The first step is to look at it through a business lens rather than an SAP salesperson's eye glasses. You need to consider the efficiency and effectiveness of your current business processes, your current ways of working and operating model, your data and your controls. You only have to pore over the AWS catalog of cloud-based data lakes and pre-built machine-learning and NLP solutions to realise there's plenty more out there to consider in 2020.Īcross many of your core business processes, new technology alone is not enough. There are dozens of other best-of-breed solutions that can delivery elements of what S/4 promises. Some S/4 customers have reverted back to the SAP GUI and others have noticed a drop-off in user adoption after moving to Fiori. And Fiori isn't the only UI technology available. Truth is, you can achieve many of the stated benefits of S/4 in ECC.įiori isn't exclusively an S/4 technology - although some apps are HANA specific. SAP's narrative on disruption and digital is true. You can’t stand still with your SAP solution. Yes, you'll think about S/4 at some point in the next decade.īut what happens in the meantime? Is 2020 time to for SAP customers to kick-back and bide their time? And, if that wasn't enough of a motivator, the COVID-19 really threw the anchor out of the dinghy. End of life support for ECC was pushed out to 2027 (or 2030 at a cost). SAP's game of 2025 chicken ran out of runway in 2020. What all of this means is the case for transformation must be driven by the business, with technology as the enabler. It’s easy to get sucked into a vortex of consulting jargon where you feel the only thing worth focusing on is how you'll approach you S/4HANA journey - which colour field will you tip-toe through - Greenfield, Brownfield, Bluefield, or some horrendous kaleidoscopic multi-coloured LSD laced field of flesh eating Triffids? If it didn't, how would it transform your business?
SAP ECC ON HANA UPGRADE
Viewing your S/4HANA migration as just a technical upgrade kind of misses the point.Īnd, it really isn't just a technical upgrade - it has significant change management implications. If your SAP project isn't supporting a key business requirement, why are you doing it? And then you can determine when, how or even if you move. To do this, you need to know what new functionality and benefits S/4 offers for each area of your business. Your S/4 business case needs to enablement strategic value so that S/4 migration costs are lost in the rounding. smaller databases, cloud storage) – but with total IT costs at 4% of your turnover, is that really the hot part of the heat map? Systems Integrators might claim you can build a business case on technology cost savings (e.g. Securing executive sign-off remains one of the biggest challenges facing potential future S/4 projects. Understanding the art-of-the-possible with SAP may help to shape some of your strategic thinking, but you don't start by choosing the technology. Once the strategic direction and tactical objectives are clear, then you can think about the solutions you need to align with your strategic objectives. It's a clear chicken question - business strategy always comes first.īusiness strategy determines both a target destination and a direction of travel. This isn’t a classic chicken and egg question. Understanding what’s new in S/4 must surely be a fundamental element of determining if S/4 supports your business strategy. When should you migrate to S/4? How will you migrate to S/4? How do you build a business case for S/4? Is S/4 actually the right answer to deliver your business strategy? If you don't jump, you'll be behind the curve. Those who embrace it can achieve significant competitive advantage - Big data, Predictive Analytics, IoT, Automation, Machine Learning.Īll great buzz words - but what do they really mean from a practical business perspective? The narrative - digital disruption is here and now. SAP has the answer - the chance to embrace S/4 and the Intelligent Enterprise. If that’s really what you want right now? Is S/4 the answer, today? Mostly, this was down to a failure to simplify and standardise processes - over complexity of SAP led to poor adoption.Īnd, benefits can't be delivered with poor adoption - so corporations flushed ten's of millions of dollars down the toilet along with 50 pages of over-optimistic SAP business case.īut, now you have the chance to start over. It’s a chance to make up for the missed opportunities of previous SAP programmes, where new technology promised business transformation.įor most, transformation failed to materialise. Show - Responsive Menu Hide - Responsive Menuįor many, moving to S/4HANA is a once in a generation opportunity to drive business transformation. Show - Main navigation Hide - Main navigation