In a recent ASUG research report, “Successful SAP Transformation Hinges on Change Management,” ASUG surveyed its members to learn more about SAP Signavio usage and organizational change management amid SAP transformation initiatives, such as the move to SAP S/4HANA.
Respondents consistently highlighted that technology shifts associated with SAP transformation connote a different scale of complexity and organizational impact compared to other projects. But that’s where SAP Signavio specifically aims to help.
Along with SAP LeanIX and WalkMe, Signavio is designed to provide structure to both SAP and non-SAP initiatives — though many users of Signavio are unfamiliar with the extent of its capabilities.
Gathering responses from 163 ASUG members who are involved in their organizations’ SAP business transformation, including SAP S/4HANA initiatives, this recent ASUG research assessed that most member 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% have fully completed their moves. 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% are "still 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 were evenly split on their awareness of how to use Signavio and LeanIX for non-SAP initiatives — 40% are aware, and 40% are unaware of how to leverage these solutions outside of SAP initiatives. And usage did not impact awareness, indicating that more outreach is needed to clarify for SAP customers that these solutions can be helpful even beyond SAP-related transformation efforts.
Organizations face challenges with new technology rollouts; most commonly cited in this recent research were conflicting priorities (53%), high costs (48%), and resistance to change (48%). Resource (37%) and skills gaps (34%), as well as IT-business misalignment (33%) pose additional hurdles.
According to the respondents, what's keeping organizations from adopting SAP Signavio faster is, most prominently, lack of available funds and resources, though other organizations are prioritizing SAP 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 giving internal teams greater visibility of 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% stating that they adhere to a structured approach. Another 39% of respondents use what they characterized as a "somewhat structured" approach, with general plans that have varying strategies across teams, though all are 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 those that can result from somewhat structured change management strategies.
SAP Signavio 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, while 39% are 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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