When organisations embark on a digital transformation journey with SAP, one of the first strategic decisions they face is choosing between a Greenfield or Brownfield approach. Both paths have distinct implications for timelines, costs, customisation and future scalability. Understanding these approaches is essential for aligning SAP projects with your organisation’s goals.
What is Greenfield?
A Greenfield implementation involves building an entirely new SAP environment from scratch. This approach is often chosen when:
- Overhauling outdated systems: Organisations want to modernise their technology stack without being tied to legacy processes.
- Adopting best practices: Greenfield allows companies to implement SAP's latest innovations, such as streamlined workflows and enhanced data models.
- Achieving process uniformity: It’s an opportunity to standardise and simplify business processes across regions or departments.
Advantages:
- Total freedom to redesign systems.
- Easier to adopt SAP S/4HANA’s standard functionalities.
- Reduced risk of carrying over inefficiencies from legacy systems.
Challenges:
- Requires significant time and resource investment.
- Potential disruption during the transition.
What is Brownfield?
A Brownfield implementation migrates an existing SAP system to the latest SAP S/4HANA environment while retaining much of the current system’s configuration. This approach is ideal for:
- Preserving existing investments: Organisations that have heavily customized legacy SAP environments may prefer this route.
- Reducing risk: Brownfield minimises disruption to business operations during migration.
- Achieving process uniformity: It’s an opportunity to standardise and simplify business processes across regions or departments.
Advantages
- Lower initial costs compared to Greenfield.
- Familiarity for users since the existing processes remain largely intact.
- Quicker implementation timelines.
Challenges
- Harder to fully leverage SAP S/4HANA's capabilities.
- Risk of carrying over inefficient processes.
Why Does This Matter for SAP Projects?
SSAP implementations are complex undertakings that directly impact how businesses operate. Choosing the wrong approach can lead to increased costs, frustrated users, and missed opportunities for optimisation. The right choice depends on:
- Organisational priorities: Are you focused on rapid deployment or long-term scalability?
- Budget and resources: Can you afford the time and effort for a fresh start, or do you need a faster transition?
- Current system health: Is your legacy system a strategic asset or a liability?
How Trillion Can Help
At Trillion, we specialise in helping businesses navigate the complexities of SAP transitions. Whether you’re starting fresh with a Greenfield approach or optimising through Brownfield, our experts provide strategic guidance and technical support to ensure success.
Explore how Trillion’s expertise can empower your SAP journey by simplifying decisions and delivering tailored solutions.
Get in touch to learn more.
SAP GTS SME