SAP HCM migration self-assessment: a clear overview in 5 minutes

Migrating from SAP HCM to the cloud: where to start?

With standard support for on-premise SAP HCM set to end on 31 December 2027, organisations can no longer afford to wait.

But before choosing a path forward, you first need to know where you stand. To support HR, Payroll and IT teams in their planning, Arago has developed an SAP HCM migration self-assessment questionnaire.

A simple tool to assess the maturity of your environment and identify the issues to anticipate before launching your project.

Access the questionnaire

Why carry out a self-assessment before migrating?

Standard support for on-premise SAP HCM will end on 31 December 2027. This deadline may seem a long way off, but in reality, a migration project takes between 6 and 9 months to complete, not including the scoping and partner selection phases, which add a further 4 to 6 months on average.

Companies that sit back and wait face two very real risks:

A compliance risk: after 2027, no further automatic legal updates will be provided. Any changes to employment law will have to be dealt with manually.
Risk of additional costs: SAP HCM experts are becoming increasingly scarce. Companies that delay their decision face cost increases of up to 20–40% (source: Arago).

But migrating without proper preparation also means taking risks. Every SAP HCM environment is unique, in terms of the level of customisation, existing interfaces, time management, payroll specifics and available internal resources. All these factors determine the complexity of your migration and the right approach for your organisation.

The aim of this self-assessment is to give you a clear picture of your level of readiness, so that you can better prioritise your next steps.

What the Arago self-assessment questionnaire enables

This questionnaire is structured around the key aspects of an SAP HCM migration project:

Timeline and governance: assess your target deadline and the availability of the teams to lead the project.
Technical complexity: assess the level of customisation in your system, the number of interfaces, and the accumulated technical debt.
Time management: identify the specific features of your current system (absences, clocking in and out, overtime) and their impact on the migration.
Documentation and traceability: assess the quality of the documentation for your existing configurations, payroll rules and settings.
Project experience: assess where your organisation stands in relation to HR transformation projects that have already been carried out.

How does self-assessment work?

Duration: approximately 5 minutes
Format: 9 multiple-choice questions
Access: free and with no obligation
Result: a personalised maturity profile across three levels, with a detailed list of key considerations tailored to your specific situation

This is not a sales scoring tool, but an initial objective assessment that you can carry out entirely on your own, even before you’ve had a conversation with an integrator.

These questions help to stimulate discussion and quickly identify priorities, whether it involves launching a technical audit, establishing robust project governance, or choosing between SAP SuccessFactors and an intermediate step via S/4HANA.

Examples of topics covered:

Is your SAP HCM system close to the standard version or heavily customised?
Do you have internal resources available to lead a migration project?
Is your configuration documented and up to date?
What is your internal target deadline for the migration?

Access the questionnaire

Go further with Arago

Why choose Arago to start your migration to the cloud?

Would you like to explore the results of your self-assessment in more detail? Our Core HR, Payroll and Time Management experts can support you through the next steps, starting with an S2C Readiness Check, an in-depth analysis of your current SAP HCM landscape.

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

Contactez-nous pour en savoir plus.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about SAP HCM Migration

What is the difference between migrating to SAP SuccessFactors and migrating to S/4HANA?

SAP S/4HANA enables the modernisation of existing infrastructure whilst retaining the SAP payroll module, with a migration timeframe of 3 to 4 months. SAP SuccessFactors goes a step further: it natively integrates payroll, core HR and time management into a unified cloud platform. Migration to SuccessFactors takes 6 to 9 months but delivers a complete modernisation of the HRIS, with an active SAP roadmap extending beyond 2040.

Is it still possible to migrate before the 2027 deadline?

Yes, provided the project is launched promptly. Taking into account the scoping and partner selection phases (8 to 12 weeks each), companies that begin planning now can still aim to go live before the end of 2027. However, SAP advises against targeting 2027 itself, due to the expected peak workload in that year.

Do we need to reimplement everything, or can we migrate the existing system?

In the vast majority of cases, a Lift & Shift approach (direct migration of the existing configuration) is preferable, particularly for payroll. It preserves business rules, retains historical data and reduces risks. A complete reimplementation adds at least three months to the process and complicates data migration.

What happens if we wait until after 2027?

After 31 December 2027, SAP will no longer provide any security patches or automatic regulatory updates. Any regulatory changes will have to be addressed manually. Companies that delay their migration also face a 20–40% increase in costs, due to a shortage of specialist resources during periods of peak demand.