Run, Move, Conversion and Rise

The announcement of the upcoming digital DSAG annual congress clearly bears the word "courage". Yes, it takes a lot of courage to switch to Hana and S/4. This conversion encompasses all layers of an ERP system. It can start with a new operating system, because Linux is well known but has not been introduced everywhere.

Hana as a database platform is new territory for all existing SAP customers. S/4 may have many similarities to ERP/ECC 6.0 under the hood, but is sometimes very different from SAP Business Suite 7 in terms of functionality.

Naturally, SAP had to extend the S/4 deadline from 2025 to 2027/2030 because the technical release change with Run and Move is almost routine work for the CCoE manager, but Conversion and Rise affect the business processes and therefore extend the responsibility to C-level.

Never before has an SAP release change been such a holistic challenge. At the same time, business, organizational, technical and licensing issues need to be addressed. The CEO, CFO and CIO are equally challenged in this digital S/4 conversion.

SAP provides numerous aids with Run, Move, Conversion and Rise, but even if SAP CEO Christian Klein claimed the principle of "one face to the customer" at the Rise presentation, ultimately only a strong SAP partner scene will be able to guarantee the success of the transformation. In E-3 Extra you will find the leading partners for a successful S/4 roadmap.

Things are going well, according to many in the SAP community. Yes, that is correct. A new market study from Switzerland also confirms the robust state of existing customers. But we also hear that things are going well despite SAP! When it comes to the overall success of the SAP community, the enormous commitment of existing customers and the great dedication of partners are all too often overlooked.

SAP software has always been good, but much of the success comes under the supervision of the CIO and IT manager. These front-line experts need the support and knowledge of SAP partners. This E-3 Extra provides the information and education necessary to ensure the sustained success of the SAP community.

Over the past decades, SAP software has evolved from a standard business management program into a powerful tool and platform for digital transformation. As a result, there is not only a vibrant SAP community and the E-3 platform for information and educational work, but also a C-level in the economy that incorporates SAP software into its strategic and operational planning.

If you are seriously interested in digital transformation, don't wait until SAP revives the Leonardo program and presents the fifth no-code/low-code development platform after Mendix, Ruum, Signavio and AppGyver. As the DSAG user association noted a few years ago, Business Suite 7 and AnyDB can also be used to create a good basis for digital conversion.

Assuming the necessary knowledge, IIoT, AI/ML, blockchain, edge computing and many other challenges can be solved quite excellently with the tools and services of the hyperscalers. And because SAP very consistently follows the OData model (Open Data Protocol), consolidated data traffic between the applications is ensured.

This means that "Rise" has its place in the SAP community, but not as Rise with SAP, but also as Rise with Hyperscaler and partners. The digitization concept has been given a new look by SAP, but is hardly any different from Run Simple, Embrace, Move or Conversion. So it's better to go straight to Rise with SAP Partner.