An SAP assessment covers five key areas before changing a support model: current state analysis, future state requirements, impact and scope analysis, solution architecture and a roadmap that considers potential risks. Together, these provide a clear understanding of the existing SAP environment and what is required to manage the transition.
Changing support models, whether moving providers, bringing support in-house or preparing for SAP S/4HANA, requires careful planning. Understanding existing systems, operational requirements and the potential impact of change helps organisations make decisions based on their business needs.
What Does an SAP Assessment Involve?
An SAP assessment identifies what needs to change, how those changes will affect the business and what is required to support a successful transition. Five key components contribute to this process.
#1 Current State Analysis
Current state analysis examines the existing SAP environment, including systems, custom code, integrations and operational challenges. It provides an understanding of how current systems perform, which processes depend on them and where improvements could be made. This stage establishes a clear view of the existing environment, providing a foundation for planning future support arrangements.
#2 Future State
Future state requirements define how the business needs its SAP support model to operate. This includes identifying business objectives, operational requirements and the capabilities needed to support future growth. Involving IT teams, project sponsors and employees who use SAP daily helps ensure the future support model reflects the needs of the wider organisation.
3. Impact and Scope Analysis
Impact and scope analysis shows you what breaks, what shifts, and what stays the same.
Tools like the Scope and Effort Analyzer or the Business Process Change Analyzer (BPCA) quantify how proposed changes ripple across system versions and business processes.
This is where a well run SAP assessment earns its value.. Instead of vague warnings about “some disruption”, it identifies specifics such as:
- Which business processes will be affected and to what extent
- Which system versions or modules carry the most risk
- Where testing should be prioritised before go-live
4. Solution Architecture
Solution architecture defines the structure of the future SAP environment or support model. It brings together business requirements and assessment findings to establish how systems will connect, where responsibilities will sit and how support will operate.
Having a clear architecture ensures the new support arrangements work with existing systems and meet business requirements. It helps identify integration and compliance considerations early, allowing these to be addressed before the transition begins.
5. Roadmap And Risk Mitigation
The roadmap translates the assessment findings into a plan covering timelines, resources and transition activities. It builds in testing strategies such as using the SAP Solution Manager Test Suite so nothing goes live untested. A clear roadmap helps:
- Plan changes in a sequence that minimises business disruption
- Allocate the appropriate people and budget to each phase
- Identify and manage potential risks ahead of implementation
Why Does This Matter Before You Commit?
Changing a support model without an assessment behind it is a bit like renovating a house without checking the foundations first. The change might look fine on the surface, and then cause real problems six months later.
Current state analysis, future state requirements, impact and scope analysis, solution architecture and a roadmap that considers potential risks all work together. Each stage builds on the previous one, giving decision-makers a clear, evidence-based understanding of the proposed changes and their impact on business operations.
A well structured SAP assessment provides a clear basis for deciding how the future support model will operate, with defined requirements, responsibilities and measurable outcomes.
