Transition from SAP HCM to the Cloud: the complete guide to a successful migration

Three risks that make urgency very real:

• Regulatory compliance risk: without security patches or legal updates after 2027, every change in labour law or collective agreements will have to be managed manually, exposing the organisation to penalties.
• Operational risk: heavily customised SAP HCM systems have become fragile architectures. The departure of a key expert can be enough to disrupt payroll operations.
• HR and employee risk: accurate and timely payroll is the foundation of the employer–employee trust relationship. Repeated errors or payment delays quickly damage the employee experience.

Key figures to remember

• Over 8,000 SAP HCM on‑premise customers have not yet planned their migration (source: SAP, 2024)
• 31 December 2027: end of standard support for SAP ECC 6
• 6 to 9 months: average duration of a Success2Cloud migration
• +20–40%: additional costs for organisations that delay their migration (source: Arago)

Many organisations ask the same questions:

• Is the SAP cloud offering robust enough for our business needs?
• Will everything need to be rebuilt from scratch?
• Will the migration disrupt our existing HR processes?
• How long will SAP continue to support my current solution?

While the transition from SAP HCM may appear complex, the approaching SAP deadline means organisations must now have a clear migration roadmap.

Migrating from SAP HCM to SAP SuccessFactors can present certain challenges that it is important to anticipate:

• Data complexity: migrating historical and current data requires careful planning to avoid data loss or inconsistencies.
• Process adaptation: existing HR processes may need to be adjusted to take full advantage of SAP SuccessFactors’ features.
• User training: HR teams will need to be trained on the new platform, which may require time and resources.

Arago deploys specific methodologies and tools to simplify, secure and accelerate this process.

For companies still using SAP HCM Payroll (ECC) for payroll, here is a summary of the differences compared to SAP ECP (Employee Central Payroll):

A detailed feasibility analysis must be carried out to determine which elements can and should be migrated before transferring them to the cloud. That is why we offer an in-depth assessment of your current SAP HCM landscape, covering two key areas:

1. HCM Assessment Report (free): provides the necessary understanding of key areas (such as implemented functionalities, the degree of customisation, the number of interfaces and the existing data footprint) required to properly assess the complexity of your existing SAP HCM landscape.
2. HCM Executive Report: to help you plan the next steps in your digital transformation journey (highlighting key findings and immediate opportunities for value creation, providing a project cost estimate and a value realisation plan with recommendations on tangible opportunities for return on investment). You’ll leave with a better understanding of the real benefits of the cloud, a stronger position from which to evaluate your options, and key insights into accelerators – such as the Lift, Shift and Transform approaches – that can significantly reduce timeframes and costs, making your migration to the cloud more efficient and cost-effective than ever before.

The S2C Readiness Check will help you choose the path that best suits your specific needs. And, of course, we can help you implement the solution of your choice!

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll (ECP)

ECP is the new SAP‑hosted payroll engine. It retains the robustness of SAP Payroll while being natively integrated with Employee Central. Payroll teams work through the Payroll Control Centre, enabling continuous monitoring and early anomaly detection powered by AI.

Concrete ECP benefits:

• Payroll teams: reliable upstream data, fewer manual entries and checks, greater focus on expertise and control
• HR teams and managers: consistent data across the employee lifecycle, improved employee experience
• IT teams: progressive exit from complex on‑premise architectures, fewer interfaces, alignment with SAP cloud standards

SAP Time Management

Time management is one of the main sources of payroll errors: incorrectly reported overtime, unprocessed absences or miscalculated premiums. SAP offers three options depending on organisational needs:

• SAP SuccessFactors Time Off: global absence management for basic requirements
• SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking: advanced time tracking for hourly, blue‑collar or shift‑based workforces
• Consolidated Time Recording with S/4HANA (available only with S/4HANA PCE): a unified timesheet combining SAP S/4HANA and SAP SuccessFactors

• Greenfield: a completely new deployment, recommended for organisations wishing to redesign HR processes from the ground up.
• Brownfield (Lift & Shift): direct migration of existing configuration, preferred for payroll as it preserves setup, reduces risk and shortens timelines.
• Hybrid: a mixed approach combining stability with targeted transformation.

Anticipating the end of SAP HCM on‑premise support by migrating now to the cloud ensures compliance while modernising and optimising HR and payroll processes. With Arago Success2Cloud, this transition is secure, fast and cost‑effective, thanks to our integrated approach and expertise.

A SAP Gold Partner since 2010, Arago is one of the few SAP integrators covering the entire SuccessFactors suite (Employee Central, Time and EC Payroll) with a single project team.