Majority of SAP users face challenges in optimization, according to survey findings
Optimising SAP Landscapes: A Guide for Organisations
In today's digital age, organisations are facing numerous challenges when it comes to optimising their SAP landscapes. According to recent research, 53% of organisations struggle with data accuracy and consistency due to data being spread across multiple platforms. To address these issues, a strategic approach is necessary.
One of the biggest obstacles facing SAP users is a lack of budget, time, and knowledge/skills. With 60%, 53%, and 47% of respondents citing these issues respectively, it's clear that finding solutions is crucial.
Paul Cooper, vice chairman of the UK & Ireland SAP User Group, emphasises the need for SAP to do more in educating and helping customers take advantage of the services it offers, particularly in helping customers optimise their landscapes. Cooper also stresses the importance of optimising existing SAP landscapes to ensure a smooth transition and fully realise the benefits.
To optimise SAP landscapes while addressing budget, time, and knowledge/skills challenges—especially during the transition to SAP HANA—organisations can adopt various strategic approaches.
Choose the Right Implementation Approach for Your Business Needs
Organisations have several options when it comes to implementing SAP solutions. The Bluefield approach, a hybrid method that selectively migrates and reengineers parts of the SAP environment, is suitable for organisations with mixed readiness. Landscape Transformation, ideal for organisations consolidating multiple SAP systems, harmonises ERP landscapes, reduces costs, and supports centralised governance. Greenfield and Brownfield approaches offer fresh SAP S/4HANA installations and upgrades of existing ECC systems respectively, each with their own advantages and challenges.
Optimise SAP Licensing and Manage Costs
Automated SAP license management tools such as Snow Optimizer, VOQUZ License Manager, or Flexera can help identify inactive users, misclassified licenses, and duplicates, potentially realising significant license cost savings. Implementing policies to reclassify licenses in response to role changes can also prevent overpayment and maintain compliance.
Build or Engage SAP Basis Expertise
SAP Basis professionals play a critical role in performance optimisation, infrastructure setup, migration execution, and ongoing system tuning. Given the technical demands, upskilling internal teams or outsourcing to managed SAP Basis services can reduce risks and time.
Adhere to SAP’s Clean Core Strategy
SAP recommends minimising customisations and hard-coded changes directly in the core ERP to maintain system agility and simplify upgrades. Instead, extensions should be built using side-by-side extensibility platforms like SAP Business Technology Platform and public APIs. This approach helps reduce operational complexity, lowers support costs, and enhances long-term flexibility.
By carefully selecting migration paths aligned with business priorities, investing in license management, leveraging SAP Basis expertise, and embracing SAP’s Clean Core philosophy, organisations can optimise their SAP landscapes efficiently despite budgetary, temporal, and skills challenges while ensuring a smooth transition to SAP HANA.
Summary Table of Optimization Strategies
| Challenge | Strategy/Resource | Key Benefits | |-----------|-------------------|--------------| | Budget Constraints | SAP License Optimization Tools (Snow Optimizer, VOQUZ, Flexera) | Identify surplus licenses; reduce license costs by reclassification and elimination of waste | | Time Constraints | Selective Implementation Approaches (Bluefield, Brownfield) | Faster, tailored migrations preserving investments and minimising disruption | | Knowledge/Skills Gaps | Managed SAP Basis Services; Upskilling IT Team | Access advanced technical expertise for migration and performance tuning | | Transition to SAP HANA | Bluefield/Greenfield/Brownfield approaches with SAP Basis expertise | Balanced innovation with risk management and effective migration execution | | Long-term Agility | SAP Clean Core Strategy | Minimise custom code in ERP core; facilitate easier upgrades and reduce maintenance overhead |
Sources: [1] SAP SE [2] Snow Software [3] Flexera [4] SAP SE
- To effectively address budget constraints when optimizing SAP landscapes, organizations can utilize SAP License Optimization Tools such as Snow Optimizer, VOQUZ, or Flexera to identify surplus licenses, potentially leading to significant license cost savings.
- To ensure a smooth transition to SAP HANA while overcoming knowledge and skills gaps, organizations can consider adopting managed SAP Basis services or upskilling their IT teams to access advanced technical expertise for migration and performance tuning.
