Data Management Preparation is Essential for Successful S4/HANA Migration
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There is a big upside to moving your data management processes to an SAP cloud ERP like S4/HANA. The convenience of managing data on the cloud gives your business users convenient controls while also increasing collaboration across remote teams.
But let’s face it, using the cloud can be difficult for organizations like yours that have historically used SAP to manage data with on-premise software. But it does not have to be a painful change management process.
Read on as we dissect some of the major data management challenges associated with cloud migration and how the right tool can keep your data flowing effectively throughout.
Research Reveals Data Management Concerns for SAP Migration
Recent research from the UK & Ireland SAP User Group (UKISUG), the independent non-profit group representing all SAP software users, identified that 61% of companies believe data management challenges have slowed, or will slow, the automation of their business processes. In addition, two-thirds state that data management is a challenge when moving from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA.
The UKISUG research also indicates that most companies have experienced added value from their operational (84%) and customer data (68%) over the past 12 months. However, the survey does highlight stubborn challenges:
69% face challenges in gaining business intelligence from data because it is spread across their environment on multiple platforms.
64% face challenges around data accuracy and consistency.
30% say they have so much data they don’t know where to start in terms of gaining additional value from it.
27% say they are unable to process and analyze data fast enough.
Don’t You Dare Not Prepare
Do any of the above statistics hit close to home? If so, you’re not alone. For many businesses the process of migrating to a cloud ERP can take months or even years. And then you get there only to find that even more work is required to align your data to the new system and produce the analysis your business needs to run effectively.
Preparing your data management processes to handle the change is a key pillar for an implementation project like moving older generations of SAP's ERP systems, such as SAP ECC 6.0 to S/4HANA, the latest in-memory database system.
If your data has not been archived regularly and in a consistent format, you probably have an intimidating amount of data residing in your legacy system tables. When you move to S/4HANA, the table of data structure changes substantially. The more data in your current system, the longer and harder that upgrade is going to be. There will probably be significant downtime while you convert it into the new formats.
Data quality is also a very important consideration, as organizations will fail to realize maximum value from implementing SAP S/4HANA, if their existing data hasn’t been cleansed first. In a manual world, the human brain can provide context but with an algorithm that is behind process automation, if you haven't got accurate data, then it's going to be somewhat challenging to get particularly high rates of successful automation
Finally, data security throughout the migration process is also essential. Yet, given the complexity of data architecture today, it’s become impossible to manage security for individuals without a coherent and dynamic governance policy to drive security allowance or grant exceptions to those rules. Governance has grown too complicated for manual methods in today's complex data architecture. A data governance application with the ability to connect to data and security is needed.
Transitioning to the cloud is a major undertaking that takes months but comes with an array of business advantages. With the help of technology tailored to the needs of finance and accounting professionals, you can easily prepare your data management processes for migration.
Don’t Walk, Run at Your Migration with Process Runner
Process Runner allows the average business user to use Microsoft Excel to manage and automate SAP data without coding, advanced training, or waiting for an LSMW (Legacy Systems Migration Workbench) from IT.
Remove IT dependency for data management during migration – Enable the average business user to manage and automate SAP data uploads through a familiar Microsoft Excel interface. During a big system change it's crucial that you empower teams across the organization to keep projects moving while also giving IT control of user access. Automate upload/download of data for any SAP module, including FI/CO, SD, HR/HCM, MM, and PP. Process Runner contains four SAP technologies in one tool. Run transactions, BAPIs, GUI Scripting, and Data Extractor technology right from Excel.
Reduce migration down time and accelerate time to value – Adapt and pivot to changes in the market by automating a transaction for any SAP module. Utilize 1,900+ templates to duplicate processes and data uploads. Simplify processes like changing material orders through faster data migrations, easier data transformations, and streamlined data management.
Implement data stewardship to increase cloud security – Centralize compliance and governance of mass processing to prevent risk and accidental damage of SAP data investment. Save time by using the security and user access profiles already in SAP. Process Runner admins can manage user access from any location with our cloud control panel. Change user permissions and manage Process Runner licenses without IT support. Organizations can leverage pre-built SAP rules to prevent erroneous data uploads and protect their SAP investment.
Process Runner is easy to implement without any back-end SAP configurations, costly setup fees, or complex integrations. Process Runner runs right from your desktop, and with more than 1,900 ready-to-run templates, you’ll be working faster in minutes. Increase speed to market with faster data migrations, easier data transformations and streamlined data management.