SIDsar consulting


S4HANA IMPLEMENTATION DILEMMAs
Let us Clarify
There are various approaches to SAP S/4HANA: Greenfield, Brownfield, S4HANA migrations, Upgrades, 1-step migration, 2-Step migration & selective migration etc. To figure out which approach is the best fit for your organization and your SAP journey and to understand the pros and cons of each approach, follow the section below :
There are two main strategies to consider, when companies want to implement SAP S/4HANA : the greenfield approach (New Implementation) and the brownfield approach.
The greenfield and brownfield approach thus represent different options for converting an SAP ERP system to S/4HANA: With the greenfield approach, companies undertake a completely new installation of the SAP S/4HANA system. The brownfield approach stands for a software upgrade that preserves all data and settings.
There is also a middle path ( Selective migration ) between greenfield and brownfield. Selective migration is a strategic approach based on brownfield. If companies choose this approach, SAP Consulting team copies the old system without data and convert it to S/4HANA. This empty system is then populated with legacy data through data migration. The migration can be managed individually: For example, the experts migrate only a defined section of data as needed.
The challenge thus for organizations is to holistically evaluate and pick the right approach & strategy for S/4HANA. This is the most crucial step in the whole Digitalization and future-proofing exercise of a company.
Talk to our expert for free to figure out what's the best approach for your organization

SAP Core Enablement
Today's S/4HANA deployments favor a streamlined philosophy known as clean core: preserve the integrity of the base system and steer away from heavy customizations to its foundation. This discipline allows businesses to operate with greater speed and efficiency, staying nimble enough to evolve alongside shifting market demands. At SIDSAR, we design a clean core architecture for you — relocating bespoke enhancements to the SAP Business Technology Platform and layering in accelerators through parallel, non-intrusive extensions, so growth and innovation never come at the expense of a stable, dependable foundation.
PRO'S
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Completely new, uniform, lean system landscape
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Removal of contaminated sites and reduction of complexity
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Use of the SAP standard and best practices
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More flexibility through standardization
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Advantages through fast access to innovations ("cloud first")
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Standardized, cleansed master data base
CON'S
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Comprehensive testing of the new processes required
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Usually somewhat more time is required (analyses in advance, simplification and transformation of processes, comprehensive data cleansing)
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More intensive change management may be required
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More extensive user training may be necessary
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Possibly higher costs of reimplementation
SAP Clean Core is an implementation philosophy for S/4HANA that favors ready-made, standard capabilities over extensive tailoring — steering clear of the tangled, hard-to-manage environments that heavy modification typically produces. The concept is straightforward: leave the core untouched. Bespoke functionality is instead shifted to SAP BTP through oData or microservice frameworks and rolled out as accelerators, leading to cleaner deployments and smoother future upgrades.
Our Core Enablement practice benchmarks your current business operations against what S/4HANA already delivers natively, pinpoints where gaps exist, and charts the way forward — whether through code cleanup, sunsetting obsolete features, or migrating custom logic onto BTP.
Key Offerings
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Clean core strategy evaluation and extensibility architecture planning
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Mapping business processes to S/4HANA's native, out-of-the-box functionality
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Identifying gaps between existing customizations and standard S/4HANA processes
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Guidance on custom code remediation, retirement, and BTP re-platforming
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Building side-by-side extensions on SAP BTP with oData and microservice architecture
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Deploying accelerators as custom applications on BTP
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Assessing upgrade readiness and planning the roadmap for S/4HANA
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Designing authorization concepts and engineering role structures

GREENFIELD
S4HANA - implementations
GREEN, FRESH & NEW - ALL THE WAY
The Greenfield approach stands for a complete new beginning, a new start with SAP S/4HANA "on a Greenfield site". This means complete reengineering and the possibility of comprehensive simplification of processes. This is based on the latest technological innovations. With the Greenfield approach, the new implementation is always close to the SAP standard and best practices.
All processes and systems are completely reinstalled and configured during the implementation. In the course of this, all environmental systems will be reassessed and replaced if necessary.
The new implementation gives companies the opportunity to put existing in-house developments and third-party systems to the test and to investigate whether these functions are not already available in the SAP S/4HANA core and best practices.
Classical in-house developments in the core system are no longer up to date. Today they are being replaced by new architectures. However, these architectures can only be achieved with the Greenfield approach.
In addition, the new architectures allow a piece of the software to be permanently modernized through regular and rapid updates.
Where large parts of the software used to be renewed by major upgrades, today the focus is on continuous updating of subareas. This means that basically no large new installations are necessary, as the software is completely renewed every few years.
Current business processes will not be affected by this strategic approach, because the existing SAP system - for example SAP ERP 6.0 - will continue to operate parallel to the changeover until the new S/4HANA system is go-live.
The Greenfield approach is suitable for both new and existing customers. Especially when the existing systems are very heterogeneous and complex, companies should consider the Greenfield approach. Only he makes the transition to the "new world" of S/4HANA with SAP Best Practices possible. It also enables the elimination of old workarounds and gives companies greater flexibility for future requirements.
The Greenfield strategy is the way for everyone who wants to exploit the full potential of SAP S/4HANA and increase data, Process, Analytics, best practices quality. SAP S/4HANA is the basis for new business models and the technologies of the future. Those who rely on Greenfield are looking for more flexibility, a higher degree of innovation, higher data quality and fast, lean processes. Few pros and cons are discussed below, for a full understanding of this approach, pls contact us
PRO'S
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Completely new, uniform, lean system landscape
-
Removal of contaminated sites and reduction of complexity
-
Use of the SAP standard and best practices
-
More flexibility through standardization
-
Advantages through fast access to innovations ("cloud first")
-
Standardized, cleansed master data base
CON'S
-
Comprehensive testing of the new processes required
-
Usually somewhat more time is required (analyses in advance, simplification and transformation of processes, comprehensive data cleansing)
-
More intensive change management may be required
-
More extensive user training may be necessary
-
Possibly higher costs of reimplementation
