SAP S/4 HANA UPGRADE

Leap into the future!

SAP S/4 HANA is the successor of SAP R/3. The support phase of  SAP R/3 (also know as SAP ERP or SAP ECC) will end in 2025 (for enhancement package EHP 5 and below) respectively in 2027 (for enhancement package EHP 6 and above) with optional extended support until 2030.

It's time to plan your tranfer to SAP S/4 HANA.

WHAT’S NEW IN S/4 HANA?

The changes include:

Database and hosting

Database and hosting

R/3 allowed the use of different databases. As of S/4 only the HANA database can be used that requires servers with an incredible amount of memory.
 
Don’t let the naming confuse you: HANA is the database, S/4 HANA is the application software. 
 
In the R/3 world on-premise solutions were common – this is replaced by private cloud and public cloud hosted solutions in the S/4 world. SAP private cloud and SAP public cloud are two completely different products with different mindsets. With private cloud you remain the system owner – that is, you can customize, develop, upgrade your system based on your business requirement. With public cloud you are a user of a standard software with predefined "SAP best practices" processes – it is recommended that you change your own business processes so that they fit to these standards.
Database and hosting

Application

Application

There are several business function changes affecting a range of modules:

  • several legacy R/3 database tables are replaced by new S/4 database tables. This can affect your custom developments and interfaces
  • changes in the ABAP syntax
  • use of SAP Business Partner instead of the previously separated Customer and Vendor master data
  • Universal Journal handles both FI GL accounts and cost elements
  • retirement of some GUI transactions to be replaced with FIORI
Application

User experience

User experience

Most of the SAP GUI transactions can be used further in S/4 HANA (on premise / private cloud) as well. However the new release offers several SAP Fiori applications for an enhanced browser-based user experience.

User experience

Licensing and new products

Licensing and new products

R/3 consisted of functions that must be licensed separately under S/4 (e.g.: travel cost management FI-TV).
Also new modules are now mostly released as separate products, running on separate servers, under separate licenses (e.g.: as a big manufacturing company you will have an S/4 HANA system, an .SAP Digital Manufacturing Cloud, and an SAP Analytics Cloud for reporting)
Licensing and new products

DOES SAP S/4 HANA PRIVATE CLOUD OR SAP S/4 HANA PUBLIC CLOUD FIT YOUR COMPANY BETTER?

FeatureSAP S/4HANA Private CloudSAP S/4HANA Public Cloud
Deployment ModelHosted in a private cloud (SAP or hyperscalers like AWS, Azure, GCP)Multi-tenant SaaS model hosted on SAP’s cloud infrastructure
Customization & ExtensibilityFull customization, including custom code and modificationsLimited customization, mainly via SAP BTP and public APIs
Upgrades & MaintenanceCustomer-controlled upgrade cyclesSAP-enforced updates twice a year
Implementation TimeLonger due to customization and tailored configurationsFaster due to standardized processes
Cost ModelHigher upfront costs, typically subscription-based (RISE with SAP)Levelled cost, pay-as-you-go SaaS pricing
Best Suited ForLarge enterprises with complex processes requiring deep customizationMidsize enterprises without production and other complex processes, looking for a standardized ERP solution

UPGRADE TO S/4 HANA PRIVATE CLOUD

You can choose from these approaches:
  • upgrade your present SAP R/3 to SAP S/4 without major changes (brownfield), or
  • leave your present SAP R/3 as it is and start a brand new S/4 system with new logic (greenfield)
  • create a brand new S/4 system based on the present R/3 settings, and use Selective Data Transition to migrate only critical data and processes
 
Most customers choose to upgrade their existing SAP system (brownfield approach). It is also common to split the upgrade to two phases:
– technical upgrade
– business upgrade
 
During the upgrade of the technical part actions are taken that the business user does not necessarily notice:
– executing the SAP Readiness Check
– migrating the database to HANA
– executing the ATC Check and adjusting the custom coding
– migrating the print forms to Adobe forms
– data cleansing
 
During the upgrade of the business part the actions are taken that need deep business involvement as well:
– Simplification item list adjustments, such as CVI (sap customer-vendor integration to SAP Business Partner), material ledger activation, general ledger migration
– Data conversion of master and flow data using the Migration Cockpit; adapting the FI/CO data structures such as the Universal Journal
– UI and Fiori configuration
– Testing and validation
– Business process optimization (e.g.: implementing new analytical tools as SAC)

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