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Addressing SAP ECC to S/4HANA Migration Challenges with Test Automation

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SAP ECC to S/4HANA Migration

SAP is all set to end mainstream support for ECC by 2027. Although 2027 seems a bit far-off, many existing SAP ECC customers believe that time is on their side, however, the truth is not the same. With 2021 nearing to end, it has been five years remaining until customers who have not migrated from SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) will forcibly migrate to SAP S/4 HANA in 2027.

Large enterprises can easily understand that five years isn’t a lot of time. Since large enterprises move slowly when it comes to implementing new technology, they should start preparing their SAP S/4HANA migration strategy now or at least a year from now while keeping in mind that S/4HANA migration is not the end, it’s just the beginning of the Digital Transformation journey for any enterprise.

Although the benefits of migration to S/4HANA are numerous such as greater agility, improved user experience, real-time data, analytics, flexible APIs, and streamlined processes, however, it is fraught with challenges. Since S/4 HANA is a powerfully complex technology and migration can be painful, enterprises need to plan it properly with test focussed strategy. Here, we discuss real-world challenges that organizations encounter while migrating from SAP ECC to S/4HANA. We’ll also showcase how SAP test automation can mitigate migration risks.

Organizations need to overcome the challenges listed below while migrating to S/4HANA.

Improper and Insufficient Pre-migration Assessment

Readiness Assessments and pre-analysis of the source system are critical parts of application configuration. For successful S/4HANA migration, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of existing SAP ECC configurations, transactional and master data. Well-documented as-is processes and configuration in a single style of documentation ensure better understanding and minimal data duplication. However, enterprises often struggle to gather baseline information.

SAP S/4 HANA Updates Adoption Readiness

We’ve already told you that S/4HANA migration is not an end but the beginning of the Digital Transformation journey for any enterprise. SAP S/4 HANA is still a developing product. It means that customers will receive new updates on a regular basis. Relying solely on manual testing can delay these upgrades, increase the risk of software failure, and prevent business improvements.

End-to-End Integration Testing

SAP ecosystem consists of SAP ECC, S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, and SAP Hybris. Different business processes are connected with these systems. Apart from this, at times, third-party enterprise applications also get integrated with these systems to support business processes. So, enterprises need to prepare to test not only SAP ECC & S/4HANA but also the complex ecosystem of different applications that supports their critical business processes.

SAP Test Automation – Your Pathway for Successful Digital Transformation

Without a concrete strategic approach to test automation, there is a real risk of S/4HANA migration. By embracing SAP test automation, enterprises can reduce the time and risk associated with S/4HANA migration.

By bringing in automation for SAP testing, customers can

  • Understand the differences between SAP S/4HANA and their current implementation (SAP ECC). Doing this will give a better understanding of the risk environment, as well as provide a better baseline using which they can move forward with their S/4HANA migration.
  • Performchange impact assessment. It will help customers identify the impact of S/4HANA updates on their existing configurations and business processes, enabling them to achieve update adoption maturity.
  • Take advantage of speed & coverage while still staying in their current SAP ECC environment. Then, when they’re ready to migrate, the automated test cases they need to validate the migration will already be available.