Migrating to SAP S/4HANA or adopting RISE/GROW with SAP is a strategic milestone for organizations aiming to modernize their ERP landscape. However, one critical consideration often overlooked during these transitions is the redesign of SAP roles. The timing of this redesign can significantly influence the success of the migration and the overall efficiency. Should you redesign roles during the ECC phase or wait until after the migration to S/4HANA?

This blog explores the key factors driving this decision and introduces the S.M.A.R.T framework—a modern approach to SAP role redesign that ensures compliance, efficiency, and business alignment.

Understanding the Need for Role Redesign SAP roles are pivotal in defining user access, ensuring compliance, and maintaining operational efficiency. Over time, roles in ECC systems often become bloated with unused authorizations or misaligned with current business needs. This can lead to: Compliance Risks: Excessive authorizations increase the risk of segregation of duties (SoD) violations. Migration Complications: Legacy roles with redundancies can complicate the migration process to S/4HANA. Operational Costs: Since the licensing model is based on assignment and not by usage in S/4HANA and RISE, you may need to procure more licenses than required. A role redesign ensures clean, streamlined, and compliant access structures, setting the stage for a smooth transition and efficient system post-migration. ls.ECC vs. S/4HANA: When to Redesign Roles? AspectRedesign During ECCRedesign Post-Migration to S/4HANAComplianceProactively addresses SoD conflicts and access risks.Allows compliance alignment with new functionalities post-migration.Migration ComplexitySimplifies migration with clean and optimized roles.Reduces redundant effort, focusing only on relevant roles in the new systemAlignment with New FeaturesMay require rework later to incorporate S/4HANA-specific functionalities.Ensures roles are tailored to new modules, Fiori apps, and processes.Timeline and ResourcesIncreases project timelines due to pre-migration workload.Defers redesign efforts, potentially affecting initial system efficiency.Business Process AnalysisLimited to existing ECC processes, with potential misalignment after migration.Better aligned with current and optimized business processes in S/4HANA. Redesigning SAP Roles with RISE with SAP If you are moving to RISE with SAP, it is advisable to conduct a complete role redesign during the ECC phase. Once the migration is complete, perform a retrofit to align roles with the cloud-specific requirements introduced by RISE. This approach addresses the unique security, integration, and scalability considerations of a cloud-oriented transformation.

You might have many questions at this juncture – What is the best approach? Which tools must be considered? Are there any accelerators that can be used? Can we use stock ready/ready to deploy role structures? Challenges with Stock Ready Rulesets Many system integrators offer pre-packaged or stock-ready rulesets as part of their role redesign services. While these rulesets might appear to save time and effort, they often come with significant challenges, making them unsuitable for many businesses. Here’s why the stock-ready approach is not recommended: Lack of Customization: Stock-ready rulesets are designed to be generic and may not align with the specific needs of your industry or business processes. This can result in inadequate or excessive authorizations. Compliance Risks: These pre-packaged rulesets may not fully address industry-specific compliance requirements, leaving gaps that could lead to audit findings or regulatory penalties. Misalignment with Business Processes: Every organization has unique workflows and processes. Stock-ready rulesets may not account for these nuances, leading to inefficiencies and user frustrations. Post-Implementation Challenges: Organizations often need to spend additional time and resources customizing these rulesets post-implementation, negating the perceived benefits of a quick deployment. Instead of relying on stock-ready rulesets, organizations should invest in a tailored role redesign approach. This ensures that roles are aligned with specific business processes, compliance requirements, and future scalability needs, delivering long-term value and efficiency. This is where S.M.A.R.T approach/framework can be a life saver. The S.M.A.R.T Role Redesign Framework At ToggleNow, we leverage the S.M.A.R.T framework for SAP role redesign. This approach ensures that roles are: Simplified: Designed to reduce complexity while maintaining operational effectiveness. Mitigated for Risks: Focused on eliminating SoD conflicts and maintaining regulatory compliance. Aligned with Business Tasks: Task-based roles ensure that access permissions directly support specific workflows. Responsive to Change: Built to adapt seamlessly to future business or technical changes. Transparent and Optimized: Designed with a focus on license optimization to eliminate unnecessary expenditures. This framework delivers roles that are not only secure but also cost-effective and easy to manage

Read more: https://togglenow.com/blog/redesign-sap-roles-ecc-or-s-4hana/.

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