Live from SAPinsider 2023: Legacy Data Complexity a Barrier for Finance Teams
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Key Takeaways
⇨ Finance teams are buzzing with enthusiasm as they gain greater understanding of how migrating to SAP S/4HANA can unlock unprecedented finance process improvement opportunities.
⇨ One such opportunity includes reporting in SAP Analytics Cloud, as FP&A professionals can leverage intelligent reporting capabilities for greater accuracy in planning and forecasting.
⇨ However, in conversations with finance teams, concerns about realizing the full value of reporting and analytics when dealing significant legacy data complexity surfaced repeatedly.
Connecting with SAP customers attending finance track pre-conference sessions at the SAPinsider 2023 Conference in Las Vegas presents a unique opportunity for understanding what is top of mind for our SAPinsider finance community. In conversations with SAPinsiders on site, the most consistent answer is data — primarily the challenges of legacy data complexity as organizations evaluate plans SAP S/4HANA for pre- and post-implementation. Recent research across our SAPinsider finance community reveals that executive demand for reporting, planning, and insights from finance is a key driver for many organizations considering a move to SAP S/4HANA. Yet when talking with SAP users attending finance sessions, many expressed concerns about the complexity of legacy data and how it impacts their SAP S/4HANA transition roadmap.
During one of the pre-conference lab sessions I attended, roughly half of the attendees raised their hands when asked to confirm if they were currently implementing or running SAP S/4HANA at their organization. However, very few acknowledged they were using SAP Analytics Cloud for reporting, despite all the benefits of enhanced reporting, planning, forecasting, and variance analysis presented in the session. When I asked a few attendees why they were yet to adopt SAP Analytics Cloud for reporting, many shared stories that started with problems due to legacy data complexity challenges.
For many organizations, the challenge with legacy data is that it has been built up over time as a series of manual processes, siloed databases, and proprietary systems. This makes it difficult for organizations to understand the quality of their data and how this data should be integrated into SAP S/4HANA solutions. One planning professional representing a global grocer asked, “What do I do with my ten years of historical data?” Her associate then shared that they are on SAP S/4HANA and running reporting on SAP BPC. Concerns regarding the fit with their system integrator dominated the conversation. The project was bogged by incorrect scoping and overly complex and costly solutions to address master data needs. Furthermore, this finance team believed “the ball was dropped” regarding data migration and harmonization. The finance team members suggested the process lacked a global owner, thus suffering from siloed data consultants failing to integrate data enterprise-wide effectively.
Another SAP customer was desperate to understand the cost-benefit of moving to SAP Analytics Cloud for reporting from OneStream, as her organization is committed to an SAP S/4HANA migration. Data migration was one of her chief concerns among many.
SAP S/4HANA offers an attractive future state for organizations looking to implement powerful planning and insight generation capabilities. However, challenges related to legacy data must be addressed before an organization can fully realize the benefits of implementing SAP S/4HANA and SAP Analytics Cloud for reporting. For example, poor harmonization between existing systems can lead to duplicated or missing data that may not be accurately reflected in analytics or reports generated within SAP Analytics Cloud. Furthermore, manual processes used before implementation may cause inconsistencies. This can lead to errors and significant costs related to rework or downstream corrections.
Ultimately, it is critical for organizations to identify their legacy data complexities early on and develop strategies for addressing them effectively in concert with an experienced and trusted partner throughout the migration process. By doing so, organizations will maximize the ability to generate accurate reporting and insights in SAP S/4HANA and SAP Analytics Cloud.
