Practices and SAP Recommendations

7/27/2019 Practices and SAP Recommendations

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GETTING STARTED WITH

AN UPGRADE TO SAP ERP 6.0

VALUE POTENTIAL, BEST PRACTICES,AND SAP RECOMMENDATIONS

SAP ERP


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4 Why Update Your ERPSoftware?

5 Identifying the ValueProposition and Justifyingthe Upgrade

5 Discovery Process6 Essentials of an Upgrade

Justification6 Reasons for Upgrading

7 Operational Excellence 9 Business Strategy10 Sustainability11 Total Cost of Ownership

12 Planning an Upgrade toSAP ERP 6.0

12 Assessing the Impact of the

Upgrade on Your ExistingSolution12 Technical Prerequisites and

Limitations13 Unicode Conversion13 Scheduling an Upgrade13 Determining an Upgrade

Strategy14 Step 1: Technical Upgrade14 Step 2: Functional

Enhancements14 Step 3: Strategic Enhancements14 Cost and Effort Estimation

15 Project and Risk Management15 Success Factors15 Standards and Procedures15 Project Duration and

Sequencing16 Upgrade Management Tools

and Assistance16 SAP Solution Manager16 SAP Upgrade Road Map17 External Assistance

18 Executing an Upgrade toSAP ERP 6.0

18 IT Infrastructure Adjustments18 Resizing the Application Server18 Deploying New SAP Front-End

Components

18 Making Network Adjustments toMaintain System Performance

18 Upgrading or MigratingYour Operating System andDatabase Platform

19 Converting to Unicode19 Technical Deployment19 Benefits of System Switch

Technology19 Minimizing Downtime19 Application and Modification

Adjustments

20 Adjustments to SAP SoftwareModifications20 Adjustments to Custom

Developments20 Upgrade Customizing for

Existing Business Processes20 Adjustments to Interfaces or

Connected Applications20 Testing21 User Training

22 Tomorrows Solution Today22 Key Messages for IT Decision

Makers22 Key Messages for Project

Managers and Technical ProjectLeaders

24 Further Information24 Identifying the Value Proposition

and Justifying the Upgrade25 Planning an Upgrade to

SAP ERP 6.026 Executing an Upgrade to

SAP ERP 6.0

29 Public Information Sources

CONTENT


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As the business world changes, SAPdevelops new releases of its enterpriseresource planning (ERP) software toaccommodate your organizationsevolving business needs and help youremain competitive. SAP has taken

extensive measures to simplify theprocess of upgrading to the latestrelease of the SAP ERP application SAP ERP 6.0. This ERP softwareupgrade should not be perceived asa necessary evil. Rather, it should beperceived as a valuable opportunityto maximize the value of your SAPinvestment. To take advantage ofthis opportunity, all thats requiredis appropriate planning andmanagement.

As a Forrester report shows, Replacingor upgrading applications is an impor-tant issue for many firms, ranking asthe fifth-highest priority among IT deci-sion makers for 2006, with 18% ratingit as a critical priority.1 Upgrades needto be well integrated within an organiza-tions overall IT strategy and planning,which is why release and upgrade man-agement for SAP ERP has become atopic of strategic importance, havinghigh visibility among senior managers.

Given the inherent volatility of infor-mation technology, an upgrade toSAP ERP 6.0 can be seen as a normalbusiness activity an investmentnecessary for maintaining a stableIT environment. The upgrade canalso bring significant benefits to

your organization by extending thefunctionality and improving the per-formance of your ERP software. Farfrom purely a technical issue that canbe left entirely in the hands of IT depart-ments, an ERP software upgrade is

vital to the daily business operationsof your organization and can bringabout significant improvements inbusiness efficiency.

Prompted by the importance of theupgrade topic and the widely divergentunderstanding of it within the SAP com-munity, SAP has compiled this gettingstarted guide. Directed to IT decisionmakers and project leaders, the guideis designed to help you assess the value

potential of upgrading to SAP ERP 6.0.It also summarizes best practices,

SAP recommendations, and a range ofSAP tools and services that can assistyou with the upgrade project acrossits entire life cycle from discovery,to evaluation, to implementation(see Figure 1).

This guide answers the followingquestions: How can my organization evaluate

and justify an upgrade? How can my organization plan an

upgrade? How can my organization execute

an upgrade?

A section at the end of this document(see the Further Information section)

lists useful resources that detail specificaspects of an upgrade.

WHY UPDATE YOUR ERP SOFTWARE?

ERP upgrades are an essential process that helps organizationsderive greater value from their ERP software and prolong the

useful life of this very important asset. . . . A key part of the

upgrade strategy process is getting a critical mass of employees

to understand ERP upgrades are a normal part of the product

life cycle.2

1. Paul Hamerman, Applications Upgrades: When and Why, Forrester Research (December 2006).2. Jim Shepherd, Reduce the Pain of ERP Upgrades with Better Planning, AMR Research (June 2007).

Plan Build

Figure 1: Three-Phase Upgrade Life Cycle

Upgrade Discovery Upgrade Evaluation Upgrade Implementation

4 Getting Started with an Upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0


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SAP ERP 6.0 provides SAP customerswith a wealth of opportunities for improv-ing their businesses. Based on customerexperience during the ramp-up of thisnew release, SAP has determined thatthe following business scenarios are the

most highly valued in the SAP community: Employee self-service Manager self-service Human resources (HR) administration Project management Sales-order processing E-recruiting Treasury risk management New general ledger Travel and expense management Real estate management

In addition, the new software lays astable technological foundation thatcovers legal and compliance require-ments while giving you the flexibility toinnovate. With SAP ERP 6.0, you canmeet your particular business needsand implement new functions at yourown pace. Combining an upgrade withother IT initiatives for example, replac-ing legacy systems, consolidating thesystem landscape, or reducing the levelof software modification and custom-ization can also help you lower total

cost of ownership (TCO).

When justifying an upgrade to SAPERP 6.0, you need to weigh the soft-wares potential benefits and risks inlight of your organizations specific cir-cumstances. Each SAP customer facesa unique situation in terms of the cover-

age and maturity of its SAP software.Each is using SAP solutions in verydifferent ways. And each has differentneeds, goals, and priorities as it worksto achieve improvements in operationalexcellence or equip itself for futurebusiness innovation. A good justifica-tion does not usually depend upon asingle decisive factor or killer featurebut rather on a combination of inter-related factors that can benefit a widerange of business areas.

Because of the intricacy of an upgradejustification, it is worthwhile assessingthe value potential of SAP ERP 6.0using a clear procedure and method-ology. However, a customer surveyconducted by SAP in 2006 indicatesthat only about 9% of SAP customerstake the time to do this.

Discovery Process

The following six-step approach isconsidered best practice among SAPcustomers:1. Gathering preliminary information

The IT department gathers productinformation on SAP Web sites andparticipates in SAP events to geta basic understanding about newSAP products.

2. Involving stakeholders The ITdepartment and representatives ofthe various business units cooperateto assess the value proposition of anupgrade and build consensus. Sincean upgrade justification is unique toeach customer situation, SAP has

developed a solution browser toolfor SAP ERP that enables IT orga-nizations to include respectivebusiness units in these discussions.

IDENTIFYING THE VALUE PROPOSITION

AND JUSTIFYING THE UPGRADE

The latest release of SAP ERP

provides us with a strong

foundation for excellence in

our core functions and supports

our overall growth strategy.

David Franco, Director of IS Management

Groupe Canal+ SA

Quick Upgrade Analysis ServiceDesigned to get you started

with an upgrade assessment,this SAP service provides a high-level savings estimate as well asan estimate of the projects ROI,an assessment of the upgradecomplexity (giving specific infor-mation on the level of modifica-tions in your solution), an effortestimate for each phase of theupgrade project, and a sampleproject plan.

Solution Browser for SAP ERPThis tool allows you to identify newfeatures and functions and theirbusiness benefits in a given releaseof SAP ERP and enhancementpackages. It gives business pro-cess experts the opportunity to

map current business require-ments with the latest functionsavailable in SAP ERP. For moreinformation, go towww.service.sap.com/upgradeUpgrade ToolsSAP ERP Solu-tion Browser. (Note: All listings thatbegin withwww.service.sap.comtake you to the SAP ServiceMarketplace extranet. This siterequires registration.)

5Getting Started with an Upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0
http://www.service.sap.com/upgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/http://www.service.sap.com/http://www.service.sap.com/http://www.service.sap.com/http://www.service.sap.com/upgrade


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3. Determining the business valueof new functions Business unitsgather in-depth information aboutthe specific features and functionsof SAP ERP that could be usefulto them.

4. Organizing delta workshops IT departments organize delta work-shops with SAP software experts,who come from either SAP itself orfrom a partner organization. Thesefocused delta workshops allow busi-ness process experts to assessthe value potential of new SAP ERPfunctions in more detail and alsohelp them understand the possibleimplications of these functions onbusiness operations.

5. Test-driving new functions The IT department sets up a demoor sandbox system for trying outnew functions.

6. Finalizing a justification Thebusiness units and the IT depart-ment discuss the merits, costs, andrisks of an upgrade and producea justification for the upgrade.

This bottom-up approach helps toquantify in concrete terms the potentialgains of upgrading to SAP ERP 6.0.

Essentials of an UpgradeJustification

For an efficient and accurate justifica-tion of an upgrade, you should ensurethat:

You have assessed core businessprocesses supported by the existingSAP software landscape

Complementary and competingprojects that might affect the corebusiness processes and connectedSAP software systems are transparent

You have identified the key valuedrivers for the companys businessmodel and key improvementopportunities in current businessoperations

You are familiar with the functions of

SAP ERP 6.0, including the enhance-ment packages for the software

You have identified and mapped busi-ness requirements to the functionsof the new SAP ERP software(Note: This establishes what tangiblebenefits can be gained from anupgrade and enables the creationof a business case.)

Reasons for Upgrading

Each organization has different reasonsfor considering an upgrade. For a well-oriented justification process, you andother decision makers in your organiza-

tion should create a detailed summaryof what benefits you expect or wouldlike to derive from an upgrade. Someof the most common reasons forconsidering an upgrade are: Business user demand for new

functionality to improve operationalexcellence, enable innovation, andsupport new business models

Desire to increase process efficiencyand thus reduce TCO, particularly interms of the total cost of operations for example, by returning SAP soft-

ware modifications and custom devel-opments to SAP standard functions

Requirements from IT, such asplanned infrastructure updates andconsolidation projects that can becombined beneficially with an upgradeto SAP ERP 6.0

Vendors release schedule or supportpolicies



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Figure 2 shows the results of an SAPsurvey in which customers were askedabout what improvements they antici-pated from an upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0.The figure shows the level of interest(given as a percentage of those

surveyed) in specific benefits.

From another perspective, postponingupgrades may expose your companyto risk, such as failure to meet legaland compliance requirements; techno-logical obsolescence; or incompatibilityof your current hardware, operatingsystems, and database versions. Theserisks can be only partially covered bypaying extended maintenance fees tosoftware vendors. Minimizing them is

an important, though often underappre-ciated, factor in justifying an ERP soft-ware upgrade. Ignoring the risks isunacceptable in the long term. So whenconsidering an upgrade, the questionyou need to ask is not simply ShouldI do it or should I not? but ratherShould I do it now or later?

In the following sections, the benefitsof upgrading to SAP ERP 6.0 are ana-lyzed in detail from four perspectives:operational excellence, business

strategy, sustainability, and total costof ownership.

Operational ExcellenceSAP ERP 6.0 provides more than300 functional enhancements that canimprove process efficiency. In addition,it integrates the functions of most SAPindustry solutions so that these solu-

tions no longer need to be installed andset up separately. The new softwarealso simplifies daily business tasksthrough more appealing and integrateduser-interface concepts that increaseuser productivity and satisfaction forexample, by enabling the use of Duetsoftware for integrating Microsoftapplications.

Because every customer uses a differ-ent SAP software landscape, key valuedrivers and tangible benefits of the newERP software have to be identified andmapped to business needs on an indi-vidual basis. You can use the summaryof enhancements shown in the table onthe next page to identify the relevance

of specific features and functions foryour organization and to drive an inter-nal discussion among business units.

Using the following list to help map thespecific business requirements and val-ue drivers to the features and functionsof SAP ERP 6.0 should help revealthe concrete benefits that contribute

significantly to an upgrade justification.

60%50%40%30%20%10%0%

Figure 2: What Business Benefits Do SAP Customers Expect from an Upgrade?

59%

51%

35%

32%

32%

22%

5%

Return SAP software modifications and custom developments back to SAP standard functions

Process improvements with the help of new functions in existing SAP software modules

Use new industry-specific functions and processes

Process improvements with the help of new technologies

Use cross-component processes enabled by the SAP ERP application

Use new SAP products that require SAP ERP as a backbone

Achieve more flexibility by moving to enterprise service-oriented architecture



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Business Challenges SAP ERP 6.0: Enhancements Features and Functions

User productivity New application interfaces

Updated role-based access

Greater use of Adobe interactive forms

Employee self-service

Manager self-service

Employee interaction center

Reporting and performance

management

Better planning and forecasting tools

Greater ability to account for investments

Improved product costing module

Express planning

Business consolidation

Product design cost estimate

Accounting and financial

reporting compliance

Automated allocations and balancing using multiple

dimensions

Automatic reporting of segregation-of-duties testing

Enhanced contract accounting and collections

New general ledger

Management of internal controls

Contract accounting

Financial supply chain management

Talent attraction and retention Improved support for recruiters

Improved online learning resources and support

for knowledge management

Enhanced performance management and objective-

setting functions

Recruiting

E-learning

Workforce performance management

Succession management

Shared services for HR Improved ability to operate an HR shared-service center HR administration

Time managementProcurement Improved purchasing self-services functions

Enhanced services procurement

Streamlined invoice management

E-procurement

Project self-service

Sales and order management Improved order-entry process

Improved support for Internet sales

Enhanced pricing and configuration

Order and quotation management

Selling via eBay

Internet pricing configurator

Travel and expense

management

Improved expense entry process resulting in faster

expense reporting

Better travel planning and booking

Automated credit-card feeds

Integrated mileage calculation

Mobile travel and expense

Travel agency integration

Corporate real estate

management

Predelivered support for managing corporate property

and rentals

Real estate management

Environmental, health,

and safety compliance

management

Improved ability to import rules and regulations from

third-party providers

Support for occupational health documentation

Enhanced ability to monitor dangerous goods and

material

Occupational health

Waste management

Industrial hygiene

Dangerous-goods management



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Business StrategyIn an increasingly global economy,flexibility has become an increasinglyimportant business success factor.Organizations seek to shorten productinnovation cycles, respond more quickly

to dynamic market conditions, and con-tinuously adjust their business modelto stay ahead of the competition. How-ever, many business applications areembedded in complex software envi-ronments that offer limited flexibilityand little support for global businesstransformation. SAP is constantlydeveloping measures to make it easierto manage SAP ERP, to help customersimplement future functional enhance-ments with little disruption and effort,

and to facilitate future businessinnovation.

You can implement selected softwareinnovations from SAP and then activateselected functions and enhancementson demand to meet your businessrequirements. This unique deliveryand deployment method for enterprisesoftware, enabled by the flexibility of

enterprise service-oriented architecture(enterprise SOA), lets you access newERP functions while holding on to yourcore functions. As a result, you canisolate the impact of software updatesand quickly bring new functions onlinethrough shortened testing cycleswithout impeding core businessprocesses.

Figure 3 shows a road map for enhance-ment packages for SAP ERP 6.0,

outlining the most important areasof innovation.

Enterprise Service-OrientedArchitectureSAP ERP 6.0 uses enterprise SOA,which helps you shorten application inno-vation life cycles and implement strategicbusiness innovations quickly and withminimal effort by reusing components at

the macro level. Enterprise SOA bringssimplicity and transparency to your ERPsoftware, enabling you to adapt it to suitthe business needs of your organization.

An enterprise service is typically aseries of Web services combined withbusiness logic that can be accessed andused repeatedly to support a particularbusiness process. Aggregating Webservices into business-level enterpriseservices provides a more meaningful

foundation for the task of automatingenterprise-scale business scenarios.

Figure 3: Road Map Showing Enhancement Packages for SAP ERP 6.0SAP simply understands our

need for a flexible IT platform

in order to deal with our fast-

changing market requirements

and our business model.

Klaus Strumberger, CIO, MLP AG

Enhancement PackagesAfter you upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0, youcan enhance the functionality of yourapplication without performing a furtherupgrade thanks to a new deploymenttechnology the SAP enhancementpackage for SAP ERP. The enhance-ment packages simplify the way youmanage and deploy new software func-tions for SAP ERP. They enable you totake advantage of the latest software

innovations while minimizing disruptionto ongoing operations.

Simplification

EnterpriseSOA

Functionality

Industries

EnhancementPackage 1



EnhancementPackage 4*

EnhancementPackage 5*

Role-based

access

Adaptivemanufac-

turing

HR sharedservices

Retail

Order

to cash

Orderto cash

Recruiting

Service

industries

Procure

to pay

Procureto pay

Fastclosing

Trading

industries

Attract

to perform

Accounting

to reporting

Financialshared

services

Talentmanagement

Discrete

industries

Additionalenterpriseservices

Treasury

Process

industries

*Planned enhancement packages: subject to change



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These are some of the potential bene-fits you gain by using enterprise SOA: Ability to flexibly design a business pro-

cess such as an order-to-cash process Potential to implement shared service

centers

More reliable business insight(for example, through corporateperformance management)

Better integration of SAP ERP withadditional applications from SAPpartners

Although enterprise SOA is not cur-rently considered a primary driver forupgrading to SAP ERP 6.0, its long-term benefits and strategy should beconsidered as part of the justification

for an SAP software upgrade.

SustainabilityBusiness applications such as SAP ERPintegrate operations with financial andHR processes. They must cover regularchanges in legal requirements (such astax adjustments) as well as newer com-pliance standards developed to meetthe needs of a global economy. Thesenewer standards include those issuedby the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-tion and those published in the Sarbanes-

Oxley Act and Basel II Accords.

Covering New Legal andCompliance RequirementsSAP provides updates for legal changesas part of the mainstream or extendedmaintenance agreement for SAP ERP(as it does for the SAP R/3 softwarereplaced by SAP ERP). However, withprevious releases of SAP R/3, the out-dated underlying software technologymay impede the implementation of

effective solutions for meeting currentcompliance standards.

Meeting compliance standards caninvolve a lot of manual, duplicated workand audit costs. An SAP study showsthat total spending on compliance hasincreased from $10.5 billion in 2004to $27 billion in 2006, with more than

40% of the effort attributable to head-count. With its integrated solutionsfor governance, risk, and compliance,SAP ERP 6.0 facilitates a unified,cross-company framework that corre-lates and aligns all activities. Uponinvestigation, many companies find thatSAP ERP offers appreciable benefitsin this area benefits that should beincluded in the business-case definitionof an upgrade.

Ensuring Business andIT System StabilityRunning a productive business on anSAP software landscape is a majorIT commitment. Any disturbance orinstability in the landscape can affectthe performance of the entire company.Furthermore, the ERP software mustremain compliant with your companysunderlying technology, including youroperating system, database version,and hardware. Operating systems anddatabase versions usually have shorter

maintenance periods than SAP soft-ware releases and require more regularupgrades than SAP applications. Thus,older versions of SAP R/3 may not becompatible with newer operating sys-tems and database versions or maynot be able to utilize the enhancedfunctionality and performance of thenewer versions. By upgrading to SAPERP 6.0, you can stay up-to-date withthe underlying technology and ensurebusiness continuity and system

stability.

Providing Continuous SystemSupport and MaintenanceWith its 5-1-2 maintenance strategy(five years standard maintenance,extended maintenance for one yearwith the additional fee of +2% and for

a further two years at +4%), SAP hasintroduced a concept that allows itscustomers to plan and use an SAPsoftware release for up to eight years a commitment that is unique in thebusiness-application industry. As partof this concept, customers receiveongoing support, hot fixes, andregular support packages. This demon-strates the strength of SAPs com-mitment to making SAP ERP 6.0 along-term solution that offers cus-

tomers stability and maximizes thevalue of their investment well beyond2010.

SAP R/3 4.6C entered the extendedmaintenance period on January 1,2007, and SAP customers paying theadditional fee are continuously supporteduntil December 31, 2009. However,in the SAP ERP product strategy, SAPERP 6.0 is expected to be the go-torelease until at least 2012, providingmainstream maintenance until March

2013 and extended maintenance until2016. Therefore, the benefit of payingthe extended maintenance fees onprevious releases of SAP ERP per-haps to wait for the next major release is limited. Furthermore, employinginternal staff or hiring consultants tomaintain outdated releases is veryexpensive. Its important to considerthese potential cost savings as wellas the operational benefits of SAPERP 6.0 in your business-case

calculation.



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Total Cost of OwnershipMarket studies show that up to 80%of IT budgets are spent as cost ofoperations. One of the major contribu-tors to the high cost of operations isa software landscape that is unneces-

sarily complex. An upgrade to SAPERP 6.0, when combined with otherIT initiatives, can reduce TCO, mainlyin terms of operations costs.

Reducing the Level of Modificationand CustomizationBecause the architecture and technol-ogy of SAP software is very flexible,some SAP customers invest heavilyin modifications of SAP code and incustom developments (customization).

While it is possible to continuouslyadjust your software system to meetnew business requirements, the life-cycle management and maintenance ofhighly modified SAP software systems

becomes increasingly expensive anddifficult. SAP internal estimates indicatethat up to 60% of custom developmentsare not even being used. According toa customer survey conducted by SAPin 2006, more than 40% of customers

take the opportunity of an upgrade toclean up their software systems byeliminating unused modifications andcustom developments. The cost savingsachieved by reducing these modifica-tions can make a considerable contri-bution to the upgrade business case.

Consolidating the SoftwareLandscapeConsolidation of your software land-scape can provide a good opportunity

for upgrading to SAP ERP 6.0, since bothprojects require a detailed analysis ofthe landscape and can be implementedsimultaneously to minimize disruption.Depending on your IT strategy, you canrun centralized or decentralized SAPsoftware systems. While some multi-national companies run SAP ERP in asingle-client mode, others allow theirdecentralized IT and business units torun individual software systems. Withthe increasing pressure to reduce ITexpenditure, there is a trend in the SAP

community to consolidate SAP soft-ware landscapes and replace legacysystems to streamline hardware andserver infrastructure and reduce over-head costs. Consolidation projects areusually planned over several years, withthe goal of achieving a consolidatedlandscape on a unified target, usuallythe latest available release of SAP ERP.

A more consolidated SAP softwarelandscape increases business efficien-

cy and flexibility and reduces the com-plexity and expense of future imple-

mentation projects. Consolidating yoursoftware landscape also makes futureupgrades considerably easier.

Lowering the Cost of OperationsConsolidating SAP software land-

scapes reduces the number of SAPsoftware systems and servers as wellas the number of modifications andcustom developments. This, in turn,reduces the effort needed for ongoingsystem administration tasks (suchas providing backups or applyingnew support packages). And usingenhancement packages to deployenhanced functionality reduces theneed for future upgrades and can alsoreduce the cost of operations.

Beyond those cost savings, there areadditional opportunities to increase theefficiency of IT operations by using thesynchronized tools and infrastructureavailable in SAP ERP 6.0. For example,by using the softwares robust andautomated administration features andfunctions or using integrated functionssuch as root-cause analysis, you canreduce manual system maintenancetasks. And the SAP Solution Managerapplication management solution pro-

vides monitoring, service delivery, andsystem administratorrelated workcenters that further improve efficiency.

In the course of the upgrade, we

were able to replace around 50%

of all of our previous releases

individual modifications with

the standard functions offeredby mySAP ERP [now SAP ERP].

To us, this clearly indicates that

SAP is getting better at thinking

along the lines of other com-

panies needs and mapping the

requirements of industrial

processes in its solutions.

Manfred Schmid, Chief Information Officer,Carl Zeiss Optronics GmbH

. . . by upgrading to SAP ERP,

IT maintenance costs would

decrease by up to 22% over the

next three years, leading to fast

return on investment.

Fabio Fricano, CIO,Tosinvest Information Technologies



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After the discovery and initial evalua-tion phase, which produces a high-leveldefinition of business and IT require-ments as well as a business case, youenter a more detailed evaluation andplanning phase.

In a survey conducted by SAP in 2007,67% of respondents said that projectmanagement factors are the majorchallenges they face during the upgradeplanning phase and 57% said that costand effort estimates are the major chal-lenges. The definition of an upgradestrategy and development of a sched-ule are also significant challenges dur-ing planning and evaluation, especiallyin large organizations. This section

outlines challenges, best practices,and SAP recommendations for theseand other important planning factors.

Assessing the Impact of theUpgrade on Your Existing Solution

Even in the planning phase, you shouldperform an early risk and impact assess-ment to produce an accurate picture of

cost drivers for the project(s). The risk,difficulty, and duration of upgrading toSAP ERP 6.0 vary greatly, dependingon the source release and the systemlandscape. For example, upgradingfrom SAP R/3 4.6C or higher is con-siderably easier and involves lower riskbecause it requires only limited codechanges to the central component ofyour current ERP software which isthe core of the new SAP ERP software.For releases below SAP R/3 4.6C,

upgrades to SAP ERP 6.0 involvea higher risk and may require moreapplication adjustments, testing,and user training.

The level of risk and the need for appli-cation adjustments and user trainingalso increase with the complexity of thesoftware system landscape and yourlevels of customization and modifica-tion. Good IT housekeeping (archiving,documentation, and regular systemmaintenance) can also significantly

increase the efficiency of an upgrade.And the use of SAP industry solutionsbased on SAP R/3 may increase theeffort involved in the project.

SAP recommendation: To achieve adetailed and reliable assessment ofthe risk and complexity of an upgradeproject, you should carry out an impactanalysis for at least one typical soft-ware system as a reference and asthe basis for an initial technical risk

assessment.

With the SAP Safeguarding for Upgradeportfolio of services, SAP offers aholistic approach for technical riskmitigation in SAP software upgradessince it focuses particularly on theinitial technical risk assessment and

tailors it to your specific situation(seewww.service.sap.com/safeguardingupgrade).

According to a survey conductedby SAP in 2006, about 35% of SAPcustomers claim to have establishedan in-house procedure for assessingthe risk factors and the impact of anupgrade on the existing solution. Sucha procedure is essential for calculatingrequired resources and preparing yourorganization to deal with challenges.

Technical Prerequisitesand Limitations

To upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0, you mayneed to: Change your hardware, operating

system, or database platform Perform a Unicode conversion

(if a customer uses multiple-display,multiple-processing [MDMP] technol-ogy or blended code pages to display

languages with different character sets)

PLANNING AN UPGRADE TO SAP ERP 6.0

Upgrade Information CenterA single point of access for upgrade-related information across theentire upgrade life cycle generaland solution-specific is availableatwww.service.sap.com/upgrade.This Web site contains informationfor various target groups (with

technical and business focus) inEnglish, German, and Japaneseand is updated regularly. Infor-mation specific to the SAP ERPapplication can be found atwww.service.sap.com/upgrade-erp.

http://www.service.sap.com/safeguardingupgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/safeguardingupgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/safeguardingupgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/safeguardingupgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgrade-erphttp://www.service.sap.com/upgrade-erphttp://www.service.sap.com/safeguardingupgradehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgrade-erphttp://www.service.sap.com/upgrade


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When upgrading to SAP ERP 6.0, youmay encounter the following limitations: Limited availability of country versions

or third-party products archivingtools, for example

Restricted use of SAP Internet Trans-

action Server (SAP ITS) (Note: SAPITS has been integrated into SAPNetWeaver, providing less functional-ity. The former stand-alone SAP ITSproduct is no longer supported bySAP. Customers who have beenusing advanced features of SAP ITSwith their SAP R/3 software andwant to continue using them needto perform a migration to the latestversion of the SAP NetWeaver Portalcomponent formerly the SAP Enter-

prise Portal component wherethese features can now be found.Customers who want to continueusing the basic features of SAP ITSneed to perform a migration to theITS software that is now part ofSAP NetWeaver.)

Compatibility problems with otherSAP applications or third-partyproducts (for example, those notcompatible with Unicode)

You can find comprehensive infor-

mation about the technical limitationsof SAP ERP software in SAP Note852235 and information on SAP ITSin SAP Note 709038. (SAP Notes areavailable on SAP Service Marketplaceatwww.service.sap.com. Registrationrequired.)

Unicode ConversionCustomers who want to upgrade toSAP ERP 6.0 and are running SAP R/3software with MDMP technology or

blended code pages must combine

their upgrade with a Unicode conver-sion. The previous SAP technologieshave become obsolete for a varietyof reasons for example, they do notenable proper communication withJava-based applications. (See SAP

Note 79991.)

A Unicode conversion is only neces-sary for those using MDMP or blendedcode pages. However, some organiza-tions may want to perform a Unicodeconversion to provide future supportfor languages with different code pages for example, for users in Asian oreastern European countries.

More details on procedures for per-

forming a Unicode conversion with anupgrade to the newest SAP ERP soft-ware are given in the respective SAPNotes listed at the end of this docu-ment (see Further Information). Andyou can find general information aboutUnicode and SAP ERP 6.0 atwww.service.sap.com/globalization.

Scheduling an Upgrade

There are many factors to be consid-ered when you are developing a

detailed schedule to meet your specificneeds a schedule with optimal timingand sequencing of the individualupgrade projects. A transition to SAPERP 6.0 is rarely a single project. It isgenerally a program that covers severalproductive SAP software systems overseveral months or even years. Butregardless of the extent of the upgrade,the timing of the upgrade is critical giv-en the effort and downtime it involves.Therefore, an upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0

needs to be coordinated with your IT

planning group. The following factorsinfluence the scheduling of an upgrade: Complexity of the existing IT land-

scape and the number of SAP R/3or SAP ERP software systems tobe upgraded

Schedule and overlap with otherIT projects such as global rollouts,ongoing innovation projects, orconsolidation projects

Upgrade strategy and project scope

SAP recommendation: To identifydependencies with other IT projects,you should carry out an inventory on allrunning projects and ensure that theproject timelines are compatible.

In general, you should schedule anupgrade for a period of low businessactivity and look for favorable windowsfor the downtime phase.

Determining an Upgrade Strategy

Successfully executing an upgrade toSAP ERP 6.0 requires a well-definedupgrade strategy encompassing anapproach and project scope based onthe circumstances and aims of yourorganization. The project strategy has

a great effect not only on project dura-tion and effort but also on the immedi-ate ROI of the upgrade. The upgradestrategy usually consists of severalstages that progressively expand func-tionality, increase business value, andprepare the organization for the transi-tion to enterprise SOA while minimizingrisk. This process typically lasts threeto five years and consists of threedistinct phases: the technical upgrade,functional enhancements, and strategic

enhancements.

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Step 1: Technical UpgradeThis initial phase involves a purelytechnological upgrade whose majorgoal is the implementation of the newsoftware release as the foundationfor all subsequent improvements. The

impact of this phase on your businessand business processes is very limited: Previously used business functions

are retained. Modifications and custom develop-

ments are reduced (which reducescost of operations and systemcomplexity).

Unicode conversion may take place.

The technical upgrade simply createsthe basis for functional and strategic

enhancements.

Step 2: Functional EnhancementsDirected toward business benefits,this phase focuses on increasing busi-ness value by implementing the mostvaluable functions of the new softwareand laying the foundation for futurebusiness innovation and improvedprocess automation. During this phase,SAP software modifications and cus-tom developments are replaced with(new) standard SAP software func-

tions. Operational excellence is improvedby picking and implementing low-hanging fruit functions that offerthe greatest business benefit with theleast effort. Even though this phasecan be combined in a single projectwith the technical upgrade, statisticsshow that more than 80% of SAP cus-tomers approach this second phaseas a separate project, to be conductedafter a technical upgrade has beencompleted and overall stability has

been reached.

Step 3: Strategic EnhancementsPhase three involves implementingnew and optimized business processesand scenarios that fully exploit newSAP ERP functions and enable enter-prise SOA. It may include implementingother software systems or componentsand is very much dependent on thebusiness needs of your organization.Enterprise SOA enables you to shortenapplication innovation life cyclesand implement strategic business

enhancements at your own speed.

Cost and Effort Estimation

Large organizations running multipleupgrade projects usually start with ahigh-level cost and effort estimation fora company-wide upgrade program. This

estimation is based on results from areference upgrade usually performedon a copy of a typical productive SAPERP software system. SAP customersmay also include experience from previ-ous upgrade projects and benchmarkdata from analysts or SAP to detail theupgrade costs in major cost categories.After the high-level estimate, cost andeffort factors should be considered indetail. Assuming the project scope isonly a technical upgrade, these are

some of the indicators and examplesused in cost estimation: Costs of internal IT and business

staff General project and change man-

agement aspects (involves about10% of the total project effort)

Time for general project applicationadjustments (for example, onehour for each simple adjustmentof SAP software modifications orcustom developments)

Testing effort (involves up to 40%

of total project effort, dependingon the degree of application adjust-ments and the maturity of existingtest procedures)

Training effort, if applicable depends on the number of usersaffected, the training concept used(classroom versus e-learning), andthe extent of functional enhance-ments (Note: For most technicalupgrades involving SAP R/3 4.6Cor higher as a start release,

training is not necessary.)

SAP Upgrade ExperienceDatabaseSAP customers planning anupgrade project often requestbenchmarking data or project sta-tistics gathered from upgradescompleted by other customers.SAP stores this data in a database

that includes information about: Project duration Business downtime Reasons for upgrade Satisfaction with the upgrade

If you want to share your upgradeexperiences with other customersor learn about the experiencesof other customers, go towww.service.sap.com/upgradedb.

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Costs for external assistance Additional hardware costs, if appli-

cable (Note: For server adjustments of the CPU, hard disk, or memory you should calculate a sizing increaseof about 10% for each higher release.

About 40% of known upgrades toSAP ERP 6.0 do not require anyhardware or sizing adjustments.)

Additional license costs for third-partyor SAP software, if applicable (andif the costs are not yet covered bycontracts for SAP ERP or the SAPBusiness Suite family of businessapplications)

The high-level cost estimation usuallyresults in a basic cost assumption

per business user affected. Analystreports, such as AMR and Forresterstudies, offer number ranges as aguideline.

SAP recommendation: For a detailedcost and effort estimation, the resultsof a test upgrade and an in-depth sys-tem analysis of the level of complexityare recommended best practices. The

individual conditions of each systemto be upgraded, specific risk factors,and technical limitations may becomepotential cost drivers. Therefore, youshould establish assumptions for sig-nificant cost drivers and apply them to

the specific conditions of your existingsolution.Project and Risk Management

Once the detailed project-specific costand effort estimation is completed andapproved, you need to determine agovernance structure and then allocatethe necessary resources. At the end ofthis preparation phase, you can set upa project kickoff meeting during which

the team can agree on other standards,procedures, and milestones. In subse-quent project phases, a project managershould conduct progress tracking, bud-get monitoring, capacity and resourcemanagement, efficient escalationmanagement, and communicationand change management as wellas coordinate the application andtechnical teams.

Success FactorsThese factors are critical to the suc-

cessful management of an upgradeto SAP ERP 6.0: Appropriate governance structure

and top management commitment,which ensure involvement of IT andbusiness units, fast escalation andissue-resolution procedures, align-ment with other IT initiatives, requiredresources, and so forth

Sufficient capacity Project team with suitable skill set Adherence to project standards and

guidelines

Clearly defined project scope andreliable change management proce-dures, especially for the handlingof the code-freeze period (Note:The code freeze is the point in anupgrade project from which the

source code cannot be changed untilthe productive system goes live.)

Standards and ProceduresTo ensure the efficiency and trans-parency of the critical project tasksand overall progress of the project,these comprehensive standards andprocedures are necessary: Standards for project documentation,

problem solving, progress tracking,and procedures for escalation

Project approach and scope (forexample, technical upgrade only) Roles and responsibilities of the

internal and external resourcesinvolved

Setup of project landscape andcode-freeze procedures

Guidelines and procedures fortesting and training strategy

SAP Solution Manager and the SAPUpgrade Road Map content can helpyou define standards and procedures

and ensure they are adhered to.

Project Duration and SequencingAs shown on the SAP upgrade experi-ence database, the average duration ofa technical upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0 isabout three to five months. Figure 4outlines the SAP recommendation onhow to divide the upgrade effort intodifferent phases for a four-monthupgrade project.

Quick Upgrade Evaluation Service

This SAP service allows you toevaluate your upgrade projectthrough the combination of remoteanalysis and a two-day on-site work-shop that covers a cost estimate,an estimate of effort required, anda milestone plan for executing yourupgrade project. The serviceresults in a decision documentthat can serve as a foundation fora fixed-price SAP proposal fortechnical upgrade execution.



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SAP recommendation: There arevarious strategies for sequencing the

activities involved in an upgrade to SAPERP 6.0. To ensure the best possiblemaintenance (such as corrections andcode changes) of your productive SAPsoftware landscape, SAP recommendsyou take the following approach: As part of your early planning, set

up a reference system (a copy of arepresentative productive softwaresystem) to obtain information for moredetailed planning, cost and effortestimations, and impact analysis.

For each productive software system,

perform another test upgrade bybuilding up a project system froma copy of the software system.Working with a project system allowsyou to test-drive the majority of proj-ect tasks, such as application adjust-ments and unit testing, before theactual project landscape (includingdevelopment and quality assurancesystems) is upgraded.

This risk-minimized approach also

reduces the code-freeze period.

Upgrade Management Toolsand Assistance

To keep your upgrade on track, takeadvantage of SAP Solution Manager,SAP Upgrade Road Map, and whenneeded expert outside assistance.

SAP Solution ManagerYou can use this application manage-ment solution to: Manage project documentation

efficiently Document business processes

affected by the upgrade

Leverage integrated testing and usertraining functions

SAP Upgrade Road MapThe SAP Upgrade Road Map contentis delivered with SAP Solution Manager.It provides a standard methodologyincluding best practices for all projectmanagement, technical, and businessaspects of a technical upgrade project.With its checklists, templates, and

how-to descriptions, the road map aimsto provide guidelines to the project

manager and the application and tech-nical teams to help them accelerateand optimize primary project activities.

Figure 4: Milestone Planning in a Technical Upgrade Project

Calendar week14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

1 Projectpreparation

2 Blueprint3 Realization

4 Final preparationfor cutover

5 Go-live andsupport

5 weeks

April May June July August Usage Guide: How to UseSAP Solution Manager inUpgrade ProjectsThis document (available atwww.service.sap.com

/upgraderoadmap) helps youdecide how the SAP SolutionManager application managementsolution can be beneficial duringan upgrade of SAP software.The guide details all functionsthat support upgrades.

Thanks to great support from

SAP and SAP Consulting, we

were able to move our entire

business from SAP R/3 4.6C

to mySAP ERP 2005 [now

SAP ERP 6.0] within 120 daysand with zero unexpected

downtime. The upgrade lays

the foundation for us to imple-

ment new functionalities that

will enhance our business

processes and operations.

Torsten Kstel, IT Director, Technische Werke

Ludwigshafen AG

8 weeks

2weeks

3 weeks

Code freeze

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The road map (see Figure 5) is struc-tured in five phases and providesaccess to further tools, such as thesolution browser and the application-specific upgrade (ASU) toolbox fromSAP.

For offline use, the SAP Upgrade RoadMap is also available in HTML format.You can download it fromwww.service.sap.com/upgraderoadmap.

External AssistanceIf your internal resources are limited, orif your staff lacks the skills required foran upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0, there arecoaching or specialized services avail-able to help you avoid surprises and

ensure that your project stays on timeand within budget. SAP surveys indi-cate that most SAP ERP customers relyon some external assistance to ensurethe best outcome for their upgradeprojects. Figure 6 shows the proportionof customers who use external assis-tance in the various areas of an upgrade.

SAP supports its customers withtailored expert services. It also pro-vides holistic engagement conceptssuch as the SAP Safeguarding for

Upgrade portfolio of services orupgrade coach services. With thecoach services, an SAP coach ex-perienced in all aspects of projectmanagement and technology assistsyou with your upgrade.

Figure 5: SAP Upgrade Road Map Content

Figure 6: Customer Responses to the Question Do You Use External Assistance for an Upgrade?

Plan Build

Upgrade Discovery Upgrade Evaluation Upgrade Implementation

Upgrade Road Map

Documentcurrent solution

and set upproject

Specify imple-mentation scope

and solutionadjustment

needs

Implement andadjust solution

Perform inte-gration and

system testsand plancutover

Executeproduction

system upgradeand support

ProjectPreparation

Blueprint RealizationFinal

Preparationfor Cutover

ProductionCutover and

Support

60%50%40%30%20%10%0%

23%

9%

2%

59%

36%

9%

Yes to execute the technical upgrade

Yes to assist in the planning phaseYes to take care of all project aspects

Yes to cover missing expert knowledge for dedicated challengesYes to cover resource shortages

No covered with internal resources only

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The improved technology that SAP hasused since the upgrade to SAP R/3Enterprise makes upgrading consider-ably easier. According to recent resultsfrom the SAP upgrade experience data-base, current upgrade procedures for

the technical execution meet or exceedcustomers expectations in 86% of theupgrades to SAP ERP 6.0. Nevertheless,you and your organization need to beprepared for challenges in each projectphase to ensure your upgrade runssmoothly.

A survey conducted by SAP in 2007reveals which areas are perceived tobe major challenges during the upgradeimplementation phase and what per-

centage of survey participants foundthese areas particularly challenging: IT infrastructure adjustment (44%) Technical deployment and downtime

minimization (66%) Application and modification

adjustments (35%) Efficient testing (68%) User training (44%)

This section provides details, bestpractices, and SAP recommendationsfor each of these areas.

IT Infrastructure Adjustments

The SAP upgrade experience databaseshows that 40% of SAP customers donot need to adjust their hardware con-figuration for an upgrade to SAP ERP6.0. However, in most cases they dofind it necessary to make adjustmentsto their IT infrastructure. These adjust-ments may include resizing the applica-tion server, deploying new front-end

components, making network adjust-ments to maintain system performance,

upgrading or migrating your operatingsystem and database platform, and

converting to Unicode.

Resizing the Application ServerAs a rule of thumb, with each newrelease of SAP ERP the demands onhardware for the application serverincrease about 10%. Upgrading to SAPERP 6.0 from start release SAP R/34.6C increases the demands on appli-cation server memory by 55% and onthe application server CPU by 22%.For each new release of SAP ERP,SAP provides more details on delta

sizing requirements in the respectiveSAP Notes listed in the FurtherInformation section at the end ofthis document. SAP provides a freequick-sizer tool to help you getan initial sizing assessment.

Deploying New SAP Front-EndComponentsSAP recommends you use and deploythe latest version of its graphical userinterface (GUI), which is downwards

compatible with previous SAP appli-cations. To run the latest GUI, you

may need to upgrade hardware or theoperating system of user PCs. More

tips and tricks on the cost-efficientdeployment of the SAP front endare contained in the SAP front-enddeployment strategy document (seeFurther Information).

Making Network Adjustments toMaintain System PerformanceTo avoid performance bottlenecks afteran upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0 and ensureyour system performs the same as orbetter than it did before, SAP offersa white paper (SAP Network Sizing)

summarizing key recommendationsfor an optimized network configuration.It is available atwww.service.sap.com/erp-inst.

Upgrading or Migrating Your OperatingSystem and Database PlatformThis is a potential prerequisite forperforming a technical upgrade.Furthermore, some customers seethe upgrade project as an opportunityto change their operating-system or

database vendor to reduce their costof operations.

EXECUTING AN UPGRADE TO SAP ERP 6.0

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Converting to UnicodeIf you are converting to Unicode with thegoing-live phase of the upgrade project,you need to consider additional sizingrequirements such as those described inthe dedicated SAP Notes (see Further

Information). The notes also explain thereasons for a Unicode conversion.

Technical Deployment

With the upgrade to SAP R/3 Enterprisesoftware in 2003, SAP significantlyimproved its upgrade procedures byintroducing system switch technology.Today this technology is used consis-tently for all SAP applications based onthe ABAP programming language. It is

also used for Java-based applications.

Benefits of System Switch TechnologyWith this technology, you can switchone release of SAP ERP (for example,an older release of SAP R/3) to atarget release level (for example,SAP ERP 6.0) in a one-step procedure.In contrast to migration techniques,the switch technology (applicable forsource releases from SAP R/3 3.1Ionward) adjusts the new SAP soft-ware, the underlying database, and

related data structure in an in-placeprocedure without moving data out-side the database. Compared to theprevious upgrade technology (used toupgrade to SAP ERP 4.6C software,for example), system switch technologymoves major activities from the down-time to the uptime phase. This reducesthe average technical downtime ofan upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0 (whichaverages about eight hours) by morethan 50% compared to previous

upgrades from releases of SAP R/3to SAP R/3 4.6C.

Because the central component ofSAP ERP remains stable, the technicalupgrade is also much more predictableand simpler than upgrades to previousSAP R/3 releases.

Minimizing DowntimeTotal downtime is divided into technicaldowntime and business downtime.Technical downtime is time duringwhich the software system cannot beused productively. It does not includetime for data backup, testing, and soon. Business downtime is the time(planned and unplanned) that the soft-ware system or solution is not availableto users. It includes technical downtimeplus the time necessary for the data

backup and final tests.

You can reduce technical downtime by: Choosing the downtime-minimized

instead of the resource-minimizedstrategy (For details, see informationon the upgrade master guide, listedin the table titled Performing theTechnical Deployment, which canbe found in the Further Informationsection at the end of this paper.)

Doing a preupgrade cleanup ofdatabase tables affected by data

conversion activities during thedowntime

Using incremental table conversionduring uptime for tables with analtered structure in SAP ERP 6.0

Upgrading after hardware infra-structure has been reconfigured,enhanced, or resized (if you areperforming any of these tasks),which increases the speed ofdatabase-related activities inparticular

Ensuring you always use the latestpatch of the upgrade tool

The size of the database has no directimpact on the duration of technicaldowntime.

Total business downtime can beinfluenced by additional factors such

as:Backup strategy Depending on

the amount of time available, anonline backup instead of an offlinebackup strategy is an option that canfurther reduce total downtime, whiletechnologies such as split-mirrorbackup can reduce backup downtimeto zero.

Postupgrade activities The timerequired to prepare the system forrelease to users can be increased

depending on the languages installed,the other transports you want includ-ed in the system, and the durationof user acceptance testing. TheASU toolbox can help you with allpostupgrade activities.

Each SAP software system is highlyindividual in terms of its configurationand application data. Therefore, anaccurate forecast of total duration ofthe upgrade and downtime is onlypossible after you have analyzed the

results of a test upgrade with a repre-sentative hardware configuration anda volume of data.

Application and ModificationAdjustments

Using a project system (a test-drivesystem), you can readily identify allrelevant SAP software modificationsand necessary adjustments. As aresult, you can minimize the time it

takes to do the actual adjustmentsto the development system.



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Application adjustments for a technicalupgrade involve four major areas:adjustments to SAP software modifi-cations, adjustments to custom devel-opments, upgrade (delta) customizingfor existing business processes and

standard SAP software functions, andadjustments to interfaces or connectedSAP applications and third-partyproducts.

Adjustments to SAP SoftwareModificationsThe upgrade process replaces modifiedSAP objects with standard SAP objects.Modifications that are still needed afterthe upgrade have to be adjusted. Youcan readily identify and handle all rele-

vant SAP software modifications aswell as related database and datastructure changes by using the toolsSAP provides for modificationadjustment.

Adjustments to Custom DevelopmentsIn contrast to modified SAP objects,custom software developments arenot directly affected by the technicalupgrade process. However, since thesecustom developments are embedded inother SAP objects and often reference

standard objects that might have changedduring the upgrade, they also requireadjustment activities. SAP releasenotes are the primary informationsource for identifying if and how muchcustom code needs to be changed toremain compliant with the standardfunctions provided in SAP ERP 6.0.These adjustments can be done usingthe standard SAP development tools.Furthermore, SAP offers a customdevelopment optimization package to

help you handle custom developmentseffectively during an upgrade and overthe entire solution life cycle.

SAP recommendation: If SAP softwaremodifications and custom developments

are no longer in use, you should elimi-nate them as part of the applicationadjustment activities in the develop-ment system to decrease future main-tenance costs. SAP statistics showthat many custom developments andreports are not used in any case. SAPuses standardized tools (as part of thequick upgrade evaluation service, forexample) to analyze system-specificconditions. This helps you assess theimpact of the upgrade and provides

a reliable foundation for a cost andeffort estimation.

Upgrade Customizing for ExistingBusiness ProcessesIn most cases, there is no need tochange customizing settings for exist-ing business processes after an upgrade.However, in certain areas, specific cus-tomizing adjustments may need to beperformed to ensure existing businessprocesses and standard SAP functionsare running properly. In this case, the

necessary customizing adjustmentscan be highlighted in the implemen-tation guide for upgrade (delta) custom-izing (see the Further Informationsection).

With the upgrade, some transactionsmay become obsolete, replaced bynew functionality. Information aboutfurther application adjustment require-ments is collected and delivered toSAP customers via the ASU toolbox.

Adjustments to Interfaces orConnected ApplicationsSince certain business processes runacross systems or use third-party prod-ucts, it is important to ensure that allinterfaces are documented properly prior

to the upgrade so they can be checkedeffectively during the upgrade project.

With its stable central component, SAPERP 6.0 significantly reduces the needfor application adjustments, especiallyfor customers upgrading from SAP R/34.6C or higher. Consult the respectiveupgrade guides on SAP Service Market-place for details (see the section FurtherInformation). This online resourcealso contains information on how to

implement SAP industry solutions.

In the future, enhancement packagesare expected to minimize the need forapplication adjustments, since newfunctions can be selectively activatedwith very limited impact on theapplication in use.

Testing

Thorough testing is critical to minimiz-ing the risk of business disruption in

any SAP project, even in purely tech-nical upgrade projects. Based on a sur-vey conducted by SAP in 2007, 68% ofSAP customers claim testing is a majorcost driver and challenge in upgradeprojects.

The need for and the effort involvedin testing is determined by the level ofapplication adjustments and the func-tional scope of the project. The effortcan be reduced through organization



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and preparation. The focus of testingin upgrade projects should be on corebusiness processes including interfaces,forms, authorizations, and develop-ments. The manual effort and user

involvement in testing can be reducedby developing comprehensive proce-dures and ensuring the transparencyof existing business processes.However, reducing by too much thetime and money spent on testing or neglecting to implement adequatetesting standards and procedures can jeopardize critical business pro-cesses. Often, insufficient trans-parency of critical processes or anincomplete test catalog preventsSAP customers from performing

accurate testing.

SAP provides tools for planning andexecuting tests in a streamlined andcost-efficient manner to help you strikethe balance between high-quality test-ing and affordable effort. SAP SolutionManager provides integrated access toa test organizer and extended computer-aided test tools. For example, it canhelp organize test cases and providetransparency on available manual or

automated test cases by documentingthe cases according to major businessprocesses. These test cases can beused for unit tests and to define testplans for regression and integrationtesting in the upgrade project. SAP

Solution Manager can also reducemanual testing effort considerably andhelp guarantee high-quality testingresults and transparent test progresseven beyond the SAP software upgrade.Test automation, especially for regres-sion testing (which is also relevantwhen applying support packages forSAP applications), can be a significanttesting accelerator and contributor,reducing manual testing effort by upto 40%.

SAP recommendation: For SAP soft-ware upgrades of about four monthsproject duration, at least three weeksshould be dedicated to regression andfinal integration testing.

If you need to build up test systemsor other nonproductive systems moreoften, the SAP Test Data MigrationServer software can ensure consistentand high-quality test systems by mini-mizing hardware investment. In addi-

tion, partner tools and dedicated SAPservice offerings can help optimize theentire test management process. (Go towww.service.sap.com/upgradeservicesfor details.)

User Training

As with testing, the user training effortvery much depends on the upgradesfunctional scope and the extent ofapplication adjustments. The effort

involved also depends on your com-panys organizational readiness to dealwith this topic (for example, by usingaccurate and complete trainingmaterial).

A purely technical upgrade has limitedimpact on the interfaces employees areusing. Where the start release is SAPR/3 4.6C or higher, an upgrade willbarely affect users, since SAP ERP 6.0employs the same user interface. Forreleases below SAP R/3 4.6C, theimpact could be considerably higher,because some crucial SAP transactionswere redesigned in SAP R/3 4.6C.

SAP recommendation: For a cost-

effective execution of delta trainingfor users, SAP suggests investigatingalternatives to standard classroomtraining for example, employing atrain-the-trainer concept to multiplyknowledge provided to users via busi-ness process experts in a cascadingprocess. If there are only limited user-interface changes but a high numberof users across the globe who needtraining, e-learning concepts could alsoenable a more streamlined trainingapproach. An upgrade course finder

atwww.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhelpsyou locate courses that train your proj-ect team to introduce employees toSAP ERP. And SAP offers e-learningsolutions and a documentation toolintegrated with SAP Solution Managerto provide methodology support andexpert guidance to suit your specificneeds.

We opted for the one-stop

SAP solution because we liked

the package SAP offered, con-

sisting of SAP expert knowledge,

professional project manage-ment, training expertise, and

automated test tools.

Lothar Hafner, Lead Project Manager, INVISTA

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SAP ERP 6.0 provides great potentialfor improving your current businessoperations, expanding your currentfunctionality, and helping you innovateto meet changing business require-ments. As the go-to release beyond

2010, it also ensures a stable, long-term IT platform that minimizes riskand maintenance, enabling your organi-zation to keep up in a dynamic andcompetitive business world.

Satisfaction with SAP software upgradeshas increased significantly over thepast 10 years thanks to the robustnessand stability of the core application,improvements in SAP upgrade technol-ogy, and the assistance SAP provides

in all areas of an upgrade. Sensitivityto the potential challenges of an SAPsoftware upgrade and knowledge ofhow to master these challenges byusing best practices and establishingstandards and procedures should makethe transition to SAP ERP 6.0 smoothand straightforward. Thus, there is littlereason to postpone your upgrade. Nowis the time to start maximizing thebenefits of your SAP R/3 investment.

Key Messages for IT Decision

Makers

An upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0 offerssignificant advantages for your organi-zation in several areas if you preparefor it appropriately:Wide-ranging benefits The new

ERP software provides a stable, flexiblefoundation with a wealth of newfeatures and functions that maximizeyour existing SAP investment. How-ever, do not expect to find a single

decisive factor to justify the upgrade.

Instead, take a holistic approach and

analyze the wide range of benefits anupgrade can bring to various areas ofyour organization.

Business-driven justification Identify your crucial business require-ments and the aspects of your busi-ness model that could change or beimproved, and then map your needsto the functions available in SAP ERP6.0. A solution browser tool can helpyou identify the concrete benefitsof the upgrade.

Inclusive evaluation process There

is potential for both business unitsand IT departments to derive greatvalue from SAP ERP. Ensure cooper-ation and consultation betweenthese areas, and weigh opportunitiesagainst potential risks.

Coordination with IT strategy Executing SAP software upgrades hasbecome much more straightforwardand predictable in recent years. How-ever, you should make sure the upgradefits your overall IT strategy and does

not conflict with other IT projects.

Key Messages for Project

Managers and Technical ProjectLeaders

The following are key messages forproject managers and technical projectleaders involved in an upgrade:Take upgrades seriously Plan and

manage upgrades to SAP ERP 6.0 ascarefully as you do other SAP projects,for example, by establishing compre-hensive project standards and proce-dures. SAP Solution Manager can helpyou plan and manage the upgrade.

Prepare your system(s) Cleaningup modifications and performingselective archiving can reduce theeffort of an upgrade considerably.

Test the upgrade Get prepared bydoing at least one test upgrade inthe early planning phase to identifypotential risks, technical challengesand limitations, and cost drivers.

Take a multistep approach Performa technical upgrade first, and thenimplement new functions or business

innovations in subsequent projects.

TOMORROWS SOLUTION TODAY



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Leverage improved upgrade tech-nology Upgrading from SAP R/34.6C (or higher releases of ERPsoftware) to SAP ERP 6.0 involvessignificantly lower impact, less effort,and shorter downtime than upgrades

to previous releases of SAP R/3software.

Reduce downtime Average down-time during an upgrade has decreasedsignificantly, such that the vast majorityof SAP customers go live on anormal weekend.

Plan comprehensive testing Donot underestimate the effort involvedin testing. Testing effort will be deter-mined mainly by the need for applica-tion adjustment and the functional

scope of the upgrade.Train users The need for usertraining depends on how much newfunctionality is implemented. Trainingeffort is generally lower than forupgrades to previous releases ofSAP R/3. Consider using alternativetraining concepts such as e-learningor a train-the-trainer approach.

Ask for expert help as needed Consider using external assistance(including offerings from SAP) tocomplement your internal resources

in specific areas (for example, for aUnicode conversion) rather thanendanger the project.

The move to SAP ERP 6.0 pro-

vides us with the newest func-

tionality, which is closer to our

business processes and [to the]

primary process of grantormanagement. We completed

our ERP upgrade on time and

within budget and are now

up and running with a robust

application and technology

that helps improve our business

processes and enhance visibility

for our managers. The newarchitecture of SAP ERP allows

us to collaborate more effectively

and operate more flexibly at a

lower overall cost.

Derk Riesthuis, Program Manager,

Provincie Noord-Holland



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The resources outlined in this sectionprovide more specific or detailed infor-mation on upgrading to SAP ERP 6.0. Inthe following tables, most of the onlineresources listed take you to the SAP

Service Marketplace extranet (somedo not), which requires registration.SAP Notes are also published on SAPService Marketplace, which can beaccessed atwww.service.sap.com.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Identifying the Value Proposition and Justifying the Upgrade

Understanding the Release Strategy for SAP ERP and Determiningthe Value Proposition

Topic Further Information Sources

Maintenance timelines for the

SAP ERP application

www.service.sap.com/maintenance

Overview of newest release of SAP ERP Overview of SAP ERP:

www.service.sap.com/erp

SAP ERP Application, Strategy, and

Road Map: SAP standard presentation

SAP ERP, Life Cycle of Enhancement

Packages: SAP standard presentation

Enhancement packages for SAP ERP:

www.service.sap.com/erp-ehp

SAP ERP business maps

Value proposition for the newest release

of SAP ERP

How SAP ERP covers current market

trends and typical business requirements

The Value of SAP ERP:

SAP standard presentation

SAP Accelerated Value Assessment:

Service brief

Detailed value analysis of the latest

SAP ERP release:

Delta functionality

Delta training and workshops

Test-driving the new release with

demo or sandbox system

Solution browser tool from SAP:

www.solutionbrowser.exp.sap

.fmpmedia.com

Delta training offerings for SAP ERP

Defining a Business Case


Value assessment service from SAP Service brief

http://www.service.sap.com/http://www.service.sap.com/http://www.service.sap.com/maintenancehttp://www.service.sap.com/erphttp://www.service.sap.com/erp-ehphttps://websmp107.sap-ag.de/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000687450&_OBJECT=011000358700000265702007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000687450&_OBJECT=011000358700000265702007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000687450&_OBJECT=011000358700000265702007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700002933662006Ehttp://www.solutionbrowser.exp.sap.fmpmedia.com/http://www.solutionbrowser.exp.sap.fmpmedia.com/http://www.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhttp://www.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhttp://www.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700002941922006Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700002941922006Ehttp://www.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhttp://www.solutionbrowser.exp.sap.fmpmedia.com/http://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700002933662006Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000687450&_OBJECT=011000358700000265702007Ehttps://websmp107.sap-ag.de/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000687450&_OBJECT=011000358700000265702007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/erp-ehphttp://www.service.sap.com/erphttp://www.service.sap.com/maintenancehttp://www.service.sap.com/


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Planning an Upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0

Assessing the Impact on Your Existing ERP Solution


Overview of technical aspects

of the upgrade

Transition to and Upgrade of the

SAP ERP Application: SAP standard

presentation

Technical prerequisites and limitations

of SAP ERP 6.0

Product availability matrix:

www.service.sap.com/pam

SAP Note 852235

Need for Unicode conversion Globalization availability matrix:

www.service.sap.com/unicode@sap

Availability of country versions Localization:

www.service.sap.com/localization

Compatibility issues with other SAP

applications, business scenarios,

and processes

SAP process component list:

www.service.sap.com/scl

Limitations for the former productSAP Internet Transaction Server

SAP Note 709038

Obsolete SAP transactions List of obsolete SAP transactions:

www.service.sap.com/upgrade-erp

(SAP R/3 Enterprise)

Test upgrade and detailed analysis of

the impact of an upgrade on an existing

SAP solution

SAP upgrade tools (including PREPARE,

a specific method for upgrade preparation,

and SAPUP, a specific program for the

technical execution of an SAP upgrade)

are included as part of the upgrade assis-

tant, delivered with the upgrade CDs of

the respective solution for example,

the upgrade CDs for SAP ERP 6.0. Theyare installed and handled by the system

administrator.

Estimating Costs and Effort


Consider benchmark information for project

duration, project effort, and so forth in pre-

paring for final cost and effort estimation

SAP upgrade experience database:

www.service.sap.com/upgradetools

Utilize the tailored value assessment ser-

vice from SAP to estimate cost and effort

SAP Upgrade Evaluation Service:

Service brief

http://www.service.sap.com/pamhttp://www.service.sap.com/pamhttp://www.service.sap.com/unicode@saphttp://www.service.sap.com/localizationhttp://www.service.sap.com/sclhttp://www.service.sap.com/upgrade-erphttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradetoolshttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700002940782006Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700002940782006Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradetoolshttp://www.service.sap.com/upgrade-erphttp://www.service.sap.com/sclhttp://www.service.sap.com/localizationhttp://www.service.sap.com/unicode@saphttp://www.service.sap.com/pam


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Managing Upgrade Projects Successfully


Project plan, standards, and guidelines SAP Upgrade Road Map content:

www.service.sap.com/upgraderoadmap

SAP Solution Manager application

management solution as a project docu-mentation tool and advanced life-cycle

management platform

SAP Solution Manager:

Usage guide about SAP Solution Managerin upgrade projects

External assistance (including SAP offer-

ings) to cover need for expert knowledge,

to fill resource gaps, and so on

SAP upgrade service offerings:

www.service.sap.com/upgradeservices

Executing an Upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0

Determining the Need for IT Infrastructure Adjustments


Updating desktop PCs because ofnew SAP graphical user interface

Front-end deployment strategy:SAP Front-End Deployment Strategy

Requirements for and impact on

network bandwidth

Bandwidth requirements:

SAP Network Sizingguide

Application server resizing As a rule of thumb, servers need to be

resized about 10% for each higher release.

See these SAP Notes on delta sizing for

previous releases of ERP software:

113795 (source release 4.0B)



517085 (source release 4.6C)

752532 (source release Enterprise 1.10) 778774 (source release Enterprise 2.00)

901070 (source release ECC 5.00)

Also see information on quick-sizer tool:

www.service.sap.com/sizing

Unicode conversion and related impact

on sizing

SAP Note 79991

Implications for operating system

and database

Product availability matrix:

www.service.sap.com/pam

http://www.service.sap.com/upgraderoadmaphttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001226592007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001226592007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradeserviceshttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001216462007E.PDFhttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700003943521999Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700003943521999Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/sizinghttp://www.service.sap.com/sizinghttp://www.service.sap.com/sizinghttp://www.service.sap.com/sizinghttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700003943521999Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001216462007E.PDFhttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradeserviceshttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001226592007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgraderoadmap


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Performing the Technical Deployment


Upgrade master guide and component

upgrade guides as key guidelines

Upgrade Master Guide

Guides for upgrading:

Component upgrade guides

Industry solution specifics in industryguides

Industry guides:Industry-specific upgrade guides

Handling Other Technical Considerations


Technical prerequisites for using the

SAP Solution Manager application

management solution for generating the

installation key for setting up an actual

application solution landscape

SAP Note 805390

Combining an upgrade and Unicode

conversion

SAP Note 928729: Combined Unicode

conversion and upgrade

SAP Note 959698: Twin upgrade and

Unicode conversion

General information about Unicode

and SAP ERP 6.0:

www.service.sap.com/globalization

Unicode-related downtime optimization SAP Notes 784118 and 857081

http://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700005395932005Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700005278212005Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/instguideshttp://www.service.sap.com/instguideshttp://www.service.sap.com/globalizationhttp://www.service.sap.com/globalizationhttp://www.service.sap.com/instguideshttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700005278212005Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700005395932005E


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Performing Efficient Application Adjustments, Testing, and User Training


Analyzing and adjusting SAP software

modifications and custom developments

Quick upgrade analysis service and quick

upgrade evaluation service:

www.service.sap.com/upgradeservices

SAP software release notes:www.service.sap.com/releasenotes

Application adjustments and upgrade

customizing

Use the SAP implementation guide

upgrade customizing (Note: This is not a

document but a system tool that is installed

and handled by the system administrator.)

Additional application adjustments SAP Note 623723: Application-specific

update toolbox from SAP

Creation of multiple nonproductive

systems and functionality of the SAP

Test Data Migration Server software

Details on SAP Test Data Migration Server:

www.service.sap.com/upgradetools

Using the SAP Solution Manager appli-

cation management solution to increaseefficiency of business-related upgrade

aspects such as testing or user training

SAP Solution Manager:

Usage guide about SAP Solution Managerin upgrade projects

Course finder for use in upgrades

to the SAP ERP application

www.sap.com/services/education

/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epx

http://www.service.sap.com/upgradeserviceshttp://www.service.sap.com/releasenoteshttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradetoolshttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001226592007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001226592007Ehttp://www.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhttp://www.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhttp://www.sap.com/services/education/catalog/erp/coursefinder.epxhttp://www.service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001226592007Ehttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradetoolshttp://www.service.sap.com/releasenoteshttp://www.service.sap.com/upgradeservices


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Public Information Sources

The analyst reports below are availableon the Internet, as is the article fromRAAD Studie. The SAP presentationscan be accessed online at SAP Service

Marke

Practices and SAP Recommendations

Documents

Transcript of Practices and SAP Recommendations