S/4HANA Migration Risk Rises When Strategic Decisions Are Left to Implementation Partners, Info-Tech Research Group Finds

With SAP's end of mainstream maintenance for ECC approaching in 2027, organizations are under pressure to define their migration plan. New insights from Info-Tech Research Group show that relying too heavily on implementation partners to make strategic migration decisions can increase the risk of cost overruns, project delays, and outcomes that fail to reflect business priorities. The firm's Build Your S/4HANA Migration Plan blueprint helps SAP migration teams evaluate migration options and trade-offs, lead critical decisions, and establish direction before engaging technical partners.

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 15, 2026 /CNW/ -- SAP users preparing to migrate from ECC to S/4HANA face one of the largest technology transformations many organizations will undertake. While these initiatives often require outsourced technical expertise, the most critical migration decisions remain the organization's responsibility. According to recent insights published in Info-Tech Research Group's Build Your S/4HANA Migration Plan blueprint, many teams enter implementation without fully understanding how strategic migration decisions affect long-term business outcomes.

Info-Tech's research recognizes the important role that implementation partners play in S/4HANA migrations. However, it also emphasizes that strategic decisions must remain with the organization. While partners provide essential technical expertise, they may not have the full business context needed to determine priorities, transformation goals, or acceptable trade-offs. These decisions shape every stage of migration, from deployment and migration strategies to governance and organizational change. Without a clear understanding of their long-term implications, organizations risk cost overruns, delays, and reduced business value.

"Most organizations do not run ERP transformations often enough to build deep internal experience," says Mia Scherba, research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group. "Implementation partners are critical to execution, but they cannot determine what the business should prioritize or which trade-offs it can accept. Those choices need to be owned internally because they shape cost, complexity, and long-term value well beyond the migration."

Key Factors That Increase S/4HANA Migration Risk

Info-Tech's research highlights several planning challenges that consistently affect S/4HANA migration outcomes:

• Migration complexity is underestimated. Treating S/4HANA as a technical upgrade rather than a full ERP transformation leads organizations to overlook the effort required on customizations and integrations.
• Critical decisions are made independently. Migration strategy, deployment method, technical complexity, and organizational readiness influence one another. Optimizing one decision without evaluating the others can introduce unintended constraints and trade-offs.
• Implementation partners are expected to define business direction. While external partners provide essential technical expertise, they cannot determine organizational priorities and acceptable trade-offs.
• Change management receives insufficient attention. Successful migrations depend not only on technical execution but also on organizational readiness and user adoption.

Info-Tech's Three-Phase Methodology for Building an S/4HANA Migration Plan

To help organizations establish direction before technical work begins, Info-Tech's Build Your S/4HANA Migration Plan blueprint guides SAP migration teams through three planning phases.

1. Discover the Current SAP Landscape. Assess internal capabilities, strategic intent, organizational readiness, and technical complexity to establish a realistic starting point.
2. Define the Migration Plan. Evaluate deployment methods, migration strategies, and the trade-offs associated with each option to identify a combination that aligns with organizational capacity and priorities.
3. Prepare for Migration. Formalize governance, define rollout expectations, and document the decisions that implementation partners will use to execute the migration.

The blueprint also includes a S/4HANA Project Management Worksheet, S/4HANA Complexity Assessment, S/4HANA Decision Guide, and S/4HANA Migration Readiness Brief. These resources help organizations assess their current environment, evaluate migration scenarios, document planning decisions, and communicate a clear implementation strategy before engaging technical delivery partners.

For exclusive and timely commentary from Info-Tech's experts, including Mia Scherba, and access to the complete Build Your S/4HANA Migration Plan blueprint, please contact [email protected].

About Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is the "get things done" partner for over 30,000 IT, HR, and marketing leaders worldwide. The fastest growing research and advisory firm, Info-Tech enables leaders to make well-informed decisions and transform their organizations through AI, strategic foresight, step-by-step methodologies, practical tools, industry-leading advisory, and training programs. For nearly 30 years, tens of thousands of private and public organizations have trusted Info-Tech to lead their most important initiatives through periods of change and deliver outcomes that truly matter.

To learn more about Info-Tech's HR research and advisory services, visit McLean & Company, and for data-driven software buying insights and vendor evaluations, visit the firm's SoftwareReviews platform.

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For information about Info-Tech Research Group or to access the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and X.

SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group