The new HCM EvoGuide: How SAP Is Helping HR and IT Leaders Move from SAP ERP HCM to the Cloud

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When our team at SAP began creating “Charting a course from SAP ERP HCM to cloud-based human capital management solutions from SAP”, aka the HCM EvoGuide, we knew we weren’t just writing another technical guide. We were building a blueprint for one of the most significant shifts in HR and IT in decades - the move from traditional, on-premises SAP ERP Human Capital Management (HCM) systems to the cloud-based SAP SuccessFactors suite.

This transformation is about far more than technology. It’s about how organizations think about people, data, and change itself. From day one, we saw our mission as helping leaders not just migrate systems, but also to modernize their mindset.

Listening Before Writing

Before we drafted a single line, our SAP Customer Evolution team spent years listening to and learning from customers, partners, and members of SAP’s global HR and IT community. We held workshops with HRGUG, ASUG, and DSAG and their members and interviewed CIOs and HR leaders across industries.

Three common themes emerged:

1. Complexity: Decades of customization had left many SAP ERP HCM systems deeply entangled. Modernization felt risky.
2. Uncertainty: With the 2027 end-of-maintenance deadline approaching, organizations knew they needed to act but lacked a clear plan.
3. Culture: HR and IT often approached transformation differently with one focused on process continuity, the other on innovation.

It became clear that our guide couldn’t just outline migration steps. It had to be a compass that helped leaders navigate choices, anticipate challenges, and manage both technical and human change.  The result is 140 pages of expert content, practical advice and useful links intended to help each customer to evolve HCM in ways that help their organizations not just to survive, but to thrive. 

Designing a Practical Compass

We structured the guide around three questions every leader faces when planning transformation:

1. Why change? (Strategic Choices)
2. How to prepare? (Ingredients for Project Success)
3. With what tools? (Essential SAP Tools)

The first part clarifies why the shift to the cloud is not optional. With SAP ERP HCM reaching end-of-support in 2027 (extended to 2030 for a fee), remaining on-premises means higher costs, limited innovation, and growing compliance risk.

The guide outlines four deployment models - full cloud, core hybrid, talent hybrid, and private cloud, explaining their implications for agility, cost, and integration. Rather than prescribing one path, we aimed to help organizations make informed decisions based on their readiness, vision, and business priorities.

The Clean Core Mindset

One of the most transformative ideas in the guide is the clean core principle. Over the years, we’ve seen customers struggle under the weight of complex, customized systems. What once offered flexibility has become a barrier to agility.

A clean core approach, keeping systems close to SAP standard and building extensions via SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), is the antidote. It allows companies to innovate quickly, upgrade easily, and stay aligned with SAP’s continuous release cycles.

In practice, this means no longer customizing inside the core, but innovating around it through low-code and no-code extensions. The result: more stability, less technical debt, and a foundation that evolves with your business.

Integration: The Hidden Hero

If the clean core is the heart of cloud transformation, integration is its circulatory system. We devoted a large part of the guide to explaining SAP’s “seven suite qualities,” which define how SAP applications work together with consistent UX (SAP Fiori), unified security, harmonized data models, embedded analytics, and coordinated lifecycle management with SAP Cloud ALM.

Integration might sound technical, but its impact is human. It’s what allows an HR manager to see accurate payroll data in real time, or a business leader to access predictive analytics without toggling between systems.

We also explored how SAP Business Data Cloud unites data from HR, finance, and operations through SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud, giving organizations a real-time, AI-ready foundation for decision-making. When HR data connects seamlessly to business data, organizations move from administration to intelligence.

It’s Not an IT Project, It’s a Change Journey

Perhaps the most important message in the guide is simple: moving to the cloud is not an IT project.

It’s an organizational change journey that touches every level of the enterprise. We’ve seen that successful transformations happen when HR and IT work hand in hand, guided by a shared vision and strong leadership sponsorship.

That’s why we introduced the idea of Phase 0,  the critical preparation period before implementation begins. In this stage, organizations align on objectives, assess readiness, define governance, and build internal capability.

We also emphasized SAP Activate and RISE with SAP methodologies, which blend agile delivery with fit-to-standard design and continuous iteration. Transformation doesn’t end at go-live; it’s a living process that evolves with each new release.

The Human Side of Innovation

Technology matters, but so does experience. Employees today expect consumer-grade interactions at work -  mobile, intuitive, and personalized. That’s why we highlighted SAP’s investments in AI and experience-driven design across SAP SuccessFactors.

Our favorite example is Joule, SAP’s generative AI copilot. Joule simplifies HR tasks through natural language, helping employees check time-off balances, understand pay statements, or navigate learning content. For managers, it provides insights into performance trends and engagement levels.

Joule embodies the future of HR, where technology empowers people, not replaces them. Alongside it, SAP’s deep integration with Microsoft Teams and its mobile-first approach ensure that HR happens “in the flow of work,” wherever employees are.

Tools That Turn Vision into Action

We knew that inspiration alone isn’t enough — organizations need tools to act. That’s why Part Three of the guide focuses on practical enablers, including:

• SAP Readiness Check: to assess current systems and identify dependencies before migration.
• HCM ROI Calculator: to quantify value and build the business case.
• SAP Cloud ALM: for implementation governance and lifecycle management.
• Infoporter and CSV Migration Tools: for seamless data transfer from SAP ERP HCM to SAP SuccessFactors.

We also pointed readers toward SAP Best Practices packages and partner tools on SAP Store, ensuring that no one has to start from scratch. Transformation is a team sport  - and SAP’s ecosystem of partners and user communities makes that collaboration possible.

Lessons We Learned Along the Way

Writing the guide taught us as much as it aims to teach others. A few insights stand out:

• Transformation is human first. Technology succeeds only when people are ready and empowered to use it.
• Simplicity is a superpower. A clean core and standardized processes create the freedom to innovate.
• Integration equals intelligence. When systems connect, decision-making improves.
• Data is destiny. Clean, well-governed data fuels AI, analytics, and business agility.

Perhaps the biggest lesson is that transformation is ongoing. Cloud adoption is not the end -  it’s the beginning of continuous improvement, innovation, and value realization.

Looking Ahead

The journey from SAP ERP HCM to SAP SuccessFactors represents more than a technological upgrade; it marks a philosophical shift in how organizations manage their most valuable asset — their people.

Our hope is that this guide gives leaders not just the roadmap, but the confidence to take the first step. Whether an organization chooses a phased hybrid approach or a full cloud transformation, what matters most is momentum - the commitment to move forward with clarity and purpose.

Our team sees this work not as a conclusion but as an invitation: to keep learning, iterating, and collaborating as HR and IT evolve together. Because the future of work isn’t just digital -  it’s human at its core.

Download the complete guide: Charting a course from SAP ERP HCM to cloud-based human capital management solutions from SAP: A practical guide for Senior IT Leadership. 

We also invite you to join this conversation in the SAP Community and discover how organizations worldwide are redefining HR for the cloud era.