SAP Activate Methodology – Accelerating your SAP S/4HANA Journey

SAP S/4HANA implementations are complex and multifaceted projects that require careful planning and analysis. One tool that SAP has developed to aid in the efficiency of S/4HANA implementations is the SAP Activate methodology. Our friends over at ASUG recently hosted an “Ask the Author” session with the authors of the book entitled “SAP Activate: Project Management for SAP S/4HANA” and we have summarized our key takeaways from that conversation for your convenience below.

Whats Different About SAP S/4HANA and the Value In Its Adoption

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the SAP Activate methodology, it is important to first understand some of the key differences between SAP S/4HANA and other legacy ERP platforms. One of the many values of this technology is its ability to provide real-time performance. SAP S/4HANA excels at processing transactional analytics, keeping data consistent, and eliminating latency and duplication which ultimately reduces TCO.

SAP S/4HANA also provides exceptional real-time insights. This is accomplished by ensuring there is always an abundance of accurate real-time data at the fingertips of the business users which results in improved data-driven decision making. Additionally, SAP’s “smart assist” allows business users the ability to have a single portal for all applicable detailed insights. With SAP S/4HANA, automation and intelligence are two key components that the platform is built around.

Another key difference in SAP S/4HANA is its ability to adapt to the customers scope through a consumption as a service model. This allows organizations the ability to scale their SAP environment and capabilities as the business grows. Additionally, through its ability to visualize business models and process descriptions, organizations are always given clarity as to where they are in the business process.

Key Concepts of SAP Activate Methodology 

One major premise of the SAP Activate methodology is reliance on SAP Model Companies, LoB’s, and SAP Best Practices to run pre-delivered business processes. By doing this, organizations can accelerate their S/4HANA journey, validate solution fit, and employ the fit-to-standard cloud mindset. This mindset suggests that organizations are better served in the long run by adopting standard functionality as much as possible initially, while allowing for customization in critical areas where the business is differentiated from the SAP Model Company or LoB .

Some of the other key components of the SAP Activate methodology that assist organizations in their journey to SAP S/4HANA are its agile nature and modular framework. SAP Activate is built to be agile so that organizations can tackle backlogged requirements in sprints that build on one another. Furthermore, this framework is modular in that it is designed to be scaled up or down based on the size, scope, and overall complexity of the implementation.

How SAP Activate Methodology Assists with OCM

The SAP Activate methodology assists organizations with OCM through the enrichment of end-user enablement and associated solution adoption activities. As opposed to conventional OCM workstreams, SAP Activate provides a single solution adoption workstream encompassing OCM, user enablement, adoption activities, and value management. This provides the framework needed for organizations to streamline the assessment of value and fit-to-standard at the beginning of the project, allowing for improved user adoption and accelerated business value during implementation.

Whether you choose to go cloud, hybrid, or any-premise with your SAP S/4HANA implementation, the SAP Activate methodology provides significant coverage. By using this framework in conjunction with SAP best practices, you can significantly shorten your implementation lifecycle reducing the cycle time for ROI, and ultimately decreasing TCO. For more information regarding the SAP Activate Methodology, check out the full article put out by ASUG here.

Regardless of where you are at in your SAP and enterprise systems journey, we want you to know that BCTG is here to help. Whether that be through leveraging our network of technical and functional consultants, or through simply having a human conversation, we welcome the opportunity to get to know you better.