Microsoft and SAP join forces to give customers a trusted path to digital transformation in the cloud | News Center

Classic Microsoft PR fodder on the eve of Amazon's re:Invent conference; since "SAP encourages its customers to run its products not only on Microsoft Azure but also on rival cloud platforms from Amazon (AMZN.O), Google (GOOGL.O), IBM (IBM.N) and SAP’s own in-house cloud services" (Reuters), one take-away from this announcement is that Microsoft doesn't believe it's cost-effective to migrate its own IT operations from legacy SAP to Microsoft Dynamics 365.

"Microsoft Corp. and SAP SE on Monday announced integrated offerings to provide enterprise customers with a clear road map to confidently drive more business innovation in the cloud. In a bold show of commitment, the two companies also announced they will be deploying each other’s cloud solutions internally. Through their unique partnership, the companies will co-engineer, go to market together with premier solutions and provide joint support services to ensure the best cloud experience for customers.
SAP HANA® Enterprise Cloud — SAP’s private managed cloud service — on Microsoft Azure will allow customers to run SAP S/4HANA in a secure, managed cloud. Additionally, Microsoft will deploy SAP S/4HANA® on Azure to help run its own internal finance processes, and SAP will move its key internal business critical systems to Azure. Finally, SAP Ariba is currently utilizing Azure and is exploring further use within its procurement applications. Together, SAP and Microsoft will help companies make the most of running SAP applications in the cloud."

Microsoft and SAP join forces to give customers a trusted path to digital transformation in the cloud | News Center