporting documentation.
    Many factors went into the regional choice of hyperscaler provider including (but not limited to): Available Location/Regions, Available Services, Available Capacity, Contractual, Cost, and other dependencies/services.  We carefully looked at these factors as well as others to ensure a smooth transition for our customers.
    
21. Can SAP please provide a copy or extract of the sub-processor agreement with GCP/MS, particularly with respect to the agreed technical and organizational measures (in line with SAP’s obligation to pass on its obligations as data processor under the DPA to each sub-processor it engages)?
    SAP does not provide sub-processor agreements to customers as the terms and obligations concerning the technical and organizational measures (in relation to Sub-processors) is covered under a  Non- disclosure Agreement (NDA), that ensures that technical and operational measures conform to SAP’s obligations to its customers.
    
22. To what extent will Google/MS get access to customer data. Will the data at Google/MS be encrypted by SAP or by Google/MS?
    Google, Microsoft, or any hyperscaler provider would never have access to any other customer's data.  All data will remain encrypted at-rest, as it is today, with SAP managing the keys of encryption (not the hyperscaler provider).
    
23. Will GCP / MS Azure be able to collect additional analytic data from customers? If yes, what data and who will be the owner of this data?
    Hyperscaler providers will not be able to collect data from SAP customers directly or indirectly.
24. What other SAP Cloud products are included in this program?
    The SAP Next-Generation Cloud Delivery Program includes all SAP Cloud solutions except Qualtrics, SAP Concur, SAP Sales Performance Management, SAP Fieldglass, and SAP CPQ.
25. Where can I find more information about the program?
    Please feel free to reach out to your account team, utilize the SAP for ME tool or email the SAP_Next_Generation_Cloud_Delivery@sap.com with any questions.
26. How far in advance will the Program notify customers of their transition date?
    The Program Team plans to notify customers 90-day before their transition date as the first communication point. From there, the Program Communications Team expects to send 60-day, 30-day, and 7-day notices to guide customers through the transition process.
27. Why did HXM select MS Azure for Americas and Google Cloud Platform for EU?
    As part of the assessment criteria of appropriate regional Hyperscalers, SAP looked at geographic coverage, available services, and capacity, cost, proximity to the existing data center, and other factors. When we were looking at our first Hyperscaler data centers in 2018, MS Azure had the best combination of these factors to meet our needs. In 2020, when SAP HXM was looking to deploy our EMEA hyperscaler environments, SAP had already established a Google Cloud Platform footprint that mimicked the geographic coverage of our existing data centers, including an SAP dedicated region in Frankfurt, Germany. This also included support by Google of our EU access offering to our clients.
28. Does the customer have to do anything during SFSF tenant migration?
    As a part of the Communication Plan, customers will receive detailed instructions based on the actions identified in the Enterprise Check Documentation on the SAP Help Portal.
29. What is the SAP Next-Generations Cloud Delivery Program for HXM?
    Through the SAP Next-Generation Cloud Delivery Program, we aim to transition the majority of the HXM cloud solutions to run on state-of-the-art offerings, currently including Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, as well as our SAP Converged Cloud (SAP Hyperscaler Infrastructure), by the end of 2022.
30. Will customers incur additional expenses because of this program?
    [Other than the existing subscription fees,] there is no cost for customers outside of the internal resources that will be required for testing during the transition process. Additionally, there will be a few preparation actions associated with transition readiness that will be communicated to customers approximately 60 days prior to the scheduled transition.
31. What about customers currently deploying in-progress projects? How will the transition process affect customers’ configuration and development activities for ongoing business events and implementation phases?
    The Program plans to target notifying customers 60 days in advance of their transition date. The maximum provisioning freeze of new tenants is 9 days, and the tenants’ transition will occur during an infrastructure upgrade window. Customers can reach out to their SAP Field Contact if there are concerns about ongoing business events or email SAP_Next_Generation_Cloud_Delivery@sap.com. 
32. If customers have technical questions before the start of the transition process, how can those be addressed? What resources could assist in that conversation with the customer?
    Please review the Next-Generation Cloud Delivery for HXM Jam page and FAQs in their entirety as many of these questions have derived from previous customer interactions.  
    
    Please direct customer-facing meeting request to the SAP Next Generation Cloud Delivery Program via email SAP_Next_Generation_Cloud_Delivery@sap.com and include the below information. Please ensure you include the specifics regarding why your customer requests to meet and your customer interaction expectations. A Program team member will review your request and respond regarding with next actions to address your request.
    
      Email Body Format
      Your name:
      Your role:
      Customer name:
      Customer BPID:
      Current Data Center:
      Request Details (3 sentences max):
      Transition Plan & Process
    
    
33. Under the existing DPA (section 6.1) several requirements apply to SAP in relation to certifications and SAP audit reports. To what extent will this be impacted and are changes needed?
    Any updates to the SOC audit reports will be reflected in future SOC audits after 6 months of operation within the new hyperscaler environments.  Any updates to both the SOC reports or certifications will be posted in the SAP Cloud Trust Center for download.
34. To what extent will our possibilities to perform a customer audit be limited or are restrictions / dependencies on GCP/MS Azure created?
    Customer audits are not allowed unless specifically agreed upon within the Terms and Conditions of the contract.  The move to the hyperscalers will not prevent any contractually agreed upon terms surrounding right to audit of the customer.
35. SLA’s and system availability: To what extent will current SLA’s and system availability be impacted or require change?
    While contractual SLAs will remain the same, it is expected that either before, or at some time after completion of the program, certain SLA improvements will be targeted and communicated to customers (when validated and available).
36. What extent will Cloud Support Services be affected by envisaged relocations?
    There should be no impact to Cloud Support Services either from a contractual or location perspective.
37. Does the migration include all the systems that a customer is using in one migration or sequential migrations: (classic SF, EC, ECP, Fieldglass, there are more). If SAP cannot keep all systems together in the new datacenter setup,  will this have impact on the attack surface?
    The transition of solutions will be on a datacenter-by-datacenter basis, and thus is sequential in nature.  The transition will not consolidate a customer's current landscape into a single datacenter.  The attack surface in this case should not change from what it is today.
38. In some situations, we rely on datacenter security controls for the protection of data at rest or in transit (internal transfers, temporary storage). What is the impact of moving the workloads to GCP/MS Azure for these controls?
    From and SAP SuccessFactors perspective, there should be no change in controls surrounding the protection of data either at-rest of in-transit.
39. How about the SAP partners (who host their applications inside the SAP environment) that are used by customers?  Will they be part of the migration or will these systems get separated from SAP SuccessFactors' Products?
    The move to the hyperscaler environment will be solely for the core SAP SuccessFactors products (a list of what is in scope can be provided).  This program would not cover 3rd party solutions.
40. There is a security framework document connected to the order form for SAP cloud services. Many controls in this document are based on physical security provided by the SAP datacenter. Will SAP provide a new security framework for their cloud services based on the new cloud situation / take additional measures when the overall level of security of the end-to-end service is reduced?
    Any updates to the security framework will be provided to our customers and will maintain the same level of security controls, attestations and certifications that are our current standard.  If there is any finding that would reduce the level of security, it will be addressed, and mitigating controls will be put in place and documented as part of the customer provided documentation.
41. Will the move to GCP/ MS Azure have any impact on the current multi-tenant situation in SF / EC? – Many customers in one database (or will the move to GCP/ MS Azure imply further segmentation per tenant?)
    There will be no impact or change in the fundamentals of tenancy within our solution.
42. How about ECP? This currently is hosted on a dedicated machine. How will this work in the new hosting situation?
    The same fundamental tenancy model will be maintained for ECP (as it is today) including the architectural model.
43. Is the personal data of customers' associates always encrypted at rest and in transit? Where are the encryption keys stored and who has access to these keys? How is access controlled? What kind of logging and monitoring is in place?
    Yes, it will remain encrypted both at-rest and in-transit as it is today.  The keys of encryption are stored in the hyperscaler cloud key management systems with only SAP having access to and control of the keys of encryption.  The same mechanisms of access control will remain in place as well as the level of logging/monitoring.
44. Will the GCP / MS Azure services be based on IaaS (SAP remains responsible for OS hardening) or on another scenario?
    Yes, we are using the hyperscalers solely as IaaS with SAP responsible for hardening of the virtual servers/architecture that sits on top.
45. Do I need to stop my jobs (Integration Center, BTP/CPI, Boomi, etc.) during the transition?
    You can follow the best practice you use during the major code releases which happen twice a year. As we do not have full visibility around how you build your custom integrations, it is hard for us to predict how your specific integration jobs will behave during the system downtime. However, we tend to see most of our customers did not have to stop the jobs during the previous DC transitions and everything will pick up afterwards.

46. Is there an impact on new Tenant Provisioning in Legacy Data Center during the transition window?
    As part of the infrastructure upgrade, new tenant provisioning/creation is not permitted starting one day before the Preview environment until one day after the Production environment completion. Note: Partner provisioning access is not affected as part of the transition.

47. Can customers request or perform tenant refreshes across environments during the transition period?
    Cross-environment tenant refreshes (i.e., Production to Preview or vice versa) are not permitted for the entire transition period, which starts from the Preview transition and ends one day after the Production transition.

48. Will there be a maintenance page displayed during the data center transition?
    Yes, the transition activities include displaying a maintenance page during the major infrastructure upgrade window. Please view the maintenance page example here.
    
    

49. What is the impact on the candidates if I have RMK and RCM in two different data centers as part of the Next-Gen Cloud migration? For example, Recruiting Marketing (RMK) in St. Leon-Rot (DC12) and Recruiting Management (RCM) in Amsterdam (DC2).

    During the DC12 downtime, your career portal (RMK) will be down for 36 hours, and if candidates try to access the career site, they will see a maintenance page indicating when the SuccessFactors service will be back online. Suppose you have Recruiting Posting (RPOS) solution or another 3rd party solution posting your jobs to other job boards like LinkedIn. In that case, your candidate can see the replicated Job posting. However, when they try to apply for a job, they will be redirected to your career portal and see the same maintenance page. 

    During the DC2 downtime, your career portal (RMK) in DC12 will continue to operate. Your candidates can see all the job postings, but when they try to apply for a job, they will be redirected to the recruiting management application (RCM) in DC2. Since DC2 is down for migration, they will see a maintenance page indicating when the service will be back online. Similarly, for your replicated job postings on other job boards, your candidates can view the job postings but cannot apply. 

3089960 - SAP SuccessFactors Next Generation Cloud Delivery (NGCD) Customer checklist

KBA , CEC-EC , Engagement Center , How To