SAP S/4HANA migrations look different this year. The next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) software platform launched 10 years ago, bringing along many experts and partners who have become crucial to companies’ digital transformation journeys and having a successful go-live. Still, organizations are finding the transition more complex than anticipated.
In a recent ASUG research report sponsored by BearingPoint, 168 ASUG members shared insights into their SAP S/4HANA journeys. Here are some top takeaways from the report:
The State of the SAP S/4HANA Migration Journey
Even as deadlines for mainstream maintenance of SAP ECC 6.0 approach in 2025 and 2027*, 56% of ASUG members are currently live or in the process of moving to SAP S/4HANA. That marks an 11% increase over 2024.
SAP S/4HANA transition can constitute a significant project for many SAP customers, taking an average of one and a half years (based on those surveyed). Those who have been live on SAP S/4HANA for over three years, making up 44% of respondents, can be considered "pros" compared to those who've been live for less than three years, who can be considered "S/4 newcomers." Just 13% have been live on the technology for more than five years.
Those earlier S/4HANA adopters on average took longer to realize value—2.8 months longer, to be exact. Newcomers are realizing value in only 4.4 months, compared to 7.2 among the pros. This acceleration is likely due to better tools, clearer onboarding processes, and shared best practices from across the SAP community, helping newcomers benefit from lessons learned by earlier adopters — setting newcomers up for success faster and supporting them toward faster ROI.
Companies that are live or in the process of moving have generally preferred to maintain their existing business processes, with 44% of them opting for a brownfield migration, also known as a system conversion. Hybrid or selective data transition—also known as bluefield—is the choice of 29% of those surveyed, while greenfield was selected by 26%.
The environment for SAP S/4HANA has many options: private cloud, managed private cloud, hybrid cloud, on-premises, public cloud. ASUG members had historically reported some reservations about moving to the cloud, but those fears around security and cost are easing. Concerns about flexibility persist, potentially contributing to the hybrid cloud doubling in popularity between 2024 and 2025 (9% to 18%).
Outside Support as the Norm
Part of the process of realizing value faster involves tapping external support. More companies are hiring system integrators (SIs) to assist in the migration process, who are in turn playing a larger role in supporting these projects. Demand for SIs is increasing as the deadline looms, making this the largest cost members report is associated with migration.
Still, costs are becoming more predictable. Only 31% of respondents report costs going above expectations, decreasing 18% from 2024. Costs staying in line with expectations was reported 34% of the time, increasing 11% since 2024.
Training is top of mind for some organizations, with one respondent saying that they started “the development of training courses well in advance of the S/4HANA migration.” Another created self-use training and reference guides to provide a resource without an official training course.
Risks and Post-Go-Live
Risks such as change management, external resources, testing, documentation of business processes, and phased implementations are top of mind for those in the process of migration.
One customer reported delaying go-live for more than a year due to risks like these not being addressed. Another customer said, “We have some basic needs but getting alignment on overall business benefit is difficult.” The most common risk associated with SAP S/4HANA migration? Too many customizations complicating the journey.
Change management remains a huge priority for those with successful go-lives—and a risk. In fact, 43% of respondents cited change management practices such as training and adoption as a risk, and 57% recommended starting change management early to improve migration, up 7% compared to 2024.
RISE with SAP is consistently increasing in popularity over the past few years. As it relates to overall SAP S/4HANA adoption trends, though, this isn’t shifting plans for most of the respondents. However, among companies that are already live on SAP S/4HANA, RISE is steadily gaining more of a foothold. SAP customers already live on SAP S/4HANA are potentially seeing value and seeking to further level up — increasing their investment via RISE with SAP adoption.
*Mainstream maintenance for the latest three enhancement packages of SAP ERP 6.0—including SAP ERP Central Component (ECC)—ends Dec. 31, 2027, followed by an optional extended maintenance phase until Dec. 31, 2030. For customers on SAP ERP 6.0 with enhancement packages 1 to 5, or without enhancement packages, mainstream maintenance ends earlier, on Dec. 31, 2025, after which point customers will automatically be moved to customer-specific maintenance. (For more information about maintenance timelines for SAP ERP 6.0, including how you can find your release and enhancement package level,click here.)
For the full SAP S/4HANA research, download the report and benchmark your progress.