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Clarify goals and select the right solution.
Insights · S/4HANA
SAP Activate: six phases through to operations
SAP Activate is SAP's implementation methodology for S/4HANA. It divides an initiative into six phases. Four of them, from Prepare to Deploy, form the core of the project.
By Michele Mangieri · Updated
In short
SAP Activate is SAP's implementation methodology for S/4HANA. It divides an initiative into six phases: Discover, Prepare, Explore, Realize, Deploy and Run, taking it from the decision through to operations. Four of them, from Prepare to Deploy, form the core of the project. In Explore, fit-to-standard workshops show how far the standard carries.
The phases
From the decision through to operations.
Prepare
Define scope, project organisation and planning.
Explore
Use fit-to-standard workshops to see how far the standard carries, and confirm the solution design.
Realize
Configure, extend, integrate and test.
Deploy
Set up the production system, confirm readiness and cut over.
Run
Operate, expand adoption and improve continuously.
Architecture per phase
What architecture contributes in each phase.
- Discover and Prepare: readiness assessment, target picture and approach.
- Explore: guiding fit-to-standard and assessing gaps.
- Realize and Deploy: architecture gates, integration and quality.
- Run: safeguarding the clean core and placing extensions.
From our project work.
We advise S/4HANA initiatives in every phase, currently in the transformation of a globally operating industrial group with vendor selection and an architecture gate model.
About to start, or in the middle of your transformation? S/4HANA Transformation Advisory →
SAP Activate is a methodology of SAP SE. maxClaint is an independent advisory firm and not an SAP partner.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about SAP Activate
What are the phases of SAP Activate?
SAP Activate has six phases: Discover, Prepare, Explore, Realize, Deploy and Run. Discover clarifies goals and selects the right solution; Prepare defines scope, project organisation and planning. Run covers operating, expanding adoption and improving continuously.
What happens in the Explore phase of SAP Activate?
Fit-to-standard workshops show how far the standard carries, and the solution design is confirmed. From an architecture perspective, this phase is about guiding fit-to-standard and assessing gaps.
What is the difference between Realize and Deploy?
Realize is where the solution is configured, extended, integrated and tested. Deploy sets up the production system, confirms readiness and cuts over. In both phases, architecture contributes through architecture gates, integration and quality.
What does architecture contribute in an SAP Activate project?
Architecture contributes in every phase. In Discover and Prepare: readiness assessment, target picture and approach. In Explore: guiding fit-to-standard and assessing gaps. In Realize and Deploy: architecture gates, integration and quality. In Run: safeguarding the clean core and placing extensions.
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