Establish RACI framework for SAP Cloud Solutions: ...

former_member463101 · ‎2020 Jan 28

As more and more SAP customers are adopting SAP Cloud Solutions, or moving from On prim to SAP Cloud applications, there is always a question about establishing a R&R (Roles and Responsibility) model to make sure transparency in operations and accountability.

Though The RACI matrix is a responsibility matrix that maps out the R&R , However it is complex task to establish the RACI Model when you are moving from On prim world to cloud applications.

In my recent role as Enterprise Architect in a large transformation initiative, I got an opportunity to establish RACI model for a Global Semiconductor corporation during the transition from Project phase to operations phase.

Scope:

The goal of this article is to provide a template of RACI matrix for Cloud based applications - Hybris and IBP.The roles and responsibilities matrix shall apply to Customer in cooperation between SAP and Service Provider. Hybris and IBP are hosted on SAP Cloud and follow the shared services responsibility support model.

RACI matrix in this article provide initial template and needs to be customized based on specific customer situation and support model, please consult with your SAP Customer Engagement Manager, and SAP Account team for latest information on this topic

RACI Matrix:

Responsible: This role does the work to complete the activity. Only one role is responsible, but other roles can help as needed.

Accountable: This role approves the completion of the high-quality deliverable to fulfill the activity.

Consulted: This party is an individual or a group who is consulted to provide opinions or technical expertise to complete an activity or deliverable. They are typically subject-matter experts (SMEs) who are in communication with the people who are responsible for activities.

Informed: These parties are notified of progress, often only when a task or deliverable is completed. One-way communication exists with these parties.

SAP Hybris:

ACTIVITIES	SAP	Service Provider	Customer
Infrastructure and Server Management
Server management (all servers) up to and including the OS	R/A	I	I
Server OS patch management	R/A	I	I
Cloud Network management	R/A	I	I
Cloud Customer Zone Network management	R/A	I	I
Server and application provisioning (Dev, Staging, Production)	R/A	I	I
Automated deployment of software releases (Dev, Staging, Production)		R	A
Initial and ongoing Customer-specific application configuration and management			R/A
Backup Capabilities	R/A	C	C
Platform patch management	R/A	I	I
Monitoring
Infrastructure monitoring of all servers (Memory, CPU, disk)	R/A	I	I
Website availability monitoring	R/A	I	C
Capacity monitoring of all servers	R/A	C	C
Security
Cloud portal whitelisting	I	I	R/A
Access security (VPN)	R/A	R	R/A
Application security vulnerability, penetration testing and application security auditing	I	C	R/A
Secure custom application development	I	R	A
Security incident management related to environment	R/A	C	C

ACTIVITIES	SAP	Service Provider	Customer
Database Management
Database configuration	R/A
Database backup and restore (Cloud Portal)		R/A	C
Database monitoring	R/A	I	I
Application Development / Deployment / Testing
Development of new code		R/A	C
Deployment to all environments	I	R	A
User Acceptance Testing	I	C	R/A
Overall application quality assurance	I	R	A
Load and Performance testing	C	R	R/A
SAP Commerce upgrades (excl. Platinum upgrades)	I	R/A	C
Support & Incident Management
First line support – for infrastructure support issues	R/A	C/I	C/I
Creation of a new incident based on automated alerts or support requests by phone or email from Customer or application support partne	R/A	I	I
Capturing of incident details	R/A	I	I
Categorization of incident	R/A	I	I
Prioritization of incident	R/A	I	I
Investigation and diagnosis of incident	R/A	I	I
Assignment of incident to appropriate support group within SAP or to Application Support partner for resolution	R/A	I	I

For additional details, please review SAP Commerce Cloud Service Description

SAP IBP:

ACTIVITIES	SAP	Service Provider	Customer
Support Monthly S&OP Cycle
Integration Job Monitoring		R/A	C/I
Integration Job Scheduling		R/A	C/I
Application job monitoring		R/A	C/I
Change Requests and Enhancements		R/A	C/I
Upgrade Planning and Communications
Communicate timing and impact of upgrades/Coordinate scheduling of upgrades		R/A	R
Planning Area Activation •Activation of any planning areas post upgrade to take advantage of latest released capabilities.		R/A	C
Smoke Testing •Testing of basic functionality post upgrade	C	R/A	I
Regression Testing •Test existing Key Customer Specific functionality	I	C	R/A
Emergency Patch Application •Application of customer specific emergency patch outside normal release cycle on customer SAP IBP system	R/A	I	I

ACTIVITIES	SAP	Service Provider	Customer
Ongoing System and Project Support
Performance Monitoring	R/A	I	I
Support (AMS) •Incident Submission •Incident Resolution	I	R/A	C
Application Security •Ensure all business user roles are mapped to appropriate systems and authorizations		R/A	C
System and Application Monitoring •Ensure licensed applications are available to business users		R/A	C
Transports •Transport generation		R/A	C
Transports •Transport promotion		I	R/A
Ad-hoc Backup	R/A	I	C
Data Refresh/Copy	R/A	I	C
Infrastructure • CPI(Cloud Platform Integration) Agent hosting and upgrades •Regular maintenance activities •Network configuration and monitoring		I	R/A (Basis)
Application Management Support (Issues specific to SAP) •Application support for customer incidents •Application availability to meet customer SLA with monitoring tools •Technical support for the projects	R/A	I	C
Configuration & Change Management •Implementing and Documenting changes •Emergency patching on demand •Security material handling •Release software update	R/A	I	C

Final remarks

RACI framework is a live document and needs to be updated regularly. It needs to be simple but detailed enough to establish clear understanding of Roles and Responsibility. In case of SAP Cloud application (such as SAP Hybis (AKA SAP Commerce Cloud), and SAP IBP), Please work with , SAP Technical Quality Manager (SAP TQM) , SAP Customer Success Manager (SAP CSM), or SAP Customer Engagement Executive(SAP CEE) for further clarity. Based on the support model, customer might have SAP TQM, SAP CSM and SAP CEE assigned who can help to mitigate the challenges from on prim to Cloud adoption.