Modernizing SAP Analytics Architecture During an S/4HANA Transition
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Key Takeaways
⇨ Many companies are upgrading their SAP Analytics architectures due to SAP’s upcoming end of mainstream maintenance and the need for analytics investment to support S/4HANA upgrades.
⇨ These best-of-breed architectures combine SAP and non-SAP products, requiring more effort for integration and business process interpretation compared to full-stack SAP technology or best-in-suite strategies.
⇨ Protiviti recommends looking beyond just upgrading a single system and evaluating overall capabilities in business intelligence, analytics, data science, middleware/integration, custom application development and robotic process automation.
Many companies are upgrading their SAP Analytics architectures due to SAP’s upcoming end of mainstream maintenance and the need for analytics investment to support S/4HANA upgrades. The evolving analytics market offers features beyond traditional environments, leading to confusion about the optimal SAP Analytics landscape. Some organizations modernize using non-SAP environments, gaining new capabilities but losing future integration with SAP solutions like S/4HANA, Fieldglass, SuccessFactors, and Ariba. Others use data lake technologies or non-SAP tools, facing complex development cycles and potential audit issues. Best-of-breed architectures combining SAP and non-SAP products require more integration effort compared to full-stack SAP technology. SAP’s matured analytics and Business Technology Platform (BTP) streamline SAP data processing and integration. Protiviti recommends re-platforming landscapes and evaluating overall IT capabilities, considering business intelligence, analytics, data science, integration, custom development, and RPA. Key modernization considerations include adopting new organizational models, exploring new capabilities, using a best-of-suite approach for smaller organizations, and intentional best-of-breed/data fabric for larger organizations, with incremental technology adoption.
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