Announcing Public Preview for Microsoft Azure Center for SAP Solutions
Customers deploying and managing SAP solutions in the cloud can move faster and more confidently with Microsoft Azure Center for SAP solutions, now available in public preview. It is an end-to-end solution enabling customers and partners to create and run SAP systems as a unified workload on Azure and provides a more seamless foundation for innovation on the Microsoft Cloud.Announcing General Availability for Microsoft Azure Center for SAP Solutions
Today we are excited to announce the general availability of Microsoft Azure Center for SAP solutions along with key product updates. Azure Center for SAP solutions brings together an integrated set of capabilities for deploying and managing SAP landscapes by making Azure SAP aware.Introducing the SAP Testing Automation Framework: Elevating SAP System Testing on Azure
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, ensuring that enterprise systems perform flawlessly is non-negotiable. As businesses increasingly rely on SAP systems to run their critical operations, testing becomes an essential pillar of operational excellence. Traditionally, SAP system testing has been manual, time-consuming, and prone to gaps. Addressing these critical aspects, Microsoft has introduced the SAP Testing Automation Framework (STAF), an open-source orchestration tool developed to validate SAP deployments on Microsoft Azure. It enables you to assess system configurations against SAP on Azure best practices and to automate various testing scenarios, with an initial focus on high availability (HA) testing. What is the SAP Testing Automation Framework? The SAP Testing Automation Framework is an open-source orchestration tool engineered to validate SAP deployments on the Microsoft Azure platform. Its core purpose is to help customers ensure their SAP systems run smoothly by proactively identifying potential issues. It achieves this by simulating system failures, verifying that configurations adhere to best practices, and automating the entire testing process to save time and improve accuracy. The framework is built on a modular, configuration‑as‑code model using standard tools. The tests are defined in version‑controlled Ansible playbooks, and custom Python modules handle in‑depth checks of both your SAP systems and Azure resources. Key Features: Configuration Validation: It checks whether the configurations of SAP HANA scale-up or SAP Central Services align with established SAP on Azure best practices and guidelines. High Availability Functional Testing: It simulates multiple test cases to ensure that the failover mechanisms are effective. With SAP HANA databases and SAP Central Services as prime examples, this testing validates that when a component fails, the system can gracefully recover without disruption. This helps identify potential issues during new system deployments. Detailed Reporting: The framework collects detailed telemetry from SAP components and test execution where it captures event sequences, detection timings, failover durations, and system responses. It compiles this data into a comprehensive HTML report with clear pass/fail outcomes and timestamps. Optionally, you can stream logs to Azure Log Analytics or Data Explorer. Extensible and Pipeline-ready: All framework operations, Ansible playbooks, and custom python modules are defined as code, making them ideal for integration with CI/CD pipelines. You can invoke STAF immediately after your deployment and installation step via SAP Deployment Automation Framework, running comprehensive HA tests before promoting changes. SAP System High Availability Functional Testing The initial and most prominent capability of the SAP Testing Automation Framework is its comprehensive High Availability (HA) functional testing for critical SAP components hosted on Microsoft Azure. The framework targets scenarios involving SAP HANA scale-up database and SAP Central Services (ASCS/SCS) deployed in a two-node cluster on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), providing a cross-distribution solution for our diverse SAP on Azure customer base. For supported configuration, see support matrix. The SAP Testing Automation Framework employs a systematic approach to validate the robustness of SAP system HA setup. It verifies the configuration and captures the entire sequence of events in an HA scenario: from initial failure detection, through isolation of the faulty component (including fencing), to resource migration, service recovery on the standby node, and implicitly, the consistency of data upon successful recovery. Upon completion of the tests run, STAF compiles results into a clear, HTML‑based report that details configuration compliance checks and functional test outcomes, complete with timestamps and pass/fail statuses. The report also includes logs from /var/log/messages to provide context. This comprehensive validation of the HA process flow is fundamental to building confidence in the resilience of the SAP system on Azure. Getting Started with the SAP Testing Automation Framework The SAP Testing Automation Framework is available as an open-source project on GitHub for the community to use and contribute. You can find the code and documentation in the official repository: Azure/sap-automation-qa: This is the repository supporting the quality assurance for SAP systems running on Azure.. The project is currently in a public preview stage. So, feedback and contributions are welcome to help improve its capabilities. To start using the framework, you have a couple of options depending on your environment: SAP system manually deployed (not using SDAF): If you want to validate manually configured high availability of SAP system, you can run the framework in a standalone mode. This involves deploying the management server (for example, an Ubuntu VM that will orchestrate the tests), configuring it with details of your SAP landscape (cluster nodes, IPs, etc.), and then executing the provided playbooks or scripts to run the HA tests. The repository provides guidance on how to configure the necessary variables and run the test scenarios for a Pacemaker cluster environment. Integration with Deployment Pipelines: For those who already use automated deployment tools like the SAP Deployment Automation Framework (SDAF) for Azure, the testing framework can integrate directly into those pipelines. The framework is designed as a natural extension to SDAF, so it can leverage the same configuration context and Azure resources defined during deployment. This allows you to embed HA testing into your continuous delivery process, every time you deploy or update an SAP environment, the pipeline can automatically run the HA tests and surface any issues before you even hand the system over to end-users or application teams. Call to Action & Community Engagement The SAP Testing Automation Framework, in public preview stage, is a significant step forward in reducing misconfigurations and manual effort in high availability deployment of SAP system on Azure. We encourage you to explore the framework, share your feedback, or contribute. During this public preview, we recommend using framework for new greenfield production high availability deployments that are not yet live, or on non-production environments. Appendix and References Set up Pacemaker on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) in Azure | Microsoft Learn Set up Pacemaker on RHEL in Azure | Microsoft Learn Azure Virtual Machines HA for SAP NW on RHEL | Microsoft Learn Azure VMs high availability for SAP NetWeaver on SLES | Microsoft Learn Azure/sap-automation-qa: This is the repository supporting the quality assurance for SAP systems running on Azure. Azure/sap-automation: This is the repository supporting the SAP deployment automation framework on AzureSAP on Azure Product Announcements Summary – SAP Sapphire 2025
Introduction Today at Sapphire, we made an array of exciting announcements that strengthen the Microsoft-SAP partnership. I'd like to share additional details that complement these announcements as well as give updates on further product innovation. With over three decades of close collaboration and co-innovation with SAP, we continue to deliver RISE with SAP on Azure and integrations with SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud, allowing customers to innovate with services from both SAP BTP and Microsoft. Our new integrations enhance security through multi-layer cloud protection for SAP and non-SAP workloads, while our AI and Copilot platform provides unified analytics to improve decision-making for customers. Samsung C&T's Engineering & Construction Group is a leader in both the domestic and international construction industries. It recently embarked on the ERP Cloud transformation with RISE with SAP on Azure to enhance its existing ERP System, which is optimized for local environment, to support the global business expansion by transitioning to RISE with SAP on Azure. “Samsung C&T’s successful transition to RISE with SAP on Azure serves as a best practice for other Samsung Group affiliates considering cloud-based ERP adoption. It also demonstrates that even highly localized operations can be integrated into a cloud-based environment that supports global standards.” Aidan Nam, Former Vice President, Corporate System Team, Samsung C&T SAP on Azure also offers AI, Data, and Security solutions that enhance customers' investments and help unlock valuable information stored within ERP systems. When Danfoss, a global leader in energy-efficient solutions, began searching for new security tools for business-critical SAP infrastructure, it quickly leveraged Microsoft Sentinel solution for SAP applications, to find potential malicious activity and deploy multilayered protection around its expanding core infrastructure thereby achieving scalable security visibility. “With Microsoft Sentinel and the Microsoft Sentinel solution for SAP applications, we’ve centralized our security logs and gained a single pane of glass with which we can monitor our SAP systems,” Kevin Cai, IT Specialist in the Security Operations Center at Danfoss We are pleased to announce additional SAP on Azure product updates and details to further help customers innovate on the most trusted cloud for SAP. Simplified onboarding of SAP BTP estate with the new agentless data connector for Microsoft Sentinel Solution for SAP Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for SAP applications is now fully SAP HANA aware offering unparalleled protection for SAP S/4HANA environments. Public Preview of SAP OData as a knowledge source making it easy to add content from SAP systems to Copilot Studio. The new storage and memory optimized Medium Memory Mbv3 VM Series (Mbsv3 and Mbdsv3) is now SAP certified, delivering compute capabilities with IOPs performance of up to 650K. The Mv3 Very High Memory series now features an expanded range of SAP-certified VM sizes, spanning from 24TB to 32TB of memory and scaling up to 1,792 vCPUs. General Availability of SAP ASE (Sybase) database backup support on Azure Backup. SAP Deployment Automation Framework now supports validation of SAP deployments on Azure with public preview of SAP Testing Automation Framework (STAF), automating high availability testing process to ensure SAP systems reliability and availability. The Inventory Checks for SAP Workbook in Azure Center for SAP Tools now comes with New Dashboards for Enhanced Visibility. Let's dive into the summary of product updates and services. Extend and Innovate Microsoft Sentinel Solution for SAP Business applications pose a unique security challenge with highly sensitive information that can make them prime targets for attacks. Attackers can compromise newly discovered unprotected SAP systems within three hours. Microsoft offers best in class security solutions support for SAP business applications with Microsoft Sentinel. The new agentless data connector is our first party solution that re-uses customers’ SAP BTP estate for drastically simplified onboarding. In addition, new strategic third-party solutions have been added to the Microsoft Sentinel content hub by SAP SE and other ISVs making Sentinel the most effective SIEM for SAP workloads: SAP LogServ: RISE, addon for SAP ECS internal logs -infra, database, etc. (Generally Available) SAP Enterprise Threat Detection (Preview) SecurityBridge (Generally Available) Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for SAP applications We are thrilled to announce a major milestone made possible through the deep collaboration between SAP and Microsoft: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) is now the first NextGen antivirus solution that is SAP HANA aware. This joint innovation allows organizations like COFCO International to protect their SAP landscapes seamlessly and securely, without disruption. This groundbreaking capability sets MDE apart in the cybersecurity landscape, offering unparalleled protection for SAP S/4HANA environments — all without interfering with mission-critical operations. Thanks to close engineering collaboration, MDE has been carefully trained to recognize SAP HANA binaries and data files. Specialized detection training ensures MDE accurately identifies these critical components and treats them as known, trusted entities — combining world-class cybersecurity with SAP-native awareness. API Management SAP Principal Propagation (for simplicity often also referred to as SSO) is the gold standard for app integration – especially when it comes to 3rd party apps such as Microsoft Power Platform. We proudly announce that SSO is now password-less with Azure. Microsoft Entra ID Managed Identity works seamlessly with SAP workloads such as RISE, SuccessFactors and more. Cut your maintenance efforts for SAP SSO in half and become more secure in doing so. Find more details on this blog. Teams Integration In addition to the availability of the SAP Joule agent in Teams and Copilot, the “classic” integration of Teams with products like SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud is available as well. What started as “Share links to the business context (apps) in chats” has now evolved to Adaptive Card-based Loop components, Chat, Voice and Video calls integrations in contact cards and To Dos in Teams. Users of SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud can stay in their flow of work and access their business-critical data from with SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud or connected Teams applications. Copilot Studio – SAP OData Support in Knowledge Sources Knowledge Sources in Copilot Studio enhance generative answers by using data from Power Platform, Dynamics 365, websites, and external systems. This enables agents to offer relevant information and insights to customers. Today, we announce the Public Preview of SAP OData as a new knowledge source. Customers and partners can now add content from SAP systems to Copilot Studio. Users can query the latest status of Sales Orders in SAP S/4HANA, view pending Invoices from ECC, or query information about employees from SAP SuccessFactors. All you need to do is connect to the relevant SAP OData services as a knowledge source in Copilot Studio. Copilot Studio will not duplicate the data but analyze the data structure and create the relevant queries on demand whenever a user asks a related question. The user context is always kept ensuring roles and permissions in the SAP system are taken into account. Head over to product documentation to read more and get started. New SAP Certified Compute and Storage Thousands of organizations today trust the Azure M-series virtual machines to run some of their largest mission-critical SAP workloads, including SAP HANA. Very High Memory Mv3 VM Series We are excited to unveil updates to our Mv3 Very High Memory (VHM) series with the addition of a 24TB VM, a testament to our ongoing commitment to innovation. Building on our past successes, this series integrates customer insights and industry advancements to deliver unmatched performance and efficiency. It features advanced capabilities for diverse workloads, powered by the 4th generation Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8490H processors, which offer faster processing speeds and better price-performance. You can learn more about our new Mv3 VHM here link. Below is the summary of the recently released Mv3 VHM SKUs. (New) Standard_M896ixds_24_v3: Designed for S/4HANA workloads, with 896 cores and SMT disabled for optimal SAP performance. It is SAP certified for OLTP (S/4HANA) Scale-Up/4-node Scale-Out, and OLAP (BW4H) Scale-Up operations. Standard_M896ixds_32_v3: Designed for S/4HANA workloads, with 896 cores and SMT disabled for optimal SAP performance. It is SAP certified for OLTP (S/4HANA) Scale-Up/4-node Scale-Out, and OLAP (BW4H) Scale-Up operations. Standard_M1792ixds_32_v3: Designed for S/4HANA workloads, with 1792 cores. It is SAP certified for OLTP (S/4HANA) Scale-Up/2-node Scale-Out, and OLAP (BW4H) Scale-Up operations. The new VM Size provides robust memory and CPU power, ensuring exceptional handling of large-scale in-memory databases. With 200 Gbps bandwidth and adaptable storage options such as Premium Disk and Azure NetApp Files (ANF), these VMs deliver speed and flexibility for SAP HANA configurations. Medium Memory Mbv3 VM Series The new Mbv3 series (Mbsv3 and Mbdsv3), released in September 2024, featuring both storage-optimized and memory-optimized are now certified as SAP certified compute VM as of March 2025. The new Mbv3 VMs are based on the 4th generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, scale for workloads up to 4TB, and deliver with NVMe interface for higher remote disk storage performance. It offers up to 650,000 IOPS providing a 5x improvement in network throughput over the previous M-series families and up to 10GBps of remote disk storage bandwidth, providing a 2.5x improvement in remote storage bandwidth over the previous M-series families. Details of SAP Certified Compute Mbv3 VMs are here link. SAP on Azure Software Products and Services Azure Backup for SAP We are pleased to announce the general availability of backup support for SAP ASE database running on Azure virtual machines using Azure Backup. SAP ASE databases are mission critical workloads that require a low recovery point objective (RPO) and a fast recovery time objective (RTO). This backup service offers zero-infrastructure backup and restore of SAP ASE databases with Azure Backup enterprise management capabilities. Key benefits of SAP ASE database backup 15-minute RPO with point-in-time recovery capability. Striping to increase the backup throughput between ASE Virtual Machine (VM) and Recovery services vault Support for cost-effective backup policies and ASE Native compression to lower backup storage costs. Multiple databases restore options including Alternate Location Restore (System refresh), Original Location Restore and Restore as Files. Recovery Services Vault that provides security capabilities like Immutability, Soft Delete and Multiuser Authentication. SAP Testing Automation Framework (STAF) While deployment automation frameworks like SAP Deployment Automation Framework (SDAF) have streamlined system implementation, the critical testing phase has largely remained a manual bottleneck – until now. We are introducing the SAP Testing Automation Framework (STAF), a new framework (currently in public preview) that automates high-availability (HA) testing for SAP deployments on Azure. STAF currently focuses on testing HA configurations for SAP HANA and SAP Central Services. Importantly, STAF is a cross-distribution solution supporting both SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), reflecting our commitment to serve the diverse SAP on Azure customer base.. STAF uses modular architecture with Ansible for orchestration and custom modules for validation. It ensures business continuity by validating configurations and recovery mechanisms before systems go live, reducing risks, boosting efficiency, and ensuring compliance with standards. You can start leveraging its capabilities today by visiting the project on GitHub at https://github.com/azure/sap-automation-qa. To know more about the framework please visit our blog: Introducing SAP Testing Automation Framework (STAF) Azure Center for SAP solutions Tools and Frameworks We are pleased to introduce three new dashboards for Azure Inventory Checks for SAP, enhancing visibility into Azure infrastructure and security. These dashboards offer a more structured, visual approach to monitoring health and compliance. Here are the new dashboards at a glance Summary Dashboard: Offers a snapshot of your Azure landscape with results from 21 key infrastructure checks critical for SAP workloads. It highlights your environment’s readiness and identifies areas needing attention. Extended Report Dashboard: This view presents the Inventory Checks for SAP in a user-friendly dashboard layout, with enhanced navigation and filtering. AzSecurity Dashboard: This dashboard presents 10 key Azure security checks to provide insights into configurations and identify vulnerabilities, ensuring compliance and safety. These dashboards transform raw data into actionable insights, allowing customers to quickly assess SAP infrastructure on Azure, identify misconfigurations, track improvements, and prepare confidently for audits and reviews. SAP + Microsoft Co-Innovations Microsoft and SAP are continually innovating to facilitate business transformation for our customers. This year, we are strengthening our partnership in several areas including Business Suite, AI, Data, Cloud ERP, Security, SAP BTP, among others. Please ensure that you check out our blog to learn more about the significant announcements we are making this year at SAP Sapphire.SAP on Oracle ASM on Azure in 5 Easy Steps
Customers moving SAP on Oracle systems to Azure are strongly advised to follow clear guidance from Oracle, Microsoft and SAP to move to Automatic Storage Management (ASM). There are many performance, administration and support benefits with ASM. Customers that have used a migration from on-prem to Azure as an opportunity to move to ASM have given consistent positive feedback that ASM is the best storage solution for Oracle.
