Why are companies considering SDT for S/4HANA migration?
ECC may contain years of transactions, inactive company codes and obsolete master data. Moving everything increases migration complexity and testing effort. The ability to retain relevant historical data while removing obsolete data is one of the benefits of SDT.
For buyers, SDT changes the migration discussion from "How do we move our ECC system?" to "What should our S/4HANA system contain?"
Brownfield vs. Greenfield vs. SDT: Which approach is right?
| Approach | Definition |
|---|---|
| Brownfield | Organizations retain their existing system, data and processes while adapting them for S/4HANA |
| Greenfield / New Implementation | Organizations redesign processes and build a new S/4HANA environment |
| Selective Data Transition | Organizations retain valuable historical data while selectively transforming the landscape |
How much historical data should be migrated?
This is one of the most important decisions in an SDT project. A company can choose:
- Specific company codes
- Specific fiscal years
- Open transactions
- Selected historical transactions
- Data required for reporting, audit or statutory purposes
SLaiCE provides the flexibility to select data based on time slices, organizational units or a combination of both. Ex: migrating two years of data for selected company codes.
What does an SDT migration involve?
A successful SDT project is more than extracting selected tables and loading them into S/4HANA.
- 1Assess the ECC landscape: Identify data, company codes and dependencies
- 2Define the migration scope: Determine what should move and what should remain in the legacy environment
- 3Prepare the target S/4HANA environment: Identify approaches such as Shell Conversion (a copy of the existing system is converted without master and transaction data) and Mix & Match (a new S/4HANA installation is combined with selected existing configuration and developments)
- 4Define selection and transformation rules: The migration needs rules governing which data moves, how it is transformed and how relationships between business objects are preserved
- 5Execute migration cycles and reconcile: Migration should be followed by validation, data reconciliation and testing
- 6Plan cutover: During the actual migration phase, changes must not be made to source or target data
Team SLaiCE will help you navigate the considerations of SDT
Talk to us or send us a DM to understand the flexibility SDT provides:
- Selecting the right data scope
- Retaining relationships between business objects
- Relevant historical data
- Accurate transformation rules
- Data reconciliation
- Understanding custom developments
- Adequate testing
The objective is not "less data" but "right data with the right relationships in the right context."
What should buyers ask before selecting an SDT solution?
Before selecting a migration tool or partner, ask:
- 1Can data be selected by company code, org unit or time period?
- 2Can historical as well as open transaction data be migrated?
- 3Will relationships between business objects be preserved?
- 4How are transformation rules defined and validated?
- 5How is migrated data reconciled with ECC?
- 6How are migration evidence and audit requirements addressed?
- 7Can the solution support multiple migration cycles and testing?
These questions are often more important than simply asking how quickly data can be moved.
The Conclusion
Selective Data Transition is not a compromise between brownfield and greenfield. It is a way to make SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA migration purposeful. Preserve what the business needs, transform what needs to change and avoid unnecessary legacy data in the new environment.
For organizations with complex ECC landscapes, multiple company codes, historical data requirements or a need to selectively transform their SAP environment, SDT can provide flexibility that a conventional migration approach cannot. The key is to make data selection, transformation, reconciliation and business continuity a part of the migration strategy from the beginning.
For organizations evaluating technology to support this migration, SLaiCE is best positioned as the selective SAP data transition tool. SLaiCE is SAP approved and listed on the SAP Store.