The potential return on investment (ROI) of an SAP upgrade is significantly impacted by the chosen project approach. SAP delineates three major approaches, each driven by distinct motivations, potentially resulting in varying ROI and payback periods:
Technical Upgrade
- Focus on pure technology upgrade
- Retain functionality used
- Review usage of custom developments
Functional Upgrade
- New functionality to be implemented as part of the upgrade, modification clearing
- Focus on reduction of system complexity strategic enhancements
- Focus on functionality extension and improvement
- Enablement of new and optimized business processes and scenario
The potential return on investment (ROI) of an SAP upgrade is significantly impacted by the chosen project approach. SAP delineates three major approaches, each driven by distinct motivations, potentially resulting in varying ROI and payback periods:
You may complement these approaches with other initiatives, such as system landscape consolidation or the implementation of shared service center(s).
In summary, the more an upgrade decision is driven by business improvement aspects, the higher is the expected ROI. Upgrade experiences and customer statistics prove that a mix of business, technology and strategic criteria usually determines the decision for an SAP upgrade.
Most upgrade projects start with a technical upgrade followed by the implementation of business value in subsequent projects. From this perspective, a pure technical upgrade is the key enabler for growth and continuous business innovation.
