Practical Interview Q&A

SAP Technology & Cloud Architects and Consultants

Vishal Jain 4/11/25 SAP Interview Q&A

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Technical Answers
1. How did you architect a scalable, cloud-native SAP landscape on AWS/Azure/GCP?

Scenario – Manufacturing client on AWS:

• Compute: AWS EC2

o App Servers: m5 instances
o HANA DB: r5 instances
o Auto Scaling: Enabled for dialog instances during peak loads (e.g., month-end)
• Storage:
o OS: EBS gp3
o HANA DB: EBS io1 for data/logs
• Networking:
o VPC peering for Prod/Non-Prod isolation
o Transit Gateway for hybrid (on-prem ↔ cloud) connectivity
• Database: SAP HANA with HA configuration using HSR (HANA System Replication)
• CI/CD & Automation: ChaRM for automated transport movement
• Observability:
o Integrated Amazon CloudWatch with SAP Solution Manager

How scalable?

• Auto Scaling for workload spikes

• SAP HANA Dynamic Tiering to offload cold data efficiently

2. Walk me through your approach for migrating ECC to S/4HANA. What challenges did you
face?

Scenario – Retail client, Brownfield conversion:

• Assessment:
o SAP Readiness Check
o Custom code check using SAP Program
• Execution:
o SUM (Software Update Manager) for DB migration
o Custom Code Adaptation using Fiori design principles
• Key Challenges:
o Unicode Conversion Failures: Resolved via pre-migration cleansing
o Performance Drops: Tuned HANA indexes post-migration
o Extended Downtime Window: Adopted near-Zero Downtime (nZDM) techniques

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3. How do you ensure HA/DR for a mission-critical SAP workload on the cloud?

Example – Azure deployment:

• High Availability (HA):

o App Tier: Availability Sets + Azure Load Balancer
o DB Tier: HANA System Replication (HSR) across AZs
• Disaster Recovery (DR):
o App Layer: Azure Site Recovery (ASR)
o DB Layer: HANA snapshots replicated to Blob Cool Tier
• Validation:
o Quarterly DR drills with RTO < 2 hours, RPO < 5 minutes

4. What’s your experience with SAP BTP services like CAP, Integration Suite, or Event Mesh?

• CAP: Built a Node.js app on SAP BTP extending S/4HANA for supply chain tracking
• Integration Suite: Used Cloud Integration (CPI) to sync SAP SuccessFactors ↔ S/4HANA
using OData APIs
• Event Mesh: Triggered SAP Workflow from SAP IBP events for proactive demand
planning

5. How did you integrate SAP with non-SAP systems securely at scale?

Scenario – AWS integration layer:

• Architecture:
o API-first using SAP API Management ↔ AWS API Gateway
o Data sync via Azure Logic Apps → SAP OData → Kafka → Snowflake
• Security:
o AWS PrivateLink for secure SAP connectivity
o OAuth 2.0 via Entra ID (Azure AD) for authorization

6. Describe a landscape where you used cloud-native tools with SAP deployments.

Example – Predictive Maintenance with AI on Azure:

We implemented a predictive maintenance solution for a utility company using cloud-native tools
alongside SAP:

Architecture:

• Data Source: SAP S/4HANA Plant Maintenance (PM) module

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• Ingestion: Azure Data Factory pulled sensor + SAP master data

• Storage: Azure Data Lake Gen2 to store structured/unstructured data
• Processing: Azure Databricks used for big data transformation and ML model training
• Model Inference: Real-time inference using Azure ML endpoints
• Visualization: SAP Fiori app embedded with Power BI dashboards showing asset health scores

Integration Points:

• OData APIs from SAP PM fetched asset history & notifications

• AI models pushed maintenance risk scores back to S/4HANA via BAPI calls
• SAP Event Mesh triggered workflow notifications for planners based on model outcomes

Why Cloud-Native?

• Scalability: Databricks auto-scaled during ETL/model training

• Modularity: Each layer (data, model, SAP) was independently deployable
• Observability: Azure Monitor tracked end-to-end data and model pipeline health

7. How do you handle user identity and SSO between SAP and Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)?

• Setup:
o Federation via SAP Cloud Identity Services ↔ Entra ID
o Enabled SAML 2.0 for Fiori Launchpad SSO
• Challenge:
o NameID format mismatch → Resolved using SAP IAS transformation rules

8. What went wrong during a cloud migration, and how did you recover?
Failure:

• Azure Lift & Shift faced ASR throttling due to bandwidth limits

Fix:

• Conducted a pre-migration assessment with Azure Migrate

• Switched to Azure Data Box for initial seeding of large datasets

9. How do you manage cost optimization and performance tuning in large SAP HANA
systems?

Example – AWS HANA optimization:

• Right-Sizing:

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o Reduced instance size from r5.8xlarge → r5.4xlarge after HANA Memory Advisor
feedback
• Storage:
o Moved from high-cost io1 to cost-effective gp3 with tuned IOPS
• Scheduling:
o Used AWS Instance Scheduler to auto-shutdown Non-Prod after hours

10. Explain how you implemented DevOps for SAP transports and deployments.

• Toolchain: GitHub Actions → Jenkins → CTS+ → ChaRM

• Process:
o ABAP Git commits trigger automated transport pipeline
o Final approval via ChaRM
• Outcome: Reduced deployment cycle from 3 days → 4 hours

11. How did you ensure compliance in a regulated SAP environment (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR)?

• Controls:
o Azure Policy for disk encryption and NSG enforcement
o SAP GRC for segregation of duties (SoD) and access logging
• Audit:
o Aligned with SAP Security Baseline Template
o Monitored via Azure Defender for SAP

12. What’s your backup, recovery, and snapshot strategy for SAP databases on cloud?

Example – GCP HANA deployment:

• Daily Backups: SAP HANA Backint → Google Cloud Storage (Nearline)

• Weekly Snapshots: Persistent Disk snapshots
• DR Strategy: Cross-region replication using Google Cloud Storage Transfer

13. How do you manage lifecycle and patching for hybrid SAP landscapes?

• Cloud: Azure Update Manager with maintenance configurations

• On-Prem: SAP Maintenance Planner + Ansible scripts for OS-level patches

14. What’s your observability strategy for cloud-hosted SAP systems?

Example – AWS deployment:

• Metrics: SAP HANA alerts visualized via Amazon Managed Grafana

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• Logs: SAP ST22 dumps ingested via CloudWatch Logs Insights

• Tracing: AWS X-Ray for SAP OData API performance bottlenecks

15. What would you do differently if redesigning an SAP landscape today?

Reflection – Past Azure project:

• Issue: Placed all SAP tiers in a single subnet → Caused network contention
• Redesign: Use subnet segmentation + Azure Application Security Groups (ASGs) for
micro-segmentation and tier isolation

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Answering in a Storytelling format

1. Architecting a Scalable SAP Landscape on AWS

"One of my favorite projects was with a manufacturing client moving their SAP landscape to AWS. They
had major concerns around month-end spikes, so scalability was non-negotiable. We went with EC2 m5
instances for the app layer and r5 for HANA DB, but what really made the difference was enabling auto-
scaling for dialog instances. During a simulation of their month-end load, we saw the system
automatically spin up additional app servers—like watching your architecture come alive! For storage,
we used EBS gp3 for the OS and io1 for HANA logs and data to ensure performance. We also set up VPC
peering between prod and non-prod, and used Transit Gateway for secure hybrid connectivity. What
made it robust was HANA System Replication and integration of CloudWatch with SAP Solution
Manager. The dynamic tiering on HANA helped manage cold data cost-effectively too."

2. ECC to S/4HANA Migration – Brownfield Journey

"We recently helped a retail client transition from ECC to S/4HANA via a brownfield conversion. We
kicked off with a detailed SAP Readiness Check and custom code analysis. SUM was our go-to for the
technical migration, while Fiori design principles guided our UI and code adaptation. Not everything was
smooth—one tricky issue was Unicode conversion failures due to some old legacy code. We cleaned it
up pre-migration. Post-migration, we had a few performance hiccups, so I worked closely with the HANA
team to tune the indexes. The extended downtime window was a challenge too, but we implemented
nZDM (near-zero downtime) to keep business disruption minimal."

3. HA/DR for Mission-Critical SAP on Azure

"For a public sector client running mission-critical SAP workloads, I designed a resilient setup on Azure.
We used Availability Sets and Load Balancers for the app tier and implemented HANA System
Replication across zones for the database. For DR, Azure Site Recovery handled the app layer, while
HANA backups were pushed to Blob Cool Tier for cost-effective storage. What really gave leadership
confidence was our quarterly DR drills—our RTO was always under 2 hours, and RPO stayed within 5
minutes."

4. SAP BTP Use Cases – CAP, Integration Suite, Event Mesh

"I’ve worked on several BTP scenarios, but one standout was building a Node.js-based CAP app to
extend S/4HANA and track supply chain events. For integrations, I’ve used CPI to sync data between
SuccessFactors and S/4HANA using OData. Event Mesh was another interesting one—we had a use case
in IBP where demand planning events would trigger workflows in real-time through Event Mesh,
proactively alerting planners on exceptions."

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SAP Technical Interview Questions
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5. Secure SAP to Non-SAP Integration at Scale

"For an energy client on AWS, we built a scalable integration layer using an API-first approach. SAP API
Management talked to AWS API Gateway, and data synchronization flowed from Logic Apps to SAP
OData, then into Kafka and eventually Snowflake. To secure the whole setup, we used AWS PrivateLink
for SAP connectivity and OAuth 2.0 via Azure Entra ID for access control. It was complex but super clean
and future-ready."

6. Using Cloud-Native Tools for SAP: Predictive Maintenance

"We implemented a predictive maintenance solution for a utility company using Azure-native tools. We
pulled sensor data along with SAP PM master data via Azure Data Factory into Data Lake Gen2. Then,
Databricks handled data transformation and ML model training. We exposed real-time predictions via
Azure ML endpoints and embedded the results into SAP Fiori apps with Power BI dashboards. The best
part? SAP Event Mesh triggered notifications to planners based on AI-generated maintenance risks—
very tight, real-time integration. Each component was cloud-native, scalable, and independently
deployable."

7. User Identity & SSO: SAP and Microsoft Entra ID

"We set up federation between SAP Cloud Identity Services and Entra ID for a client needing seamless
SSO to the Fiori Launchpad. The initial hiccup was with NameID formatting—users weren’t getting
mapped correctly. We fixed it using SAP IAS transformation rules. Now, users log in via Azure AD and
land directly into Fiori without even realizing the complexity behind the scenes."

8. Cloud Migration Setback & Recovery

"During a lift-and-shift to Azure, we hit a serious throttle on Azure Site Recovery—too much data, too
little bandwidth. We regrouped, ran an Azure Migrate assessment, and shifted our strategy. We ended
up using Azure Data Box to seed the initial dataset. After that, delta syncs worked perfectly. It was a
classic case of ‘go slow to go fast.’"

9. Cost Optimization & Performance in HANA on AWS

"For a customer running a large HANA instance on AWS, we realized they were overprovisioned. After
analyzing Memory Advisor recommendations, we right-sized from r5.8xlarge to r5.4xlarge. We also
moved from io1 to gp3 storage with tuned IOPS, which cut costs without performance trade-offs. To
optimize further, we implemented AWS Instance Scheduler to shut down non-prod systems during off-
hours—small change, big savings."

10. DevOps for SAP Transports

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"We implemented a DevOps pipeline for SAP using GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CTS+, and ChaRM. ABAP
changes would trigger pipeline runs from GitHub. Transports were auto-deployed up to QA, and final
approvals were done via ChaRM. We cut down deployment time from 3 days to about 4 hours. It gave
both agility and auditability."

11. Ensuring Compliance: HIPAA & GDPR in SAP

"In a regulated environment, I made sure compliance was baked into our cloud architecture. We
enforced Azure Policies for things like encrypted disks and NSGs. SAP GRC handled SoD and access logs.
We also aligned to SAP’s security baseline templates and used Azure Defender for SAP to monitor risks
in real time."

12. Backup & Snapshot Strategy on GCP

"For a healthcare client on GCP, we set up daily SAP HANA Backint backups to Google Cloud Storage
(Nearline). Weekly snapshots were taken using Persistent Disk snapshots, and we added cross-region
replication using GCP Storage Transfer. It gave them a reliable and cost-efficient DR posture."

13. Lifecycle & Patching for Hybrid SAP Landscapes

"Patching is something I take seriously. For cloud, Azure Update Manager lets us schedule maintenance
windows smartly. For on-prem, we use SAP Maintenance Planner with Ansible to automate OS patching.
It’s a consistent and well-orchestrated process across both landscapes."

14. Observability Strategy for SAP in the Cloud

"In an AWS-hosted SAP setup, we used CloudWatch Logs Insights to track ST22 dumps and system logs.
SAP HANA alerts were visualized through Amazon Managed Grafana, and AWS X-Ray helped trace API
calls to pinpoint latency issues. This full-stack visibility helped us catch issues before users even noticed."

15. If I Had to Redesign Today…

"Looking back at an Azure SAP deployment we did early on, I’d definitely rethink the subnet design. We
had all tiers—app, DB, and web—in a single subnet, and it created network bottlenecks. If I had to
redesign it now, I’d go with subnet segmentation and use Application Security Groups for isolation."

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