Are you ready for the move to SAP S/4HANA?

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With the announcement by SAP, the enterprise software supplier, that clients will have to migrate to SAP S/4HANA by 2027 at the latest, it is already time to reflect on and plan this move now. 

At IBM we understand the challenges of SAP S/4 HANA, and appreciate that this migration is a massive undertaking for any company. But we also know, from experience — we’ve made over 6,500 SAP migrations and have four times more certified SAP S/4HANA consultants than any other SAP partner — that this transformation is worth the time and effort, as it’s an opportunity to invest in your business priorities and innovation, and work with real-time information within the Enterprise Management solution.

Special IBM Impact Assessment tool

To reduce some of the risks associated with the change and give companies a clear path of action, IBM has created a special SAP S/4HANA Impact Assessment tool. It has been designed to help customers assess the full end-to-end impact of transitioning from their current SAP ERP system to SAP S/4HANA — from data, custom code, and interfaces, down to Level 4 business processes. So far, more than 200 companies, from a wide variety of industries, have used the Assessment tool to speed up their digital transformations.

We’ve observed that the motivation for such a move falls into four different categories:

• Business transformation: companies are embarking on a broader business transformation project.
• Clients looking for the business case: they know they need to move to SAP S/4HANA but are still building a business case.
• Clients looking to define a roadmap: they recognize the benefits of SAP S/4HANA, but still need a roadmap to get there.
• Yet to define a plan: these organizations are not thinking about SAP S/4HANA. They prefer to wait for broader market acceptance and adopt it at a later date.

Defining the business case

SAP S/4HANA has the potential to change a company’s way of doing business for the better. And yet, defining the benefits — and the business case to secure the funding and executive sponsorship for the solution — can sometimes be difficult. Human insights and creativity are needed at this stage to fundamentally re-imagine business workflows and models.

To this end, we recommend you begin the transformation of your core business processes by co-creating your strategy in an IBM design-thinking workshop. You’ll be able to leverage our deep knowledge from over 100 joint innovations with our enterprise application partners to build intelligent workflows for your business.

SAP S/4HANA is already changing the way many companies run their business, and IBM is helping them get there. In essence, it acts as a digital core: a foundation upon which next-generation technologies can be built. And by laying the groundwork, IBM and SAP S/4HANA makes it easier for companies to adopt technologies such as AI, blockchain or advanced analytics.

Is your business strategy ready for the digital world? 

The SAP S/4 HANA journey is a tough one, and so it’s important you ask the right questions, clarify objectives and communicate on the final goals. And it’s also important that you enlist expert support for this move.

For more information watch our on-demand webcast “Be a winner in your SAP S/4HANA adventure” and register here or visit our Jumbo case story to see how Jumbo implemented S/4HANA in Belgium for their new stores.

Are you ready for a first assessment? Just reach out to me and drop me a DM.