{"id":111253,"date":"2022-03-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e3mag.com\/?p=111253"},"modified":"2025-08-23T11:10:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T09:10:02","slug":"is-saps-s-4-hana-strategy-still-up-to-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/is-saps-s-4-hana-strategy-still-up-to-date\/","title":{"rendered":"Is SAP\u2019s S\/4 Hana Strategy Still Up to Date?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A successful corporate strategy usually encompasses three to a maximum of five years in which it will be operationally executed. Due to the dynamic market environment, IT strategies have to be implemented in an even shorter time span. SAP might have missed the memo, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>S\/4 and SAP\u2019s cloud are celebrating their seventh anniversary, so many customers are asking about SAP\u2019s strategy and what will happen next. Since the unveiling of S\/4 by Bill McDermott and Hasso Plattner, there has been a generational shift on an executive level, but not in SAP\u2019s S\/4 strategy. This might be because actually implementing that strategy is more complex than CEO Christian Klein initially thought. SAP might have chosen the wrong technological approach to the strategic transformation.<\/p><div id=\"great-570201708\" class=\"great-fullsize-content-en\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6ZGXMPyM-nU\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"banner_26-04_29_1200x150\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-400x50.jpg 400w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-768x96.jpg 768w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-100x13.jpg 100w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-480x60.jpg 480w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-640x80.jpg 640w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-720x90.jpg 720w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-960x120.jpg 960w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-1168x146.jpg 1168w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-18x2.jpg 18w, https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/banner_26-04_29_1200x150-1-600x75.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" width=\"1200\" height=\"150\"  style=\" max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The three main variations for technological transformation\u2014transition, brownfield and greenfield\u2014are way too complex and take too long. SAP has been working on tools to facilitate the switch, but they have either been discarded along the way or changed completely. SAP also pivoted between different strategies, mostly due to customer demand, for example away from a \u201cCloud Only\u201d approach and towards a more hybrid concept. This makes it seem as though SAP doesn\u2019t have a clear, central strategy for the transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>System integration of all software modules has always been an integral part of SAP\u2019s success. With the many strategic acquisitions over the past few years, SAP stopped focusing on the integration in one central core system for a while. After his predecessor had left the company, Christian Klein acknowledged the problem and got to work fixing it. This has cost SAP money and, most importantly, time\u2014time it doesn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most small to midsized SAP customers will be able to technologically transform to a hybrid S\/4 landscape until SAP\u2019s deadline in 2027 or (with extended support) in 2030. Large SAP customers, however, are a different story. A purely technological transition, even with a lot of SAP systems, interfaces, and custom code, in five years might be feasible \u2013 but only if those companies set priorities, especially concerning core business processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SAP is trying to convince customers of its S\/4 Hana strategy, but the time to keep trying is long over. The S\/4 Hana strategy should already be well on its way to be completed in a few years\u2019 time. However, that isn\u2019t the case, which means customers are running the risk of transitioning to antiquated technology.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SAP S\/4 Hana is now in its seventh year. In the fast-paced world of IT, such a time span is usually referred to as a technological generation, which is why many SAP customers are asking the same question.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2271,"featured_media":71538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40330,38917],"tags":[40040,65,39035,517,39846,39845,799],"coauthors":[38889],"class_list":["post-111253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mag-22-02","category-tipps-4success","tag-asapitconsulting","tag-hana","tag-johannes-n-szalachy","tag-s4","tag-szalachy","tag-tipps-4success","tag-transformation","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-80x80.jpg",80,80,true],"medium":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",400,180,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-768x346.jpg",768,346,true],"large":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-1030x464.jpg",1030,464,true],"image-100":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-100x45.jpg",100,45,true],"image-480":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-480x216.jpg",480,216,true],"image-640":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-640x288.jpg",640,288,true],"image-720":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-720x324.jpg",720,324,true],"image-960":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-960x432.jpg",960,432,true],"image-1168":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-1168x526.jpg",1168,526,true],"image-1440":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"image-1920":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",18,8,false],"bricks_large_16x9":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"bricks_large":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"bricks_large_square":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",1200,540,false],"bricks_medium":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",600,270,false],"bricks_medium_square":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW.jpg",600,270,false],"profile_24":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-24x24.jpg",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-48x48.jpg",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-96x96.jpg",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/e3mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/tippS4successLOW-300x300.jpg",300,300,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>SAP S\/4 Hana kommt heuer in das verflixte siebente Jahr. In der IT-Branche sind solche Zeitspannen technologische \u201eGenerationen\u201c. Viele Kunden fragen sich, wie viel Zeit SAP noch f\u00fcr den erfolgreichen Abschluss der S\/4-Hana-Strategie braucht.<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/category\/mag-22-02\/\" rel=\"category tag\">MAG 22-02<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/category\/opinion\/tips-4success\/\" rel=\"category tag\">TippS\/4Success<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"John N. Szalachy","url":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/author\/johannes-n-szalachy\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111253"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154286,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111253\/revisions\/154286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111253"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=111253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}