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With SAP’s mainstream support for ECC ending in 2027, many organizations are opting for a technical upgrade to SAP S/4HANA, also known as the brownfield approach. This method often allows businesses to migrate their existing system and data to S/4HANA more quickly and with minimal disruption to their core operations, in contrast to the greenfield (complete redesign) or bluefield (selective transformation) approaches.
While a technical upgrade can generally be a simpler route, we encourage business and IT leaders to be cautious of the idea that this can be a purely technical exercise, particularly when it comes to security, controls, and GRC (Governance Risk and Compliance). Even with a "lift and shift" approach, SAP S/4HANA introduces new functionalities, different technologies, and architectural changes that can have significant impacts on security, controls, and GRC. For business leaders and IT professionals, the stakes are often high — how you manage these elements can significantly impact the success of the migration and ongoing operations. Treating this upgrade as purely technical could lead to overlooked risks, resulting in potential audit issues, security vulnerabilities, and missed opportunities to improve your control environment.
This is the first in a series of articles where we’ll explore why an intentional focus on security, controls, and GRC should be a key element of your SAP S/4HANA migration strategy. Below, we outline five important takeaways to help you navigate the complexities and risks of an SAP S/4HANA technical migration, preparing you for compliance and audit requirements while also capturing the opportunity to improve your organization’s security and controls framework as you transition.
Although the migration might be positioned as a “technical upgrade,” it’s far more than just a lift and shift. Even if you’re not redesigning business processes or adding new applications, S/4HANA is a new system, not just a patched version of your old system. Like any new system, it should be imperative to address security and controls as part of the go-live. Key considerations include:
Ignoring these changes can expose organizations to financial and operational risks. By proactively reassessing controls and updating security roles, you can achieve day one security and compliance goals.
SAP S/4HANA isn’t just an upgrade of ECC — it’s a reimagined platform with new functionality and architectural shifts. From the retirement of credit management in favor of financial supply chain management (FSCM) to the introduction of features like the universal journal and the Fiori user experience (UX), S/4HANA can radically change how processes are executed and controlled, making it essential to revisit your existing control framework. Just a few examples of changes impactful to security, controls, and GRC include:
A technical migration to SAP S/4HANA often coincides with a decision to move from an on-premise infrastructure to a cloud-hosted environment, such as SAP RISE* or another cloud provider. While this shift can offer operational flexibility and cost savings, it also introduces new cybersecurity and compliance risks. The cloud environment fundamentally changes how data is stored, accessed, and managed, necessitating new controls and monitoring mechanisms. Key considerations include:
Cloud migrations can introduce new vulnerabilities, and if not properly managed, can expose organizations to security breaches or data loss. Building a strong cloud security framework, including monitoring and incident response plans, can help mitigate these risks to achieve compliance in the new environment.
Even in a technical migration, many organizations take the opportunity to selectively transform parts of their processes, especially when they have identified significant pain points or want to move away from customized processes to SAP’s standard offerings. While this “selective transformation” approach can bring efficiencies, it can also disrupt existing controls if not carefully managed. Key considerations include:
Selective transformation introduces both risk and opportunity. The risk comes from missing control gaps that can arise from process changes, but the opportunity lies in leveraging automation to enhance controls and reduce long-term compliance costs. Early collaboration between IT, business, and GRC teams is essential to capture the overall potential of the upgrade.
Understanding and meeting auditor expectations is often a crucial part of any technical migration. Your auditors will likely expect to see how your organization has adapted its internal controls, security, and GRC frameworks to the new SAP S/4HANA environment and could require evidence of testing and validation of controls before go-live, especially for automated controls and custom reports. Key considerations include:
Early engagement with your internal and external auditors can help clarify their expectations and prevent surprises down the line. Failure to provide evidence of control effectiveness and testing could result in costly rework, delays, and potential deficiencies. Organizations should aim to document key control updates and demonstrate effectiveness throughout the migration process.
Even with a technical migration or “lift and shift” approach from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, organizations should invest in intentional focus on security, controls, and GRC during the upgrade. The upgrade can also present an opportunity to enhance your compliance environment for targeted areas, identifying where security can be simplified or improved, and where controls can be automated. By proactively addressing these areas, organizations can not only achieve a smooth and compliant transition but also improve their compliance environment to reduce long-term costs.
Our Enterprise Technology Solutions (ETS) team is here to help. Whether you're in the early planning stages or approaching go-live, we can guide you through the common misconceptions and complexities of an S/4 technical migration. Reach out to start the conversation on how we can support your migration journey and help you navigate the risks and opportunities associated with an upgrade to SAP S/4HANA.