What is this blog about?
A practical, forward-looking guide to how AI, automation, and SAP S/4HANA migration will shape the future of ERP by 2026—complete with a CIO-ready checklist for planning, adoption, and risk mitigation.
Who should read it?
CIOs, CTOs, IT leaders, SAP program managers, enterprise architects, and transformation teams preparing for ERP modernization or S/4HANA migration.
Why is this important today?
With SAP’s ECC sunset approaching, AI-driven business models accelerating, and enterprises under pressure to modernize, leaders must act now to build resilient, intelligent, future-ready ERP landscapes.
What can you do with this insight?
The blog offers a CIO checklist to drive your migration strategy and defines a SAP S/4HANA Migration Roadmap 2026 that reduces risk and maximizes business value.
The ERP landscape is changing quickly — and as AI ERP trends in 2026 suggest, it’s no longer just about moving systems to Cloud . Today, businesses are expected to work with real-time data, automate intelligently, and make decisions faster than ever before.
SAP ECC was built for a different time. It prioritized transactional stability, which served organizations well for years. But in an AI-driven business environment, stability alone isn’t enough.
Where SAP S/4HANA Fits In?
SAP S/4HANA is designed to support how modern enterprises operate today — and how they’ll need to operate tomorrow.
- Built on SAP’s in-memory HANA database, it works with live data instead of outdated snapshots
- Enables real-time analytics across finance, supply chain, and operations
- Integrates easily with AI and machine learning tools, allowing smarter automation and forecasting
- Supports faster decision-making by eliminating delays caused by batch processing
- Scales more easily through cloud-native architecture and integration with SAP BTP build applications and SAP Analytics Cloud
Compared to ECC’s older architecture, S/4HANA offers a simpler and more flexible foundation that allows organizations to adopt new capabilities without constant system workarounds.
Why Migrating Before The ECC Deadline Matters?
SAP has clearly defined the future of ECC, and the timelines are approaching fast as mainstream support for SAP ECC ends in December 2027. And extended support runs only until 2030 that would then come at a significantly higher cost.
Delaying the move introduces several challenges like:
- Security and compliance risks increase once routine patches and updates stop
- Operational costs rise as extended support and third-party maintenance become more expensive
- Access to skilled ECC resources shrinks, making system support harder over time
- Innovation slows down, as SAP’s AI, analytics, and cloud investments are focused entirely on S/4HANA
- Competitive gaps widen as organizations on S/4HANA gain better visibility and faster execution(1).
Why Acting Early Makes A Difference in SAP S/4HANA Migration
ERP migrations are complex and often take 12 to 24 months or more, depending on system size and customization.
Starting early (2) allows organizations to:
- Plan the migration strategically rather than reactively
- Reduce business disruption and avoid rushed decisions
- Align ERP transformation with broader AI and digital initiatives
- Get more value from the move — beyond simply meeting a deadline
In an environment where AI is becoming a core business differentiator, having the right ERP foundation in place isn’t optional. It’s what enables organizations to adapt, compete, and grow with confidence.
2026 S/4HANA Migration Roadmap — What Forward-Thinking CIOs Should Do Now (2025–2026)
So far, we have covered how ERP landscape is changing and why migrating to S/4HANA has become the key to stay relevant for businesses in an AI-powered ERP era, the question remains – what should companies and their CIOs be doing in 2026 to stay ahead of the curve?
Well, the short answer is – shift their focus towards intelligent ERP platforms as soon as they can, that supports real-time insights and automation at scale.
And an in-depth answer includes an ERP upgrade checklist we would recommend to forward looking CIOs to optimize while migrating to SAP S/4HANA.
Phase 1: Getting A Clear Picture Of What You’re Running Today
Now it’s time to look at the system — honestly.
This is where you understand how much custom code exists, how many integrations depend on SAP, and how clean (or messy) your data really is. SAP’s readiness check(3) and its tools help you highlight where things will work smoothly and where more effort is required.
- Starting with the system and then reason
After a look at your current system, answering the question – What is the goal? becomes abundantly clear. Whether it is to reduce complexity? Enable automation and AI? Move to cloud? Or simply stay supported?
This decision quietly sets the tone for the next steps. If it’s unclear, the project will drift. If it’s clear, later trade-offs become much easier.
Phase 2 – Understanding The Data Needs
Here’s a hard truth: You can’t design good processes on bad data.
Master data is the basic information businesses use every day—such as customers, suppliers, materials, employees, and locations. If this information is incorrect or duplicated (for example, the same customer listed multiple times), every process that uses also gets affected.
Before moving to S/4HANA, the organization must clean this master data and decide which records are still relevant.
At the same time, a conscious decision has to be made about transactional data—how much historical data (old orders, invoices, postings) is truly needed in the new system.
The trade-offs made at this point become quite viable in the overall process of migrating to SAP S/4HANA keeping the core clean accurate, usable data and supporting simpler, more effective processes.
Phase 3 – Integration Readiness & Migration Infrastructure
Once processes are clear, we move ahead to integration decisions. Integration are an important extensions of ERP environment.
And while migrating to S/4HANA that changes how data flows and may restrict old interfaces in place. Hence, at this point it is essential to take decisions to simplify integrations and redesign the system using the standard APIs for a clean core.
- Deciding SAP S/4HANA Migration Infrastructure and Approach
With data and integration requirements in focus, the next step is choosing the right migration approach. This typically comes down to three options:
- Greenfield(4), where the system is rebuilt from the ground up
- Brownfield(5) , which converts the existing ECC system
- Selective Data Transformation(6), where only relevant data is moved forward
More on this in the upcoming blog.
Once the approach is clear, the infrastructure decision follows — and this is where transformation truly takes shape. Whether it’s public cloud, private cloud, RISE with SAP, or on-premise, each option has a direct impact on cost, flexibility, and how quickly the business can innovate.
Making the right choice here sets the tone for long-term success. This is explored in more detail in our earlier ERP Comparison blog.
- Building Carefully and Testing Seriously
Now the execution kicks in. To help with smooth and hassle-free migration to SAP S/4HANA, businesses are suggested to get advised and engage with a trusted SAP Partner to become S/4HANA ready(7) before the ECC deadline runs out by 2027.
Thus, once you have engaged an SAP S/4HANA Implementation Partner, configuration, data migration, and development keep happening alongside repeated testing — not at the end. Mock runs, integration testing, and automated regression testing reduces surprises during go-live.
This is where disciplined projects separate themselves from rushed ones.
Phase 4 – Preparing People — Not Just The System
A system can be live and still struggle. That’s why preparation before go-live matters as much as the technical work itself.
Users need clarity on what’s changing, how their roles will look in S/4HANA, and how SAP Fiori (SAP’s role-based device-independent user experience unifying user interface across all SAP Products)(8) fits into their day-to-day work. Hence making the workforce feel ready for adoption.
- Go-live isn’t the end of the journey.
The period that follows is about stabilizing the system — resolving issues quickly, restoring business rhythm, and ensuring operations run smoothly. Only once this foundation is steady should new enhancements or changes be introduced.
With a stable and clean S/4HANA environment in place, innovation becomes easier and far less risky. This is where AI, automation, and continuous improvement begin to deliver real value, without disrupting the core system.
At this stage, S/4HANA moves beyond being “a migration project” and becomes a platform that actively supports business growth.
Challenges to Watch & How to Mitigate Them
Every ECC to SAP S/4HANA migration comes with its own set of challenges(9). The key isn’t avoiding them, but recognizing them early. When teams get to understand what is slowing them down, they’re better prepared to manage risks and keep the migration on track.
- Data Quality & Legacy Code: are often the first obstacles to surface. Years of inconsistent master data and heavily customized ABAP code(10) (programming language for adding customizations/extensibility to ERP and SAP S/4HANA systems) can complicate the move to S/4HANA. Adopting a SAP clean core strategy along with SAP-recommended code remediation, helps modernize the system and makes future upgrades easier to manage.
- Change Management Resistance: is another common concern. Employees may worry that automation will disrupt roles or workflows. Open communication, combined with thoughtful role adjustments and structured training using tools like SAP Enable Now, helps ease concerns and supports smoother adoption.
- Integration Complexity: arise in environments with multiple interconnected systems. Ensuring everything works together can slow migration efforts. S/4HANA Public Cloud’s extensibility options allow organizations to build flexible integrations and add business-specific functionality without overcomplicating the core system.
- Cost & ROI Clarity: Finally, these can be difficult to establish upfront. Organizations often question whether automation and AI investments will pay off. Defining clear KPIs and tracking efficiency improvements helps link technology decisions to measurable business value.
| Challenge | Mitigation | |
| Data Quality & Legacy Code | Most issues arise from poor master data or outdated customizations | strict clean-core strategy and SAP-recommended refactoring |
| Change Management Resistance | Employees often fear automation | Transparent communication, role redesign, and training based on SAP Enable Now or similar tools. |
| Integration Complexity | Heterogeneous system landscapes slow projects | early architecture planning and SAP Integration Suite |
| Cost & ROI Clarity | ERP ROI is rarely immediate. | Define business KPIs, measure automation gains, and track AI-driven efficiency improvements. |
Conclusion: The Window To Future-Proof ERP Is Now
Finally, 2026 will be remembered as the year ERP crossed the line from digital backbone to digital intelligence. Organizations that will timely invest in a SAP S/4HANA Migration 2026, embrace AI-driven ERP automation, and build clean, scalable architectures will lead their industries—while others struggle to keep pace.
That’s why engaging a trusted SAP implementation partner matter. An experienced partner will help organizations navigate complexity with clarity by aligning technology decisions with business priorities, avoiding common migration pitfalls, and ensuring the transformation delivers tangible outcomes.
With the right expertise by your side, the move to S/4HANA becomes a structured, value-focused journey instead of a reactive change. If you’re getting started on this journey, now is the time to start the conversation.
Your next move? Engage an experienced SAP Transformation partner who can help design your S/4HANA upgrade in 2026 powered by automation and AI roadmap with confidence.
