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SAP S4HANA on AWS vs VMware Cloud Foundation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
SAP S4HANA on AWS enhances efficiency, offering significant ROI, cost savings, and payback in six to eight months.
Sentiment score
5.7
Users expect full ROI from VMware Cloud Foundation within two years, benefiting from 30-40% savings in time and stability.
On a very good implementation, usually, if the scale of the business is large, the implementation can give a payback within six, seven, or eight months of implementation.
Although our investment was higher compared to the previous ERP system, we are able to derive ROI from SAP S4HANA on AWS.
VMware Cloud Foundation allows cost and time savings by quickly deploying infrastructure requests and integrating automatic ticketing and backup services.
In terms of ROI, although VMware Cloud Foundation is expensive, it saves time in most cases, which indirectly saves costs for users.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
SAP S4HANA on AWS has good support, with response variability and high costs, needing faster issue logging and expertise.
Sentiment score
6.9
VMware Cloud Foundation support receives mixed reviews, with praise for responsiveness but suggestions for improved speed, expertise, and qualifications.
They have a support model available, with first-level support handling initial issues when I integrate the system.
We received the right support during our implementation and continue to benefit from it.
There are times when support is unclear, and even VMware support personnel may lack familiarity with certain parts, causing difficulties.
The technical support from VMware is very good.
Our technical support team is capable of providing support on the operating system side.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
SAP S4HANA on AWS offers high scalability and integration but requires precise setup and skill for effective deployment.
Sentiment score
7.8
VMware Cloud Foundation scales well for diverse organizations but may face performance issues due to hardware and licensing constraints.
AWS has been running probably 96% of Fortune 500 companies across the globe, so scalability is not an issue.
The product is versatile and can manage complexity beyond expectations.
When more hosts are added, performance goes slow.
VMware Cloud Foundation supports scalability and company growth.
In terms of scalability, I also rate VMware Cloud Foundation as an eight out of ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
SAP S4HANA on AWS is highly stable and reliable, with minor issues mostly attributed to configuration rather than bugs.
Sentiment score
7.9
VMware Cloud Foundation offers high stability with minimal glitches; it requires expertise for complex deployments and migration challenges.
As a finance controller, we have seen improvements in finance deliverables, SLAs in payables, and reconciliation timelines.
The stability of VMware Cloud Foundation is very high.
If one component fails to operate in a timely manner, the entire infrastructure can go down because everything is interconnected.
 

Room For Improvement

SAP S4HANA on AWS faces challenges with resource demands, costs, complex setup, integration, and user interface limitations.
VMware Cloud Foundation needs improved integration, enhanced features, better support, simplified deployment, competitive pricing, and improved user experience.
The interface and interaction with the technical team require intensive training.
SAP introduced flexible workflows, which are even better if I want customized workflows for my documentation within the procurement domain.
Having these integrations as a single source rather than working in silos would be beneficial for customers.
Each user needs deep knowledge of every aspect of virtualization.
VMware Broadcom needs to include auto resource allocation at the VM levels.
VMware Cloud Foundation is complex, and there are always updates regarding security features, accessibility, and the user interface.
 

Setup Cost

SAP S4HANA on AWS is costly but offers scalability and robust features, with pricing influenced by licensing and configuration.
VMware Cloud Foundation is costly but valued for its comprehensive features and reliability, despite recent price increases with core-based pricing.
SAP is not cheap, with many hidden costs encountered during implementation.
The initial setup required a higher investment, but the return on investment has justified the cost.
The cost has become very high, especially after Broadcom's acquisition, altering the licensing model to a more expensive core-based system.
The price is quite higher than some other vendors.
VMware Cloud Foundation is quite expensive when compared to its competitors, but it does save time, which in turn saves money.
 

Valuable Features

SAP S4HANA on AWS offers seamless integration, advanced analytics, scalability, cost efficiency, and enhanced user experience with Fiori interface.
VMware Cloud Foundation provides automated, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure management with seamless public cloud integration for enhanced deployment and monitoring.
The costing and personnel planning integration are among the strongest areas of this solution.
From the finance side, we have enhanced our internal controls and reduced the timeline for closing the month from a year to just two days.
It manages complexity in various industries such as banking, manufacturing, and trading.
VMware Cloud Foundation is its ability to manage everything from a single console, including network, virtualization, and storage management.
It includes virtualization hardware as compute using vSphere, storage virtualization, network virtualization, and automation all combined in a single solution.
VMware Cloud Foundation allows for extensive customization, aligning with our customer requirements.
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP S4HANA on AWS
Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Cloud Foundation
Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) category, the mindshare of SAP S4HANA on AWS is 4.0%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Cloud Foundation is 1.2%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Bhavesh Shah - PeerSpot reviewer
With good documentation in place, the solution offers good technical support to its users
CPU architecture is an area where the solution currently has some issues. Improvement in CPU architecture could improve the performance side and the adherence to the parameters set by SAP. As suggested by SAP, we should do HANA mini checks on a daily or weekly basis. All the parameters related to HANA should be equal to improve performance. So, some of the parameters I can see on the SAP side are related to memory, and so we have to check on each landscape whether the parameters related to SAP are properly set or not. Regarding the right CPU from AWS and SAP recommended nodes, we have to check whether the performance is good or not because we have to give this almost on HANA since, on some side, we have to be swapping that on voice level also, and so that screening part is a requirement from OS/DB side. In short, we have to check all parameters. My solution is IOPS related to EC2. So I have just done a very good optimization. I have seen some parameters related to Linux that is from SAP side, where the problem is very fast, and CPU load is very low. So that is an OS/DB recommendation parameter from the SAP that it should be set over there on all systems. As a basic start, we have to check OS/DB recommendation settings, and everything should be kept on. Those experienced in SAP S4HANA need not worry about any part. I think overlay IP should be linked to gateway web architecture. It should be in a proper way to the community for the security part. Apart from that, we have to follow Amazon and SAP books. There have to be some adjustments made from the finance and GRC side. So, we have to check some of the functional sides and whether these parameters are properly set in for SAP s1 in terms of logistics, MRV, and some of the code. I can recommend that SAP's 86 custom code should be a proper way to develop a very good experience going online for the custom tools. So, it would be good to improve such features and everything. Also, the system should not be at any end of support since it will impact its performance. I have faced some of the, you know, clients, where they have some end of support, comes into 7209, and they just back it up. I need to get some extended support from the SAP, and some software should be there. So before the end of maintenance, everybody has to awaken all the features of the solution. On a daily production side, we can do this maintenance activity, whether it may be outdated or not outdated, and support patches should be done properly.
Mangesh  Parjane - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience has improved centralized management through single console operations
There is room for improvement in how section updates are handled. The challenge lies in the difficulty of pinpointing issues when something goes wrong at a single stage. Also, each user needs deep knowledge of every aspect of virtualization, and the VMware personnel might not fully grasp aspects outside their expertise, requiring the involvement of other professionals.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SAP S4HANA on AWS?
With extensive data and a sizable client base, this ensures seamless operations, responsiveness, and overall reliability, addressing our enterprise-scale needs effectively.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S4HANA on AWS?
SAP is not cheap, with many hidden costs encountered during implementation. On a scale of one to ten for expense, SAP is a nine out of ten.
What needs improvement with SAP S4HANA on AWS?
There are many things already there. There just needs to be a document approval workflow, which is not limited to procurement and other documents. There might be an additional document approval wor...
What do you like most about VMware Cloud Foundation?
VMware Cloud Foundation provides us with the vSphere dashboard through which we can manage, monitor, schedule, and spin up your virtual machines. We can manage, monitor, and get reports of your inf...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Cloud Foundation?
VMware Cloud Foundation is quite expensive when compared to its competitors, but it does save time, which in turn saves money. I see over thirty percent savings.
What needs improvement with VMware Cloud Foundation?
There is room for improvement in how section updates are handled. The challenge lies in the difficulty of pinpointing issues when something goes wrong at a single stage. Also, each user needs deep ...
 

Also Known As

SAP S/4HANA on AWS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brigade Group, DoHome, Royal FloraHolland
ricoh, dell technologies, sky
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP S4HANA on AWS vs. VMware Cloud Foundation and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.