Key Takeaways
- 59% of companies now live on SAP S/4HANA, up 13 points from 2024
- Automation adoption plateaued at 57% as migration demands divert resources
- Mixed user interfaces create friction with 54% juggling multiple SAP environments
Why It Matters
The corporate world is experiencing what might be called the Great SAP Migration of 2025, and it's about as smooth as you'd expect from enterprise software. With SAP's 2027 deadline breathing down their necks, companies are finally getting serious about modernizing their systems, though "serious" apparently means "frantically scrambling while juggling flaming torches." The 13-percentage-point jump in adoption shows real momentum, but it's the kind of momentum you get when someone yells "fire" in a crowded theater.
What's particularly telling is that automation adoption has hit a wall at 57%, which is corporate speak for "we're too busy putting out fires to prevent future fires." Companies are discovering that migrating to S/4HANA isn't just a technical upgrade—it's like renovating your house while living in it, except the house is your entire business operation and the contractors speak in acronyms. The fact that process complexity has overtaken integration as the top challenge suggests that organizations are finally grappling with the reality that modern ERP systems require, well, modern processes.
The mixed user interface situation is perhaps the most deliciously chaotic aspect of this whole migration circus. Having 54% of companies running SAP GUI, Fiori, and GUI for HTML simultaneously is like trying to drive a car with three different steering wheels—technically possible, but guaranteed to give everyone involved a headache. This UI juggling act isn't just a minor inconvenience; it's a productivity killer that's making employees question their life choices every time they log into work. The silver lining? Companies that survive this migration marathon will emerge with battle-tested systems and the kind of organizational resilience that only comes from shared trauma.
