Everything You Need to Know About SAP HANA Migration

As organizations strive to accelerate growth and productivity, migrating to SAP S/4HANA has become a common goal.

S/4HANA, the latest release in SAP’s ERP lineup, offers real-time business data access and the ability to transform decision-making, customer engagement, and operational efficiency.

While the journey to S/4HANA may seem daunting, it’s essential for organizations to start planning their migration or re-implementation strategy today.

What is the SAP HANA migration?

SAP HANA migration refers to the process of moving data from a company’s existing database to the SAP HANA platform. This migration can occur for a variety of reasons, such as upgrading to a more modern database or seeking greater processing speed and analytical capabilities. 

How to prepare for SAP HANA Migration

There are some steps and considerations to take in order to prepare for your SAP HANA migration that include assessing current data, data extraction and transformation, data loading, and testing and validation.

Assess current data before SAP HANA Migration

Before the actual migration process can begin, a company must first assess its current data environment and prepare for the migration.

This includes identifying which data sets need to be moved, analyzing the data structures, and ensuring that the data is clean and accurate.

Additionally, a company must ensure that its applications and systems are compatible with SAP HANA.

Data extraction and transformation for SAP HANA migration

During the extraction phase, data is extracted from the source database and transformed into a format that is compatible with SAP HANA.

This is an important step because the data must be transformed so that it can be loaded into SAP HANA.

Data loading for SAP HANA migration

The transformed data is then loaded into SAP HANA using various loading techniques such as batch loading or real-time replication.

The loading process is crucial for ensuring that the data is loaded correctly into SAP HANA.

Testing and validation of SAP HANA migration

Once the data has been successfully loaded into SAP HANA, it’s important to test and validate it.

This involves running tests to ensure that the data was properly extracted, transformed, and loaded and that it meets the company’s business requirements.

Benefits of SAP HANA Migration

Benifits of migrating to SAP HANA include improved performance, higher scalability, increased flexibility, and cost savings.

Improved performance of SAP HANA

One of the biggest benefits of migrating to SAP HANA is improved performance.

SAP HANA is designed for real-time analytics and quick data processing, which can greatly improve a company’s operational efficiency.

Higher scalability of SAP HANA

Another key benefit of migrating to SAP HANA is higher scalability.

SAP HANA can scale easily to accommodate a company’s changing data needs and can also help reduce costs as the company expands.

Increased flexibility of SAP HANA

In addition to improved performance and scalability, SAP HANA provides increased flexibility for companies looking to implement new processes or add new features.

Cost savings of SAP HANA migration

Finally, migrating to SAP HANA can provide cost savings over the long term.

The improved performance and scalability of SAP HANA can help reduce operational costs, while the increased flexibility can help reduce development costs.

Furthermore, a well-executed migration strategy can help minimize disruption to business operations during the transition process.

Choosing your SAP HANA migration approach

There are three fundamental approaches to reach your destination with S/4HANA, that include staying on mainstream support for ECC, migrating to S/4HANA (Brownfield Migration), or re-implementing (Greenfield Migration).

Stay on Mainstream Support for ECC through 2030

If you’re not prepared to migrate to S/4HANA by 2027, you have the option to remain on Mainstream Support for ECC by paying for extended support until 2030.

Benefit: More time to prepare for the transition to S/4HANA.

Drawback: Premium costs for support from 2027 through 2030.

Migrate to S/4HANA (Brownfield Migration)

With a brownfield migration, you take your existing ECC environment and migrate it to S/4HANA.

Benefit: Cost savings of up to 90%, ability to adopt scrum or agile approaches post-upgrade for deploying S/4HANA capabilities, and reduced change management efforts.

Drawback: Some inherent risks and the need to address potential issues that may arise during the migration process.

Re-implement (Greenfield Migration)

Opting for a greenfield migration means starting fresh, building a new operating model, business process, and data model from scratch.

This approach may cause temporary disruption but offers significant long-term benefits.

Benefit: Opportunity to introduce a new operating model, leverage S/4HANA’s advanced features, and ensure a clean slate.

Drawback: Higher re-implementation costs, substantial organizational and change management impacts, and effort required for configuration, data migration, and validation.

Regardless of the chosen approach, the ultimate goal is transitioning to S/4HANA. The key considerations are the timeframe, cost, and selecting the path that aligns best with your organization’s needs.

Roles to hire for a successful SAP HANA migration

When it comes to planning and executing a successful SAP HANA migration, there are certain roles that need to be filled in order for the project to be successful that include project managers, data architects, SAP consultants, and technical architects.

• Project Manager
• Data Architect
• SAP Consultants
• Technical Architect
• Database Administrators
• Business Analyst
• Developers

Project manager for SAP HANA migration

The project manager is responsible for managing the migration process from start to finish.

They must ensure that all tasks are completed on time and within budget, as well as coordinate with various stakeholders to ensure successful execution.

Data Architect for SAP HANA migration

The data architect is responsible for designing the data models that will be used in SAP HANA.

They must understand the existing business processes and data requirements, as well as design a migration strategy that meets those needs.

SAP Consultants for SAP HANA migration

SAP consultants are experts in the use of SAP products and services. They are responsible for advising the project team on how to best use SAP HANA in order to maximize productivity and performance.

They should also be able to provide guidance on data architecture and security, as well as assist with troubleshooting any issues that may arise during the migration process.

Technical Architect for SAP HANA migration

The technical architect is responsible for designing and implementing the technology infrastructure to support SAP HANA.

This includes setting up servers, databases, networks, and other components necessary for the system to function properly.

In addition to their technical knowledge, they must also have a good understanding of business processes and systems architecture in order to ensure that all components are properly integrated.

Database Administrators for SAP HANA migration

Database administrators are responsible for setting up and maintaining the databases that are used by SAP HANA.

They must have a deep understanding of database management systems, security protocols, and data migration techniques in order to ensure that all data is securely stored and easily retrievable.

Business Analyst for SAP HANA migration

Business analysts play an important role in helping organizations identify their business requirements and develop a strategy for meeting them.

They must be knowledgeable about SAP HANA, as well as the organization’s existing systems and processes.

Their role is to analyze data, identify trends, and provide insights that can be used to better understand business needs and improve operational efficiency.

Developers for SAP HANA migration

Developers are responsible for building applications to run on SAP HANA. They must have a strong understanding of coding languages such as SQL, Java, and Python in order to create applications that are optimized for performance and reliability.

They must also be able to troubleshoot any issues with the application code and ensure that the system meets all security requirements.

Migrating to SAP HANA

Migrating to SAP HANA can be a daunting but necessary task for many organizations.

It is important to consider the timeframe, cost, and selecting the path that aligns best with your organization’s needs when planning out this transition.

In order to ensure a successful migration process, it is essential to have key roles filled.

With the right team in place, you will be able to leverage 4HANA’s advanced features while avoiding any potential drawbacks of re-implementation costs or the effort required for configuration and data migration validation.

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