SAP S4/HANA: Changeover takes on average 30 percent longer than planned

Switching to SAP S/4HANA takes companies on average 30 percent longer than planned. This is the result of a recent study by management consultants Horváth. More than 32 percent of the 200 organizations surveyed reported very significant deviations and a further 27 percent reported significant deviations during the software changeover. Only ten percent of the completed transformations met the deadline.

Companies dissatisfied with the switch to S4/HANA

Around 24 percent of companies exceeded their financial planning very significantly when switching to S4/HANA, and around 41 percent significantly. Despite the time and budget overruns, the result did not meet expectations in almost two thirds of companies. The respondents cited the expansion of the project scope, weak project management and underestimated test and data migration phases as the reasons for the deviations from the plan. They also criticized a lack of decision-making.

Introduction to the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)

With the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), SAP is moving into the cloud and thus offering a basis for linking, expanding and automating business processes. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how you can use SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) to drive your digital transformation. You will learn how to develop applications, integrate interfaces and optimize business processes with SAP BTP.

Dates and registration at: heise.de/s/blNN0

Study director Christian Daxböck sees the problem in companies' project set-up: "Project complexity and required resources are underestimated, while organizational competencies are overestimated. This mismatch leads to enormous discrepancies between plan and result." Furthermore, there is a lack of prioritization of goals and requirements in companies. Around 78 percent of those surveyed stated that they had integrated too many aspects into their change.

Companies willing to switch should learn from previous mistakes

Daxböck attributes this to inadequate project management. For companies that want to switch to S/4HANA or are currently preparing for the changeover, it is possible to learn from their mistakes. The software can still be optimized after the transformation, which in many cases is the more advisable option than long, costly project delays, said the head of the Horváth study.

Almost half of companies (48 percent) are using private cloud environments for the changeover. Almost one in five companies run SAP S4/HANA on their own hardware. Around 29 percent of companies use the software in the public cloud. The latest investment report from the German-speaking SAP user group also shows that the use of the public cloud environment for S4/HANA has increased.

Mainstream support for SAP ERP will end in 2027, while extended support will continue until the end of 2030. Only users with very large, complex SAP system landscapes will be given until 2033 to switch completely to the cloud via a new subscription. In addition to a higher price than S4/HANA, a switch to the Private Edition of SAP ERP, which only supports HANA databases, is required.

(dahe)