S/4HANA 2025 on AWS: What Changed, What Matters, and How to Deploy It Right

What's new in S/4HANA 2025 from an AWS infrastructure perspective, including deployment options with Launch Wizard, sizing guidance, HA architecture, and cost optimization tips.

WARISH, SEKH MOHAMMAD

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Published Jun 20, 2026

Last modified Jun 24, 2026

Introduction

SAP released S/4HANA 2025 in October 2024, and it's now the recommended version for new deployments. If you're planning a migration or greenfield implementation on AWS, this guide covers what's new, what matters from an infrastructure perspective, and how to get the deployment right using AWS services.

I've broken this down into the changes that actually impact your AWS architecture, the deployment options available today, and practical sizing guidance based on what I've seen in the field.

What's New in S/4HANA 2025

The Changes That Matter for Infrastructure

HANA 2.0 SPS 07 is now the minimum. Older HANA revisions are no longer supported. If you're running an older Service Pack Stack, you'll need to upgrade the database layer before (or alongside) the S/4HANA upgrade.

Fiori is the default UI. SAP GUI is deprecated for most transactions. This means your Web Dispatcher and application server tier need proper sizing for HTTP-based workloads, not just RFC/DIAG traffic.

Embedded Analytics got heavier. The real-time reporting capabilities are great for business users, but they consume more HANA memory. Plan for 15 to 20 percent more than your baseline estimate.

BTP integration is tighter. If you're building extensions on SAP Business Technology Platform, you'll need connectivity from your AWS VPC to SAP's BTP endpoints. AWS PrivateLink or standard internet egress both work here.

Joule AI assistant is built in. The new AI features call external APIs, so your SAP landscape needs outbound internet access (or a NAT Gateway setup) for these features to work.

Deploying S/4HANA 2025 on AWS

Option 1: AWS Launch Wizard for SAP

This is the fastest path to a properly architected deployment. Launch Wizard automates the entire stack: VPC design, EC2 instance selection, EBS volume configuration, OS setup, HANA installation, high availability with Pacemaker, and backup configuration with Backint Agent.

The whole process takes about 2 to 4 hours once you've uploaded your SAP media to S3.

Option 2: Manual Deployment

For HANA, use x2idn instances (up to 2 TB) or u-series (6 TB through 24 TB). For SAP application servers, Graviton-based r7gd instances offer about 20% better price-performance.

Storage: EBS io2 Block Express for /hana/data and /hana/log (up to 256,000 IOPS). gp3 for everything else. Backups go to S3 via Backint Agent.

High Availability

For production: HANA System Replication across two Availability Zones with Pacemaker managing failover. Network Load Balancer for virtual IP. Amazon EFS for shared file systems. Backint Agent backing up every 15 minutes.

Sizing Guidance

S/4HANA 2025 needs more memory than previous releases due to new simplified tables, embedded analytics, and Fiori caching.

My advice: add 15 to 20 percent buffer over your Quick Sizer estimate. 256 GB minimum for production. Size for 3-year growth.

Workload	Instance	Memory	Use Case
Dev/Sandbox	r6i.8xlarge	256 GB	Development
Test/QA	x2idn.16xlarge	1 TB	Performance testing
Production (small)	x2idn.24xlarge	1.5 TB	Under 5,000 users
Production (medium)	x2idn.32xlarge	2 TB	5,000 to 15,000 users
Production (large)	u-6tb1.112xlarge	6 TB	15,000 to 50,000 users

Backup and DR

Backint Agent integrates natively with S3. Typical schedule: weekly full, daily incremental, 15-minute log backups. Long-term to Glacier Deep Archive.

DR options range from Pilot Light (RPO under 15 min, RTO 2-4 hours) to Multi-Region Active (near-zero RPO, under 15 min RTO).

Cost Optimization

Savings Plans for HANA (up to 72% savings)
Right-size non-production and shut down outside hours
Graviton for app servers (20% better price-performance)
S3 Intelligent-Tiering for backups
Reserve capacity for u-series instances

Migration from Older Versions

Three options: in-place update with SUM, system copy to new 2025 infrastructure, or greenfield. A pattern that works well: lift-and-shift to AWS first with Application Migration Service, then upgrade in the cloud.

Key Takeaways

S/4HANA 2025 requires HANA 2.0 SPS 07. Check your sizing.
Launch Wizard is the fastest path to a good deployment.
Plan 15 to 20 percent more memory than before.
Fiori is mandatory. Size for HTTP workloads.
Backint Agent for native, cheap HANA backup to S3.
Graviton for app servers saves money with no trade-offs.

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