Journey to S/4HANA with confidence

S/4HANA is SAP’s new intelligent enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that provides real-time data processing and advanced analytics capabilities. It offers numerous benefits, such as improved business agility, simplified processes, enhanced user experience, and better decision-making based on real-time insights. SAP S/4HANA will make previous solutions obsolete by 2030

SAP set a deadline of 31 December 2027 for ending mainstream maintenance support of Business Suite 7 and SAP ECC. After this date, customers who haven’t completed their implementation to S/4HANA can pay for extended maintenance support until 2030.  

Change management – for the switch to be successful it’s vital to get everyone on board. 

Internal skills gaps – according to the most recent UKISUG survey, 92% of SAP users are concerned a lack of skills will slow their migration (up from 71% in 2021). Combining internal business experience with external expertise is critical to success. 

Rushing the process – setting off too soon without a proper roadmap could lead to costs down the line. Your Systems Integrator must work as your partner and set a carefully considered course you can navigate together.  

Increased complexity – unnecessary customisations can make the system harder to maintain, upgrade and integrate. Your implementation should be about your business needs primarily, not the tech. 

Data migration – migrating large volumes of data from legacy systems to S/4HANA can be complex and time-consuming. Ensuring compatibility with the new system with comprehensive end-to-end testing is critical.

We help organisations overcome these challenges by putting people at the heart of your transformation. We define your unique business needs, bridge knowledge gaps, provide enhanced Governance and Continuous Quality, and bring confidence to your entire journey with industry-wide Change Management expertise.

As a partner of SAP and thanks to our extensive experience in SAP implementations and migrations. We have a team of skilled consultants who understand the complexities of SAP S/4HANA and can guide you through a seamless implementation journey. Our proven methodologies, tools, and best practices ensure a successful implementation, minimising risks and maximising the value you can derive from the platform. 

Absolutely. Our Vendor Selection process ensures you partner with the Systems Integrator that best fits your needs. First we’ll assess your business to identify where you are and where you need to be. Then we’ll generate a detailed RFP and run (or assist in) the procurement process. Finally we’ll help you make the best decision for you. And as we’re independent, you know you’re getting unbiased guidance throughout. 

Our Governance frameworks, aligned to the SAP Activate methodology, keep all parties in check and on schedule so everything moves in the right direction and you have peace of mind from the off. Independent contract, scope, and budget governance safeguards your revenue. And, by keeping your business needs clear throughout the journey, we can minimise day-to-day disruption and costly hold-ups.  

Rigorous testing is crucial to the successful implementation of your S/4HANA programme.  
And with 30 years of SAP testing experience, we understand what it takes to deliver it. As an independent Continuous Quality partner, we’ll manage the programme and test throughout the full software delivery lifecycle – allowing for course corrections where necessary. We can help at any and all stages, from development to acceptance testing.

Your whole organisation will be guided by our industry-wide expertise in Change Management. We understand that this is about changing processes that involve your people, not just an updated solution. We act as an extension of your team and keep in constant contact with stakeholders from early on. ​​We also ensure training is provided to embed change across the board. 

There’s no such thing as ‘typical’ when it comes to an implementation project of this size.  
Timelines will vary based on the size of your organisation, complexity of existing systems, data volume, and customisation requirements. Expleo follows an agile project management approach to deliver timely results. We will work with you to define a project timeline that aligns with your business objectives, minimising downtime and ensuring a successful implementation within a reasonable timeframe. 

SAP S/4HANA is the core ERP system that lets businesses modernise and simplify their operations. SAP RISE is a broader offering with a ‘Business Transformation as a Service’ model, which aims to make it easier for customers to move to the cloud. The package includes S/4HANA, as well as other products, tools and services designed to speed up an organisation’s individual digital transformation.  

Innovation is the key, providing frequent updates. Public cloud automatically gets quarterly updates from SAP. Private cloud deployments have a little more control of when they accept the updates, but they are never more than 12-18 months behind the latest release.  

It also promotes keeping your core product clean by enabling customisation on the edge,  
i.e. putting all your custom code in SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), and keeping your core solution standard and fast. 

How it works in a nutshell: 

Hosting – It’s always a cloud offering, but usually  
a Private Cloud 

Private Cloud – relevant for large organisations. Allows more customisation 

Public Cloud – targeted at small / medium organisations. Allows configuration, but very limited customisation 

Managed Service – it’s more of a SaaS model. SAP is responsible for ensuring your solution is technically running smoothly 

Licence – it offers subscription licences, so one predictable monthly payment covers everything from infrastructure to system upgrades 

Contract – it hopes to simplify contracting by having just one contract with SAP