Navigating Your SAP® S/4HANA Cloud Migration

Unveiling Pros and Cons

Mapping Your Route: The Path to Successful Migration

Starting the journey towards migration should not be synonymous with navigating through uncharted territories.

SAP provides you with a complete set of tools to evaluate the technical readiness of your current setup, including custom code analysis, system readiness checks, and more. However, it’s also crucial to consider the business aspects of readiness.

Are you ready for change? Is your IT team prepared for the transition?

It is essential to outline your objectives, whether it’s a streamlined migration, a brownfield migration, or embracing innovation through a Greenfield approach with best practices. By exploring these considerations beforehand, you can establish a solid foundation for choosing the right migration path, whether it’s public or private cloud.

The key to a successful migration experience is careful planning.

The shifting business landscape demands businesses to consider migrating to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, be it private or public, as it holds the potential for significant transformation. Though the process may seem intricate, with careful planning and a comprehensive readiness assessment, the transition can be seamless.

Weighing the Pros and Cons

Migrating to cloud infrastructure presents both advantages and difficulties. Since each SAP customer has distinct requirements, here are some guidelines to assist with your decision-making.

Advantages & Benefits

Cloud infrastructure boasts unparalleled scalability. The flexibility of cloud infrastructure allows businesses to easily adjust their resources to match their changing needs, without having to worry about managing their infrastructure.

SAP’s cloud-focused strategy ensures new features, embedded analytics, and innovative Fiori applications debut on the cloud first, potentially propelling your organization.

The cloud delivers undeniable cost savings, with a subscription-based model offering payment flexibility based on usage. Thoughtful monitoring and management can optimize these savings further.

SAP integration suite on BTP can make it easier to interface with both SAP and non-SAP environments. Planning integration strategically can help avoid the typical challenges of migration projects as more and more third-party applications are also moving to the cloud.

When it comes to keeping data secure, many businesses worry about the safety of their information in the cloud versus on-premise systems. However, cloud providers have made significant investments in security measures, and they now follow strict shared responsibility models that comply with industry standards. These providers also have dedicated security teams that constantly monitor and respond to threats, which adds an extra layer of protection for businesses. This ultimately empowers companies to enhance their security without the high costs of maintaining an internal full-time security team.

Limitations & Drawbacks

Managing project costs is important to avoid unexpected expenses. Proper alignment of decisions on factors like Greenfield vs. Brownfield, process simplification, and change management is critical to prevent budget overruns. It is advisable to work closely with your system integrator to maintain control over costs.

Migrating data is a significant task that is often overlooked. It is crucial to assess the present data condition and guarantee high-quality data transfer. Standard tools are now available with SAP “Migrate your data” app and some migration functions are embedded directly into Fiori apps. However, it requires careful attention and extensive effort to complete the process successfully.

The performance of cloud services can be influenced by factors such as geographic location and connectivity. In areas with limited connectivity, on-premise solutions may still offer certain benefits.

Antoine Garneau Gauthier

Solution Director

“As you consider the potential benefits of migrating to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, it’s important to take a balanced approach and weigh the pros and cons. Cloud infrastructure can offer scalability, cost-efficiency, and innovation opportunities, but it’s important to also consider potential risks such as project cost management, data migration complexity, and connectivity and performance issues.

Ultimately, the decision to migrate to the cloud should be made after careful planning and assessment of your organization’s readiness. Whether you choose a public or private cloud, a successful transition can lead to new avenues for growth and prosperity.”