SAP “Clean Core”: The New Turning Point in the S/4HANA Era

The Clean Core approach has moved to the center of the conversation around SAP S/4HANA, especially in projects geared toward S/4HANA Cloud. The idea is straightforward: keep the ERP core as standard as possible so it’s easier to roll out frequent updates, reduce risk, and avoid locking the system into hard-to-maintain internal custom development. This direction is shaping how organizations reassess their processes, plan migrations, and define their long-term customization strategies.

What “Clean Core” Means in SAP S/4HANA

SAP defines Clean Core as a model that prioritizes an ERP with fewer direct changes to the standard system and more controlled extensibility, with the goal of maintaining an environment that is more stable and easier to update over time. Under this approach, companies are encouraged to add improvements and extensions without modifying the core, strengthening compatibility with upgrades and new capabilities.

Within this strategy, three common principles typically guide implementation projects:

• Process standardization through “fit-to-standard” approaches.
• Decoupled extensibility to add capabilities without changing the core.
• Change governance to prevent technical complexity from building up over time.

SAP also ties these decisions to the chosen migration approach (greenfield, brownfield, or selective), since each path requires a different balance between transformation and continuity.

Customization: From Core Changes to Modern Extensibility

For years, many organizations built highly specific processes through deep customizations—especially with ABAP developments embedded directly in the ERP. Today, SAP is pushing a model where system evolution relies on methods and tools designed to keep the core clean, such as ABAP Cloud and code governance practices aimed at minimizing impact on the standard system.

At the same time, SAP’s migration guidance explains how to analyze and adapt custom code in S/4HANA projects, including reviewing objects, removing obsolete developments, and reworking functionality where needed.

From a technology standpoint, a significant part of modern extensibility is supported by SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), which is used to build applications or extensions without making direct changes to the ERP core.

S/4HANA Migrations: Adoption Speed and Real-World Complexity

The move to SAP S/4HANA is progressing, but it continues to face operational challenges. Recent market studies point to custom code management, process redesign, and integration as factors that influence both project timelines and workload.

Precisely reports that 64% of companies plan to be live on S/4HANA—or actively migrating—by the end of 2025, suggesting a steady increase in the pace of transition.

Likewise, integration initiatives remain a constant factor: ASUG reports that most SAP customers are working on integrations with non-SAP systems, often in hybrid environments or alongside existing technology stacks.

Governance and the Most In-Demand Capabilities in the SAP Ecosystem

The Clean Core approach makes it necessary to strengthen architecture decisions and change control. Some consulting firms describe this model as a way to reduce complexity and improve ERP sustainability over time, with direct implications for performance and system updates.

In practice, this often translates into priorities such as:

• Defining which processes should remain standard and which require extensions.
• Setting design rules to prevent the buildup of technical debt.
• Strengthening roles focused on integration, architecture, and extensibility.

The quantified impact of Clean Core on post-migration productivity and user resistance requires additional verification through specific public sources.

Ultimately, Clean Core reinforces a practical shift: value no longer comes from modifying the ERP itself, but from building differentiation without compromising the system’s ability to evolve. In an environment where technology changes constantly, SAP S/4HANA Cloud is increasingly tied to standardization, controlled extensions, and integration as pillars of long-term continuity.