SAP HANA Migration Complete Guide for Beginners

SAP HANA is the most advanced business management software available, and it is something that all major enterprises are incorporating at this moment. The solution offers cloud-based support, along with other different intelligent features that simplify business processes. In this SAP HANA Migration Complete Guide for beginners, you will learn SAP HANA Migration basics Step by step.

There is, however, one major problem that hinders the transfer of processes from the older business platform to the newer SAP HANA version. This problem is related to transferring the existing processes and databases to the updated platform, known as the migration stage. When not done correctly, the shortcomings of a successful migration can damage the processes or the data during the migration.

The benefits that one can enjoy by upgrading to the latest SAP HANA platform are:

• Application optimizations for the SAP HANA platform are done automatically by SAP to ensure proper utilization of all the SAP features.

• SAP ensures that the applications running in the SAP S/4 HANA platform can enjoy responsive user experiences. This helps in improved productivity and better usability.

With the latest version, the enterprise will be able to use advanced technology like the internet of things, big data, and machine learning for automating critical steps quickly.

Overview of the SAP HANA Migration Process:

The migration process of the existing ERP system to SAP S/4 HANA is very complicated as a series of tasks have to be done to achieve the perfect results. Therefore, SAP recommends that everyone follow this event in the exact specified order to get the best result.

It consists of two specific phases and they are as follows:

Prepare Phase

This phase consists of the simplification item catalog, which helps group all the tools based on their product numbers and compatibility. This way, the solution helps in simplifying the process by helping the user to have a clear idea of the path they need to follow while making the SAP S/4 HANA migration. Other than that, here’s a list of some important tasks that need to be prepared before moving to the next phase.

1. Planning – This is the part that familiarizes the user with the plan they have to follow while moving forward with the migration process. This includes tools like Roadmap Viewer that consists of all the relevant steps, and Readiness Checker, which checks the system’s ability to host SAP HANA.

2. System Requirements – These are the list of items that need to be carried out by the system to conclude out the migration process seamlessly. This includes start releases, conversion paths, and data volume limits.

3. Maintenance Planner – The maintenance planner has to be run before the conversion process as it checks the tools, components, and add-ons used by the host system. This helps in checking the compatibility as well as creating a stack file that will be used for the migration process.

4. Simplification Item-Check – This function checks the items from the simplification catalog that has been discussed earlier. This also ensures that the conversion can be done and if the system can be directly put back to work after this migration process.

5. Code Migration – This step checks the code against the simplifications offered by SAP and makes necessary changes.

6. Cross Application Preparation – Cross-platform app preparation helps develop apps that will help the migration process. These are usually developed prior to the migration process.

7. Application-Specific Preparation – The SAP business solutions manage many business applications used for different processes. This is why application-specific preparations are also needed to ensure that the apps run correctly even after the migration process.

Realize Phase

Once the user has been through all the checklists listed in the preparation, the second phase is where the main migration occurs. The steps involved in this phase are:

1. Software Update Manager – After the tasks in the preparation phase are complete and the system is ready for migration, along with all the custom code suited for the SAP S/4 HANA platform, it’s time to run the software update manager. This step initiates the tasks of database migration, software update, and data conversion. Migration of the data is done when the system is down or while upgrades are released. SAP provides a Silent Data Migration Infrastructure for the migration of data during business operations.

2. Application-Specific Follow-On Events – Along with the cross-application follow-on activities, there are requirements for a few other manual steps. These steps are aligned via pre-checks and custom code checks. This provides an overview of the system’s response to SAP S/4 HANA migration, along with some steps from the simplification item catalog.

System Runtime Optimizations to Simplify the Migration Process:

There is a lot of optimization that happens before the conversion process. This reduces the runtime complexity and the amount of time taken to integrate the systems properly. Above all these optimizations, runtime optimizations are put into action, which might not be applicable all the time, but they help reduce the overall runtime complexity when required.

The runtime optimizations use the SAP bench marking tool that simplifies the identification of the system’s abilities and helps determine the migration rate of the system. In addition, runtime optimizations come in handy during the downtime period, as during this time, the system is idle, and no action follows.

Large file transfers are scheduled to happen during this part, and this is when the optimizers help make the process quicker. Runtime optimizers mainly optimize the source from where the data is incoming, and usually, the source is responsible for the performance degradation.

Conclusion:

SAP HANA migration refers to transferring all data and processes from the existing business management software to the new SAP HANA software. Many intricate details must be kept in mind to carry out the migration process seamlessly.