What you need to know about SAP Upgrades
Oxygen has been involved with more than 30 SAP upgrade projects across Australia and New Zealand. We work with our customers to help them understand and plan for the critical project success factors at the outset of their SAP upgrade project.
Every SAP upgrade is unique to the organisation.
Organisations typically upgrade their SAP environment for one or a combination of the following three reasons:
- To reduce software maintenance and support costs
- To take advantage of the new SAP NetWeaver technology platform, which supports services oriented architecture (SOA)
- To leverage the new business process platform afforded to them by SAP Business Suite 7
Detailed planning is key to the success of SAP upgrade projects yet organisations continue to make mistakes, including:
- Lack of engagement with business stakeholders at senior levels
- Beginning without a clear understanding of project scope
- Failing to adequately identify specific business benefits
Business benefits fall into two categories: Subject and Objective.
Individual organisations will judge the success of their SAP upgrade in many different ways. Some organisations will be looking to upgrade without disruption to their users. In this case, a successful SAP upgrade is not noticeable to the end user.
Organisations need to consider a wide range of factors during project planning stages:
- Defining the scope of the SAP upgrade project
- Capturing and communicating desired business benefits and outcomes
- Understanding the business impact of the upgrade
- Assessing the resources required for the project including if there is a need to bring in an external consulting and delivery partner to assist with the upgrade
- Achieving clarity around project budgets and project timelines
