“Landscape Too Complex”? Why That’s a Starting Point

As organisations evaluate the move to SAP S/4HANA, one concern appears consistently across markets:

“Our environment is too complex.”

It is a valid concern.

Many SAP landscapes today have evolved over years of growth, regional expansion, and changing business requirements. What exists is often not a single system but a network of processes, custom developments, and integrations that support the organisation’s operations.

From this perspective, hesitation is understandable.

The question is not whether transformation is needed, but whether it is realistic.

 

Complexity Is Not the Exception

In practice, highly customised and complex landscapes are not unusual. They are the norm.

Organisations operating across multiple countries or business units often face:

• Different process variations across regions
• Local regulatory and operational requirements
• Custom developments built to support specific business needs
• Integrations across finance, supply chain, manufacturing, and external systems

Over time, these elements become tightly interwoven.

What results is a landscape that reflects how the business has grown but is also increasingly difficult to adapt to.

 

Why Complexity Feels Like a Barrier

When organisations consider SAP S/4HANA, complexity is often seen as something that must first be removed before transformation can begin.

This leads to two common assumptions:

• The organisation must start from a completely clean slate
• Or everything must be carried forward exactly as it is

Both approaches come with challenges.

Starting from scratch may simplify the system, but it can introduce significant disruption and require extensive change across the business.

Carrying everything forward may reduce short-term disruption, but can also preserve the very issues that organisations are trying to address.

 

Managing Complexity, Not Avoiding It

A more practical approach is to recognise that complexity need not be eliminated to move forward.

It needs to be understood, prioritised, and managed.

This involves:

• Identifying which elements of the current landscape are essential to the business
• Determining where standardisation or simplification will create value
• Deciding what should be retained, adjusted, or redesigned

In other words, transformation becomes a matter of making deliberate choices, rather than defaulting to extremes.

 

Beyond Data Migration

In complex environments, the challenge extends beyond moving data from one system to another.

It involves understanding how data, processes, and organisational structures are connected.

For example:

• A change in data structures may affect reporting and decision-making
• Process adjustments may impact how teams operate across regions
• Structural changes may influence governance and control

Addressing these interdependencies requires a broader perspective, one that considers how the business functions as a whole.

 

Handling Complexity at Scale

For organisations with highly complex landscapes, the ability to manage transformation at scale becomes critical.

This includes:

• Coordinating changes across multiple systems and regions
• Sequencing transformation activities in a way that maintains stability
• Ensuring consistency while allowing for necessary local variations

In these scenarios, the objective is not to simplify everything immediately, but to create a controlled path forward.

 

The Role of a Structured Approach

What enables organisations to move forward despite complexity is structure.

This typically involves:

• Gaining visibility into the current landscape and its dependencies
• Defining clear priorities aligned with business outcomes
• Planning transformation scenarios that reflect the organisation’s specific needs
• Validating changes through testing and governance before they impact operations

With this level of structure, complexity becomes something to be navigated rather than something that prevents action.

 

Not All Transformations Are the Same

One of the key considerations in complex environments is that no single approach fits all situations.

The right path depends on factors such as:

• The level of customisation
• The importance of existing processes
• The need for speed versus the need for change
• Business priorities across different regions or units

This is why flexibility is essential.

Rather than applying a fixed model, organisations benefit from approaches that can be adapted to their specific context, balancing continuity and transformation where needed.

 

Moving Forward with Complexity in Mind

Complexity is often seen as the reason to delay transformation.

In reality, it is often the reason for transformation.

As systems become more difficult to maintain and adapt, the cost of inaction continues to grow.

The organisations that move forward successfully are not those with the simplest landscapes, but those that can approach complexity with clarity and control.

 

Setting Up What Comes Next

Once organisations recognise that complexity can be managed, the next challenge becomes clearer.

With multiple possible paths and differing recommendations in the market, how do you decide which approach is right for your situation?

In the next article, we will explore this question and why choosing the right path is often the most uncertain part of transformation.