Solution infrastructure
Technical system copy for the upgrade
Planning an SAP system refresh is a critical step, as the process not only requires technical expertise, but also close coordination between IT teams, specialist departments and, if necessary, external service providers. A comprehensive analysis of the affected system landscape is necessary in order to take all relevant aspects into account. In addition to the actual ERP system, other SAP components such as Business Warehouse, Customer Relationship Management or Supply Chain Management are often affected. Interfaces to external systems must also be taken into account, as a system refresh can have an impact on connected applications.
Especially in complex environments, SAP system copies regularly represent a critical challenge in terms of time and expertise and thus become a real cost factor in the long run. This is because system copies must be scheduled at an early stage, are complex, time-consuming and resource-intensive, require specific knowledge, tie up important employee capacities due to the large number of manual interventions, and are error-prone.
TM-TMS (Transport Manager)
While homogeneous SAP system copy expects identical combinations of operating/database systems on the source and target systems, there is also a requirement for different combinations of operating/database systems on the source and target systems in the project environment (eg, during migrations). This is referred to as a "heterogeneous SAP system copy". Technically, it is quite possible to build up a degree of automation here as well, but officially certified consultants ("migration consultants") are required to perform the heterogeneous system copy.
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To summarize, an SAP system refresh is a complex but necessary process to keep non-productive environments up to date. Detailed planning, consideration of data protection aspects and close coordination with all parties involved are essential for a successful refresh. Companies that require regular refreshes should examine the extent to which automation solutions can make the process more efficient. Only a well thought-out and precise implementation can ensure that test and development environments retain their full functionality and provide a reliable basis for future developments.
If you have used "Shortcut for SAP Systems" to save system-specific tables before the system refresh, several manual steps can be omitted - the data can be restored by restoring the data saved before the system copy.
The professional handling of test data is also important with regard to applicable data protection and compliance guidelines.
UC4 Automated System Copy can automate and accelerate this transaction by analyzing the underlying processes and executing them in parallel.