Migrations to SAP S4/HANA
SAP S/4HANA represents a revolution for companies that want to fully exploit the advantages of digitalization and real-time data analysis. Our consultancy accompanies companies in the transformation and migration process to SAP S/4HANA.
SAP has announced that the deadline to discontinue support for ERP systems based on the SAP NetWeaver platform is December 31, 2027.
Support will also be discontinued for databases such as Oracle, DB2, Microsoft and MaxDB, making SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA the future standard for enterprise systems.
The Migration
Process:
consists of a few main phases:
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Step
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Feasibility assessment and analysis:
We study the current system to define the optimal migration strategy.
Planning and roadmap:
We create a detailed plan that includes time, resources and milestones.
Migration execution:
We move data and applications from the existing system to SAP S/4HANA, with tests to ensure data integrity.
Post-migration support:
We optimize the functionality of SAP S/4HANA to take advantage of its advanced analysis and management capabilities.
Each initiative, however, has specific peculiarities because each customer has built their own model based on their own needs.
In general there are 3 main approaches to migrating to SAP S4/Hana, each of which has different characteristics.
Greenfield
the greenfield approach, “or lift & Shift”, is to be considered as a truly new implementation. This approach in fact involves a re-engineering of processes, including all customizations and is suitable for all those companies that wish to rethink their processes and adopt modern best practices. Historical data is transferred only as necessary and often after cleaning and standardization.
The main advantages of adopting a greenfield approach concern the possibility of:
- adopt a flexible system design, eliminating any complexities that have arisen during the years of activity due to growing customizations and constraints of the legacy system
- put companies in a position to bring innovation into end-to-end processes, allowing them to implement the latest SAP best practices.
Along with the advantages, there are also disadvantages to consider.
Brownfield
: This approach is considered the most conservative, involving the conversion of an existing SAP ECC system directly into SAP S/4HANA. The data and configuration of the existing system are maintained and the only changes concern the adaptation to the new SAP S/4HANA data model and all the features that are mandatory on the new platform and deactivated compared to the previous version.
This approach is similar to an upgrade or existing system where you keep the existing infrastructure and processes, but upgrade the technology to the HANA platform. It requires less operational disruption than a new implementation.
Among the advantages of this type of project we find the reduction of risk to a minimum, since it does not require a complete redesign of your business model and a quicker deployment compared to a Greenfield approach.
It is the correct approach for those companies that wish to maintain existing processes but still want to exploit the potential of SAP S/4HANA.
Even in this case there are disadvantages, mainly linked to the possibility of transferring inefficiencies and complexities of the legacy system and the need to adapt all existing customizations to the new SAP S/4HANA data model.
An approach of this type requires, in fact, a significant commitment in terms of time and costs and could be perceived as riskier for companies that have been operating on SAP for a long time. Furthermore, reworking many processes considered consolidated requires an in-depth training phase for all staff, increasing project costs.
Bluefield
also called Selective Data Transition, this approach is a customized mix between system conversion and new implementation. It allows, through the use of specific tools, to select only the objects to migrate, leaving out the obsolete ones.
The compromise between redesigning everything and keeping everything unchanged represents a fair balance of risks.
If one of the advantages of the bluefield approach is to maintain only the essential data and processes, reducing complexity, one of the main disadvantages is the need to deal with a very detailed analysis phase to define what to migrate and, from a technical point of view, it could be more complex than other approaches. In general, costs are higher than a brownfield ap.
