Status
Owner	WENNINGER-ext, Sascha
Stakeholders	PETTIFORD-ext, owen

Issue

A key decision is required on how will be implemented the SAP GTS environment. This document aims to evaluate and recommend the most suitable approach based on the specific project requirements, solution scope, and business goals. The integration of SAP Global Trade Services (GTS) with S/4HANA can be approached in two main ways:

A ) Co-Deployed (Embedded) within S/4HANA. The embedded approach integrates SAP GTS functionalities directly within the S/4HANA system in a dedicated client, eliminating the need for a separate GTS instance.

B) SAP GTS Standalone Deployment, Maintaining SAP GTS as a separate instance while integrating it with SAP S/4HANA instead of embedding it.

This document will assess the advantages, limitations, and suitability of each approach to determine the best fit for the project’s scope and objectives.

Recommendation

It is recommended to adopt the SAP GTS Co-Deployed (Embedded) within S/4HANA approach in a dedicated client (Option A). This type of deployment allows to keep all the functionality required for SAP Global Trade Services in the same way that would happen for the Standalone deployment. Additionally means a simplified IT landscape , reduces the infrastructure cost and run benefits of a unified and streamlined system.

Embedding SAP GTS into S/4HANA (Option A) provides significant advantages, such as compatibility, lower RISE costs, and easier maintainability and operations, making it the preferred option.

Background & Context

In the context of the ERP Rebuild Project, it is required to implement the SAP Global Trade Services (GTS) solution and integrate it with the S/4HANA system. There are two SAP GTS deployment approaches available for the project, each providing different levels of infrastructure and operational requirements.

This document aims to evaluate these options and recommend the most suitable approach based on the project’s specific requirements, level of complexity, and overarching business objectives. The evaluation considers factors such as system compatibility, ease of implementation, RISE costs, and system landscape requirements.

The deployment approach must be decided at this project stage since we have the opportunity to reduce landscape costs with the SAP GTS embedded mode. The available configuration options include:

Co-Deployed (Embedded) within S/4HANA (Option A). Since S/4HANA 2023 it is possible to run SAP GTS in an Embedded mode without compromise the functional scope (which was not possible in previous S/4HANA versions without some compromise on scope). Following are some of the main characteristics of this deployment option:

SAP GTS and SAP S/4HANA share the same database and application server, meaning they also share system resources. Therefore, proper system sizing is essential.
GTS runs on a separate client in the S/4HANA platform. This is required because as indicated in the SAP documentacion “You must install SAP Global Trade Services, edition for SAP HANA 2023 in a separate client from SAP S/4HANA 2022/2023 or master data distribution from S/4 to GTS will not work”.
Updates and patches are managed together with SAP S/4HANA,that means a technical dependency between SAP S/4HANA and SAP GTS solutions.
IT Operations and administrative tasks are shared by both solutions.

Keep SAP Global Trade Services as a standalone system (Option B) while integrating it with SAP S/4HANA. This is the historical solution implemented because until S/4HANA 2023 version this was the only deployment option that guarantee the full availability of functional scope. Following are some of the main characteristics of this deployment option:

SAP GTS runs independently from SAP S/4HANA, in dedicated Application and database servers.
It will require integration interfaces with S/4HANA (e.g., RFC, IDocs, APIs) to exchange data.
Needs separate system administration, operation and updates.
Higher costs due to the need for additional system.

More details are available here:

Assumptions

No functional restrictions : Same functionality is available for each option.
Embedded system could be carved out to stand alone if needed in the future.
S/4HANA and SAP GTS must be aligned from a software components point of view, this technical dependency apply to both scenarios .
The system time zone for all the SAP applications is UTC time and there is no specific requirement for SAP GTS regarding TimeZone. Note that UTC time zone is also the SAP recommendation.
No impact in embedded option because shared workbench objects. SAP GTS use own workbench objects.
No impact in proyect implementation since both options allows all the required project activities for a SAP GTS Greenfield implementation: interfaces, data load, testing customizing or development.

Constraints

If we select RISE to have a seperate system then we will have to pay for this system for the life of the contract (7 years) so we need to make a decision now

Impacts

No functional impacts since same functionality is available for embedded and standalone options.
Technical Dependencies : S/4HANA and SAP GTS versions must be aligned from a software components point of view. Due to the SAP GTS product evolution is probably that new required functionalities will be released in future versions, meaning patches or upgrades on the affected systems. In order to mitigate that potential impact it is recommended to:
- Define SAP S/4HANA and SAP GTS Patches and Upgrades strategy. It is recommended to establish in advanced proper mechanism to keep systems updated based on Technology updates and Business Requirements.
- Define Regression test procedure and methodology. It is recommended to analyze potential use of Testing Tools that allows the testing automatization and reduce the regression test effort.
In the case of an embedded deployment, must be taking into account the additional resources requirements in order to run GTS processes in the S/4HANA box . This is due to the fact that both will share the same database and application server. Current SAP GTS Production server (SID WGP) is running on a system with following hardware attributes: 8 CPUs, 64 GB RAM and 1.1 Disk Space TB. Must be analyzed the required adjustment in S/4HANA sizing in order to run those additional GTS processes. The analysis of the S/4HANA sizing requirements is out of the scope of this document.
SAP GTS carve out to standalone could be performed in the future because functional or technical requirements.

Business Rules

None

Options considered

Option A: Embedding SAP GTS directly into the S/4HANA system.
Option B: Maintaining SAP GTS as a separate instance while integrating with S/4HANA.

Option A: Embedding SAP GTS directly into the S/4HANA system.

The embedded option refers to deploying SAP GTS within the same SAP S/4HANA system instead of running it as a separate standalone system. SAP GTS would run on the S/4HANA box as a separate client.

Key Points:

SAP GTS and SAP S/4HANA share the same database and application server.
GTS runs on a separate client
Easier Maintenance: Operations, Updates and patches are managed together with SAP S/4HANA.
Real-time Access: GTS can directly access S/4HANA data .
Reduces administrative workload compared to managing a separate GTS instance.
S/4HANA sizing: Since GTS and S/4HANA share the same resources, must be take into consideration when performing system sizing
Eliminates the need for an external GTS system and reduces costs.

Option B: Maintaining SAP GTS as a separate instance while integrating with S/4HANA.

Refers to the option of Run SAP GTS as a standalone instance.