Data Migration Approaches to S/4HANA

Publish Date: December 13, 2022

Are you in your transition to a new SAP S/4HANA Cloud system?

Organizations with complex system landscapes must take a nuanced and

personalized data migration approach that best suits their business needs. A
well-defined data migration strategy will aid them in ensuring business continuity,
embracing innovation, and remaining relevant and competitive. Therefore,
choosing the correct data provisioning tool for transporting data between various
systems is essential.

We have discussed the Best Practices that apply to each SAP S/4HANA Data
Migration (Hyperlink) Roadmap phase. Summarising the key aspects here

Yash Data Migration Services:

 1. Extraction: It is the process of reading and extracting data from multiple
heterogeneous sources such as Flat files, Excel, XML, Databases (Oracle, DB2,
S4Hana, SQL Server), etc
2. Cleansing: The following process converts the source non-unique data format
into the target unique format and helps to identify irrelevant data and correct
incomplete, duplicated data.
3. Transformation: Post cleansing, the transformation process is implemented to
convert all the acquired data per the business requirements.
4. Validation: In this step, we need to do Format, Lookup values, and mandatory
checks, after which enterprises approve the data to proceed with Data Loads to
the targets.
5. Loading: In the final step of this process, data loading into the target system,
post ratification and approval from the organization, is done.

This Blog will help you understand the YASH-recommended Data Migration
Services and provide an overview of the 3 Approaches to the SAP S/4HANA
Migration services Journey.

Approach-1: SAP Data Services (SDS): This is an ETL Tool poised to improve
the data quality and migration-related services. Under SDS, the steps undertaken
are as follows:

 Extraction- Extraction of Data from diverse heterogeneous sources,

including – Flat files, Excel, XML, and Databases (Oracle, DB2, S4Hana,
SQL Server)

 Transformation– The data is standardized for the target system during

the transformation process, which is the most challenging stage. It involves
combining various data sources, deduplication, aggregations, and any
other business processes indispensable to turn the source data into the
target data structures

 Validation (Clean) – The validation step detects and records the existence
of data-quality errors from the target side

 Loading (Deliver) – This is the final step that involves loading the
information into target systems or generating flat files
Job ScreenShot:

Approach-2: Smart Data Integration (SDI): This ETL tool supports data
extraction from various source systems to SAP HANA. As it is an inbuilt solution,
separate licenses are eliminated. SDI provides tools to access source data,
provision, replicate, and transform data in SAP HANA on-premise or the
cloud. These tools then allow data loading in batches or real-time (for cloud or
on-premise) from different sources by deploying pre-built adapters.
Flowgraph:

Approach-3: SAP Data Migration Cockpit (DMC): This Approach involves

three different methods for transferring data to S/4HANA, viz;

 File Method

 Staging tables

 Direct Transform

SAP S/4HANA migration cockpit is the best approach for enterprises that have
installed SAP S/4HANA (new implementation scenarios) and want to migrate
their business data from SAP or non-SAP software systems. A migration object
enables transferring data from SAP S/4HANA to a specified business object. It
details the requisite source and target structures, including their relationships.

The cockpit involves mapping information for the appropriate fields and any
conversion rules used to convert values from source fields to target fields.
Enterprises can thus utilize SAP’s pre-set migration objects for their data transfer
requirements.

File Method: It is necessary to download the template file before populating it

with relevant business data for relevant migration objects; before carrying out the
below steps, we would need to upload the file in the SAP S/4HANA data
migration cockpit.

Step 1: The loaded template from the Fiori Migration Cockpit is needed. For this
– Open Fiori by Transaction Code /UI2/FLP and click ‘Migrate Your Data.’

Step 2: Choose “Create->Migrate Data Using Staging Table.”

Step 3: Fill in the project name and keep the option below. Click Step 2

Step4: Double confirm the project name and object and then create the project

Step5: Click the down arrow and choose “Download Template,” and save the
template
Step7: Fill in the correct field’s value in the template as shown below

Staging: In this step, the staging tables are created automatically (in an SAP
HANA DB schema). Post which, the population is done in the staging tables with
business data before transferring data from the former to the target SAP
S/4HANA system

Step1: Select create🡪Data migration using a staging table

Step2: Enter Name 🡪Select Local: DB Schema the click on Step2

Step3: Select the Local package 🡪and click on Step3

Step4: Double confirm the project name and object and then create the project
Step5: Click on Table “1”

Step6: Display the Staging table

Direct transfer: Transfer the SAP ERP source system data to the target SAP
S/4HANA system. In addition to providing access to the source system through
an RFC connection, Direct Transfer also supports data migration scenarios from
other applications. The SAP S/4HANA migration cockpit is designed for an initial
data load for the SAP S/4HANA (new) implementation scenario. However, it is
not necessary to keep data in sync between systems, realize a continuous
exchange or flow of data, or establish an integration scenario.

Steps:

Create new Project 🡪 Select Migrate Data Directly from the SAP System
Initiate the process

Please find below to identify the Approaches aligned with your Business
needs:
Are you curious how Yash Technologies can help you choose the proper
Data Migration Approaches to S4HANA?

Yash is one of the most prominent SAP service providers globally. Our bespoke
data management services are ideal for Data projects that integrate technology
with best practices for Data Migration and Governance solutions. Our SAP Data
Centre of Excellence (CoE) develops innovative frameworks and solutions on
S/4HANA, HANA Cloud, and Business Analytics, among others, and has
successfully helped clients reduce time to delivery and automate complex
processes while managing data at scale.
Connect with our experts to choose the right approach.

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Best Practices of Migration Phases to S/4HANA

Publish Date: December 13, 2022

Are you looking to migrate your data to SAP S/4HANA?

Easier said than done; migrating to SAP S/4HANA is a complex process. It
requires proper structuring, testing, and best practices to do it efficiently,
effectively, comprehensively, and securely. Moving to S/4HANA is undoubtedly a
transformative move. But often, companies find themselves in a fix when they
discover the intricacies involved in the migration process. YASH can help with its
five best practices for migration to S4/HANA.

Organizations must implement a successful data migration strategy to accelerate

the seamless transition to SAP S/4HANA services. Transferring data into SAP
S/4HANA could be complex; a structured, tested, and best-practices-centric data
migration methodology is needed.

During the planning stage of migration to SAP S/4HANA, the company should
evaluate data in its present framework to determine how to move, use, and
manage data. This approach will aid companies in reducing risk, maintaining
administrative consistency, and enhancing ROI on their SAP S/4HANA
implementation with the help of robust data management.

Remember that navigating each phase of the SAP S/4HANA Data Migration
Roadmap is crucial for success. So, let’s look at what additional services YASH
Technologies offers in the SAP S/4HANA migration journey.

YASH S/4 HANA Migration Services:

The following are the standard services:

Extraction:

Data extraction is likely the most critical step in the Extract/Translate/Load (ETL)
process because it entails deciding which data is most helpful in attaining the
overall ETL goal. At YASH Technologies, data extraction for migration to the SAP
S/4HANA cloud begins with reading data from multiple heterogeneous sources,
including Flat files, Excel, XML, and Databases (Oracle, DB2, S4Hana, SQL
Server), etc. We assist organizations in tapping into business insights faster and
making better decisions by rapidly extracting raw data from critical sources.

Cleansing:
Data cleansing converts source non-unique data format into target unique data
format, identifying irrelevant data and correcting incomplete, duplicated data.
Data verification is an essential step in the data cleansing process that ensures
that the data is accessible, comprehensive, and in the proper format. Once the
migration has started, our experts continue to verify the data to optimize it before
migration. Since data cleansing adds or changes values, data impact analysis
guarantees that these modifications do not affect other source and target
systems elements. It also examines the impact of data purification on other
systems that now utilize the data and those that may use it after the move
finishes. It is crucial to explore these areas to ensure that we can identify
potential errors beforehand.

Transformation:

The transformation entails running several functions and applying rules to the
extracted data to turn it into a standardized format that meets the target
database’s schema requirements. The data extracted and the business
requirements determine the manipulation necessary for transformation. Quality
data sources will not necessitate numerous modifications; however other
datasets may do so. YASH Technologies uses best-practices-centric
transformation techniques to fulfill technical and business criteria for your target
database.

Validation:

Data validation aims to ensure that the data was loaded correctly and to the
extent required to meet business requirements. At YASH Technologies, we
understand that business users’ data should be usable and accurately
represented as intended. Our experts take the time to read through the data and
look for inconsistencies to understand if the latter is harmful to the business or
can be explained to the degree that it retains the same meaning as the legacy
system. We help format lookup values and mandatory checks during the
validation process, and only when business users approve the data do we
proceed with data loads to the targets.

Loading:

Data Loading is the process of loading the data to the target system after
ratification and approval from the business.

Let’s talk about some additional migration services from YASH

Technologies:

Profiling:

Profiling is a part of the roadmap extraction service used for source data
analysis. YASH experts identify data quality in terms of uniqueness and data
redundancy. YASH Technologies understands that the data profiling activity is
critical for the data migration process as it ensures a seamless, error-free
migration, smooth operations, and customer service post-cutover.
Preload Validation:

This process is a part of our validation service in the roadmap deployed for
business validation. After ratification and business approval, it generates a
preload verification file submitted to the business to compare source and target
data before being loaded into the target system.

Reconciliation:

Once we import data into the Target system, it generates a reconciliation file sent
to the business to compare the source and target data. After business approval
and ratification, we must identify the missing data and import it into Target.
Reference Architecture:

SDS Architecture:

SDI Architecture:
Migration is a complicated procedure that can be simple or extremely difficult,
depending on how well you plan. The most effective approach to a smooth
migration with SAP S/4 HANA includes proper strategic planning unique to your
business.

For a hassle-free and successful Strategic plan, reach out to YASH Technologies
as your Strategic Partner. We have a proven track record in building innovative
frameworks and solutions focused on SAP business solutions, including
S/4HANA, HANA Cloud, and Business Analytics. Harnessing in-depth data
migration and governance expertise, YASH Centres of Excellence worldwide will
create customized journey maps based on your unique business needs for a
successful SAP S/4HANA services transformation.

Migrate to S/4HANA Seamlessly and Successfully with YASH!

S/4HANA can bring tremendous value to your organization. But you need an
efficient migration partner to help you cut through its complexities and
challenges. Consider partnering with YASH Technologies!

As one of the largest SAP Global System Integrators, our HANA CoE places
consultative engagement and delivery at the center.

Our team comprises a rich thought leadership that includes several SAP SMEs
who work as consultants and technical experts who drive S/4HANA migration
successfully. Our well-defined migration approach incorporates S/4HANA best
practices to help you and make your strategic migration fruitful. Click here to
learn more about S/4HANA solutions.

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Top SIX steps to ensure when migrating business

data to SAP S/4HANA
Publish Date: August 7, 2020

Faulty data migration can be the downfall of any enterprise, which is why a
comprehensive data migration kit is an absolute necessity while S/4HANA
implementation. It is the solution that will enable you with the required tools to
migrate both the master and transactional data from any SAP to a non-SAP
system and then to a S/4HANA system. While the right functionality and testing
are crucial, a lot of focus is necessary for the data that comes out of the legacy
system to the new ERP system.
SAP has introduced plenty of new tools to enable smooth data migration for
enterprise, and do not require any additional licenses. However, piloting the Data
Migration Cockpit from SAP requires a few critical considerations.
This blog will delve into the top 10 key considerations when migrating your
enterprise data. But let’s first begin by determining the goal of any successful
data migration project.
The endgame of a successful data migration when implementing S4HANA
The aim of a data migration project is not to simply assess, move, and transform
information from one format/system to another. It is also to ensure that the
migrated data is fit for use, is of high quality, and supports the underlying
business objectives and operational processes. Typically, the data migration
process is systematically performed to leverage automation and to eventually
free up valuable human resources from manual, tedious tasks.
Now that we have established the target let’s look at the top considerations.
Top considerations for data migration
#1 – Assess your options: SAP offers several new-age methods to move your
data into S4HANA, including the latest S/4 Migration Cockpit and Data Services
combined with SAP’s Rapid Deployment Solution for S/4HANA. There is also the
EY Intelligent Transformation Platform, an automation tool that can help you
begin your data migration journey.
#2 – Define a strategy: A well-defined data migration strategy helps reduce your
overall development effort. You have several tools at your disposal to that as
well, including the S/4 Migration Hub Templates, SAP RDS Data Migration
Solution (in case of Hub Template not available / doesn’t fit your requirement),
and SAP Data Services. With these, you can capture all data directly into the
target environment.
#3 – Acknowledge the limitations of every tool: It’s crucial never to miss a
page from the S/4 Migration Cockpit, as each tool comes with its cons in addition
to its pros. There are cases where Migration Hub Templates may not work for
you, and you may have to develop data flows from scratch using the Migration
Cockpit.
#4 – Know your configuration issues: One size doesn’t fit all. Similar to it, the
various migration functional unit testing and development/unit testing when
running in parallel. It is never always smooth sailing when loading data is up for
configuration, and these issues must be tested and identified for defects to seek
further assistance form SAP’s functional stream. The idea is to create a design
that adheres to SAP’s principles and standards, making for a better and
streamlined solution for your consumption.
#5 – Check for add-ons: Even the Migration Cockpit is never always adequate
for data migration to S/4. In such cases, add-ons like the rapid data migration to
SAP S/4HANA solution lets you maximize the benefits of next-generation suites
and even accelerate the processes of cleaning, validating, and migrating the data
from any system to S/4.
#6 – Consult SAP experts: There is a myriad of legacy issues and
complications that can be unraveled using DIY methods or by the internal IT
teams. In cases when it is not possible to immediately solve issues or cut
downtime, it’s best to involve experts who not only understand the older
technologies and environments but also possess clear and established ways to
tackle such complications for your domain.
Use every tool at your disposal
Ultimately, your business must derive the maximum value from your S/4HANA
investment, which makes it necessary to know the essential tools you need in
your backpack before you set out into your digital transformation journey. The
utility of each tool defines how comfortable your data migration process will be.
SAP has not only made these tools readily available to make the process simpler
and more efficient but also to save valuable time and effort in the process.

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SAP HANA Migration Strategy

Publish Date: August 10, 2018

SAP HANA is known for its next-generation business platform bringing

transactions and analytics together. With SAP HANA, you can expect to increase
the application performance by enabling reporting without latency. HANA
provides an open architecture that simplifies the delivery processes, reduces
performance issues, provides room for innovation, and positively influences user
experience. Larger organizations are opting for a cautious approach in the
journey towards SAP HANA to reduce the associated risks. The first logical large
step is the upgrade of the core ERP system onto the SAP HANA database
platform.
Migration Steps
Migrating any database is a huge task, and migrating an SAP database and
application environment, is a mammoth one demanding organization level efforts.
The process needs separate and continuous attention with clear planning and
apt operational execution. The key areas to give attention are:
  Detecting challenges and issues

 Analyzing requirements

 Estimating and arranging the resources

 Creating a plan of action

 Setting milestones

 Preparing the infrastructure

 Performing actual migration with minimal interruptions to applications

 Confirming the migration using appropriate tests

From Business Case to Deployment

A correctly prepared business case drives the approach for migration. The
budget considerations are based on the business case, and it can be challenging
to decide the best fit deployment option. Also, we have other dependencies like
the sizing of the database, available infrastructure and resources, migration
strategy and so on. Also, execution can be done using internal resources or
outsourcing the entire project to a trusted partner. Choosing the correct partner
itself is a project cause as it demands a clear understanding of the requirements
and multi-decision making.
Planning the Resources and Strategy
Planning for current and futuristic increased needs of database growth is crucial
as the sizing of HANA appliance is critical for any migration project. Optimized
sizing ensures expected performance. Correct sizing also provides a correct
requirement for the infrastructure. Sequence, size and after-activity precautions
needs to be well planned and thought off for the smooth execution of the
migration project.
Selecting the Option
The most critical part of the entire process is to select the deployment option that
best suits your organization’s business model, needs, budget, and resources.
The options are

1. On-premise: Gives control

2. In the cloud: Gives time to value
3. Hybrid model: Supports multiple deployment scenarios

Selecting the correct option depends on the organization’s security

considerations and infrastructure maintenance capabilities. If you select the on-
premise option, you need to decide about the resources: a dedicated team for
infrastructure maintenance or having a trusted partner providing maintenance.
You may also opt for Cloud with HANA with either private or public option based
on security considerations. The third option is to have a hybrid model.
With the infrastructure in place, choosing the correct migration strategy is another
challenge. SAP provides many tools for your migration project and depending on
the organization’s landscape one can select the suitable option. Based on the
organizational landscape, the optimized migration strategy may be determined
which guides the journey towards execution.
Recommendations for planning and execution
It may seem logical to start with the development system. However, it is
recommended to start with the full-size system or production as soon as possible
as it enables you to see how it works on a real system. A production copy has full
database size, and you can also build a detailed runbook based on a simulation
of production. This approach is not possible with the development systems with a
different code base.
Getting obsolete data out
SAP HANA is an in-memory database. So you can delete the unrequired data
even before migrating to HANA. Housekeeping activity to delete the data can
take days to complete and hence it is recommended to start this activity early in
the process. By this, you ensure almost nil impact on the business operations.
Production hardware
To make it available, installing production hardware early is recommended with
high availability (HA) cluster. With this, you can get it ready for the first sandbox.
Cut cost by rolling other changes
As with HANA, the number of test cycles is more, rolling in additional changes
can improve the stability and reduce the costs.
See a bigger picture
Instead of focusing only on the SAP systems, it is advisable to consider the entire
business suite as a system. This means that you can upgrade or update other
areas such as PMO, Warehouse, and Portals at the same time. Integrated efforts
are more fruitful than the separate ones.
Focus on test management
For organizations, the SAP Business Suite on HANA is the first step to
get S/4HANA, and it involves enormous testing in the future. It, therefore, makes
sense to evaluate your test management system and ensure modern tools and
test automation are in place.
Custom code remediation
Custom code remediation is a MUST on HANA as SAP optimizes the Business
Suite on HANA. However, the custom code is not optimized by default which can
lead to performance issues. For this, SAP Solution Manager has Custom
Development Management, Usage and Procedure Logging and Clone Finder.
Identify and benchmark critical processes
Each organization has different critical processes. It is important to benchmark
them to ensure that they are measured in the test process. It is also important to
ensure that these processes are optimized for the HANA platform.
Executing the plan
Once a robust plan is made considering all the requirements and resources,
executing the plan is the next major step and probably with all the major hiccups.
The approach involves a step-by-step strategy:

 Check for all requisites

 Migration process initiation

 Technical reconciliations

 Sandbox to move technical objects: standard and custom

 Test to confirm the performance and the improvement

 Code optimization (optional for added value)

 Migration of Development systems

 Cutover and downtime protecting business continuity without interruption

 Validating the migration for success

Knowledge Transfer
A major, but mostly neglected challenge in database migration is making an
effort to educate and train the staff for the expected changes and how to operate
and maintain the new system. An organization needs to ensure a handover of
operational modus operandi from the partner organization if involved. Migration is
single time activity, but the knowledge transfer may continue for next few days
well beyond the go-live. Another challenge is to provide 24/7 dedicated support
to remove the known issues and maintain system functioning.
Conclusion
For any migration from the existing system to a new one, various phases of
independent activities need to be coordinated with each other. For migration to
SAP HANA, as the technology is based on innovation, new user experience with
improved performance using simplification in functionality is expected. SAP
HANA brings new features with SAP Suite on HANA ensuring simplicity and
mobility of applications. Hence, migrating to HANA is much more than a regular
database migration requiring adaptation and implementation of new technology,
simplification of processes, real-time data processing, the inclusion of mobility
and much more.
This all means that one can afford to be aggressive with timelines. One still
needs to do a great job of planning, testing and executing, but it’s possible to
move quickly and still be risk-averse. For example, a large SAP BW client
moved to HANA in the manufacturing industry in eight weeks and a large
SAP ECC client to HANA in 16 weeks, including a large amount of code
remediation and thousands of test cases.
Harikrishna Neelam -SAP BASIS Lead, S/4HANA(On-premise & Cloud)@YASH
Technologies

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https://www.sap.com/documents/2015/07/9c5c8fbd-5b7c-0010-82c7-
eda71af511fa.html
https://blogs.sap.com/2017/04/01/s4hana-system-conversion/