SAP System Refreshes - White paper
Executive Summary
What is an SAP System refresh
The majority of SAP landscapes consist of three or more separate systems: Development, Quality Assurance (test system) and Production (live system). Each system contains one or more clients. A client is a self contained logical unit within a system. Each client contains its own separate data set. In a typical SAP system the production data set is periodically copied onto the Development and Quality Assurance systems in order to allow full testing of customising and development changes that are made to the live SAP system. This is known as a system refresh. The frequency of these refreshes is determined by business and test team requirements but typically several refreshes are performed over the course of a year.
Meeting statutory audit requirements
With the increasing pressure on companies to deliver procedures that comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and other audit requirements, system refreshes are no longer a “nice to have” for many SAP customers. It is becoming mandatory for companies to maintain an up-to-date quality assurance environment in order to meet statutory audit needs.
Using real, meaningful data for testing, development and training.
Aside from regulatory compliance, there are many additional benefits of carrying out regular SAP system refreshes. The main benefit of replicating live data into a quality assurance or development system is that it provides an isolated environment, away from the main business operations where developers and test teams can test any system enhancements or bug-fixes in conditions as close to those in Production as possible.
Your Options
Various options exist for performing a system refresh. The majority of companies will be aware of the traditional method of Client Copies from their initial implementation experience. Some will continue to use this method as their operational requirements allow it, while others quickly identify that there are more effective and appropriate methods of obtaining a copy of their Production environment.
The purpose of this white paper is to outline the options available, to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each and to summarise which path may be most suitable for customers in the long term.