The SAP Customer Journey – Part 3: Transformation in Progress

Already moving to S/4HANA? Keep your transformation on track and learn from those ahead of you.

You've made the decision, secured the investment and started your SAP transformation.

Now comes the difficult part: delivering it.

A major SAP implementation can place enormous demands on an organisation.

Existing systems still need to operate. Business teams have day jobs to manage. Data needs cleaning, processes require redesign and unexpected problems inevitably emerge.

Deadlines, budgets and competing priorities add further pressure.

And somewhere amongst all that activity, it's surprisingly easy to lose sight of why the transformation started in the first place.

If that sounds familiar, you're certainly not alone.

Across the UKISUG community, organisations are dealing with many of the same challenges.

The good news is that other customers have valuable experiences to share, while developments in SAP's tools and technology may help reduce some of the effort involved.

Are you making the most of the tools available?

One of the strongest messages emerging from SAP TechEd 2026 is the growing role of AI in software development, migration and modernisation.

SAP is investing in capabilities designed to assist with activities such as analysing custom code, understanding complex landscapes and identifying opportunities for improvement.

For organisations already delivering a transformation, the question is straightforward:

Could some of the work you're doing today be completed more efficiently?

Consider the effort your teams are spending on data migration, code analysis, testing, documentation and understanding existing integrations.

Are there tools that could reduce repetitive work or identify problems earlier?

Could AI help your team understand a complex landscape or accelerate part of the migration process?

These opportunities deserve attention, particularly if you're facing pressure on time or resources.

However, it's important to distinguish between demonstrated capabilities and those genuinely available and suitable for your project.

New technology should support good decision-making, not create additional risk or distraction.

Don't lose sight of the business outcomes

As implementation progresses, it's natural for attention to move towards technical milestones.

But meeting a project deadline isn't the same as delivering business value.

Are you still improving the processes you originally targeted? Are the right people involved in decisions? Is your data becoming more reliable?

And are business users being prepared for the changes ahead?

Change management, training and adoption shouldn't be activities that begin shortly before go-live.

They need to run alongside implementation.

Likewise, security and governance shouldn't be problems left until the end.

Establishing appropriate controls, managing access and understanding regulatory requirements during transformation is generally easier than trying to resolve everything afterwards.

Practical lessons and expert support at UKISUG Connect

Connect offers an opportunity to learn from organisations facing these challenges and to explore developments that could help your programme.

In Accelerating your SAP Journey, AstraZeneca shares how it is incorporating AI into its SAP delivery activities.

From AI Roadmap to Daily Delivery: How Our Customer Is Accelerating Its S/4HANA Transformation with Conduct examines how AI can support activities such as understanding system landscapes and analysing gaps between existing and future processes.

For organisations operating in demanding environments, Delivering SAP enabled transformation at pace in highly regulated & secure organisations explores the challenges of maintaining progress when business continuity, security and compliance are critical.

And Drive your RISE journey with the agent-led toolchain examines how SAP's transformation tools can support process improvement, implementation, quality and adoption.

But sometimes the challenge you're facing needs more than a conference session.

The Connect exhibition floor gives you access to specialist partners who work on SAP transformation projects every day.

Whether you're struggling with data migration, testing, integrations, security, performance or user adoption, there will be experts who understand the challenges and can help you explore possible solutions.

You can discuss emerging migration technologies, discover tools that might reduce manual effort and hear different perspectives on how to overcome particular implementation problems.

Alongside our exhibiting partners, SAP experts will be available to discuss the latest tools, recommended approaches and developments that could support your programme.

And, crucially, you'll be able to compare what you're hearing with the real experiences of customers who have already used these approaches.

That combination of customer experience, partner expertise and SAP knowledge can be incredibly valuable when you're trying to keep a complex programme moving forward.

The conversation that could save you months

Imagine being able to speak to someone who has just completed the phase of transformation you're currently working through.

Someone who can explain what went wrong, how they resolved it and what they would approach differently.

Or perhaps a specialist partner can demonstrate a simpler approach to an activity that's currently consuming considerable time and resources.

These conversations could be more valuable than another presentation about what successful transformation should look like.

At UKISUG Connect, you can meet customers who are ahead of you on the journey, customers working through similar challenges and experts with practical experience.

And if an issue affects many customers, UKISUG provides a collective voice to raise it with SAP.

Your next step

Whether you're struggling with data, managing complex integrations, supporting business users or trying to maintain momentum, there's a good chance someone at Connect has faced something similar.

Your transformation might be unique to your organisation, but the challenges rarely are. And the expertise to help you overcome them is closer than you think.

Join us at UKISUG Connect 2026, 29 November – 1 December at The ICC, Birmingham, and discover how our community can help you deliver a more successful transformation.

Built to Grow. Together.

Explore what's waiting for you at Connect

📅 Explore the conference programme: Discover sessions, customer experiences and practical workshops relevant to your journey.

🤝 Meet our exhibiting partners: Explore the expertise and solutions available from our exhibiting partners and identify specialists you'd like to meet.

🎟️ Register for UKISUG Connect 2026. Join us from 29 November to 1 December at The ICC, Birmingham.