Moving from ECC to S/4HANA changes the data model underneath your processes. We help you decide how to move, prepare the system and the data, and get through cutover without losing the history the business depends on.
SAP has announced that mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC 6.0 (enhancement packages 6 to 8) ends at the end of 2027, with optional extended maintenance to the end of 2030. For most companies the work is no longer whether to move, but how much of the current system to bring along and how to sequence it around the business calendar.
The choice of approach drives almost everything else: what happens to transaction history, how much custom code you carry, how long the project runs, and how much process change people absorb at once.
Most programmes are a variation on one of these. The right one depends on what you want to keep.
Brownfield
Fits when: Processes still fit the business, history must stay online, and the priority is reaching S/4HANA with limited disruption.
Greenfield
Fits when: The current system no longer reflects how the company operates, or modifications make conversion risky.
Hybrid
Fits when: Some areas need redesign while others should carry over, or several systems are being combined.
Approach decisions should be based on an assessment of your actual system, not a preference. That is why we start there.
The phases are the same whichever path you choose. What changes is how much work sits in each.
Inventory of systems, interfaces, enhancements and add-ons. SAP Readiness Check results reviewed with the business, not just IT.
Usage data separates code that runs from code nobody calls. ABAP Test Cockpit checks against S/4HANA identify what must change.
Simplification items mapped to the processes they affect, for example Business Partner, material ledger, credit management and new asset accounting.
Data quality profiling, cleansing ownership, and the migration objects and load sequence, including Business Partner (CVI) conversion.
Every inbound and outbound interface classified: unchanged, needs adjustment, or replaced. Middleware and partner systems included.
Unit, integration and regression testing built from real business scenarios, with mock conversions or loads to measure downtime.
A rehearsed, hour-by-hour plan with business sign-off points, data validation checks and a rollback decision point.
Dedicated support after go-live with daily triage of incidents, open items and performance until the system is stable.
Typical engagement
A readiness assessment is the first deliverable we recommend, and it is useful whichever approach you end up taking. In a typical assessment we review the SAP Readiness Check output, custom code usage and remediation effort, Business Partner readiness, the interface inventory and data quality for core master data.
The output is a recommendation on approach with the evidence behind it, a list of preparation work that can be done in ECC now, and a realistic plan for the phases above.
Yes, and it saves time later. Customer and vendor data clean-up for Business Partner conversion, retiring unused custom code, and archiving old data can all happen in ECC.
It depends on system size, custom code and data quality, which is why we don't quote a duration before the assessment. The assessment gives you a plan based on your system.
No. S/4HANA can run on-premise, in a private cloud or as a SAP-managed cloud offering. Deployment model and licensing are decisions to make with your SAP account team; we help you understand the operational implications.
Share what you're working on. We'll tell you how we'd approach it and who would do the work.