Why Business Need To Adapt a Clean Core Design?

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The SAP Clean Core principle focuses on maintaining a pristine and unaltered SAP ERP core system by leveraging standard functionalities and minimising custom code within the core environment. Here’s an illustrative model of the dimension of SAP Clean Core design and an in-depth look at the key aspects and practices involved in maintaining a clean core.

1. Minimising Custom Modifications:

• Standard Functionality Adoption: Prioritise the use of SAP’s standard features and best practices instead of custom developments. SAP’s standard functionalities are designed to be robust, scalable, and secure, covering a broad range of business processes.
• Configuration Over Customisation: When specific business requirements need to be addressed, configure the existing SAP functionalities rather than customising the core code. Configuration is easier to manage and maintain compared to custom code.

2. Utilising Extensible Frameworks:

• SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP): Leverage BTP to build extensions and custom applications side-by-side rather than embedding them directly into the core. BTP provides tools and services to develop, integrate, and manage these extensions.
• In-App Extensibility: Utilise in-app extensibility options like SAP Fiori apps and custom fields within the SAP S/4HANA system to achieve personalisation and minor customisations without altering the core system.

3. Side-by-Side Extensions:

• Micro-services and APIs: Develop extensions as micro-services and use APIs to connect these services to the SAP core. This approach ensures that custom functionalities are isolated and do not interfere with core operations.
• Cloud-Native Developments: Implement cloud-native solutions on BTP that can interact with the SAP core via standard integration points, ensuring scalability and maintainability.

4. Adopting a Modular Approach:

• Modular Architecture: Design custom developments as independent modules that can be deployed, updated, and managed separately from the core system. This modular approach simplifies maintenance and upgrades.
• Decoupled Applications: Keep custom applications decoupled from the core ERP to reduce dependencies and potential conflicts during system upgrades.

5. Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD):

• Automated Testing: Implement CI/CD pipelines with automated testing to ensure that custom developments and extensions do not negatively impact the core system.
• Frequent Updates: Use CI/CD practices to frequently update and deploy side-by-side extensions, ensuring they remain aligned with the core system updates and enhancements.

6. Governance and Best Practices:

• Change Management: Establish robust governance frameworks to manage changes to the SAP system, ensuring adherence to the clean core principle.
• Documentation and Standards: Maintain comprehensive documentation and enforce coding standards and best practices for all custom developments and extensions.

7. SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI):

• Integration Capabilities: Use CPI for seamless integration between SAP and non-SAP systems. CPI provides pre-built connectors and integration flows that simplify the integration process.
• Data Consistency and Synchronisation: Ensure consistent data flow and synchronisation between the core system and external applications through reliable integration mechanisms.

8. Regular System Audits:

• Audit Custom Code: Conduct regular audits of custom code and extensions to identify and remediate any deviations from the clean core principle.
• Performance Monitoring: Monitor the performance of the core system and extensions to detect and address any issues promptly.

Immediate Benefits for Organisation Adapting Clean Core Design

SAP Clean Core is a design approach to keep the core of the SAP ERP system, particularly SAP S/4HANA, free from custom modifications and custom code staying as close to what SAP ships in its packaged enterprise application. This approach emphasises the use of standard SAP functionalities and extensions through side-by-side developments using the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), staying current, ensuring that the core system remains intact and easier to maintain. All custom adaptations can be done in the vicinity of the core in the surrounding applications, keeping the core pristine.

1. Simplified Maintenance and Upgrades:

• Easier Upgrades: By adapting clean extensibility, companies can more easily adopt new SAP updates and enhancements by avoiding custom modifications to the core system. This reduces the complexity and cost associated with system upgrades.
• Reduced Downtime: With fewer customisations in the core, the risk of disruptions during upgrades is minimised, leading to less downtime and clean day to day operations.

2. Improved Stability and Performance:

• Reliable System: A clean core system tends to be more stable and reliable since it is less likely to be affected by issues arising from custom code. Clean data and Clean process will leverage SAP recommended best practices with relevant used data.
• Optimised Performance: Standard SAP solutions are optimised for performance. Keeping the core stay current on a clean software stack, clean helps maintain this performance level.

3. Enhanced Security:

• Consistent Security Standards: Standard SAP functionalities adhere to rigorous security standards. Reducing custom code, leveraging clean interface points minimises potential security vulnerabilities.
• Faster Patch Application: Security patches can be applied more swiftly without the need to test extensive custom modifications. All cloud products have in-built security features meeting regulatory needs.

4. Cost Efficiency:

• Lower Development Costs: Developing custom code can be expensive and time-consuming. Maintaining them throughout their lifecycle costs you more. Leveraging standard functionalities reduces these costs.
• Decreased Support and Maintenance Costs: A clean core reduces the burden on IT support teams and lowers ongoing maintenance expenses. 

5. Agility and Flexibility:

• Rapid Deployment: New functionalities and processes can be deployed more quickly when relying on standard SAP solutions and extensions through BTP. Surrounding SAP ecosystems products like SAP AI Core and SAP Cloud Analytics are compatible with S/4HANA and maintaining them becomes seamless.
• Scalability: The clean core approach facilitates easier scaling of the system to meet growing business needs.

Challenges Organisation Need to Overcome Adapting Clean Core Design

The SAP Clean Core approach offers substantial benefits, including easier maintenance, improved stability, enhanced security, cost efficiency, and greater agility. However, it also presents challenges such as the initial transition effort, limited customisation options, the need for specialised skills, integration complexity, and potential vendor dependency.

Organisations must carefully weigh these factors and plan strategically to maximise the benefits of a clean core while addressing its challenges effectively. The challenges that businesses and organisations adapting it will need to consider in each of these five areas are mentioned below.

1.    Initial Transition Effort:

• Refactoring Existing Customisations: Transitioning to a clean core may require significant effort to refactor or replace existing custom code and modifications.
• Change Management: Ensuring that the organisation is aligned with the clean core approach can be challenging, particularly in large enterprises with complex systems.

2.    Limited Customisation:

• Functional Gaps: Some unique business processes may not be fully supported by standard SAP functionalities, necessitating creative solutions or workarounds.
• Dependence on Extensions: Companies may need to rely heavily on extensions and side-by-side developments, which can introduce complexity integration and management.

3.    Skill Requirements:

• Need for Specialised Skills: Utilising SAP BTP for side-by-side extensions requires specific technical expertise in cloud platform services and SAP integration technologies.
• Training and Development: Organisations may need to invest in training and development to up-skill their IT teams on new methodologies and tools.

4.    Integration Complexity:

• Seamless Integration: Ensuring seamless integration between the core SAP system and side-by-side extensions can be complex, requiring robust integration strategies and tools.
• Data Consistency: Maintaining data consistency and integrity across integrated systems is a critical challenge.

5.    Vendor Dependency:

• Reliance on SAP Roadmap: Organisations adopting the clean core approach may become more dependent on SAP's roadmap and updates, potentially limiting flexibility.
• Third-Party Solutions: Balancing the use of third-party solutions with the clean core philosophy can be challenging, as integrating these solutions may reintroduce some complexity.

By embracing the SAP Clean Core design principle, organisations can achieve a more agile, maintainable, and cost-effective SAP landscape, ensuring long-term success and adaptability in a rapidly changing business environment. You would need a trusted partner, a system integrator, who can service you in each of these discussed areas. Click on the link to know more about SAP Clean Core Strategy.