SAP Activate Methodology for SAP S/4HANA deployment

SAP S/4HANA Capabilities

SAP S/4HANA is an integrated ERP solution run on SAP HANA, SAP’s in-memory database. SAP
S/4HANA offers organizations and users a wide range of capabilities that help them perform
business processes.

SAP S/4HANA provides users with the ability to perform process automation, supported by
multiple intelligent technologies such as robotic process automation and artificial
intelligence. SAP S/4HANA also creates opportunities for better and quicker decision-making
with embedded analytics, as well as enabling faster answers with conversational interfaces
and digital assistants.

SAP S/4HANA applies various modern technologies to existing functionality to create new,
digitally based business practices. And with SAP sunsetting its legacy ERP suite in 2027, now
is the perfect time to make the move to SAP S/4HANA. Enter SAP Activate.

SAP Activate

SAP Activate was introduced at SAPPHIRE in 2015; it was created to provide the guidance
users need to complete their system transformation. SAP Activate can be used by companies
looking to deploy SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors, and data warehousing products, among
other solutions. Using a three-pillar structure of SAP guided configuration, SAP best practices,
and methodology, SAP Activate aims to simplify implementation processes and help users
build strong landscapes.

SAP Activate continuously provides support throughout the entire SAP S/4HANA transition
and offers details for running and operating the solution beyond the moment your system
goes live

The New SAP Activate Methodology is the first Agile and S4/HANA focused Methodology for
SAP projects. Learn from our global top SAP experts with more than 20 years of working SAP
experience how to become an expert in the Methodology and enable you to use the Agile
Methodology on your SAP project immediately.

SAP provides just the optimum content and tools in SAP Activate, innovation as a service, that
enables customers to maintain agility and achieve their solution deployment objectives. SAP
Activate is available to all customers and contains prescriptive guidance in SAP Activate
methodology, ready-to-use business processes in SAP Model Company / SAP Best Practices
and flexible apps for configuration, data migration, extensibility, integration, and testing. SAP
Activate leverages the pre-configuration to drive fast time to value by executing fit-to-
standard workshops to determine the delta requirements to tailor the solution to customer
needs. Then agile approach is followed to implement the required deltas iteratively and
rapidly. Activate continues to support SAP customers in on-going innovation of their solution
as they receive regular software release upgrades and adopt new functionality.
Figure 1 – SAP Activate lifecycle phases and key activities

SAP continuously invests in keeping the SAP Activate in step with the latest release of the SAP
S/4HANA. Implementation guidance for SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud is updated
regularly with major updates shipped with each software release and minor updates shipped
regularly (for our cloud guidance it is every other week). This ensures that the guidance in SAP
Roadmap Viewer and ready-to-run business processes in SAP Best Practices Explorer are
always up to date.

When customer’s feedback on SAP Activate Methodology, with the following benefits:

 SAP Activate was helpful in guiding the implementation.

 The documentation on the Roadmap Viewer and the Best Practices Explorer are always
up to date.
 Well documented SAP Activate and well followed by our partner
 SAP Activate helped us turnaround a go-live for a smaller project in three months and we
had no problems during the implementation.
 SAP Activate is a methodology business use to perform SAP S/4HANA implementations.
 It allows for a speedy system deployment and applies principles that enable an
organization to adopt new capabilities.
 It supports business process innovation and is evolution-friendly, meeting the
continuously growing needs of your business.

Figure 2 – SAP Activate methodology for SAP S/4HANA Cloud