New Research Reveals SAP S/4HANA Migration Momentum, Despite Ongoing Automation Challenges

As the 2027 S/4HANA migration deadline nears, Precisely and ASUG uncover key barriers hindering SAP modernization - from process complexity and data quality issues to mixed user interface environments

BURLINGTON, Mass., Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Precisely, today released new findings from a survey conducted in collaboration with the Americas SAP Users Group (ASUG), revealing that most organizations are now accelerating migration to SAP S/4HANA – even as they navigate rising complexity with SAP processes and challenges with competing priorities.

Announced during the ASUG Tech Connect event, the Transforming SAP® Processes Through Automation: 2026 Trends and Challenges report finds that 59% of companies are now fully or partially live on SAP S/4HANA, up 13 percentage points from 2024, as organizations race to meet SAP's 2027 deadline. However, automation adoption has plateaued at 57%, after strong growth in previous years, as migration demands divert resources and teams continue to navigate complex SAP environments.

"SAP users are making real progress on modernization, but they're also facing some of the most complex transformation challenges in the ERP landscape," said Ashwin Ramachandran, Senior Vice President, Product Management at Precisely. "Organizations successfully managing this complexity are the ones striking the right balance – keeping on-going migrations on track while advancing automation strategies that deliver long-term value."

S/4HANA Migration Gains Pace, but Challenges Persist

According to the study, nearly two-thirds of companies (64%) will be fully live or in the process of migrating to S/4HANA by the end of 2025 – signaling strong momentum after years of slower progress. Yet migration remains far from straightforward.

Respondents cited business process change (49%), customizations (44%), and organizational resistance (37%) as the top barriers. Many companies are struggling to transform how core SAP data creation and management processes are structured, align SAP ECC customizations with SAP's Clean Core approach, and navigate the complexities of large-scale cultural change.

Data quality also emerged as a critical but often overlooked challenge, with organizations identifying both accuracy and data transformation issues when moving legacy data into SAP S/4HANA environments.

Migration Pressures Slow Automation Initiatives

While automation remains a central pillar of SAP modernization strategies, growth in adoption has slowed as companies concentrate resources on migration projects and work to manage ongoing complexity within their SAP environments.

Key barriers include:

• Process complexity (62%) – the top-ranked challenge, surpassing integration as the primary obstacle for this year.
• Integration (49%) – continued difficulty aligning SAP with other systems of record.
• Understanding and defining process requirements (49%) – organizations struggle to map SAP processes and capture complex business rules.

Despite these challenges, underlying momentum remains strong. Adoption patterns show a clear shift toward more strategic, best-of-breed approaches, with organizations increasingly embracing no-code/low-code platforms and citizen development to scale automation without overburdening IT teams.

Disjointed User Interfaces Add Another Layer of Complexity

As SAP customers move toward modern user experiences, 54% of companies report operating in mixed UI environments, combining SAP GUI, Fiori, and GUI for HTML. While full adoption of Fiori has doubled year-over-year (from 9% to 18%), inconsistent UI strategies remain a major source of friction for both IT and business users – and a key reason many delay automation initiatives.

Organizations are seeking automation solutions that deliver consistency across all SAP interfaces, ensuring smooth transitions between ECC and S/4HANA while maintaining productivity for end users.

"Automation is most effective when it spans all SAP environments – from ECC to S/4HANA, and across Fiori, SAP GUI, and GUI for HTML," added Ramachandran. "We are proud to support our customers with market-leading process automation and data integrity solutions that address these challenges, helping companies to simplify migrations, build foundations of trusted data, and accelerate meaningful business transformation."

Access the full Transforming SAP® Processes Through Automation: 2026 Trends and Challenges report to learn more, or visit the Precisely team of SAP process automation and data integrity experts at booth 306 during ASUG Tech Connect (November 4 -6).

About Americas SAP Users Group (ASUG)

ASUG is the world's largest SAP user group. Originally founded by a group of visionary SAP customers in 1991, its mission is to help people and organizations get the most value from their investment in SAP technology. ASUG currently serves thousands of businesses via companywide memberships, connecting more than 130,000 professionals with networking and educational resources to help them master new challenges. Through in-person and virtual events, on-demand digital resources, and ongoing advocacy for its membership, ASUG helps SAP customers make more possible. Learn more at www.asug.com.

About Precisely

As a global leader in data integrity, Precisely ensures that your data is accurate, consistent, and contextual. Our portfolio, including the Precisely Data Integrity Suite, helps integrate your data, improve data quality, govern data usage, geocode and analyze location data, and enrich it with complementary datasets for confident business decisions. Over 12,000 organizations in more than 100 countries, including 95 of the Fortune 100, trust Precisely software, data, and data strategy consulting to power AI, automation, and analytics initiatives. Learn more at www.precisely.com.

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