Control over Identities in a Hybrid SAP Landscape with SAP Cloud Identity Services

New employees need the right access from their first day of work. If their role changes, the authorizations change accordingly. And as soon as someone leaves the company, you want the access to be revoked immediately and carefully. For many organizations, this is still a time-consuming and error-prone process, especially in hybrid SAP landscapes where cloud applications, SAP systems, and existing on-premise environments converge.

At the same time, the demands regarding security, compliance, and auditability are continuously increasing. Organizations want to maintain control over who has access to which systems, without burdening IT departments with manual management.

SAP Cloud Identity Services (CIS) offers an integrated solution for this. In this blog, you will read how organizations can centrally manage identities with SAP CIS, automate processes, and simultaneously enhance security and compliance within a hybrid SAP landscape.

Why Identity Management Is Becoming Increasingly Complex

Many organizations are in the midst of a digital transformation. SAP S/4HANA migrations, cloud adoption, and hybrid IT landscapes require users to have access to an increasing number of systems and applications.

This often leads to recognizable challenges:

• User accounts are managed manually;

• Authorizations are becoming fragmented across multiple systems;

• Onboarding and offboarding take a lot of time;

• Compliance and audit processes are difficult to demonstrate

• The risk of unauthorized access is increasing.

For IT and security teams, this means a continuous balance between user-friendliness, security, and manageability.

SAP Cloud Identity Services as a central identity solution

SAP Cloud Identity Services brengt authenticatie, gebruikersprovisioning en identiteitsbeheer samen in één geïntegreerd platform. De oplossing bestaat uit:
• Identity Authentication Services (IAS);
• Identity Provisioning Services (IPS).

IAS provides secure authentication and Single Sign-On (SSO), while IPS is responsible for the automatic creation, modification, and deletion of users in connected systems.

This creates a single central identity that is automatically synchronized to both SAP and non-SAP systems. New employees gain the correct access more quickly, role changes are processed automatically, and terminations are managed in a controlled and demonstrable manner.

For organizations, this means:

• Fewer manual management activities;

• Faster employee onboarding;

• Lower risk of incorrect authorizations;

• More control over security and compliance;

One central identity in a hybrid SAP landscape

A significant advantage of SAP CIS is that organizations can centrally manage identities within both cloud and on-premise environments.

The solution supports, among others:

• Automatic provisioning from HR systems such as SAP SuccessFactors;

• Single Sign-On for SAP and cloud applications;

• Automated processing of joiners, movers, and leavers;

• Central identity provisioning for hybrid SAP landscapes.

In this way, the organization itself remains fully in control of governance and authorization structures. Processes are set up based on existing security and compliance requirements, while recurring management tasks are largely automated.

From Identity Management to Governance and Compliance

For organizations that want to go beyond just provisioning, SAP Identity Access Governance (IAG) can be integrated with SAP Cloud Identity Services.

SAP IAG adds additional governance functionalities, such as:

• Access requests and approval workflows;

• Segregation of Duties controls (SoD);

• Periodic access reviews;

• Compliance and audit support;

• Insight into who has access to which systems.

This creates a comprehensive Identity & Access Management platform where not only users are managed, but it is also continuously monitored to ensure that authorizations are appropriate and compliant.

This is particularly relevant now that legislation and regulations regarding information security are becoming increasingly stringent, and organizations need to be able to provide more insight during audits.

A key building block for modern SAP organizations

For organizations investing in SAP S/4HANA, cloud transformation, and hybrid IT landscapes, SAP Cloud Identity Services is a crucial building block within a modern IAM strategy.

By intelligently combining authentication, provisioning, and governance, a future-proof solution is created that:

• Security strengthened;

• Management simplified;

• Compliance supports;

• User experience improves;

• Scalable grows with the organization.

Modern identity management is therefore no longer just about user accounts, but about control, speed, and trust within a continuously changing IT landscape.

Want to know more about SAP Cloud Identity Services?

Not sure how IAS, IPS, and IAG fit into your current SAP landscape? Let us map out your current identity flow from HR source to SAP authorization.

Feel free to contact Eric Bigot.