SAP ERP 6.0 Upgrade
Welcome to the SAP ERP 6.0 Upgrade space. This is the SDN Wiki starting point for topics around the SAP ERP Upgrade. Feel free to create and correct entries.
The SAP ERP Upgrade Wiki covers all areas of the upgrade, for example, the different upgrade approaches, common problems in the upgrade process and much more.
SAP had developed three different upgrade project approaches to move from SAP R/3 to my SAP ERP2005.
Why Upgrade?
There are no objective reasons for an upgrade.
Determining an Upgrade Strategy
Upgrade strategy is determined by the factors which influence the upgrade project. It would determine the decisions on IT and business related factors as well as Unicode conversion and technical perspective.
Factors influencing the complexity of an upgrade :
IT related complexity Drivers
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- Application Landscape - Number of application landscape which are affected. SAP upgrade dependency analyser helps provide the information if the two landscapes in question are compatible or will be supported by SAP after upgrade of one SAP system.
- Unicode Conversion -If the client is using MDMP, then it has to undergo Unicode Conversion. Project Strategy can be decided depending the client version , if the system is running on 4.6B or below, then twin upgrade followed by unicode conversion is required. However if the system is on 4.7 or above, then unicode upgrade can be carried out before the upgrade.
- Complexity of the landscape - The way in which landscape is organized will ascertain the time required for upgrade. A typical DEV->QAS-> PRD as suggested by SAP is considered to be less complex.
- Source Release- Source system below 4.6C requires more effort , even two step upgrade . Systems on 4.6C and above involves less risk as it introduces lesser changes to the ECC.
- Usage of Add-Ons - Inclusion of non SAP addons adds to the complexity, and the availability with each of the vendors should be checked to see addons are compatible with ECC6.0
- Front End Software - SAP GUI should also be upgraded, independently of the technical upgrade.
Project Related complexity drivers
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- Upgrade Strategy - SAP recommends to perform technical upgrade before the functional and strategic upgrade.
- Parallel Projects - Number of developments should be minimized while doing an upgrade. The production system transport should be set up that it can be maintained throughout the upgrade project , so that important and urgent transports can be carried out.
- Customer - Test cases and documentation needs to be taken care of. Also team needs to be prepared for the upgrade.
Business Related complexity Drivers
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- Business situation - General business drivers to cause the project delays like global recession. business mergers etc.
- Business Requirements - New functionalities, downtime restrictions needs to be taken care incase of deciding the projects.
Upgrade Approaches
Successfully executing an upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0 requires a well-defined upgrade strategy encompassing an approach and project scope based on the circumstances and aims of your organization. The project strategy has a great effect not only on project duration and effort but also on the immediate ROI of the upgrade. The upgrade strategy usually consists of several stages that progressively expand functionality, increase business value, and prepare the organization for the transition to enterprise SOA while minimizing risk. This process typically lasts three to five years and consists of three distinct phases: the technical upgrade, functional enhancements, and strategic enhancements.
Step 1: Technical Upgrade
This initial phase involves a purely technological upgrade whose major goal is the implementation of the new software release as the foundation for all subsequent improvements. The impact of this phase on your business and business processes is very limited:
- Previously used business functions are retained
- Modifications and custom developments are reduced (which reduces cost of operations and system complexity)
- Unicode conversion may take place.
The technical upgrade simply creates the basis for functional and strategic enhancements.
Step 2: Functional Enhancements
Directed toward business benefits, this phase focuses on increasing business value by implementing the most valuable functions of the new software and laying the foundation for future business innovation and improved process automation. During this phase, SAP software modifications and custom developments are replaced with (new) standard SAP software functions. Operational excellence is improved by picking and implementing "low-hanging fruit" - functions that offer the greatest business benefit with the least effort. Even though this phase can be combined in a single project with the technical upgrade, statistics show that more than 80% of SAP customers approach this second phase as a separate project, to be conducted after a technical upgrade has been completed and overall stability has been reached.
Step 3: Strategic Enhancements
Phase three involves implementing new and optimized business processes and scenarios that fully exploit new SAP ERP functions and enable enterprise SOA. It may include implementing other software systems or components and is very much dependent on the business needs of your organization. Enterprise SOA enables you to shorten application innovation life cycles and implement strategic business enhancements at your own speed.
SAP Upgrade Road Map
SAP has defined a roadmap for upgrade. You can access it in SAP Solution Manager or via SAP Service Marketplace (http://service.sap.com/upgraderoadmap).
- Project Preparation
Analyze the actual situation
Define the objectives
Create the project plan
Carry out organizational preparation for example identify the project team
- Upgrade Blueprint
The system and components affected
The mapped business processes
The requirements regarding business data
- Upgrade Realization
In this phase the solution described in the design phase is implemented in a test environment.
This creates a pilot system landscape, in which the processes and all their interfaces can be mapped individually and tested on the functional basis.
- Final Preparation for Cutover
Testing
Training
Minimizing upgrade risks
Detailed upgrade planning
Mock Cutovers
- Production Cutover and Support
The production solution upgrade
Startup of the solutions in the new release
Post processing activities
Solving typical problems during the initial operation phase.
SAP expects at least 2 to 3 months for an upgrade and this again depends on project scope and complexity and various other factors that depend on the upgrade project and on the individual organization.
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