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Approyo CEO on Reasons to Migrate to SAP HANA Now

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Did you know by the end of next year, over 212 billion things will be connected, and that mobile users will grow to 9 billion? That’s a lot of users. With a 30{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} increase in demand for SAP HANA coupled with the recent news that the mainstream support for the ECC platform will end, Approyo’s CEO is calling on the users to know the importance of the migration.

InsideSAP interviewed Approyo’s CEO, Christopher Carter, and got his thoughts on the SAP HANA migration.

Carter shared that he was convinced to go back to SAP after a friend, who happened to be the Vice President for the German software company, told him about the future for SAP HANA. He shared:

“We talked for hours about what SAP HANA was going to be. I took it as a sign and flew out to Waldorf, Germany, to work and learn with Vishal Sikka & Hasso Platner.”

He said that they became one of the first 20 SAP Startup Focus program partners within the first year and have grown onward and upward ever since.

There are five years left fo ECC, but users are encouraged to make the transition to SAP HANA now instead of waiting for the deadline for various reasons.

Approyo leader tells the reasons to do the move

Carter shared that one of the reasons is business value. The newest support and additional solutions could potentially impact the business of the user. He emphasised that the shift should not be underestimated because “it’s much more than just technology.”

He said that future-proofing IT investment is crucial. He shared that S/4 HANA 1909 add-ins and best practices made available to customers is advantageous in future-proofing investments. Carter also talked about bridging the gap and being up-to-dare instead of struggling with the updates in the long run. He reminded users:

“The further you fall behind now, the harder this is going to be for your team and anyone coming in to assist you with that upgrade.”

He explained even further that one of the biggest pains of the upgrade migration avoiding the “double” move now.

“If you are running an earlier version than ECC, you will need to make two upgrades/migrations, and you need to get those going now.”

Carter talked about the impact of the update on support, such as less knowledge being available to users within the next five years and a shortage of talents in the marketplace. He shared how Approyo became a powerful tool because of the experiences they have accumulated from completing upgrades and migrations.

Regarding the 2025 deadline, Carter said that some people who haven’t made the shift think that the date will be extended, but they should be well aware that SAP will not move the deadline. He said:

“They want HANA installed at every company running SAP Solutions. It’s not about who is going to blink first; it’s about the technology, It’s about the next step in the evolution, it’s about the next wave of technological advances, and it truly is about the customer and the value they will receive. Therefore, the advantages are real, and the deadline is real.”

Preparing for the migration

Using the word “carefully,” Carter shared how users should prepare for SAP S/4 HANA. He explained:

“SAP has taken great strides to become more customer-friendly and to create an extremely powerful solution. The migration to S/4 is complicated and stressful, so we highly recommend getting a team of experts like Approyo, who have performed this activity over 100 times.”

Measuring the success of a migration

When asked about how can successful migration be measured, Carter said that it would be based on the ability of a customer to leverage the solutions in the S/4 catalog without losing their data and capabilities. It also involves all customers, end-users, partners, and staff being able to use SAP S/4, on a day-to-day basis within their organizations. 

Carter shared some things that need to be done before, during, and after the migration. Most of which were presented during the SAP TechEd 2019 which can be found on Approyo’s website.

Approyo is a company built on customer satisfaction within the SAP ecosystem. Carter said that their goal is to make sure our clients are the best-run, best-supported organizations in the world. With over 300 cloud landscapes under management, with over 108 upgrades already under our belt and with the best and brightest global team around the world, they want to make sure that their knowledge is transpferred to organisations to help them succeed with their SAP environments.

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