The biggest challenge in S/4HANA migration is not the technology. It lies in the decisions companies must make beforehand. Those who simply switch to S/4HANA often carry over existing complexity and shift it into the future.
Anyone who misses the deadline for migration by the end of 2027 can make use of the extended maintenance offered, but will also incur additional costs. The migration to S/4HANA is not only a technical necessity, but also offers direct advantages and opportunities in the application. These include improved clarity, reduced process complexity, and faster data processing.
AEB combines deeply integrated add-ons and flexible extensions, tailored to your target architecture (cloud or on-premises) and consistently aligned with the Clean Core Approach.
A successful migration begins with thorough planning. Decide early on whether you want to pursue a greenfield or brownfield approach. The greenfield approach means a completely new implementation of SAP S/4HANA, while brownfield is a technical conversion of the existing SAP system.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
In reality, many companies adopt a hybrid approach, where targeted optimization is combined with proven practices.
Many migration projects focus on tools and schedules. The real leverage, however, lies in architectural decisions: What remains in the SAP core – and what is intentionally kept outside?
SAP’s Clean Core Approach is focused on maintaining the system core with minimal changes and integrating extensions cleanly.
RISE with SAP aids this approach by merging migration and transformation into an integrated model. Companies benefit from standardized processes, reduced complexity, and improved maintainability.
For additional features, modification-free extensions can be used without burdening the SAP core.
You can find out more about the AEB extensions for SAP on our product page.
Add-ons and extensions are a central component of modern S/4HANA architectures – especially in the context of Clean Core.
Differences at a glance:
With add-ons and extensions, you can flexibly adapt your SAP ecosystem to your requirements, without unnecessary in-house developments.
Especially in global trade, features such as classification, preference calculation, or sanctions list screening can be specifically supplemented.
The SAP core remains as unchanged as possible, while extensions are flexibly connected.
The result:
Relevant content is automatically updated via connected services from AEB:
Extensions can be implemented in the existing system and reused during the migration.
There are three models available for operating S/4HANA – the key factor is how much standardization, flexibility, and control you need:
Avoids later coordination issues and delays in the project.
Ensures that all necessary capacities are realistically scheduled.
Lays the foundation to optimize specifically instead of migrating blindly.
Reduces adaptation effort and prevents surprises during migration.
Helps to avoid unnecessary in-house developments and to make greater use of the standard.
Ensures a low-maintenance ecosystem that is ready for updates.
Enables early detection of risks and targeted countermeasures.
Ensures that processes are stable and optimization potentials are utilized.
The migration to SAP S/4HANA is inevitable. What matters, however, is how you approach it.
Plan your next steps with us. We support you in your project. Contact our SAP experts
