Navigating Your Path to S/4HANA

Weighing Your Options: Greenfield, Brownfield, or Hybrid?

With SAP's recent announcements and the upcoming 2027 end-of-support date for ECC (extendable to 2030 for an additional cost), companies face crucial decisions about their SAP ERP migration plans. There's a lot of discussion around this topic—some are excited about the new possibilities, while others are hesitant to switch to a subscription model. You might prefer to stick with your current setup as long as possible or consider outsourcing. Regardless, change is inevitable, and it's crucial to get it right.

Migrating to S/4HANA isn't just a quick update; it's a significant project that requires a solid foundation for long-term success. This blog will help you understand your options and build that foundation. In the next blog, we'll cover the "Things No One Tells You."

Let's start by reviewing the three main ways to migrate from ECC to S/4HANA.

1. ‍Greenfield Approach: This involves starting fresh. You rebuild your SAP system from the ground up, leaving behind old customizations and workflows.‍
2. Brownfield Approach: With this method, you upgrade your existing SAP ERP system to S/4HANA, maintaining your current workflows and customizations.‍
3. Hybrid Approach: This approach mixes both strategies, allowing you to selectively redesign certain parts of your system while keeping others as they are.

Greenfield Approach

The Greenfield Approach is all about starting fresh.

• ‍Fresh Start: Completely re-engineer your SAP processes and workflows, removing all previous customizations.‍
• Advantages: Simplifies and standardizes processes, reduces complexity, lowers costs, and can lead to quicker benefits. It’s a great opportunity to optimize and modernize your SAP usage.‍
• Disadvantages: Riskier and more time-consuming. Redeveloping critical customizations is necessary and change management can be challenging as people must adapt to new systems.‍
• Flexibility: Can be implemented either on-premises or in the cloud. There’s also a “selective greenfield” option where only certain parts are started anew to simplify specific areas.‍
• Best Fit: Ideal for organizations looking to completely overhaul their SAP systems and willing to invest the time and effort for a streamlined, efficient setup.

Brownfield Approach

The Brownfield Approach focuses on upgrading your existing system.

• ‍Upgrade Existing System: Transition to S/4HANA while keeping your current workflows and systems intact.‍
• Advantages: Less disruptive, shorter project duration, and maintains continuity of existing processes. Keeps current integrations with suppliers and partners.‍
• Disadvantages: Limits opportunities for innovation and can be complex due to potential system incompatibilities. Identifying and planning for innovations is crucial.‍
• Best Fit: Perfect for companies looking for a quick conversion from SAP ECC to S/4HANA without significant changes. Typically done on-premises, but SAP encourages moving to the cloud using RISE for future innovations. This decision often involves moving to the cloud during or before the migration.

Hybrid Approach

The Hybrid Approach combines the best of both worlds.

• ‍Combines Best of Both: Redesign certain parts of your system (greenfield) while keeping the functional existing components (brownfield).‍
• Risk Mitigation: Reduces the risks associated with a complete S/4HANA transformation and makes targeted data migration easier.
• ‍Challenges: Requires careful planning to decide which parts to redesign and which to retain. It can be complex and may involve third-party tools.‍
• Best Fit: Ideal for large enterprises with extensive data and complex systems. Provides the flexibility to optimize specific areas while maintaining overall stability.‍
• Implementation Steps: Identify your business needs, develop a business case, create a strategy and roadmap, and determine the right mix of greenfield and brownfield elements for the implementation.

Key Factors to Consider

Making the switch to S/4HANA involves some big decisions, so it's important to carefully consider the best approach for your organization. Here are some key factors to think about:

Business Needs: What are your organization's specific requirements and goals? How do you define success for this migration?

Project Scope: Identify which parts of your current system need to be kept, maintained, or discarded.

Stakeholder Involvement: Ensure that all relevant business and IT stakeholders are involved in the planning and decision-making process. Their support is crucial.

Resource Availability: Do you have the necessary time, budget, and expertise for the migration? Specifically, do you have skilled personnel available for extended periods?

Risk Tolerance: Assess how much risk your organization is willing to take on. This will help determine the best migration approach.

Technology Framework: Understand that upgrading to S/4HANA comes with its own set of challenges, particularly with database conversion and system compatibility.

Cloud Options

We should also touch on the basics of cloud options, as there are important choices to be made:

Public Cloud

• Services: Provided over a multi-tenant shared network, making it both efficient and cost-effective. A great example of this is RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, a public cloud solution.
• Fit: Perfect for both new and existing SAP customers who are looking to start fresh with a new system and adopt the future of ERP with predefined processes.

Private Cloud

• Services: Hosted on a private network and protected by a firewall, providing top-notch security and control in a single-tenant environment.
• Fit: Ideal for existing SAP customers who want to transition to the cloud without overhauling their processes, enabling them to keep their current SAP ERP investments. Also perfect for new SAP customers who need comprehensive ERP functionality and the flexibility to extend and enhance their system as required.

How Reveal Can Help

Enabling migration to S/4HANA is crucial for many companies' digital transformation efforts, offering substantial benefits but requiring meticulous planning. At Reveal, we don’t just help you migrate; we optimize your entire SAP ERP system for better operational efficiency, productivity, and quality. We focus on what matters—transforming your processes, people, and of course, the technology to drive positive business outcomes. Our expertise in optimization means we can add tremendous value on top of any implementation process.

Here's how we add value:

• ‍Strategic Planning: We help you explore optimization options before migration, ensuring a solid foundation for change. This includes improving data integrity, standardizing processes, and shifting to more standard functionality.‍
• Process Standardization: By streamlining and optimizing your processes, we help you achieve a more efficient and effective SAP system. This not only makes the migration smoother but also unlocks additional benefits.‍
• Change Management: Our deep experience in change management ensures that your team is ready and excited for the transition. We handle the tough parts of letting go of old systems and embracing new ones.‍
• Cost Efficiency: By optimizing your processes and systems, we can help you free up working capital to fund the migration. This adds a layer of financial efficiency to the entire process.‍
• Long-Term Success: Our focus on optimization and efficiency sets you up for long-term success, not just a one-time upgrade.

Choosing Reveal means partnering with an organization steeped in optimization expertise. We provide guidance and support throughout the migration process, transforming what matters to ensure your S/4HANA journey is a success.

Stay tuned for our next blog, where we'll reveal those “Things No One Tells You” about migration. For more information, reach out to us at Reveal.