How SAP Customer Evolution Supports the Hybrid Middle Ground

The narrative around Cloud ERP often sounds binary: An organization is either on-premise or in the cloud. However, for many large, complex enterprises, the reality lies somewhere in the middle. For example, an organization’s headquarters may be ready for the cloud, but a manufacturing plant may require the reduced latency offered by an on-premise or co-located data center.

The SAP Customer Evolution program acknowledges this hybrid reality. This program doesn’t force a rip-and-replace mentality that may deter risk-averse organizations. Instead, it focuses on the Clean Core—a strategy that is relevant whether an organization moves to the cloud today, tomorrow, or in three years.

Innovating With a Stable Core

As discussed in SAP’s Move to Cloud ERP webcasts, a Clean Core strategy involves keeping the standard SAP code unmodified and moving customizations to the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). This creates a decoupling effect. The organization’s core system remains stable and easy to upgrade, while its unique business innovations live side-by-side on SAP BTP.

The SAP Customer Evolution program helps SAP users navigate this architecture. It validates the hybrid approach where a business might run SAP S/4HANA Cloud for its subsidiaries or new business units, while keeping its complex corporate core on a longer migration path. This two-tier ERP strategy is a valid and SAP-supported evolution path.

Additionally, by engaging with the program, organizations can identify which parts of their business are ready for the execution phase of their migration framework and which need to remain in the planning phase. This granular approach reduces risk. It allows the organization to demonstrate quick wins in the cloud, such as moving HR or Procurement first, while it takes time to properly untangle the complexities of its core ERP before completing a cloud transition.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Navigating a hybrid landscape requires a balance of pragmatism and vision. Here are three steps for SAPinsiders, who are also enterprise architects, to leverage the Customer Evolution strategy:

1. Adopt Clean Core as policy instead of strategy across the organization. Start enforcing Clean Core principles today, even on on-premise systems. Establish a governance board that rejects customizations or modifications unless necessary. Mandate that all new extensions follow SAP’s documented clean core concepts focusing on using Level A extensions wherever possible. This pre-work will significantly lower the migration costs when the organization eventually pulls the trigger on a complete move to the cloud.
2. Map out the two-tier possibilities. Look at the organization map. Are there acquisitions, subsidiaries, or specific regional offices that could move to SAP Cloud ERP sooner than the headquarters? Use the Customer Evolution engagement to model a Two-Tier scenario. This allows enterprise architects to gain cloud experience and quick wins without risking the stability of the main corporate ledger.
3. Leverage process insights to convince leadership about migration timelines. Use tools like SAP Signavio, available in evolution assessments, to get a data-driven view of the organization’s processes. Identify where the current on-premise processes deviate from the standard. Use this data to justify the hybrid pace, showing leadership exactly why specific units need more time to standardize before they can move to the cloud.