Analyzing the Benefits of Clean Core for IT

IT's job is made easier with a clean core because it results in a standardized ERP system with both reduced complexity and also minimum costs associated with managing custom solutions and maintaining unused artifacts.

Now that we have explored the benefits of a clean core for Jane an end user, we turn our attention to the IT department. As we did with users, we use the example of Gritty Pixel to illustrate the significant advantages and improvements that a move to SAP Business Suite with a clean SAP Cloud ERP foundation can bring.

In most respects, the same challenges that existed for the users that we explored in the previous lesson apply equally to IT. The perspective changes, but the challenges does not. To recap, the challenges faced by the company were:

• Data silos and inefficient communication: Because of their fragmented ECC system end users in different departments within the company operated in silos, resulting in a lack of coordination and poor communication. This led to delays, errors, and duplicated efforts.
• Significant technical debt: The IT department was operating under an unsustainable burden of managing extensive custom code and complex system landscapes that prevented timely upgrades and left the organization vulnerable to technical obsolescence.
• Difficulty innovating to maintain their competitive edge: The limitations of the ECC system was preventing the company from pursuing strategic business opportunities that would advance their competitive position and unlock new revenue streams..

As we did with Jane, we explore the benefits of a clean core through the eyes of Klaus, a member of the IT department. Klaus has two roles in the IT department. He is a developer, and he is also responsible for creating and maintaining interfaces. IT's responsibilities are far more expansive than the ones for users. While the user's interaction with the system is about performing their daily tasks, IT is responsible for providing the technological capability to execute the company strategy. In practice, achieving this technological capability can be difficult. For Gritty Pixel (as with many other organizations), the specific needs of the business required large amounts of custom code in the legacy ECC system. Moreover, data needed to be stored in disparate systems, which required IT to develop and maintain large numbers of interfaces. As we mentioned earlier, this leads to significant technical debt.

Legacy complexity prevents organizations from fully realizing the benefits of transformation.

As a developer Klaus over the years has both built dozens of custom programs and also modified delivered programs to meet the various needs of stakeholders. Also he has built several of the interfaces that are used to transfer data back and forth between the aforementioned disparate systems using several different languages to do so. Some of the various adjustments were documented extensively, some less so, and some were not documented at all.

The catalyst for change happened ironically from some good news. Gritty Pixel was profiled in a favorable news article and as a result sales growth increased. In response to this increased demand, management decided that in addition to the "Make To Order" model, which up to that point was the only model used, an additional model, "Make To Stock", would be used for the production line. In addition, a financing model would be used for orders to accommodate smaller companies that needed a more flexible payment model. They asked IT to implement the necessary changes in the IT infrastructure. Klaus then indicated to his superiors that there would be some challenges.

Due to the extensive (and uneven) documentation of modifications, the testing cycle for the new processes would take up to one year. Moreover, two of the systems (sales and production) are to be upgraded in the next year. The upgrade requires a separate workstream of testing on the current business process structure, not even considering the two new models being contemplated. Finally, Klaus was already dealing with a backlog based on numerous requests from department and division heads on user interface changes. These requests ranged from adding more fields on UIs to full blown mobile deployment scenarios.

Fortunately, management was receptive to implementing a solution. As mentioned in the previous lesson, they chose SAP Cloud ERP Private (via a brownfield migration) along with SAP BTP as the platform foundation as a comprehensive solution to the challenges that they were facing. Once the legacy system was converted and a clean core was enabled Klaus, as with Jane began to experience immediate benefits.

With all legacy systems retired and all processes running on one SAP Cloud ERP system Klaus only had to manage one business system. He was able to receive scheduled software updates from SAP on schedule and with no disruption alleviating costly testing cycles across multiple systems. In addition he benefited from a low maintenance effort by utilizing a standard system with reduced complexity. Any differentiation (such as a custom solution) was built on SAP BTP minimizing customization of the core.

By adopting a clean core, a company can reduce operational and cybersecurity risks by minimizing customizations, applying custom code best practices, maintaining standard processes, and ensuring systems are up-to-date with the latest security patches

A clean core prevents future technical debt accumulation while systematically reducing existing burdens.