SAP has recently been focusing on the Clean Core principle. In this blog, you’ll learn what Clean Core entails and what its advantages and disadvantages are.
SAP Clean Core
SAP uses the term “Clean Core” to indicate that, ideally, no customizations are built into an S/4 HANA system. This keeps the core of the S/4 HANA system “clean” and ensures that customizations do not “get in the way” of the standard SAP software. This approach is fairly black-and-white and could be more nuanced. After all, customizations in an S/4 HANA system do not necessarily mean that the system lacks a Clean Core. There is a gray area between a 100% modification-free Clean Core system and a system built entirely with customizations.
This gray area is what I (Julian Kuipers) focus on in this blog. A system without customizations has, by definition, a Clean Core, which means there are no customizations that could cause problems. However, most S/4 HANA implementations require customization. How you implement this customization determines the extent to which you maintain a Clean Core.
First, I suggest you ask yourself whether the S/4 HANA system you just purchased is an ERP package or a development platform for your organization.
Is SAP S/4 HANA an ERP system or a development platform?
If you view the system as an ERP package, you benefit from SAP’s years of global knowledge and experience across various processes with every upgrade. If you view it as a development platform, however, all the customizations you develop may prevent you from making optimal use of the ERP package and leveraging SAP’s expertise. If you view the system as an ERP package and set up a separate development platform alongside it—such as the SAP Business Technology Platform—you’ll benefit from both SAP’s expertise in the ERP package and the seamless integration between the ERP system and the development platform, without them interfering with each other.
You want to leverage the SAP expertise within your organization. Therefore, assess the extent to which your own process deviates from the standard SAP process in the S/4 HANA system. Can you bridge that gap by configuring the system correctly? Great—that means your process aligns with the standard process, and you can make the most of it. If that’s not the case, you have roughly two options:
- Adapt your process so that it aligns with SAP’s standard process, which was developed based on extensive knowledge of this process at various companies. This is a good choice if the process is not critical to the organization’s competitive advantage.
- If it is indeed a unique process, it may be worth innovating and charting your own course. In that case, ask yourself whether the time, effort, and costs are worth it.
If the process is important and unique, a Clean Core-style custom solution is often justified.
However, deviating from the standard always involves risks and extra work. While a standard SAP process without customization can be upgraded smoothly, the same is not always true for processes that have been customized. This often requires checks and adjustments to keep the system running. Sometimes a solution stops working entirely and has to be completely rebuilt from scratch. In the worst-case scenario, some organizations stop upgrading altogether, which is a shame, because then you miss out on the latest SAP knowledge and technologies—which you’ve already paid for. Also, don’t forget that this can affect the security of your system.
Benefits of a Clean Core
Below are some of the benefits of the Clean Core approach.
1. Upgrade Stability
If you don’t use custom code—or only use it in areas designated by SAP—upgrades will go smoothly. You’ll have little to no extra work, and you can perform each upgrade quickly after its release, keeping your system up to date and secure.
2. The latest knowledge and techniques in your processes
With SAP BTP as your extension platform, you can adapt quickly and apply the latest technologies, such as AI. Regular updates to this platform ensure that you have access to the latest knowledge and technologies right away.
3. Easily migrate to a cloud solution
If you want to migrate to a cloud solution such as S/4 HANA Public Cloud, the migration process is straightforward. With a Clean Core, your customizations are fully compatible and can be transferred one-to-one to the new cloud system.
4. No vendor lock-in
You can avoid vendor lock-in because you don’t necessarily have to build custom solutions in ABAP. You can also use languages such as Java or JavaScript, which is useful when switching to another system that supports these languages. In addition, it’s generally easier to find people who are proficient in Java or JavaScript than in ABAP.
5. ABAP Cloud Development Model
Using the ABAP Cloud development model instead of traditional ABAP fits well with a Clean Core strategy. The biggest advantage of this is that this development model works on both S/4 HANA on-premise and S/4 HANA private cloud, and it is even the only development model supported on S/4 HANA public cloud and the ABAP runtime on BTP. As a result, it doesn’t matter which system you’re developing on—the ABAP version is the same everywhere. This is particularly useful in more complex environments with multiple systems.
Disadvantages of a Clean Core
Despite its many benefits, you should also take into account a number of aspects of the Clean Core approach.
1. Gain new knowledge
If you use the latest techniques to adapt your system using the Clean Core approach, your employees will need to learn these new techniques, or you’ll need to hire someone with the right expertise. This takes time and/or money.
2. Other Approaches to a Solution
Sometimes, a simple adjustment in a non-Clean Core system is more complex in a Clean Core system. This requires more expertise, time, and/or money to implement.
3. Differences in maturity
Some SAP modules are well on their way to implementing the Clean Core principle, while others receive little attention. This sometimes makes it difficult to make your system fully Clean Core-compliant.
Conclusion
As you can see, implementing a Clean Core policy on your S/4 HANA system has many advantages, but also some disadvantages. Each organization must decide for itself to what extent it wants to implement a Clean Core policy. Where does the balance lie for your organization? Which advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
This can be complicated given the various ways to approach it. Would you like to brainstorm this or do you already have an idea and need experienced developers—with knowledge of the latest SAP techniques—to implement the Clean Core policy? Contact us so we can help your organization clean up and maintain the core of your S/4 HANA system. Still on ECC, but considering a migration to S/4 HANA? We can help with that, too! Now is the perfect time to take a close look at your customizations and apply a Clean Core policy to your new, clean S/4 HANA system from day one.
With a Clean Core, your organization can focus on what sets it apart
Want to learn more about S/4HANA and the Clean Core principle?
If you’d like to learn more about S/4HANA and how the Clean Core principle can benefit your organization, feel free to contact us to schedule a (virtual) coffee meeting.
