Data migration, in essence, is a major task and quite important for the successful implementation of your system. There are a fair few ways to do it, and among them, one of the most common methods is – SAP Rapid Data Migration. Why do people choose it, though?
According to SAP, this type of migration can enable you to migrate your data efficiently and, as the name suggests, rapidly. Besides, it’s a much more secure option than the rest. Thus, the information you are thinking about moving can be trusted by everyone else.
Also, rapid data migration-bound projects are relevant for every organization. However, it’ll be a little difficult for people to plan the whole structure of it properly.
Usually, when it comes to planning for the migration, it can be done through three steps. These will include the following –
- Profile the data and extract it from the source system.
- Map whatever information you’ve found to the target data structure.
- Assess and validate the data against whatever target business context you are using.
- Load the information into the target SAP system.
- Reconcile it between the source system and the target SAP system.
- Repeat the whole process iteratively until whatever information you have is ready.
Anyway, before we discuss that, let’s learn a little more about the architecture of the system or migration procedure first.
The Architecture of SAP Rapid Data Migration
The architecture of SAP Rapid Data Migration usually features six different stages. Here’s what you need to know about it –
1: The Target and the Source System
Firstly, take a look at the legacy data environment and the target environment. Here, you’ll find the target applications and the source collectively. While you are using this form of migration, the environment you should use will be an SAP-based application.
This certain environment will include a rapid-development solution for the DM package.
A legacy environment, on the other hand, can be any kind of non-SAP environment as a whole. Examples of these may include the following –
- Flat files,
- Databases,
- Legacy applications, or
- XML.
2: Profile and Extract
The staging area of the architecture is offered by using Data Services. In this staging segment, you will need to profile data from your source system and extract them accordingly.
The profiling of the information is, in essence, a critical step, as it provides insights into the existing source system’s current state. An example of crucial details that you may keep an eye out for is the patterns across data. For instance, ZIP codes are used in five digits in the USA with an optional code with four digits.
A thorough data evaluation will determine the number of unique ZIP codes you have and how frequently the +4 extension is being used through your source systems.
3: Cleanse, Transform, and Validate
This step will include updating the data so that it meets all the specific patterns. Once you have done it, you will need to transform the data in accordance with the rules and validate it against the business context of SAP. It might involve combining two different fields into one and splitting it, and updating the data accordingly in the required fields.
If you have done everything else, all you need to do is validate the data against the fields while looking for values from the business context and configuration of SAP.
4: SAP Configuration Extraction
As a part of an SAP integration procedure, SAP has to be configured with different values or data, such as plants, groups, material types, etc. Mapping the source information for the same will require you to map the fields that comply with your SAP configuration.
The extraction of SAP configuration data will take the settings within the SAP system so that the data can conform with the needed format within the source target.
5: Reconciliation, Reporting, and Dashboards
The reconciliation stage usually focuses on what was loaded within the system versus what is expected to be loaded within it. Once it’s done, we’ll enter the phase of reporting.
Throughout the entire procedure, the dashboard will be available for people who want to get involved in or with the project to learn about the migration status. The data for it can be found through the reporting phase. Additionally, the migration will start the process of assessing the data quality governance and expectations around data management.
Data Migration Content – How to Get Started?
The rapid data migration procedure generally goes through several steps accordingly. We have offered a little bit of information regarding the same in this section. So, let’s have a look.
- Step – 1: Click on this link to read an overview of the migration tool package and get it downloaded on your system. Optionally, you can also review the entire presentation of the summary and watch demos accordingly. Also, if you want, you can download a DVD file from the SDC (Software Download Center) if you don’t have the tool.
- Step – 2: Once you have completed the downloading procedure, you should consider exploring the content you have and accessing the getting started guides too.
- Step – 3: At this point, you will have enough key guides and content to begin planning the migration. The content probably has Excel templates and Word documents to be used in your case too. You can use them to understand your objective properly.
When you consider installing the software, you will get a temporary key from it. However, if you already have had your Data Services installed, you may want to begin by going through a tutorial that offers information about it.
In any case, once you have installed everything, you can see a specific project known as –
“AIO_BPFDM_IDOC”
… that exists within Data Services. This project will have jobs for each business object, such as material master data or customer master data.
Final Thoughts
SAP Rapid Data Migration is a new procedure that has been implemented pretty recently. So, we couldn’t offer more information regarding the same yet. However, as we get more data, we will keep updating our article accordingly. In any case, if you want to know more, don’t forget to comment below. We’ll try our best to reply to you as soon as we can.
