Every article on this topic.
39 articles, newest first
StrategySAP ECC to S/4HANA migration: Middle East retail case study
A Middle Eastern retailer with 1,200+ outlets and 44 percent custom ECC objects moved to S/4HANA. Month-end close went from weekends to before lunch, and custom code fell by nearly half.
· 8 min read
TechnicalOracle ERP vs SAP: what CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs need to know
There is no clean winner between Oracle and SAP. Oracle wins on speed and standardisation, SAP on depth and operational control; this is how the choice looks under real project pressure, with a decision guide and the cost questions vendors skip.
· 10 min read
TechnicalSAP Integration Suite: decisions and production trade-offs
SAP Integration Suite is not just a renamed CPI, and the decisions teams get wrong are rarely about technology. This guide covers the components, PI/PO migration, legacy limits, testing and the ownership gaps behind most interface failures.
· 10 min read
ERP modernisation10 ERP modernization mistakes to avoid
ERP modernization mistakes rarely show up in real time; they surface after go-live, when the efficiencies don't appear and the workarounds come back. These are the ten I see most, with the early warning signs and who should own each fix.
· 10 min read
TechnicalSAP performance testing: what IT leaders must know
SAP performance problems are almost always predictable and almost always found after go-live. Test for them from design onwards, against criteria agreed before the first run.
· 11 min read
TechnicalChoosing the right toolset for SAP testing and validation
A practical comparison of the SAP testing tools you will actually meet in 2026: SAP Cloud ALM, Tricentis, Xray and Solution Manager. What each does well, where each falls short, and how I pick between them.
· 11 min read
StrategyBest SAP implementation strategies to avoid costly mistakes
SAP implementations rarely fail because of the technology. They fail because the strategy does not fit the business, or the team cannot hold the discipline behind it.
· 13 min read
StrategySAP implementation templates: a phase-by-phase guide
The SAP Activate templates that matter in each phase, from scoping and fit-gap to cutover and hypercare, with layouts you can copy. Teams that skip the Prepare templates pay for it in Realize.
· 16 min read
TechnicalSAP change tools: Cloud ALM, ChaRM, Rev-Trac, ActiveControl
Which SAP transport and change management tool fits your landscape: SAP Cloud ALM, Solution Manager ChaRM, Rev-Trac or ActiveControl, the tool once sold as Transport Express.
· 9 min read
Manufacturing ERPBest ERP for manufacturing in 2026: a practical comparison
There is no single best ERP for manufacturing. The right choice depends on whether you run discrete, process or mixed-mode production, how many plants you run and what your shop floor will actually use.
· 11 min read
TechnicalSAP FICO explained: 7 things that break implementations
The SAP FICO module rarely causes the problems. Decisions made too fast or too late do: master data nobody owns, CO designed without controllers, reporting built in the last sprint.
· 14 min read
TechnicalSAP Analytics Cloud: strategy, pricing, when it works
SAP Analytics Cloud combines reporting and planning in one place, but only works when the data under it is trusted. What it does, what it costs and when it is the right choice.
· 8 min read
Planning & SelectionECC to S/4HANA migration: paths, steps, and timelines
SAP ECC mainstream maintenance ends on 31 December 2027. How to choose between greenfield, brownfield and selective data transition, and what the work really involves.
· 10 min read
TechnicalSAP clean core strategy: what it means and how to apply it
Clean core decides whether your S/4HANA upgrades take weeks or months. What SAP's five principles and A to D extension levels mean for your system, and where I would start.
· 9 min read
TechnicalSAP SD: what it does and where implementations break
SAP SD connects what sales promises with what operations can deliver. This guide covers the order-to-cash flow, what changes on S/4HANA, and the four places SD implementations usually break.
· 12 min read
Planning & SelectionWhy SAP projects go 50% over budget (with real data)
In the SAP programmes I have reviewed, overruns of 40-60% are common, and the causes show up in the same places every time. This breakdown gives CFOs the cost ranges, a budget formula, the capitalisation rules and the four patterns behind most overruns.
· 12 min read
StrategyRequirements gathering template: 7 hacks I use on projects
A requirements gathering template only works if it forces the hard conversations early. Here is the outline I use, the five sections I never skip and seven hacks that keep stakeholders honest.
· 11 min read
Planning & SelectionSAP vs Oracle: choosing the right ERP for your business
SAP vs Oracle is a business fit question, not a technology one. Manufacturing and supply chain depth usually points to SAP; finance, projects and pure SaaS usually point to Oracle.
· 12 min read
SAP PPSAP in manufacturing: what actually makes it work
SAP manufacturing projects fail in predictable places: master data, routings, deep BOMs, shop floor integration and shop floor adoption. Here are the modules you need, the seven challenges that cause delays, and a master data readiness checklist.
· 8 min read
Crisis & RecoverySAP project planning and control: keep projects on track
Most SAP programmes have a plan, but far fewer have control: weekly tracking, live dependencies, real escalation. Here is what active control looks like, with a weekly cadence that keeps programmes on track.
· 11 min read
Public sectorSAP implementation in public sector: compliance and risks
In public sector SAP, compliance has to be configured into the system from day one. Retrofitting it after go-live is how audits, overruns and headlines happen.
· 11 min read
StrategySAP training strategies: what works and what fails
SAP training works when it is role-based, hands-on, timed four to six weeks before go-live and tied to system access. Here is the plan I use, the failures I have seen, and what SAP folding Enable Now into WalkMe means for your tooling.
· 10 min read
StrategySAP implementation vs rollout: differences and when to pick
A rollout is not a smaller implementation. What separates the two, when each fits, and why rollouts fail on localisation and people rather than technology.
· 8 min read
Planning & SelectionSAP implementation costs: what actually drives the number
SAP implementation has no fixed price. The range by company size, where the money goes, and the six costs that appear after the contract is signed.
· 13 min read
Planning & SelectionSAP license negotiation: what actually saves money
The real cost drivers in SAP licensing are not in the headline number. This guide covers user classification, digital access, RISE and GROW pricing, SAP's July 2026 maintenance commitments, and ten checkpoints before you sign.
· 10 min read- Planning & Selection
SAP negotiation advisors: how to reduce what you pay
Most SAP savings are corrections, not special deals: wrong user types, unused modules, unchallenged infrastructure charges. This guide covers what an independent negotiation advisor checks, RISE and GROW tactics, and when to start.
· 10 min read 
StrategySAP project scope template: what to define and exclude
Most SAP scope disputes come from things nobody wrote down. A nine-section scope template, what to exclude in writing, and the controls that stop scope creep.
· 8 min read
Crisis & RecoverySAP project risk assessment: the practical version
Most SAP risk assessments sit in a folder after the first steering committee. This is the practical version: a scored matrix, a register template, three public failures as worked examples, and the risks RISE and clean core add in 2026.
· 10 min read
Crisis & RecoveryChange management plan: fix resistance before it starts
Resistance in ERP programmes builds long before training starts. What a change management plan must contain, who owns each part, and how to spot resistance early.
· 7 min read
StrategyCreating an effective SAP project steering committee
I have never seen an SAP project succeed with a weak steering committee. This guide covers what the committee must decide, membership by project size, a go/no-go checklist, and how RISE with SAP and AI change the model.
· 9 min read
StrategyERP implementation KPIs: 30 metrics that actually matter
The 30 ERP implementation KPIs I track, split into delivery and post-go-live, with formulas, thresholds and who reviews them when. A client once added 73 'small' changes and lost five months; scope change KPIs exist to stop that.
· 10 min read
StrategyEssential SAP implementation team roles and responsibilities
Most SAP project failures trace back to team problems, not technology. This guide sets out the eight roles every programme needs, how RISE and AI change them, team sizes by company size, and how to build the CoE before go-live.
· 12 min read
StrategySAP quality gates: how to set them up and where they fail
A quality gate is a checkpoint with the authority to stop a project. How to set gates against SAP Activate phases, write criteria that give yes-or-no answers, and keep them from becoming rubber stamps.
· 10 min read
StrategyERP implementation team in 2026: who you need and what they do
The difference between an ERP go-live that works and one that drags on is usually the team, not the software. Here is who you need, what each role does, how to size the team, and the two roles cloud ERP programmes add.
· 9 min read
Planning & SelectionWhat is SAP implementation? A step-by-step guide
SAP will not fix broken processes; it will expose them. This step-by-step guide covers the six Activate phases, the planning that has to come first, and what RISE, clean core and Joule change for a programme starting now.
· 11 min read
StrategySAP implementation timeline planning: 5 mistakes to avoid
Most SAP timelines fail before configuration begins. This guide gives phase durations, exit gates and planning ranges by deployment model, and the five mistakes I see behind most overruns.
· 11 min read
Planning & SelectionSAP business case template: get approval without delay
SAP business cases stall because of how they are written, not because of the technology. The structure, the costs that must be in it, and how to show ROI a CFO will believe.
· 8 min read
Crisis & RecoveryHow to start your SAP implementation project right
Most SAP implementation problems are visible in month one. What to settle before configuration starts, and the six failure patterns to watch for.
· 9 min read
StrategySAP project tracking tools in 2026: four that actually work
A tracking tool that cannot see inside the SAP system is a spreadsheet with a better interface. This guide compares the four tools that work on SAP programmes in 2026, with licensing facts and a selection checklist.
· 9 min read
Written by Noel D'Costa
25 years in ERP delivery across SAP, Oracle and Microsoft, now a chief technology officer. I write from the programmes I have run, for the people making these decisions.
Tell me what you're working on.
A 30-minute call. You describe the programme, the decision or the problem. I'll tell you whether I can help, and if I can't, who might.