In a new research report, “Successful SAP Transformation Hinges on Change Management,” ASUG surveyed its members to learn about Signavio use and organizational change management amid SAP transformation strategies such as the move to SAP S/4HANA. Respondents consistently highlight that the complexity and organizational impact of technology shifts are on a different scale of transformation compared to other projects. But that’s where SAP Signavio specifically aims to help.
Along with SAP LeanIX and WalkMe, Signavio is providing structure to both SAP and non-SAP initiatives — though many users of Signavio are unfamiliar with the extent of its capabilities.
Data Background
With responses from 163 ASUG members who are involved in their organizations’ SAP business transformation, including SAP S/4HANA, ASUG found that organizations are well on their way to moving to S/4. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) said they are live or in the process of moving. Nearly half (46%) of the organizations surveyed are either well-advanced in their SAP transformations — or have completed their transition.
Top departments represented include IT operations (69 respondents) and finance (22 respondents). One-third (34%) are in early stages of SAP business transformation, while 29% are in later stages, and 17% are fully completed. Still, 13% are in the planning stages and 4% have no plans.
Familiarity with SAP Signavio has grown since SAP’s acquisition in 2021; in 2023, only 5% of respondents were extremely familiar, growing to 16% by 2025.
Signavio Usage and Adoption
While 21% of respondents are currently using SAP Signavio—an increase of 18% since 2022—49% still are not planning to use it or don’t know if they will. Slow adoption of SAP Signavio and users’ hesitation to explore it highlights the need for clearer communication around the solution’s benefits and use cases.
Respondents to the ASUG research are evenly split on their awareness of using Signavio and LeanIX for non-SAP initiatives — 40% are aware, and 40% are unaware. And usage does not impact awareness, indicating that more outreach is needed to clarify that these solutions are helpful even beyond SAP-related transformation efforts.
Organizations are facing challenges with new technology rollouts; most commonly cited are conflicting priorities (53%), high costs (48%), and resistance to change (48%). Resource (37%) and skills gaps (34%), as well as IT-business misalignment (33%) are additional hurdles.
The forces keeping organizations from adopting the solution sooner is, firstly, lack of available funds and resources. Next is the prioritizing of S/4HANA and other SAP products first. One respondent said they “just want to get upgraded to S/4 first and be stable.”
When optimizing business transformations, respondents have largely sought support from SAP directly (49%), external partners or systems integrators (48%), or internal teams dedicated to optimization (39%). Only 19% are leaning on tools from SAP to support business transformations, such as Signavio, SAP Cloud ALM, and SAP LeanIX. Those responsible for change management and SAP S/4HANA rollouts are mostly IT departments (42%) and a cooperative effort between departments (25%).
Amid these challenges, organizations are seeking more cross-functional collaboration while also relying on partner networks. With tools like Signavio, which can provide transparency across both SAP and non-SAP applications while letting internal teams have visibility into transformation processes, enterprises can better set their organizations up for successful S/4HANA implementations and realize business value more quickly.
Structured Change Management
Structured approaches to change management—such as having a Center of Excellence (CoE) with clear change management strategy, strong communication, and engagement across the organization—are popular among respondents, with 32% saying they have this highly structured approach. Another 39% of respondents use a somewhat structured approach, with general plans that have varying strategies across teams.
These are all efforts to improve processes and adoption of SAP S/4HANA. While highly structured approaches do face greater resistance to change (58%) and conflicting priorities (54%), this research saw 10% fewer reports of high cost and 11% fewer reports of lack of alignment from IT and business teams compared to somewhat structured change management strategies.
SAP Signavio is a tool that supports change management and provides structure during complex tech implementation and adoption. Among Signavio users who are currently using the solution, 39% are seeing greater transparency and visibility into end-to-end processes, as well as 39% experiencing standardization and harmonization of business practices. They also see increased collaboration across teams (29%), better customer experience through streamlined processes (26%), a supported clean core strategy (23%), and supported digital transformation and SAP S/4HANA readiness (23%).
Signavio’s ability to provide structured change management, standardization, and visibility into processes can only aid enterprises in their SAP S/4HANA adoption—and implementation of non-SAP tools—helping to bridge the challenges organizations commonly face in digital transformation.
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