2027 marks the end of maintenance for the SAP Process Integration (PI) and SAP Process Orchestration (PO) middleware platform. As SAP PI/PO is often the backbone of business-critical processes and a system failure can have fatal consequences, companies should already be looking at how the transition to an alternative solution can be made smoothly. In particular, the questions of a suitable successor system, but also the necessary resources and possible challenges during the migration process need to be discussed at an early stage. An initial orientation is provided by an individual migration check.
The migration path envisaged by SAP is clearly defined and leads to the SAP Integration Suite, a cloud service within the SAP Business Technology Platform. However, switching to a cloud architecture is not a simple system change, but rather a realignment of the system design, which requires a number of considerations. The complexity and existing functional gaps in the successor solution also add to the complexity. It may therefore be advisable to first carry out an in-depth system and risk analysis as part of a migration check, which also allows individual room for manoeuvre when considering possible alternatives such as a change of operating model.
However, switching to the new integration environment can have numerous positive aspects. For example, companies benefit from current compliance and security standards as well as modern API scenarios, which, in addition to cost-reducing consolidation of the existing interface architecture, also form the basis for easy utilisation of future requirements. In this way, you can directly cover the implementation obligation for e-invoicing, which will come into force in the B2B sector from 1 January 2025 as part of the Growth Opportunities Act, with the right solution. This means you no longer have to worry about the problems associated with checking and converting to XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or a new EDIFACT INVOIC standard and its transmission via PEPPOL.
The challenges of migration
Although there are various middleware platforms to choose from for the migration, the SAP Integration Suite is the logical successor system for SAP PI/PO users. The migration gives you the opportunity to rethink the integration landscape of your existing on-premise system and utilise the potential of the cloud-based solution. However, if you only have limited internal IT resources, the changeover can also pose major challenges - whether due to a lack of personnel, a lack of knowledge or limited financial resources.
Problems during migration can include certain functions and communication protocols that are no longer supported by the successor solution. These include, for example, Telekom's BusinessMail X.400 communication protocol used in retail. Without a corresponding extension of the standard with additional functions, these protocols would no longer be usable after the migration.
Last but not least, migrating from SAP PI/PO to another integration platform is extremely time-consuming. The larger the legacy system to be migrated, the more complex and extensive the necessary customisations and the higher the risk of errors during development. If you start the project too late, external capacities will only be available to a limited extent, which could jeopardise a smooth transition and lead to disruptions in business operations. As SAP PI/PO has been used to network complex system landscapes and seamlessly integrate customers and suppliers for many years, the impact of a system failure would be enormous. Timely, thorough project planning is therefore essential.
SAP PI/PO migration check provides security
During implementation, you have the option of manually migrating the SAP PI/PO configurations to the SAP Integration Suite. SAP also provides the "Migration Assessment" tool, which creates a list of the configuration objects and the expected migration complexity. However, a thorough review of the results provided is recommended, as the simple automated migration with SAP Migration Tooling has its weaknesses. For example, it is possible that legacy data is transferred to the new landscape and complex scenarios or functional gaps are not analysed in the necessary depth. The opportunity to significantly streamline processes and the associated cost reduction would therefore be wasted. In addition, certain scenarios cannot be adopted without customisation. SAP tools cannot completely replace the expertise and manual work of IT experts, so you will always need human resources with the appropriate qualifications.
To ensure that the mapping of the current SAP PI/PO system landscape on the new platform is as successful as possible and that you can adapt your IT landscape to your individual company requirements in accordance with current standards, we recommend first analysing the existing integration landscape and interfaces in detail. If you do not have the necessary internal resources for the check and migration, it makes sense to analyse and implement the project in collaboration with an external provider. CONCETO's migration check includes the following services, for example:
- Customised system and risk analysis
- Analysing the existing interface complexity
- Technological and process-related delta analysis including identification of optimisation potential
- Customised recommendations for action based on current best practices
CONCETO advises you not only on purely technical migration, but also on process optimisation according to best practice, based on many years of experience in the integration environment.
