Struggling with outdated, costly, and inefficient legacy systems? This article will guide you through effective SAP legacy system decommissioning strategies. You will explore the critical steps, from planning the decommissioning project and data extraction to choosing the right architecture for a successful decommissioning project, ultimately paving the way for a more agile, secure, and cost-effective IT infrastructure. Learn how to minimise risks and maximise the benefits of retiring your outdated system in this article. Read on.
Introduction
In today's constantly evolving business landscape, organisations often find themselves stuck with outdated legacy systems. While once critical to the business, these systems are now impacting innovation, draining budgets, and exposing companies to significant security risks. The thought of 'pulling the plug' on these deeply embedded systems can be daunting, evoking fears of data loss, operational disruption, and compliance issues. However, strategically decommissioning these SAP & non-SAP legacy systems is not just an IT task; it is an important business imperative that unlocks numerous benefits, from enhanced security to reduced costs to improved agility and a foundation for future growth. This article will delve into practical strategies for a successful legacy decommissioning process, helping you navigate the complexities and confidently adapt to a new era of modern, efficient, and secure technology.
What is system decommissioning?
For many organisations, system decommissioning isn't quite completely understood. Legacy system decommissioning is a systematic approach to phasing out outdated systems. However, it's critical to note that these systems are often still in use within the organisation and contain data that can be essential to the business. This data may need to be retained for legal purposes or because it's significant for business operations.
SAP & non-SAP decommissioning, therefore, might seem like a misleading term to organisations. It's more than just switching off obsolete systems; it's about systematically managing the transition without losing access to critical historical data. The important thing to consider here is that you must ensure that even after these systems are retired, the company retains access to its valuable data, potentially for many years to come.
What is the difference between SAP & non-SAP decommissioning?
While decommissioning outdated systems, the data critical to organisations must remain accessible for legal and compliance purposes. However, with many systems operating within your IT infrastructure, it is natural to wonder how the decommissioning process takes place. In fact, there are striking differences between SAP & non-SAP decommissioning. Here are some of the notable differences between the two decommissioning processes:
SAP legacy system decommissioning
One of the largest ERP solutions providers, SAP, comes with a fleet of tools and solutions that streamlines data management. In fact, even for the decommissioning requirements, SAP has specialised tools and processes for its systems. Furthermore, there are standardised formats and procedures for data extraction and mapping, specific software, making the entire decommissioning process even smoother and more efficient. Moreover, numerous experts are available in the market who can provide their expertise in the domain, navigate the complexities of the system retirement project, and deliver ideal results.
Non-SAP legacy system decommissioning
To be honest, decommissioning a legacy system outside the SAP landscape can be a little challenging due to the diverse data structures and formats. For this sort of system retirement process, you must come up with effective non-SAP legacy system decommissioning strategies where the data must be extracted for alignment with the right tax archive formats. In fact, this process often requires custom mapping to ensure the accuracy of the extracted data.
In summary, SAP provides structured tools and processes for decommissioning its systems. However, non-SAP systems decommissioning requires additional efforts to adapt and integrate data into the decommissioning solution, often involving expert guidance and specialised tools.
Key strategies for legacy system decommissioning
Leveraging the key strategies for a successful system decommissioning is a top priority. Here are some of the most important strategies to follow to decommission legacy systems:
Plan your decommissioning project
One of the most critical SAP legacy system decommissioning strategies is to develop a strong plan. Remember that the decision to decommission your outdated systems needs communication with various stakeholders, which is why having a strong and comprehensive plan is always a good idea. Furthermore, when you are planning your decommissioning project, consider the following questions:
- Where exactly will the data be stored after the system is decommissioned?
- How to ensure security and compliance for the future?
- How much time will the decommissioning project require?
- Will the new application replace the decommissioned legacy system?
You must discuss these factors with your team about the project and review each aspect. This is because your decommissioned project will not just affect your business operations but also your finances. That's why a step-by-step planned approach is required for the decommissioning project.
Select the right architecture for your decommissioning project
Another key SAP legacy system decommissioning strategies is choosing an architecture that fits perfectly with your IT landscape. A legacy system decommissioning project involves rearchitecting, rebuilding, and replacing the old IT infrastructure, which can lead to newer and more enhanced capabilities. You must carefully analyse the architecture before implementing it into your IT landscape. However, remember that, regardless of a new or restructured architecture, you must map it based on the functionality, technology, cost, and risk. Therefore, ensure to evaluate all the options to identify the process requiring minimum effort but will deliver maximum impact and result.
Data extraction from old systems
Data extraction is a critical part of the SAP & non-SAP decommissioning process. In simple terms, data extraction is the process of collecting and retrieving diverse data sets from legacy systems that need decommissioning. In fact, data extraction from outdated systems is necessary because it allows you to consolidate, process, and audit data that must be stored in a centralised location.
Checking the accuracy of the extracted data
Another essential strategy to follow for a seamless decommissioning process is to check the accuracy of the extracted data. Prepare an audit report to ensure the completeness and integrity of the extracted data. It will allow you to ensure the accuracy of the data between the source and the extracted files. Furthermore, the audit reports also ensure that the planned data set for extraction was actually extracted while remaining unchanged, which qualifies as tax archives.
Upload data into the system
After completing the data extraction process, another one of the most important SAP legacy system decommissioning strategies is to upload the data into the storage system, which can be a hybrid, on-premises, or cloud system. In fact, it may include storing data from an on-premises setup in the cloud or transferring it between cloud environments. In fact, with the rapid growth of cloud storage and migration, most companies are expected to operate completely on the cloud in the coming years.
Consider the user requirements
After completing the system retirement process, the business users may have new requirements. So, as a part of a smart strategy for the decommissioning process, ensure you define the scope of data extraction to avoid missing out on any relevant data, documents, attachments, or reports. That's why, while deploying the project, make sure to anticipate the requirements of the users to help limit any unexpected custom requirements and save any additional costs.
Conclusion
As discussed in this article, the above-mentioned strategies are critical to completing any SAP & non-SAP decommissioning process. These strategies enable businesses to initiate and execute decommissioning projects seamlessly, reducing the excess cost of maintaining outdated systems and streamlining their entire IT infrastructure. However, keep in mind that retiring your obsolete system is a complex and time-consuming task, which can create discrepancies in your business operations. That's why it is highly advisable to seek help from a professional expert to yield the desired results.