Three Waves to a Centralized ERP: VOITH’s Phased SAP Cloud ERP Private Migration 

VOITH is migrating its existing SAP S/4HANA systems to the cloud in a phased approach based on the SAP Cloud ERP Private (formerly RISE with SAP) model, allowing the historical technology firm to remain globally competitive through modern software delivery. 

The Heidenheim, Germany-based company designs and builds large industrial systems, such as hydropower turbines used to generate electricity and equipment for paper production, and supports customers in operating and maintaining those assets across global manufacturing environments.  

Those asset-intensive businesses span global production sites and complex supply chains, all of which rely heavily on SAP to support core finance, manufacturing, and logistics processes. 

As the company expanded, its on-premises SAP landscape grew, resulting in a highly customized environment that was increasingly difficult to scale, govern, and modernize. 

Facing rising infrastructure complexity, compliance pressure, and the need for faster access to operational data, VOITH initiated a strategic transformation of its ERP foundation. Rather than pursuing a lift-and-shift cloud migration or a narrow technical upgrade, the company aligned its modernization roadmap with SAP through the SAP Cloud ERP Private program. 

At the core of the initiative is the move toward SAP S/4HANA in the cloud, combined with standardized operating models and embedded security, compliance, and lifecycle management. 

From Customized On-Premises ERP to a Standardized Cloud Core 

VOITH’s legacy SAP environment included 110 SAP systems on-premises in its own data center, operating stably, and cost-optimized. However, they also reflected decades of incremental customization designed to support diverse business units and regional requirements. 

Dietmar Schmidt, senior manager sales, logistics & central apps at VOITH explained, “Our SAP operations, including the supporting team, were excellent. Nevertheless, it was clear: In order to remain competitive, we need to strategically realign our IT, moving away from being a traditional operator and towards becoming a strategic enabler of digital business models.” 

Through SAP Cloud ERP Private, VOITH is transitioning to a cloud-based S/4HANA environment designed around clean-core principles. According to SAP, the migration is organized into three distinct phases, with the final goal of establishing a cloud-only IT environment by the third quarter of 2028. It began in April 2024 when VOITH Turbo’s S/4HANA and BI systems were moved to the cloud. Subsequent phases covered HR, BI, master data, and the VOITH Paper ERP landscape, with a final wave now underway to consolidate and migrate remaining VOITH Hydro and Turbo systems. 

Custom developments were reviewed, reduced, or decoupled where possible, with extensions increasingly positioned on cloud-native platforms rather than embedded deep within the ERP core. This shift reduced technical debt while preserving the flexibility required by VOITH’s industrial operations. 

By offloading routine maintenance tasks to the cloud provider, the company aims to reposition its IT department as a strategic partner focused on advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. According to Schmidt, freeing internal teams from infrastructure operations was critical to shifting focus toward new technologies. “Important innovation topics such as artificial intelligence, integration via the Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), and digital service solutions require the freedom of our experts,” he said. “Last but not least, the cloud migration offers us the opportunity to participate early in technological developments such as generative and agentic AI or SAP Joule,” Schmidt added. 

Preparing the ERP Core for Future Innovation 

While the initial focus of the program was stabilization and simplification, VOITH’s cloud ERP foundation is explicitly designed to support future initiatives, including advanced analytics, automation, and AI-driven use cases. By separating innovation layers from the transactional core, the company reduces risk while improving its ability to adopt new SAP capabilities as they mature. 

“Routine tasks such as patching or security notes will be eliminated. This will create new opportunities for topics such as SAP Fiori, cloud integration, or the use of AI in the context of SAP S/4HANA,” Schmidt said. 

Reflecting on the positive impact of the project, Schmidt said, “VOITH IT will fundamentally change, from an operational organization to an innovation partner for the business.” 

The architectural and operating model changes underway at VOITH reflect a broader shift among industrial SAP customers. ERP modernization is increasingly less about a one-time go-live and more about building a continuously adaptable platform that allows IT organizations to move beyond system operations and support ongoing innovation. 

What This Means for SAPinsiders 

Future AI and automation readiness depend on today’s ERP architectural decisions. By standardizing the core and modernizing operations now, companies like VOITH are positioning themselves to adopt AI-enabled processes without destabilizing mission-critical systems. This shift is increasingly being driven by AI itself: SAPinsider research shows that 43% of respondents say access to generative AI capabilities is influencing their thinking around SAP Cloud ERP and SAP Cloud ERP Private, underscoring how AI readiness is becoming a material factor in ERP modernization decisions rather than a downstream benefit. 

SAP Cloud ERP Private can be used to deliberately reset SAP architecture. Rather than lifting its existing landscape into the cloud, VOITH used the migration to rationalize systems, reduce accumulated customization, and introduce more standardized operating models. For SAPinsiders, the takeaway is clear: RISE projects can be viewed as an opportunity for an architectural reset, not just a like-for-like infrastructure transition. 

VOITH’s move reinforces the practical value of clean-core principles in large, complex SAP environments. Decades of customization had created scale and governance challenges that slowed change and increased operational overhead. For organizations considering a similar move, this case illustrates why addressing custom code and extension strategy early is essential to maintaining agility throughout and after a cloud transition.