S/4 HANA Migration and Conversion

What does it mean migration or conversion?

New Implementation and Landscape Transformation are similar in approach, both involves a setup of a new system and a migration of data (initial data load), while a System Conversion is converting the existing SAP instance into SAP S/4HANA.

S/4 HANA: SAP Business Suit / 4 HANA, meaning that it’s a 4th generation of SAP Business Suit designed to run only on HANA data base

Types of Implementation

  • Green field Implementation: SAP ECC or Non-SAP (third party) to S/4 HANA On premises or SAP S/4 HANA Cloud
  • Conversion: SAP ECC to SAP S/4 HANA on Premises

S4 HANA Conversion Strategy

We have step by step procedure to go for S4 HANA Conversion

  • PREPARATION: To prepare for downloading software you should ensure you have the right people available at the right time for tasks such as directly configuring the tools and ensuring your operating systems and database are at the correct level.
  • CONSIDER WHO YOUR DEPENDENCIES ARE: With different SAP systems, interfaces and landscapes coming together for your S/4HANA migration, you need to consider who your dependencies are.
  • RUNBOOK APPROACH: From your ERP we’ll make a copy of your production system to prepare for the migration. We fine tune our standard runbook, to establish how much data there is and any issues that need to be resolved. We use our runbook to migrate the SAP landscape and then based on what we have uncovered from the runbook, perform the migration quickly.
  • DEALING WITH DATA INCONSISTENCIES: Data inconsistencies in this process can be expected, especially within financials. We use the runbook approach to revisit the information a few times until we are satisfied with the results
  • ATTENTION TO CUSTOM CODE: While standard codes are transferred from one software to another, custom codes are more complex. Even before the conversion begins and as part of the technical assessment, we will analyze your custom code and provide advice and costings for adjustments.
  • TECHNICAL AND FUNCTIONAL FOCUS: Once you have completed the technical steps you are now effectively running on S4 HANA. But there are still some follow-up actions that require collaboration between the technical and functional consultants which shouldn’t be overlooked in order to ensure correct business use. Once the technical consultants have completed their part of the conversion then the functional consultants should begin the post-conversion configuration steps before releasing the system to the customer for testing.