SAP is the tool of choice for many organizations as a part of their digital transformation journey. SAP HANA revolutionized data utilization with its capabilities like multi-model processing, database management and administration, application development, and data virtualization. Taking a leap from SAP HANA, the technology provider has released SAP S/4 HANA. Companies working with SAP HANA might’ve already heard about the upcoming migration to SAP S/4 HANA, which is mandatory by 2027. This blog discusses what SAP S/4 HANA means for your organization and how you can usher in digital transformation with it in 5 steps.
Let’s being by understanding what SAP S/4 HANA is.
What is SAP S/4 HANA
SAP S/4 HANA is the fourth version of the SAP Business Suite designed to run only on SAP HANA. It is the product of rethinking the database concept and rewriting around 400 million lines of code. Considering the broader applications of the business suite in connecting people, devices, and businesses, with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data, SAP S/4 HANA is a simpler, more agile version of its predecessors. Eliminating batch processing allows users to get real-time insights for planning, execution, prediction, and simulation. The system is also available on the cloud for larger organizations as SAP S/4 HANA Cloud, which enables on-premise and cloud implementations as a two-tiered ERP system.
5 Steps to SAP S/4 HANA Migration
Evaluate
The first step is to assess what IT Automation and this migration mean for your organization. You need to carefully evaluate which parts of your processes move to S/4 HANA and which must be replaced or retired. It is a good idea to cross-check if the suite can meet all your requirements and you have chosen all the relevant line-of-business applications provided by SAP S/4 HANA.
Plan
Like any journey, your digital transformation journey needs a roadmap. This will show how you plan to meet your goals using S/4 HANA. In addition, there are many pertinent questions that you will need to address as an organization based on your IT landscape. These are the “what, when, and how” questions revolving around choice of SAP S/4 HANA functions, system components, migration timelines, system compatibility, impact on the functionality and third-party applications, addressing gaps.
Design
ERP environments have been around for more than 15 years now. So, it is likely that your organization is running on legacy systems that have not been upgraded and need to be refreshed to reap the benefits of newer, more agile applications. Your existing system architecture design is the key consideration to determine how much change is needed to support the S/4 HANA migration. It is important to note that SAP S/4 HANA is beyond just IT. Being an ERP system impacts the entire organization and should support the needs of the business. Also, taking into account the current needs of businesses to allow remote and mobile access, back-end environments should be designed to be highly accessible by your teams.
Train
Adoption of any new system in the organization comes with a learning curve. With new technologies, user interfaces, and processes, SAP S/4 HANA is also a change for your organization. To ensure that the entire organization is on the same page and is accelerated rather than hindered by the new system, it is essential to provide the right knowledge with training. The depth of training will depend on your organization’s digital readiness and how comfortable your teams are with SAP systems. It is also wise to consider an external partner to manage the training process, based on the competence of your IT teams.
Collaborate
Many processes in organizations today depend on third-party systems and applications. Changes to your SAP environment are likely to impact these systems as well, whether it is your hosting infrastructure or managed services from an external provider. You need to collaborate with third-party service providers to ensure that all your mission-critical systems will be integrated with and migrated to your SAP environment. These conversations should take place before you make your move to SAP S/4 HANA to avoid any downtime or discrepancies later on. Architecture
Rely on experts
SAP S/4 HANA migration is a huge undertaking of any organization. As the countdown to SAP S/4 HANA begins, there are many challenges that you might face in your digital transformation journey. The foremost is being a level of expertise to handle the migration and your core business functions. In addition, knowing that this change is a right of passage on your path towards digital transformation, you need a partner who can ease your transition and help you achieve your goals.
ComTEK Solutions has the right expertise and experience to support your SAP S/4 HANA migration, no matter the stage of transition and readiness. For more information or queries, reach out to our experts at thecomtek.com or write to us at info@thecomtek.com