Complex SAP-centric business processes continue to hinder full-scale, organization-wide automation
Precisely, the global leader in data integrity, today released new findings from a survey conducted in collaboration with the Americas SAP Users Group (ASUG). Announced during the ASUG Tech Connect event, the Unlocking Automation in SAP: 2025 Trends and Challenges report provides important insight into the adoption, maturity, and challenges of automation in SAP environments.
Findings reveal the increasing importance of data and process automation in digital transformation efforts, alongside the key factors hindering success.
Automation Adoption Increases Despite Persistent Challenges
The survey shows that 58% of organizations now use automation for SAP migrations and digital transformation projects – an increase from 43% in the 2023 report. Alongside this, the research highlighted a 69% reduction in the number of organizations reporting low automation maturity – dropping from 13% in 2023, to just 4%.
Despite this progress, many businesses still face hurdles in reaching full automation maturity. Most organizations (56%) report having a “medium” level of automation, indicating a blend of automated and manual processes. Furthermore, half of the respondents (50%) stated that they implement automation selectively, choosing a case-by-case approach rather than adopting it organization-wide.
A key reason for these trends in automation is the increasing complexity of SAP-centric business processes, particularly when it involves the creation and management of master data. The majority of respondents (61%) report integration with existing business processes as the biggest challenge when adopting process automation, a significant increase from just 39% in 2023. This is closely followed by 53% of respondents citing the complexity of business processes as a key obstacle to success.
SAP S/4HANA Migrations Gain Sudden Momentum
Alongside increased focus on automation, the research further reveals a significant shift towards SAP S/4HANA adoption as the 2027 deadline for migrations fast approaches. By the end of 2024, 50% of respondents will have migrated or started migration to S/4HANA, with another 30% planning to make the move within the next two years.
The news is in stark contrast to previous industry reports showing slow rates of adoption. The migration from legacy SAP ERP systems to S/4HANA is a notoriously complex process, which can require the parallel operation of both legacy and new systems, alongside significant data management challenges. Successful companies rely on process automation to accelerate complex SAP business processes, enabling them to create new master data and transaction data in SAP systems, update mass amounts of data throughout the SAP landscape using Excel, and perform data migration from existing systems to S/4HANA.
“Organizations realize that as they expand automation efforts and advance digital transformation strategies within their SAP environments, challenges with business complexity and integrations increase,” said Chris Hall, Chief Product Officer at Precisely. “Our end-to-end automation solutions, combined with our powerful data integrity capabilities, empower customers to overcome these obstacles – enabling them to gain the speed, agility, and trusted data needed to stay ahead of the competition.”
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