Converting to SAP S/4HANA brings several challenges for existing SAP customers. Keeping costs to a minimum, preparing the strategic transformation to the new environment, creating the basis for future digital business models using high-quality data, and ensuring compliance with current and future legal regulations – to name just a few. Today, SAP customers need to be even more adaptable and resilient. We explain here how a resilient and sustainable conversion to SAP S/4HANA can be achieved, and in a way that’s fast, simple, compliant, and reduces costs.
Why Resilience in IT Is Key to Survival
The pandemic, global events, and increasing number of cyber-attacks have clearly highlighted why companies need to be able to quickly adapt and respond to unexpected change. Being resilient is key to survival and needs to be built into all stages of the value chain. With the accelerating shift towards digitization, this begins with a resilient IT infrastructure. What’s more, making the right decisions relies on operational data that is accurate, harmonized, and optimized. For SAP customers, this also means establishing a consistent, coherent data structure before converting to SAP S/4HANA, with a view to minimizing errors, slashing ongoing operating costs, and increasing the overall resilience of their ERP landscape.
Separation of the Data Layer From the Application Layer
A resilient organization running SAP also needs access to its historical data as and when the need arises and must ensure adequate security measures to keep the data fully protected. This is where outdated, unmaintained legacy systems can prove to be problematic. DMI delivers the resilience that’s needed by separating the data layer from the application layer and storing data together with its business context on the central, secure JiVS Information Management Platform. After analysis and evaluation, the historical data is transferred from the legacy systems in just one click and separated from the data destined for SAP S/4HANA. The company benefits from a huge reduction in operating costs as these legacy systems can then be switched off. Companies that follow the One Click approach from DMI also meet the data protection requirements of the GDPR and enhance the security of their data, while still being able to access all historical information as per the mandatory retention periods. Whether for auditing purposes or a company carve-out, access to the data is a legal requirement, and separation of the data layer from the application layer not only simplifies the process but also provides a welcome boost for a company’s resilience.
Data-Driven Decisions
Once the historical information has been separated at the data layer, focus is turned to the SAP S/4HANA environment, which is shaped by cleansed, harmonized, and lean data that’s continually maintained and optimized. Thanks to this data transformation, the company has a sustainable, 360° view of its high-quality, accurate, and reliable data, driving key decisions and enabling it to respond much faster to crises and change. This superior level of flexibility and agility strengthens resilience, putting the company in a better position to overcome future challenges.
In today’s increasingly digitized world, there’s both a need and an opportunity for companies to increase their resilience through modern, secure IT infrastructure and applications. Read more on this topic in E-3 Magazine (article in German) and learn how SAP customers can enjoy a resilient and sustainable conversion to SAP S/4HANA with JiVS and the One Click approach. Alternatively, contact our team who’ll be happy to give you tailored advice for your business.
