With the SAP 2027 deadline for end of legacy ECC support looming, it's now more a case of when and not if businesses should be thinking about their roadmap to S/4HANA.
However, with the majority of SAP customers not yet on S/4HANA, there are questions around how they will migrate.
Let's take a look at some of the options available.
The current landscape
It's worth noting that the global uptake of S/4HANA has been slower compared to the expectation. Indeed, only 11 percent have made the move since its inception.
Traditionally, there have been two main migration routes:
- A Brownfield approach, converting your existing system and migrating your mature building blocks to the new platform.
- A Greenfield approach, which is a completely new implementation of S/4HANA. This enables complete re-engineering and process simplification.
However, there is now a third compelling, value-driven option available: Bluefield™.
Introducing Bluefield
Bluefield is a selective data transformation approach that uses SNP landscape transformation technology. This migration route brings together the strengths of Brown and Greenfield, but with added benefits spanning innovation, quality, cost, and time.
This is because Bluefield is transformation without re-implementation. A technique that allows you to maximise your S/4 innovation whilst retaining your relevant solutions and data. Not only that, it's less risky compared to a full Brown or Greenfield approach.
A near zero downtime commitment is delivered through automation of the migration process, and the de-coupling of data simplifies technical and functional changes. Conversion is completed also ahead of cut over, reducing operational and customer impact.
The benefits of the Bluefield approach
The Bluefield approach, goes beyond system conversion and new implementation. The benefits of this strategy include:
- Minimising business disruption when moving.
- Migrating relevant historic data only, and leaving behind obsolete data.
- Introducing new business processes and protecting good practices and investments.
- Limiting technical downtime to just a couple of hours.
- Having the option to change your landscape (e.g., split or consolidate systems).
SNP CrystalBridge
Bluefield migration leverages SNP CrystalBridge technology, a software-based enabler that sees an automated process test IT landscapes, streamline them and make them ‘future ready’ at an accelerated pace, maximising speed to value.
With CrystalBridge transformation software, you benefit from:
- Fully automated analysis of the system landscape.
- Re-usable scenarios and rules, and flexible changes due to object-based migration.
- Automated analysis of system usage, including SAP Readiness Check.
- Integrated quality checks for continuous monitoring and assurance.
Using CrystalBridge, you can see the tangible benefits of migration. In fact, businesses typically go from less than 20 percent of data loaded to more than 90 percent. They also enjoy zero mapping defects, technical performance issues, and a low level of defects for extract criteria.
Make the right decision for your business
Moving to S/4HANA and going to the cloud is an opportunity to dramatically boost the value of SAP and your IT systems. However, that's only when you deploy the right strategy for your unique needs.
When deciding to make the move to SAP’s latest and greatest, the engagement of an expert partner with experience in delivering S/4HANA transformation is vital.
Working with your team, a partner will ensure that project risk is managed, adoption goals achieved, and ultimately ensure the foundations are there for you to drive what your organisation requires from your SAP landscape.
If you'd like a chat with one of our experts to learn more about what's possible for your business, please reach out today.