8 tips for the perfect S/4HANA 2023 upgrade

If you use SAP S/4 HANA software for enterprise resource planning (ERP) then, chances are, you have a system that needs upgrading.

Adoption of the German IT vendor’s flagship product, S/4HANA, capitalises on SAP’s High-performance Analytic Application (HANA) database systems and now outstrips that of previous platforms such as SAP ECC.

Yet as the popularity of S/4HANA has increased, so has the number of versions that IT leaders must keep track of. Thanks to SAP’s laudable efforts to incorporate new functionalities into the system, there have been annual upgrades to S/4HANA since it was launched in 2015.

A couple of the earliest versions are no longer supported and support for another is due to end this year. Meanwhile, a new version was introduced in 2023 - with a seven-year support period compared to five years for previous versions.

What’s new in S/4HANA 2023

S/4HANA 2023 has more than 1,000 new and improved functions, from application programming interfaces and extensibility features to functionality improvements for specific lines of business.

But perhaps the most notable innovation is the platform’s ability to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities through SAP’s Business Technology Platform, opening the door to increased process automation and improved decision making.

Finance Officers will welcome a range of advanced financial close and account balance validation features, along with predictive liquidity forecasting and electronic document consistency checks.

On the supply chain management front, S/4HANA 2023 includes greenhouse gas emission calculations, improved capacity planning and advanced shipping and receiving functions for decentralised warehouses.

There are also enhancements to asset management, for example with simplified printing of multiple orders, service execution and item-based accounting. And collaboration is improved via SAP Collaboration Manager and integration with Microsoft Teams. Additionally, the new proactive "My Home" page in Feature Pack Stack 1 (i.e. FPS01 service pack) for SAP S/4HANA 2023 enables customers to merge spaces and pages functionality of Fiori launchpad for a better user experience.

With an abundance of features, it is hardly surprising that SAP does not view S/4HANA as just another update. The company refers to the SAP S/4HANA 2023 release as “a major milestone in the evolution of the system.”

Upgrade secrets for success

Given the importance of S/4HANA 2023, it would pay to upgrade older S/4 HANA version to the latest release. But how to make sure the upgrade goes smoothly? Here are eight tips to get it right.

Evaluate the implications on business processes, get teams ready for changes and document effects on IT controls. A convenient way to do this is to understand what’s new in the upgrade and compare them with your current system design.
Confirm whether your system and platform integrations will be compatible with S/4HANA 2023. There are readiness check tools that can be utilised to verify compatibility.
Review system requirements to make sure you have the right capacity and hardware to run the new version.
Check to see what might happen to your custom code and extensions. For this you can refer to custom code migration guides that are available and carry out a thorough verification.
Use recommended specialist IT tools to further assess your upgrade before going ahead.
Create a test strategy that covers user acceptance, data migration and cutover activities. Ensure sufficient dress rehearsals and mock cut over exercises are planned for a seamless go-live.
Set up training sessions to help end users make the most of new features and functionalities.
Employ appropriate tools and procedures to minimise downtime.

How can we help?

We are helping organisations assess and assure the tools, technology, programme management, service level agreements, service management processes and controls associated with S/4HANA upgrades. Speak to Jeroen Basten or Aditya Chordia if you have queries about upgrading your S4 HANA system.