When SAP systems fail to start on a Monday morning—or when a critical cybersecurity vulnerability is disclosed—the performance of your SAP Basis team is not determined by their real-time technical reflexes. It is shaped by the operating model you chose months earlier.
In the SAP landscape, “everything is running fine” is often an untested assumption. The real question is not whether the system will go down, but how quickly and how predictably your organization can recover when it does.
In many companies, SAP Basis operations are treated as a technical discipline. In reality, they represent a governance choice. Who carries the risk? Where does critical knowledge reside? How is 24/7 continuity ensured? These are strategic decisions—not merely technical ones.
For a CTO, the fundamental question becomes:
Does our SAP operating model truly align with our company’s risk profile?
In this article, we examine different SAP Basis operating models through an analytical framework and evaluate which structure makes sense under which conditions.
1. What Does SAP Basis Operations Actually Manage?
SAP Basis is far more than system monitoring. It encompasses:
- 24/7 monitoring and alert management
- Performance optimization and capacity planning
- Backup and restore processes
- High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR) design and testing
- Kernel and patch management
- SAP Notes and security updates
- Integration and infrastructure coordination
- Technical security hardening
These responsibilities often remain invisible in day-to-day operations. Yet they form the foundation of business continuity.
The issue, therefore, is not technical capability—it is operational resilience.
2. The Modern Context: Cloud, RISE, and Shared Responsibility
As of 2026, SAP operations are no longer limited to data center management.
With RISE with SAP, hyperscaler migrations (Azure, AWS, GCP), and hybrid architectures, organizations increasingly operate within a Shared Responsibility Model.
The infrastructure layer may be managed by a cloud provider.
The application layer may remain under internal control or a service partner.
However, areas such as security hardening, patch ownership, and HA/DR boundaries can become gray zones—even when contractually defined. In operational reality, accountability often blurs.
For this reason, selecting an SAP operating model is no longer simply a staffing decision. It is a cloud governance decision.
3. SAP Basis Operating Models
Reactive Model
In this model, no proactive action is taken as long as the system appears to be running. Intervention only begins once an incident occurs.
Visible cost: Low
Hidden cost: High
- Disaster Recovery (DR) tests are rarely performed
- Kernel updates are postponed
- Performance improvements are implemented only upon request
This model is typically found in smaller teams or in organizations where SAP is not considered mission-critical.
The primary issue is unpredictability. Risk accumulates silently and surfaces at the worst possible time.
In-House Model
In the in-house model, all SAP Basis operations are managed by the internal IT team.
Advantages
- Full organizational control
- Critical knowledge remains internal
- Architectural decisions can be made quickly
Risks
- Dependency on key individuals
- Challenges in sustaining true 24/7 coverage
- Operational workload limiting focus on strategic initiatives
- Limited depth of specialized expertise
- Talent Shortage and Market Risk
The global shortage of experienced SAP Basis professionals creates structural pressure on in-house teams. Rising salary benchmarks and aggressive recruitment competition increase retention risk.
The departure of a critical expert is not merely a staffing issue—it can significantly weaken institutional knowledge.
Without a strong organizational culture and a structured knowledge redundancy plan, this model can gradually become fragile.
Critical questions for a CTO:
How many people truly hold critical system knowledge?
Would the departure of one key expert create operational vulnerability?
Managed Services Model
In this model, SAP Basis operations are largely handled by an external service provider.
Advantages
- Structured 24/7 coverage
- Broader expertise pool
- Operational discipline and standardized processes
- Continuity independent of individual staff members
Risks
- Institutional knowledge may drift outside the organization
- Internal technical capabilities may weaken over time
- SLA metrics may not fully reflect operational reality
- Responsibility boundaries may become blurred
- Vendor dependency and limited contractual flexibility (vendor lock-in risk)
This model is often most suitable when:
- The SAP landscape is small to mid-sized
- Sustainable in-house expertise is not feasible
- SAP is a support platform rather than the company’s strategic core
Hybrid Model
The hybrid model distributes operational responsibilities between internal teams and external partners.
Typical structure:
- Daily monitoring managed externally
- Architectural and strategic decisions retained internally
- Additional capacity during project peaks
- DR and security testing performed collaboratively
Advantages
- Critical knowledge remains internal
- Operational burden is reduced
- Flexibility increases
Challenge
- Role clarity is essential
- Without clearly defined accountability, friction can arise
For many mid-sized and large organizations, the hybrid model represents the most balanced and sustainable structure.
Further Reading
Most SAP transformations fail not because of technology, but because we mistake diagrams for decisions. Why do SAP landscapes appear strong yet behave fragile? What layers truly define real architecture? How do you design a truly resilient SAP ecosystem? Discover the answers in this article.
4. Operations vs. Architecture: The Advisory Layer
Operational capacity and architectural expertise are not the same.
An organization may successfully manage SAP Basis operations in-house. Systems may run smoothly. Monitoring may be disciplined. Incidents may be handled effectively.
However, certain decisions extend far beyond daily operations:
- S/4HANA transformation architecture
- HANA scale-up vs. scale-out strategy
- Active-active vs. active-passive High Availability (HA) design
- Hyperscaler migration roadmap
- Alignment of Disaster Recovery (DR) scenarios with business continuity objectives
- SAP security hardening strategy
These decisions are infrequent—but highly consequential.
Operational stability does not guarantee architectural correctness.
A team that builds and operates its own system may not always see its blind spots. Even the strongest in-house SAP Basis team benefits from periodic independent evaluation.
An annual external System Health Check or architectural review should not be seen as a lack of trust. It is a governance maturity indicator.
Regardless of the chosen operating model, the following structure is often rational:
- Operations may remain in-house
- Critical architectural decisions may involve external technical advisory
- Periodic independent technical reviews can be scheduled
This layered approach reduces structural risk without fundamentally altering the operating model.
5. Visible and Hidden Costs
For both CTOs and CFOs, cost is often the most challenging dimension.
Visible Costs
- Salaries
- Service fees
- Contractual commitments
These are measurable and budgeted.
Hidden Costs
- Revenue loss from a one-hour system outage
- Dependency on key individuals
- Opportunity cost of postponed improvements
- Project delays caused by operational overload
- Regulatory exposure
- Security vulnerabilities
In many industries—particularly manufacturing, retail, and financial services—the financial impact of a few hours of downtime can exceed the annual cost of a managed services agreement.
The real question, therefore, is not:
“Which option is cheaper?”
But rather:
Which structure makes operational risk predictable and manageable?
6. The CFO Perspective
From a financial standpoint, discussions typically begin with fixed versus variable costs.
In-House Model
- Fixed salary expenses
- Limited depth of specialized expertise
- High recruitment and retention risk
Managed Services Model
- Contract-based cost structure
- Scalable capacity
- Partial operational risk transfer
Hybrid Model
- Balanced cost distribution
- Shared responsibility across internal and external teams
However, for a CFO, the core questions go beyond budget lines:
- What is the financial impact of a major incident?
- What is the cost of system downtime?
- What would a failed Disaster Recovery scenario mean in financial terms?
SAP operations should not be viewed as a cost center.
They function as a form of risk insurance.
The true evaluation is not about expense minimization—it is about financial risk containment.
7. Quick Decision Matrix: Which Model Fits Your Organization?
The following diagnostic questions can help frame your operating model decision:
| Question | If the Answer is “Yes” |
|---|---|
| Do you require sustainable 24/7 operational coverage? | Managed / Hybrid |
| Is critical system knowledge concentrated in one or two individuals? | Managed / Hybrid |
| Is SAP a strategic core platform for your business? | In-house + Advisory |
| Is system complexity high (multi-instance, hybrid, global landscape)? | Hybrid |
| Are you operating under strict regulatory pressure? | In-house / Hybrid |
| Is your internal team overloaded and unable to focus on strategic projects? | Managed / Hybrid |
Conclusion: The Right Model Begins with the Right Risk Strategy
There is no universally correct SAP Basis operating model.
What is incorrect, however, is:
- A structure that does not fit organizational scale
- An operating model misaligned with risk tolerance
- Knowledge concentrated in single points of failure
- A reactive management culture
The right model is the one that aligns with your organization’s:
- Complexity
- Risk appetite
- Strategic objectives
- Team capacity
Ask yourself:
Do you clearly understand the risk profile of your current operating model?
Before initiating your next major SAP initiative—whether S/4HANA transformation or cloud migration—consider asking your leadership team three critical questions:
- Where did our operational weaknesses surface over the past 12 months?
- How concentrated is our critical system knowledge?
- In the first 24 hours of a major outage, who makes which decisions?
Clarity in these answers will reveal whether your operating model is resilient—or merely convenient.
Your SAP systems may be running.
But resilience is the outcome of the model you choose.
A model is tested in crisis.
Until then, it is only a preference.