AWS MAP for SAP Migration: Funding, Tools, and Best Practices

How Does HANA Migration Differ from General Database Migration?

HANA migration is not a standard database lift-and-shift. It involves data conversion, kernel upgrades, and performance validation steps that have no equivalent in general database migration. Planning for these differences prevents timeline surprises.

Most SAP customers migrating to AWS are simultaneously upgrading to HANA from a traditional database like Oracle, DB2, or SQL Server. This is a combined migration and database conversion project. AWS Database Migration Service does not handle this scenario. Instead, SAP's own tools—DMO (Database Migration Option) or SUM (Software Update Manager)—drive the conversion.

HANA sizing on AWS requires careful analysis. Under-sizing causes performance degradation during peak processing. Over-sizing wastes budget. AWS provides a HANA sizing calculator that considers your SAP application data, growth projections, and workload patterns to recommend the optimal instance family and size.

Gartner's 2024 SAP on Cloud report found that 28% of SAP HANA migrations experienced performance issues in the first 90 days due to incorrect sizing. Using AWS-certified HANA instance types and following the SAP sizing methodology eliminates this risk category entirely.

Post-migration performance validation is mandatory. Run SAP Early Watch reports and HANA performance checks for at least 30 days after cutover. MAP credits cover the AWS infrastructure costs during this validation period, so there is no financial penalty for thorough testing.

What Funding Does MAP Provide for SAP Migration Labor?

MAP credits for SAP engagements extend beyond AWS service consumption. They also cover a portion of professional services labor, which represents 50–60% of total SAP migration cost. Understanding what is covered maximizes your funding capture.

Partner Funding through MAP can cover 30–50% of SAP Basis consulting costs. This includes HANA installation, kernel upgrades, transport management, and post-migration technical support. Your MAP partner must include these services in the engagement scope to qualify for funding.

MAP also funds training costs. AWS provides credits for SAP on AWS training programs, including the SAP on AWS Technical Professional certification. Upskilling your internal team during migration ensures they can operate the environment independently after the engagement concludes.

Assessment phase funding covers SAP landscape discovery and business case development. AWS allocates a separate credits pool for this phase, typically $25,000–$75,000 depending on landscape complexity. This funding is available before you commit to the full migration, reducing early-stage financial risk.

Work with an experienced AWS migration services partner to structure your MAP application so that every eligible SAP cost category is included. Missing categories during application means forfeiting funding permanently.

How Should You Plan SAP Migration Waves Under MAP?

Wave planning for SAP under MAP requires balancing technical dependencies with credit distribution schedules. The quarterly credits model means your migration waves must align with financial milestones, not just technical readiness.

Start with non-production SAP systems in wave one. Sandbox, development, and quality assurance systems carry lower risk and provide a proving ground for your migration methodology. Moving these systems first also starts generating MAP-eligible AWS consumption immediately.

Plan production cutover for a wave aligned with a quarterly credit distribution point. This ensures the spike in AWS consumption during parallel running—when both on-premises and cloud environments are active—falls within a funded quarter. Parallel running typically lasts 2–4 weeks for SAP production systems.

Consider migrating BW/4HANA or analytics workloads before ECC/S/4HANA. Analytics systems have fewer integration dependencies and their migration validates HANA performance at scale. Lessons learned here directly improve the core ERP migration plan.

A 2024 ASUG (Americas SAP Users Group) survey found that organizations using structured wave planning completed SAP migrations 33% faster than those using ad-hoc approaches. MAP's quarterly structure naturally enforces this discipline.

What Partner Qualifications Matter for SAP MAP Engagements?

SAP MAP engagements demand dual qualifications from your partner. General migration expertise is not sufficient. Your partner must demonstrate specific SAP migration experience validated by both AWS and SAP.

At minimum, your partner should hold the AWS Migration Competency and the SAP on AWS specialization. The specialization requires demonstrating successful SAP HANA deployments on AWS, maintaining SAP-certified consultants, and passing SAP's own partner validation process.

Verify the partner's experience with your specific SAP version and database. Migrating SAP ECC 6.0 on Oracle to S/4HANA on AWS differs fundamentally from migrating an existing S/4HANA system. The tools, processes, and risk profiles are entirely different.

Ask about the partner's SAP Basis team size and availability. SAP migrations often require Basis consultants during non-business hours for cutovers and during weekends for testing cycles. Partners with small Basis teams may struggle to staff these windows without conflicts from other engagements.

For guidance on broader partner evaluation criteria, see our article on AWS MAP partner selection.

What Security and Compliance Requirements Apply to SAP MAP Migrations?

SAP systems contain sensitive business data including financial records, employee information, and customer details. The migration must maintain data protection standards throughout the transition. MAP engagements for SAP include compliance validation as a standard deliverable.

AWS provides SAP-specific compliance documentation. The AWS SAP Compliance Guide maps common regulatory requirements (SOX, GDPR, GxP) to AWS controls and SAP security configurations. Your MAP partner should reference this guide when building the landing zone for SAP workloads.

Data encryption is mandatory for SAP on AWS. Enable HANA native encryption for data at rest and configure TLS for all SAP communication channels. AWS Key Management Service integrates with HANA encryption, providing centralized key management without additional software. MAP credits cover the KMS consumption during and after migration.

Network isolation for SAP workloads follows a defense-in-depth model. Place SAP application servers and HANA databases in private subnets with no direct internet access. Use AWS PrivateLink for SAP connections to other AWS services. This architecture meets the security requirements of most regulatory frameworks without custom engineering.

Audit trail continuity is a common compliance requirement. Ensure SAP Security Audit Log and HANA audit trail configurations transfer correctly during migration. Test audit logging in the AWS environment before decommissioning the on-premises system to prevent gaps in your compliance record.

What Are the Licensing Considerations for SAP on AWS?

SAP licensing on AWS follows specific rules that impact your migration cost model and MAP credits calculation. Misunderstanding these rules leads to unexpected costs and potential compliance issues with SAP.

SAP licenses are generally portable to AWS. Your existing SAP application licenses transfer to the cloud environment without additional fees. However, the underlying database license may not be portable, particularly if you are migrating from Oracle or SQL Server to HANA.

HANA licensing is separate from SAP application licensing. If you are acquiring new HANA licenses as part of the migration, these costs are not covered by MAP credits. They are a capital expenditure that should be budgeted separately. Some organizations negotiate HANA license discounts with SAP by committing to an AWS migration timeline.

AWS instance costs for SAP fall under your ARR commitment and are eligible for MAP credits. This includes compute, storage, and networking consumed by SAP systems. Reserved Instance pricing for SAP-certified instances can reduce ongoing costs by 40–60%, but should be purchased after the MAP engagement to maximize credit-eligible spend.

How Can Opsio Support Your SAP MAP Migration?

Opsio holds both the AWS Migration Competency and SAP on AWS specialization. Our SAP Basis team has migrated over 200 SAP systems to AWS, including S/4HANA, BW/4HANA, and complex ECC landscapes running on Oracle, DB2, and SQL Server.

We handle every phase of the SAP MAP engagement. From initial landscape assessment and HANA sizing through DMO conversion and post-migration performance validation, our team manages the technical execution while our MAP program managers ensure full credit capture.

Our SAP migration methodology includes automated testing frameworks that validate business process integrity after cutover. We run your critical SAP transactions in parallel on both environments and compare results programmatically. This eliminates the manual testing burden that extends most SAP migration timelines. Contact our AWS migration services team for a free SAP migration assessment and MAP eligibility review.