Application Managers’ S/4 HANA Migration Checklist

Application Managers must decide how to update to SAP S/4HANA, the newest platform of the main business software from the software provider. Due to client pressure, SAP has delayed the end of life for its current ECC software from 2025 to 2027, but the switch to S/4HANA is unavoidable and, once implemented, can have a big positive impact on the company.

The following are some essential details you should be aware of to prevent disruption and guarantee a smooth migration journey:

• Value mapping: Understanding the effect and results of the transition to S/4HANA is crucial for the IT department and business stakeholders. Different departments can better understand how to be ready for the update and how they can take advantage of the available innovation by creating a SAP value map. This will make it easier to prevent disruption, adhere to deadlines, and complete the move quickly and without wasting resources.

Greenfield vs. brownfield: Organizations must decide between a “greenfield” and a “brownfield” implementation and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each. Examining present procedures to see if they satisfy the business’s future needs, the effects on business strategy, and the budget and time available are all part of evaluating the two approaches.

Define desired objectives: Identify and communicate the business case for S/4HANA migration. While each organisation has distinct goals in mind, it is crucial to create a compelling business case to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Identify and provide a full understanding of the business processes that are currently in use, such as financial reporting, in order to better understand and analyse systems. Based on the upgrade’s target version, determine the time and resources that will be needed. The best and most precise project plan is what is desired from start to finish.

The significance of testing: Each organisation should be ready to do testing at each stage of the migration project and understand that it will be done by many stakeholders, including developers or business users. Business users benefit from a smoother transition thanks to user acceptance testing (UAT).

Finish activities in the proper order; skipping or ignoring a step might have serious consequences. Pre-planning, planning, creating a business case, engaging in conversion activities like testing and fixing bugs in the code, and accelerating are all essential components that call for devoted time and resources.

A holistic perspective: To deal with interdependencies and assure synchronization for pre- and post-upgrade corrections, organizations must strive for a comprehensive perspective of the project, particularly when it comes to testing. The only way to keep track of what needs to be done is with a 360-degree vision.

The choice to go live: Going live is a crucial moment. The risk is reduced if the checklist has been carefully followed, but providing the go-ahead calls for extensive planning and collaboration across the firm. Don’t undervalue the complexity.

How Denpro Technologies helps with the conversion to S/4HANA

Assessment, preparation, migration, and acceleration are the four essential steps in the road to S/4HANA, and SAP specialists at Denpro Technologies are assisting clients with their upgrade to S/4HANA at every stage:

Assessment: S/4 Assess from Denpro Technologies assists with the first IT required to create a strategy and a business case that details the project’s expenses and advantages. It provides the client with a complete picture that includes how much work will be needed to finish the project, including time, testing, and planned rectification operations. Denpro Technologies can offer analysis to assist firms in determining the right course of action, including whether to build upon their strong SAP foundation, move from ECC to S/4HANA, or choose a greenfield project. A detailed dashboard provided by Denpro Technologies shows effort, progress, defects, risk, best practises, and drill-down access to the code for each change.

Preparation: Denpro Technologies’s S/4 Prep is a toolbox that supports pre-conversion operations, such as switching to the HANA database and code cleanup, to assist lower the risk in the migration process. It gives businesses the ability to create new business procedures based on their current ECC system.

Migration: To guarantee that the complete extent of a project to migrate from ECC to S/4HANA is known, Denpro Technologies’s S/4Convert covers end-to-end project execution. All workstreams, adjustments, and testing processes are included in the project. Some tasks are carried out automatically, including intelligent code cleanup (ICR). By reducing project time and expense by 50%, it aids in risk minimization. Denpro Technologies’s integrated recording feature for tracking compliance and e-signatures for locking in approvals. By developing a test library to create a knowledge base that adds value during future innovations, Denpro Technologies makes it possible for testing materials to be reused in subsequent projects.

When upgrading from an existing S/4HANA installation to a new version of S/4HANA, Denpro Technologies’s S/4Accelerate service takes care of end-to-end project execution. This makes it possible for increased functionality and can aid in quick and effective business upgrades.

These were merely a handful of the most important factors to take into account when switching to S/4HANA.