SAP Cloud

Gain a Strategic Advantage with Lemongrass Clean Core AI

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Key Takeaways

⇨ Adopting a Clean Core strategy for SAP Cloud ERP is essential for reducing technical debt and enhancing agility, allowing organizations to quickly adopt innovations like AI-driven features while maintaining system integrity.

⇨ Implementing a Clean Core goes beyond cost savings; it improves security, compliance, and data integrity, ultimately positioning the business to respond faster to market changes and maintain a competitive edge.

⇨ Utilizing tools like Lemongrass Clean Core AI can accelerate the transition to a Clean Core by automating code analysis and modernization, enabling organizations to optimize their SAP environment with minimal disruption.

In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, technology leaders must ensure that their enterprise systems do more than simply function—they must create strategic value. For organizations running SAP, that often means confronting the complexity and technical debt that builds up over years of customization. The path forward lies in embracing a Clean Core strategy. 

Adopting a clean core approach for SAP Cloud ERP is no longer a matter of technical preference. It has become a business imperative. By minimizing modifications to standard SAP code, companies unlock greater agility, ensure seamless upgrades, and maintain system integrity—positioning SAP as a true driver of innovation rather than a constraint. But moving to a clean core can seem daunting without the right tools and insights. That’s where Lemongrass Clean Core AI comes in, providing intelligent automation and analysis to accelerate and simplify the transformation. 

Beyond Cost: The Strategic Case for a Clean Core 

The benefits of a clean core go far beyond reducing maintenance costs—they’re deeply strategic. By minimizing custom code, organizations gain the agility to adopt SAP’s latest innovations quickly, including AI-driven features and real-time analytics. This positions the business to respond faster to market changes and maintain a competitive edge. 

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Security and compliance also improve significantly. Clean core systems align with SAP best practices, reducing vulnerabilities and simplifying audits. With fewer customizations, organizations can streamline upgrades, reduce downtime, and lower the total cost of ownership. 

Equally important is the flexibility that comes from using the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) for extensions. This decoupled architecture allows businesses to innovate rapidly without disrupting core processes or compromising system stability. 

A clean core also supports better data integrity. By relying on standard SAP functionality, organizations reduce the risk of inconsistencies that undermine reporting and decision-making. And with fewer unexpected behaviors or outdated modifications, the user experience becomes more intuitive, reliable, and productive. 

In short, clean core isn’t just an IT strategy—it’s a catalyst for transformation, resilience, and long-term business value. 

How Lemongrass Clean Core AI Accelerates Transformation 

Lemongrass’s Clean Core AI combines deep SAP expertise with generative AI to make the move to clean core more efficient and scalable. Here’s how it works: 

  • Automated analysis. The platform scans all Z* objects and evaluates usage to identify where efficiencies can be gained. 
  • AI-driven recommendations. GenAI generates functional specifications and recommends actions for each object—retiring what’s unused, reverting to SAP standards where possible, and exploring third-party alternatives as needed. 
  • Code modernization. Lemongrass Clean Core AI rewrites code according to clean core best practices: 
  • Reuse: Refactor in ABAP Classic or Cloud. 
  • Replatform: Move to ABAP Cloud on BTP for better performance and scalability. 
  • Refactor: Rebuild in node.js on BTP, with built-in security and automated testing. 
  • Policy alignment. Organizations can embed their own naming conventions, security guidelines, and development policies into the AI model to ensure consistency and compliance. 
  • Dependency insights. An auto-generated dependency map helps visualize relationships between objects and prioritize changes strategically. 

A Strategic Roadmap for Business Technology Leaders 

To begin your Clean Core transformation, the first step is to thoroughly assess your current SAP environment. Conducting a detailed audit of custom code, especially Z* objects, will give you the visibility needed to understand the scope and complexity of your system. This foundational insight is essential to planning an effective transition. 

Next, align your transformation efforts with broader business objectives. Whether your organization is seeking faster access to innovation, improved system stability, stronger security, or smoother compliance, clearly defining your strategic priorities will help guide decision-making and measure success throughout the process. 

It’s also important to build a compelling business case that communicates the long-term value of Clean Core beyond IT. Highlight how the transformation can reduce operational risk, enable innovation, and improve performance across the enterprise. Engaging stakeholders early ensures alignment and fosters cross-functional support. 

To reduce complexity and accelerate your journey, consider partnering with an experienced provider like Lemongrass. Their Clean Core AI platform combines automation, generative AI, and domain expertise to streamline transformation and minimize disruption to business operations. 

Finally, make the most of SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) as a foundation for future innovation. By shifting customizations away from the core and onto BTP, your organization can build new capabilities faster, integrate emerging technologies more easily, and ensure long-term system agility without compromising core integrity. 

What this means for SAPinsiders 

Prioritize a clean core strategy to future-proof your SAP environment. A clean core minimizes technical debt, enabling faster adoption of SAP innovations, easier upgrades, and stronger system security. Start by auditing your current customizations, then define a roadmap aligned with strategic business outcomes. Embracing this approach positions your SAP landscape as an adaptable, scalable platform that supports long-term growth and digital transformation without constant reinvention or disruptive maintenance cycles. 

Leverage AI to accelerate and de-risk your SAP transformation. Tools like Lemongrass Clean Core AI can automate code analysis, suggest intelligent refactoring options, and optimize existing assets with minimal disruption. Business leaders should explore AI-driven platforms not only to streamline clean core adoption but also to reduce reliance on manual code reviews and slow legacy processes. Embedding AI into ERP modernization efforts ensures a faster, smarter transformation and frees up valuable resources for strategic innovation. 

Extend functionality through SAP BTP, not core customizations. To maintain system integrity and enable innovation, shift enhancements from the SAP core to the SAP Business Technology Platform. This decoupled architecture allows you to develop, scale, and iterate quickly—without compromising upgrade paths or creating long-term maintenance challenges. Encourage your teams to explore BTP extensibility models and align them with enterprise development policies to drive agility while maintaining governance and compliance. 

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