Perspectives of a new IT architecture

We are in a period of upheaval - the switch from the legacy SAP system presents many companies with a far-reaching decision. As WirtschaftsWoche wrote in February of this year, the motto "Once SAP, always SAP" is crumbling.

If you also consider the agility in the stock market price and the general mood among many existing SAP customers, you can already start the discussion: If I'm already cleaning up everything, is it even worth continuing the journey with SAP? It is certainly indisputable that the timing for a change of provider in connection with the discontinuation of ERP/ECC 6.0, the SAP Business Suite, could hardly be more favorable. Unfortunately, the fact is that many existing SAP customers are currently finding it very difficult to switch to S/4 and Hana.

But why is this the case? On the one hand, this is due to the long intransparent cloud and general solution strategy of the top dog. On the other hand, the introduction of or change to S/4 also demands a great deal from your specialist sides. The goal is to design flexible, efficient, and as intelligent as possible self-learning processes.

This requires a holistic, intensive examination of legacy issues: companies are invited to analyze every component of the current infrastructure and process landscape and to design optimization paths. Many processes and structures have grown historically and are often no longer up to date. It is almost impossible to react quickly to unpredictable events (see pandemic or geopolitical conflicts with an impact on supply chains). Only those who can react quickly are successful.

Of course, this kind of holistic transformation cannot take place in a big bang from one day to the next. It must be accompanied by a comprehensive change! It is an opportunity to understand the change to S/4 as more than a mere upgrade or simple new implementation of an ERP system against the backdrop of the strategic business goals, but also against the backdrop of acute operational influencing factors.

Intelligent company

So far, we have established that the generational change in the SAP world represents a trend reversal. Companies must ask themselves the guiding questions that are pointing the way. With the answers, a holistic IT architecture can be implemented as a helper to the strategic goals.

In its consequence, this target image must raise the potential where a company exists in its uniqueness: the team. The change of an ERP system or the redesign of business processes require two elementary things: the adoption of this new technology as well as the change in the company culture. Ways of working will change, and that's a good thing.

It is important to bring along the respective internal drivers of innovation and growth potential and to involve the organization as an enabler of the technological strategy at an early stage. Yes, we are talking about change management here - the human side of change. Management needs to keep in mind what problems were encountered in the past when implementing new solutions. All factors must be taken into account in order to make meaningful and sustainable use of the opportunity presented by a well-thought-out realignment.

IT as an enabler

If management sets the business goals and includes their drivers in terms of growth, business success, innovation and team strength, as well as the "enablers" of the whole, the internal technology experts, then nothing stands in the way of a sustainable, contemporary and future-proof corporate direction. The role of IT is changing from a purely implementing unit to a consulting and technologically savvy unit of change. IT as an enabler of business goals.

If you're thinking about S/4 today, you shouldn't be thinking about a simple system migration, but rather the journey to a fully connected, intelligent enterprise. Moonshot Thinking: Real-time data and deep insight-to-action analytics, extensive end-to-end processes and best practices, as well as the connection of partner networks and third-party integration almost sound like a wish-less-happy package.

S/4 provides the necessary foresight, also with the new Rise with SAP offering. SAP clears the way for creating real added value in the supply chain through the seamless integration of partner networks. Because your service providers and suppliers should also benefit from the new potential in a network-like manner.

The connected business networks enable predictive optimization of procurement processes, supply chain visibility, or even holistic mapping and performance overview of their digital twin (from IoT scenarios to predictive maintenance).

A switch to S/4 has what it takes to profoundly change companies as they are positioned today. The in-memory database Hana and the new network concept are only parts of the new system. S/4 and Hana can be a true single point of truth with shortened and direct processes. The result: collaboration at all levels, shorter time-to-market, and overall the ability to map changed business processes quickly and flexibly on the ERP side.

Transformation scenarios

The transformation to S/4 and Hana is too fundamental and too trend-setting to be set as a pure IT project. Process excellence becomes the new standard with S/4. We recommend viewing the system change holistically and not as a pure IT or SAP project.

It is the sustainable way to design a future-proof process landscape that is efficiently aligned to enable the business successes that have been set. This upcoming transformation now offers the opportunity to reflect on existing processes and structures and paves the way for a technological, process-related and organizational realignment. 

A side effect of this repositioning can be modernization, based on automation, standardization, and thus comprehensive digitization (note: a digitization that was unimaginable 20 years ago). Rise with SAP is SAP's most recent initiative. However, an exciting project title should not dazzle. The focus is on realistic business value; there is no "one fits all" approach.

The result of our experience from S/4 projects is the Me-tromap methodology for S/4 Hana, which has been tested together with partners and customers. Business strategists, process and technical experts have jointly and interdisciplinarily developed a sustainable and holistic methodology from the customer's perspective. This includes roadmaps for a technical, business and organizational perspective in order to initiate and accompany the changeover to S/4 in a target group-oriented manner. 

From analysis to implementation, the various milestones are included from the respective perspectives. Only in this way - we are convinced - can major transformations succeed sustainably and profitably. Because even today, (almost) every system is unique and every customer brings its own individual challenges to the transformation. 

In each phase of the implementation methodology, all defined perspectives are brought into focus and enriched with elements of the recognized change methodology Prosci for the sake of overall success. In addition to the technical perspective and project management, much emphasis is placed on the human side of change. Because the most important message is: A successful S/4 Hana transformation is not a (pure) IT project. In addition to technical circumstances, it is also important to consider future business models, market environment and innovative strength.

We have been helping customers navigate the shoals of digitization for more than 20 years. Our strong team helps them to solve the challenges they face in a holistic manner and to get to grips with the ever-increasing complexity of IT. This results in solutions from a single source and thus also in trusting and intensively lived customer relationships. In a disruptive and complex world, we help you make the decisions that move you forward.