Choosing the Right SAP S/4HANA Migration Partner: Delivery, Oversight, or Both
SAPinsider’s 2025 benchmark research offers a clear picture of how heavily organizations are now leaning on outside expertise for their S/4HANA migrations, and it is a picture that has shifted meaningfully over time. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they want a proven, experienced implementation partner. Sixty-eight percent prefer leveraging specialized outside consultants rather than pursuing full outsourcing. Fifty-seven percent are planning to deploy via a systems integrator — the highest share recorded in this survey series to date. And only 10% plan to rely on internal teams exclusively, down sharply from 24% in 2022, a trend the report frames as evidence of a widening internal skills gap relative to the specialized expertise S/4HANA migrations require.
Figure 1. How organizations are structuring external expertise for their S/4HANA migration.
What this shows:
Reliance on outside expertise is rising, not falling — and organizations increasingly favor specialized
consultants over both full internal delivery and full outsourcing, a middle path that benefits from a partner able to flex between leading and verifying.
That last trend — the decline in organizations relying purely on internal teams — is worth sitting with. It means the population of organizations needing external expertise is growing, at precisely the moment when the population of experienced SAP specialists is being drawn on by every organization racing toward the same 2027 milestone. Choosing the right partner, and the right engagement model with that partner, matters more under those conditions, not less.
Evaluating a delivery partner: the criteria that apply either way
A rigorous evaluation typically examines several distinct dimensions, evaluated with evidence rather than taken on the strength of a sales presentation — and these criteria apply whether the partner is being asked to lead the technical build or to verify one already underway.
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Demonstrated SAP-specific technical expertise, including certified specialists in the specific migration approach (brownfield, greenfield, or selective) the organization has chosen, not general ERP experience presented as equivalent.
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A documented project methodology, including how the partner handles testing, data migration, and cutover planning — not simply a claim of following a standard methodology, but visibility into what that methodology actually requires of the client.
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