SAP S/4 HANA: An Opportunity to Modernise - Part II

Why Brownfield

Firstly, they want to minimise costs. The further the line moves from a pure Brownfield transition to a Greenfield transformation, the more the cost increases, at least 2 – 3 times. A 6 – 12 months Brownfield transition would likely need to extend 18 – 24 months for a Greenfield, not including the additional planning and scoping required upfront.

Next, SAP customers want to be in control. They want to control when they transition. Their legacy processes have been built over many years, and they work. Many see S/4 HANA as a maturing system lacking in needed functionality and would prefer to wait. They are not prepared to switch off their ECC system and switch to an untested S/4 system.

But mostly, they see it as the quickest way to complete it by 2027. For many, time is running out to plan, scope, and implement a Greenfield, or Hybrid (Bluefield), transformation by 2027. For those still on EHP 5 or less, their 2025 deadline will not be met with this approach. A Brownfield transition, therefore, is the surest way to meet their 2025 or 2027 deadlines.

Modernisation opportunity

Regardless of approach, an S/4 HANA transition allows one to modernise the systems and processes undergirding the transitioned systems through automation. Budget for IT automation software can be hard to get with the cost and effort difficult to pin to an existing IT initiative.

But with many essential tasks still relying on expensive and harder-to-find expert resources, increasing pressure on IT teams to do the same or more with less, and businesses expecting increased system reliability now is the time to invest in IT automation.

SAP teams should now find ways to insert IT automation into their S/4 HANA transformation project and also to transform existing manual time-consuming and error-prone IT management processes.

SAP system management

SAP S/4 HANA promises greater flexibility and an agile approach to market responses. The resulting business expectation is faster delivery of change requests without production system disruption.

Whereas an annual Test or QA system refresh was adequate, an agile approach requires a more regular cadence - usually quarterly. Unfortunately, and like most other repetitive SAP system management processes, system refreshes are time-consuming and error-prone. They tend to be avoided.

However, an S/4 HANA transformation presents an opportunity to include system refresh automation as a standard for system management.

Because all the tasks and processes associated with a system refresh are automated, the SAP team can deliver system refreshes more often and at higher quality.

The result is a modernised system management process that will serve the team well into the future.

The automation investment

Implementing automation solutions requires investment. However, compared with the overall investment required for a transformation project, it is quite small. Automation has a quantifiable ROI across various metrics based on reduced need for skilled resources, quicker delivery, and higher quality.

Unlike other tools that may be helpful during your S/4 HANA transformation, IT operations automation tools will provide returns well beyond going live and adding value to the newly updated systems.

We can help.

Leg Up Software are experts in SAP IT operational and infrastructure software automation solutions, including those to support an enterprises’ transformation journey.

We know the SAP operations and infrastructure automation solutions landscape and have already done the legwork identifying the best available solutions.

We have excellent relationships with many software vendors, including the ones mentioned here, and can negotiate an evaluation process that best suits your circumstance and budget.

Why not set up a time to get the conversation started by putting something in our calendar.

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