Executive Summary
Global organizations operate under increasing pressure to manage complex multiregional operations while establishing a trusted data foundation capable of supporting innovation and large-scale business transformation. Organizations must also simultaneously drive efficiency, control costs, and enhance decision-making effectiveness across diverse business units and markets. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management software by Syniti helps address these enterprise wide challenges through an integrated, end-to-end platform that can strengthen data quality, governance, and operational performance. With a modern, reliable data foundation, organizations can gain the agility, control, and global consistency needed to modernize systems, support continuous transformation, and advance strategic business initiatives.
SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management is an integrated platform that can streamline and automate the end-to-end data transformation lifecycle. By embedding AI-driven intelligence into data assessment, mapping, and validation processes, the platform can help organizations proactively identify issues, accelerate decision-making, and improve overall data outcomes. The solution can also provide a unified, intuitive experience that supports continuous integration and long-term data stewardship. It delivers a trusted data foundation, which helps advance strategic initiatives and support scalable innovation and large-scale business transformation.
SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management is part of SAP’s integrated toolchain, an AI-powered set of tools that unifies the end-to-end view on people, processes, applications, and data to orchestrate an accelerated, safeguarded, and cost-efficient transformation to SAP Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) and SAP Business Suite, providing data-driven insights while modernizing core operations.
SAP and Syniti commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.1 The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management on their organizations.
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed four decision-makers with experience using SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the experiences of the interviewees and combined the results into a single composite organization with 10,000 employees and revenue of $5 billion per year.
Interviewees reported that before adopting SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, their organizations struggled with fragmented tools, manual processes, and persistent data quality issues that made large-scale transformation costly, slow, and operationally risky. Teams lacked a unified data foundation, resulting in inconsistent information, heavy dependence on external vendors, and significant delays across the entire end-to-end data lifecycle. These constraints limited organizational agility and undermined the momentum of digital transformation, making it difficult to modernize systems or support strategic business initiatives. Prior attempts failed as disjointed systems introduced errors, delays, and recurring rework, while limited internal capability forced heavy dependence on external vendors that slowed progress and increased costs. As a result, prior solutions consistently fell short of reliable data quality, operational predictability, or the enterprise data foundation needed to drive successful business change and evolution.
Interviewees said that after the investment in SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, their organizations experienced cost savings and higher operational efficiency through improved data quality and streamlined processes. Their organizations became more agile and collaborative, supported by simplified, cohesive data experiences and stronger data governance. With a reliable data foundation, the interviewees’ organizations became better positioned to support innovation and business transformation. Key results from the investment include cost savings from improved data and processes, reduced resource requirements, increased operational efficiency, and reduced audit preparation costs.
Key Findings
Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the composite organization include:
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Cost savings from improved data and processes. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management strengthens the composite’s enterprise data foundation, enabling meaningful cost efficiencies through improved data quality and more streamlined, intelligence driven data processes. By identifying and resolving data issues early, the composite organization avoids the financial and operational consequences of inaccurate or incomplete information entering production systems. Higher levels of data accuracy, consistency, and completeness minimize downstream business disruptions while also reducing overall project expenditures by limiting post-go live remediation and mitigating the risk of costly delays. Cost savings from improved data and processes are worth $2.1 million to the composite organization.
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Reduced resource requirements. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management transforms how the composite organization approaches data migration and ongoing data stewardship, reducing the reliance on large operational teams by reshaping processes around a more intelligent, unified platform. The solution centralizes and automates activities that once required extensive manual effort across disparate tools, streamlining the end-to-end data workflow with embedded governance, quality assurance, and lineage transparency. As data quality strengthens earlier in the process, the composite organization avoids the late stage escalation of effort, materially reducing overall resource demands. The composite organization strengthens its ability to support ongoing transformation initiatives without proportionally increasing headcount or external spending. Reduced resource requirements are worth $1.6 million to the composite organization.
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Increased operational efficiency. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management redefines how data migration and ongoing data management operations are executed to enhance organizational efficiency for the composite organization. By replacing fragmented, error-prone work with a single integrated and automated platform, the solution brings structure, intelligence, and cohesion to activities at the composite that once required extensive coordination across disconnected tools. Automation streamlines the broader data management lifecycle. With improved visibility and centralized workflows, teams at the composite organization operate with greater speed and focus — shifting their efforts toward higher value, strategic contributions. A 30% improvement in operational efficiency is worth $352,000 to the composite organization.
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Reduced audit preparation costs. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management transforms manual activities at the composite organization into automated, governed, and fully traceable workflows and boosts audit readiness. Rather than relying on team members manually piecing together documentation from multiple sources, the solution systematically captures and preserves key compliance information, substantially reducing administrative overhead. With real-time visibility into data quality and other aspects of the data management lifecycle, the composite organization can meet compliance expectations with far greater efficiency. By embedding consistent governance and traceability into core data processes, the composite organization reduces compliance risk. Reducing audit preparation time by 80% has led to $62,000 in cost savings for the composite organization.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that provide value for the composite organization but are not quantified for this study include:
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Empowered teams through simplified, cohesive data experiences. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management provides an intuitive, user-friendly experience for the composite organization and improves overall effectiveness. It empowers both technical and nontechnical teams with minimal onboarding effort. The solution’s streamlined interface replaces a patchwork of the composite organization’s legacy tools with a cohesive, modern environment that reduces friction, encourages broad adoption, and strengthens organizational alignment around shared data processes. This ease of use not only drives strong user satisfaction but also enables smoother, more efficient data management operations for the composite, allowing teams to focus more on strategic, value driving work rather than navigating complex or fragmented tools.
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Enhanced organizational agility and responsiveness. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management enables the composite organization’s teams to respond more quickly to evolving business and transformation priorities, enhancing agility. The solution’s unified, configurable platform ensures the composite organization can rapidly adapt at the pace of the business. This flexibility supports faster, more informed decision making, helping the composite organization advance through complex transformation initiatives with greater efficiency and control.
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Integrated collaboration for accelerated transformation. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management brings all migration and data management activities into a single, unified platform to strengthen organizational alignment and accelerate transformation at the composite organization. By enabling the composite’s teams to access shared information and monitor progress, the solution enhances coordination and reduces operational drag. This shared visibility minimizes miscommunication and removes the back-and-forth interactions that previously slowed delivery, allowing technical teams, business users, and stakeholders to collaborate more effectively and drive faster, more predictable project outcomes.
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Enhanced business stewardship and data governance. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management gives business stakeholders clear, real-time visibility within a centralized platform, strengthening the composite organization’s data accountability. With transparent insight into data flows and how issues are resolved, internal stakeholders at the composite become more engaged stewards of data quality and play a more active role in driving reliable outcomes across the business. The solution’s intuitive interface and guided workflows make it easier for business teams at the composite organization to understand and validate transformations, reducing dependence on technical specialists. The solution allows business users to participate more consistently in data initiatives, strengthening overall governance and data literacy across the organization.
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Provided modern data foundation for scalable innovation. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management establishes a data foundation that supports future business transformation initiatives and enhances the composite organization’s ability to scale and innovate. By centralizing, cleansing, and standardizing data, the solution ensures that downstream systems consistently receive high-quality, reliable information, improving the accuracy of reporting, forecasting, and strategic decision-making at the composite organization. The solution’s structured governance model and repeatable processes make it easier for the composite organization to expand its internal analytical capabilities or introduce new automation without rebuilding core data pipelines. As a result, the composite organization is better positioned to pursue future business opportunities with agility.
Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for the composite organization include:
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SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management subscription and support cost. Over the three years, the composite organization pays a total of $653,000, which includes subscription fees and technical support.
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Internal effort costs. The composite organization requires about 17 weeks for deployment and configuration. Total internal efforts costs aggregated over the three years (including ongoing internal support of the solution) are $641,000.
The financial analysis that is based on the interviews found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $4.1 million over three years versus costs of $1.3 million, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $2.8 million and an ROI of 218%.
Key Statistics
218%
Return on investment (ROI)
$4.1M
Benefits PV
$2.8M
Net present value (NPV)
<6 months
Payback
Benefits (Three-Year)
The SAP Advanced Data Migration And Management Customer Journey
Drivers leading to the SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management investment
Interviews
| Role | Industry | Region | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head of DevOps | Technology | Global | 15,000 |
| Data analytics director | Construction | Global | 8,000 |
| Data development manager | Retail | Global | 200,000 |
| Data manager | Oil and gas | Global | 60,000 |
Key Challenges
Forrester interviewed four representatives with experience using SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management at their organizations. Interviewees noted that before adopting SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, their organizations faced significant obstacles that made large-scale business transformation costly, slow, and difficult to execute. Legacy tools were not designed to support the scale and complexity of data migration and ongoing data management operations, forcing teams to rely on fragmented manual processes that created errors, bottlenecks, and recurring rework cycles.
These limitations increased dependence on external vendors and contractors, as internal teams lacked the enterprise grade capabilities needed to manage data effectively at transformation scale. At the same time, longstanding data quality issues within legacy systems introduced inconsistencies that slowed testing and heightened the risk of post-go live disruptions. Audit preparation was similarly burdensome and relied on manual documentation and scattered evidence that made compliance slow, inefficient, and high risk. Together, these challenges resulted in data migration and data management programs that were complex, inefficient, and difficult to manage, constraining the interviewees’ organizations’ ability to confidently modernize their operations. These compounding hurdles ultimately limited their organizations’ capacity to transform the business and slowed digital transformation momentum, making it harder to compete and innovate in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges, including:
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Legacy tools that limited enterprise scale transformation. Interviewees shared how previous tools created a significant barrier to transformation because they lacked the scalability and sophistication required to support SAP S/4HANA and other large-scale enterprise migration initiatives. Interviewees described operating across fragmented systems that offered little integration, limited visibility, and demanded extensive manual effort to reconcile outputs — conditions that slowed progress and introduced operational risk. These legacy approaches were not equipped to manage the volume, complexity, or governance rigor that modern ERP programs demand, leading to inconsistent data, recurring errors, and costly rework cycles. As transformation efforts expanded in scope, these tools could no longer deliver the automation, transparency, or reliability needed to support the interviewees’ organizations’ strategic growth and modernization objectives.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester, “We relied on tools that were not strategically designed to support an S/4HANA environment, which ultimately constrained our ability to scale and meet the evolving demands of our data migration program.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Historically, our data migration efforts relied on a patchwork of tools that were not optimized for enterprise scale transformation. This resulted in inconsistent outcomes and, even when migrations were completed, the resulting data quality frequently fell short of operational standards. It became clear that our methodology was no longer fit for purpose, prompting the need to adopt a more robust, future ready solution.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “As my organization advanced its data management modernization agenda, it became clear that our existing landscape of siloed, individually configured tools lacked the scale and cohesion required for enterprise level transformation. To support this shift, we needed a solution capable of strengthening data quality and accelerating migration initiatives in a more integrated, strategic manner.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “Our team recognized that we needed a more sophisticated and complete solution that could handle the scale and complexity of our data transformation program. We had multiple tools, but it was challenging to integrate them. We also did not have the time or internal resources to configure these tools or customize programs and get them integrated for SAP migrations at this large scale.” -
Manual, disconnected processes that undermined transformation readiness. Manual processes created significant operational challenges for interviewees’ organizations, forcing teams to work across disconnected spreadsheets, emails, and legacy tools that made it difficult to maintain consistency, accuracy, and control throughout the data migration lifecycle. Without a centralized system, teams repeatedly reentered information, tracked changes manually, and reconciled multiple versions of data, introducing avoidable errors and slowing momentum across every phase of the initiative. These manual handoffs also meant that issues surfaced late in testing cycles, resulting in delays, rework, and added project risk. The absence of integrated workflows and automated checks made coordination inefficient and left interviewees’ organizations vulnerable to bottlenecks, inconsistent outcomes, and increased schedule uncertainty, ultimately undermining strategic flexibility.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester, “Historically, our data migration processes relied heavily on manual interventions, which introduced variability and increased the risk of human driven errors.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Within our data migration workflow, teams relied on form based documentation that required manual transfer into our data management system. This approach was time intensive and introduced significant exposure to human error.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “Previously, our data migration activities depended on manually maintained [spreadsheets] for mapping, tracking, and monitoring progress. This approach was highly time-consuming and often resulted in inaccuracies that required substantial rework.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “Previously, our efforts to integrate multiple tools and establish a cohesive data migration framework were hampered by ongoing inconsistencies and a heavy reliance on manual processes. These gaps led to data quality issues post migration, increasing the burden of remediation after go live. It became clear that this approach was no longer sustainable, particularly given the time and resources required for extensive data cleansing.” -
Limited internal capability that led to dependence on external support. Interviewees explained that their organizations had become heavily dependent on external vendors and contractors due to a broader lack of internal capabilities, tools, and expertise needed to manage enterprise scale data migration and data quality efforts. This reliance meant that outside partners largely executed essential data activities, limiting transparency, slowing decision-making, and weakening organizational control. Vendor built solutions often lacked flexibility, creating bottlenecks and constraining the interviewees’ organizations’ ability to adapt to shifting business or transformation requirements. Over time, this dependence introduced significant long-term cost exposure and reduced the interviewees’ organizations’ ability to scale its transformation initiatives. This constraint ultimately weakened their organizations’ strategic agility, making it harder to pivot quickly and support new business initiatives.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester, “We required a solution that could be independently managed and executed by our internal teams, reducing reliance on external vendors and strengthening our operational autonomy.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Historically, our organization depended on external vendors for end-to-end data migration execution, requiring significant financial outlays to move data from point A to point B. We recognized the need to build a more holistic, internally driven data management capability to reduce this dependency and strengthen our long-term operational maturity.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “We had no choice but to engage multiple contractors with highly specialized expertise to address persistent challenges, as our previous implementation partner lacked the necessary capabilities. This skills gap contributed to ongoing project delays and impeded overall project momentum.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “We previously operated with a heavy reliance on external contractors, often requiring additional specialized roles — such as developers, scrum masters, and cross functional coordinators — to manage issues and maintain project continuity. While these resources helped address immediate challenges, many underlying problems persisted, underscoring the need for a more sustainable, efficient solution.” -
The inability to establish a trusted enterprise data foundation. Data quality emerged as a persistent challenge for interviewees’ organizations, with their teams frequently working from inconsistent, incomplete, and inaccurate information that fundamentally weakened the effectiveness of their data migration and data management efforts. Issues such as duplicate records, missing fields, and nonstandard formats across multiple legacy systems required significant manual investigation and correction before data could be trusted or used to support SAP S/4HANA. These challenges made it difficult to establish a reliable foundation for testing, resulting in delays as errors surfaced late in project cycles and increasing the risk of operational disruptions after go live. As a result, interviewees’ organizations were forced to invest substantial time and resources simply to reach a baseline level of data readiness, making it harder to achieve efficient, predictable, and compliant data outcomes. This persistent struggle with data quality also limited their organizations’ ability to build an enterprise wide data foundation, constraining future efforts to modernize operations and unlock more strategic, data driven capabilities.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “During prior rollouts, we frequently encountered a high volume of incidents, resulting in hundreds of IT support tickets to remediate data load issues. The extent of post migration data correction underscored significant inefficiencies in our previous approach.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Data conformity levels were significantly below expectations, averaging only 45% to 46%. As a result, our CFO routinely escalated ongoing data issues to our team, underscoring our inability to develop a trusted data foundation.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester, “While high-quality data was a clear organizational priority, our teams were operating through largely manual and disconnected migration activities. This lack of coordination contributed to persistent data quality challenges.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “There were instances where we initiated data migration activities only to discover that the underlying data lacked the accuracy and consistency required for successful execution. We identified systemic issues, including incomplete and inconsistent information across formats, duplicate master data, and broader data quality gaps. Under tight timelines, we were sometimes forced to deprioritize data cleansing, resulting in suboptimal data that later drove additional costs — particularly when performing analytics on poor quality data.” -
Fragmented data governance that increased the cost and complexity of audit preparation. Interviewees’ organizations lacked a centralized, automated capability to govern data changes, validation processes, and approval workflows. As a result, the interviewees’ organizations were dependent on dispersed information sources and ad hoc documentation practices, creating unnecessary operational drag. Staff were often required to reconstruct key updates and decisions, leading to duplicated effort and inefficiencies. The absence of embedded traceability and system generated audit documentation introduced heightened operational and compliance risk. Audit preparation became a resource intensive, manual exercise, increasing the potential for oversight, inconsistencies, and late stage rework. Without a standardized, automated audit support solution, interviewees’ organizations struggled to achieve predictable, cost-effective audit readiness, ultimately raising overall compliance burden and exposure.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “Our audit preparations were heavily dependent on manual workflows, requiring significant coordination across multiple team members. This manual approach not only consumed substantial time but also introduced operational inefficiencies.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Our audit processes were heavily dependent on internal staff and external contractors to manually support audit preparation, which made it difficult to consistently audit and control our data. This reliance on manual effort highlighted broader challenges in achieving reliable oversight and governance.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “Data reconciliation was a significant time constraint as our teams relied on manually maintained [spreadsheets] to map and manage migration activities. This approach created inefficiencies and materially slowed our audit preparation process.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “Our documentation and validation workflows were highly manual — capturing data design specifications in [word documents], mapping information in [spreadsheets], and compiling report snapshots, signoffs, and findings across disparate files. Any change required restarting the entire process from the beginning, resulting in a repetitive, labor-intensive, and inefficient end-to-end cycle.” -
Visibility gaps that increased effort and project delays. Previous solutions introduced significant visibility and task coordination challenges, as interviewees’ organizations were required to orchestrate data migration and data management activities across numerous systems, disconnected tools, and parallel workstreams. This environment made it difficult to sustain a unified, reliable view of the data management progress or overall data quality. In the absence of an integrated platform, stakeholders lacked transparency into rule application, mapping evolution, and error origination, resulting in duplicated effort and inconsistent interpretations of critical information. This fragmentation — occurring as hundreds of data objects and millions of records were transformed — increased the likelihood of misalignment, delays, and rework. Ultimately, these conditions constrained operational predictability and hindered the interviewees’ organizations’ ability to execute data dependent business initiatives efficiently and at scale.
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Our teams faced significant coordination and planning challenges with prior tools and processes. Migration cycles often required four to five weeks of downtime simply to extract, migrate, and snapshot the data, resulting in prolonged project pauses and disruption to overall delivery momentum.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester, “We faced persistent integration challenges, as configuring our ERP systems and supporting tools was complex and contributed to delays and ongoing coordination issues.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “Our teams faced significant complexity integrating master and transactional data — spanning millions of equipment records and thousands of materials — across a landscape of disconnected tools that could not be orchestrated into a cohesive process. This fragmentation made data migration initiatives highly challenging and hindered our ability to maintain consistency and alignment across systems.”
Solution Requirements
The interviewees searched for a solution that could:
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Provide high‑quality data to support more accurate strategic decision‑making.
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Capture and preserve organizational data knowledge so teams could reuse rules, decisions, and insights across future initiatives.
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Create a scalable data foundation that could support future business transformation efforts.
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Turning migration into a repeatable organizational capability.
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Enable organizational agility, supporting faster execution of transformation initiatives and quicker realization of business value.
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Deliver end‑to‑end visibility and accountability, ensuring stakeholders have transparency into progress, status, and decision histories.
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Strengthen regulatory compliance and reduce risk, providing traceability, governed approvals, and auditable records.
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Drive measurable operational efficiency, enabling the organization to streamline processes, reduce friction across teams, and support more effective execution of business‑critical activities.
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Ensure consistent, high‑quality outcomes across complex ERP environments, enabling reliable business performance during large‑scale transformation programs.
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Provide seamless, ongoing alignment between legacy and modern systems, supporting uninterrupted business operations throughout multiphase change efforts.
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Support agile, iterative delivery models, enabling organizations to progress through long‑term, multi‑year transformation programs with predictable outcomes and minimal business disruption.
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Build internal data management maturity, reducing dependency on external service providers and strengthening long‑term organizational capability.
Composite Organization
Based on the interviews, Forrester constructed a TEI framework, a composite company, and an ROI analysis that illustrates the areas financially affected. The composite organization is representative of the interviewees’ organizations, and it is used to present the aggregate financial analysis in the next section. The composite organization has the following characteristics:
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Description of composite. The global, $5-billion-dollar organization uses an enterprise business model. The composite organization has 10,000 employees, operations in multiple countries, a large customer base, offers multiple products, and has a strong online and offline presence. It encompasses several business units and departments around the globe that depend on high-quality data to support operations, strategic decision-making, and organizational transformation efforts.
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Deployment characteristics. After an RFP and business case process evaluating multiple vendors, the composite organization deploys the product in a phased approach. The composite organization leverages SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management as part of a large, multiphase business change program involving multiple legacy ERPs, high-volume datasets, and globally distributed teams.
Through this phased approach, the composite organization positions SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management as a unified, end-to-end data foundation, replacing a fragmented ecosystem of spreadsheets, extract, transform, and load (ETL) tools, and manual documentation practices with a cohesive, governed, and transparent model. The composite organization leverages the solution not only to stabilize data quality but also to establish reusable templates, standards, and rules that strengthen organizational consistency.
As the program expands, the solution enables broader continuous integration and scalable governance capabilities across business units, reinforcing alignment and control at the enterprise level. Over time, the deployment transitions the organization from vendor dependent, manual workflows to a standardized, automated, and internally owned data management operating model that supports both immediate program needs and longer-term strategic objectives. This progression is essential for sustaining organizational transformation, as it creates the data reliability, operational predictability, and organizational self-sufficiency required to scale new digital capabilities. By embedding consistent governance and data management into the business, the composite organization establishes a durable data foundation that enables ongoing business transformation.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
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Global organization
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$5 billion in annual revenue
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10,000 employees
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Enterprise business model
Analysis Of Benefits
Quantified benefit data as applied to the composite
Total Benefits
| Ref. | Benefit | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atr | Cost savings from improved data and processes | $850,000 | $850,000 | $850,000 | $2,550,000 | $2,113,824 |
| Btr | Reduced resource requirements | $637,500 | $637,500 | $637,500 | $1,912,500 | $1,585,368 |
| Ctr | Increased operational efficiency | $141,523 | $141,523 | $141,523 | $424,570 | $351,947 |
| Dtr | Reduced audit preparation costs | $24,752 | $24,752 | $24,752 | $74,257 | $61,555 |
| Total benefits (risk-adjusted) | $1,653,775 | $1,653,775 | $1,653,775 | $4,961,326 | $4,112,694 |
Cost Savings From Improved Data And Processes
Evidence and data. Interviewees said that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management elevated data quality and streamlined their organizations’ data management practices to deliver cost efficiencies. Interviewees noted that the solution enabled their organizations to surface and resolve data issues earlier in the process, avoiding the substantial financial and operational consequences associated with introducing inaccurate or incomplete data into production environments. The resulting improvements in data accuracy, consistency, and completeness reduced downstream business disruptions, helping their organizations avoid their associated financial impacts. Limiting the volume of issues requiring remediation after go live further reduced project costs. Interviewees’ organizations also avoided significant unplanned expenses tied to post deployment corrections, schedule slippage and project delays.
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The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “With SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we have gained full visibility into data issues before anything enters the production environment. This proactive insight has enabled us to resolve defects early rather than loading poor-quality data and remediating it post migration. The solution has significantly enhanced the accuracy, consistency, and completeness of our data.”
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The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Prior to leveraging the solution, our data conformity levels were approximately 45% to 46%. After implementing SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, data conformity now consistently reaches 98% to 99%. The solution has also improved our overall data quality by more than 40%. By leveraging SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we have significantly reduced customer complaints stemming from inaccurate contact information. The resulting improvements in data quality have strengthened our customer fulfillment processes and helped us avoid disruptions in processing and shipping, along with the associated operational costs.”
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The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “After we started using SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, in the first run we got above 90% of data migrated, which was absolutely amazing. With SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we have achieved 99.3% accuracy in production while mitigating the risk of data issues emerging post-go-live.”
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The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has enabled significant automation across our processes, including large portions of our data cleansing activities. Through its integrated assessment, design, and transformation capabilities, the platform has allowed us to remediate more than 75% of data issues with traceable, well documented evidence and ensure that only high-quality data is loaded. This efficiency has helped us avoid major project delays, delivering substantial cost savings and reducing overall project expenditure.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
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The composite organization has an annual revenue of $5 billion.
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For an organization that is the size of the composite organization, cost savings from improved data and processes are $1 million per year.
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This total cost savings amount represents a combination of improving data quality, streamlining data processes, and identifying and resolving data issues early, as well as preventing rework associated with loading incorrect or incomplete data into production systems, minimizing the number of issues requiring correction after go-live, and avoiding remediation expenses and costs associated with project delays.
Risks. Potential risks that can impact this benefit include:
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The extent to which the organization leverages SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
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The specific goals and activities of the organization to improve data quality, streamline data processes, identify data issues, prevent rework, minimize the number of data issues, and avoid remediation and project delays.
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The annual revenue of the organization.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $2.1 million.
$850K
Annual cost savings from improved data and processes
Cost Savings From Improved Data And Processes
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Cost savings from improved data and processes | Interviews | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| At | Cost savings from improved data and processes | A1 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Atr | Cost savings from improved data and processes (risk-adjusted) | $850,000 | $850,000 | $850,000 | ||
| Three-year total: $2,550,000 | Three-year present value: $2,113,824 | |||||
Reduced Resource Requirements
Evidence and data. Interviewees explained that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management fundamentally reshaped how data migration and ongoing data management activities were executed, therefore enabling their organizations to reduce planned resource needs. Rather than relying on large teams to manually cleanse, validate, map, reconcile, and document data across a patchwork of disconnected tools, the solution consolidated these efforts into an integrated, automated environment that streamlined workflows and strengthened governance. Automation removed repetitive, low value tasks that historically consumed significant analyst and developer capacity, while embedded quality controls, governance mechanisms, and transparent lineage eliminated the cycles of rework that previously demanded additional resources. As data quality improved earlier in the process, interviewees’ organizations no longer needed to bring in surge teams to address late-stage issues or post-go-live defects, reducing both internal staffing demands and reliance on external contractors. This shift allowed the interviewees’ organizations to redeploy resources toward higher value strategic work rather than sustaining manual, execution heavy processes. By building a more efficient and scalable operating model, the interviewees’ organizations strengthened their ability to support ongoing transformation initiatives without proportionally increasing headcount or external spend.
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The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester, “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has enabled us to expand the volume and quality of work we deliver without requiring additional contracted resources.”
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The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Since implementing SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we have reduced incident volumes by approximately 80%. This improvement has eliminated the need to hire additional back office personnel or contractors to manage issues that are now proactively addressed by the solution.”
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The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “Had we not implemented SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we would have been required to assemble a sizable team with diverse and specialized skill sets to replicate the capabilities the solution now provides. This would have significantly increased headcount and labor related costs without any assurance that we could achieve the same level of performance or outcomes delivered by the platform.”
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The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “Without SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we would have required a substantially larger team, including additional developers, data architects, and support personnel, to perform work now delivered by the platform. By centralizing key functions within a single solution, we have reduced the need for incremental administrative and coordination resources.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
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The average fully burdened annual salary for a data management FTE is $150,000.
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By leveraging SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, the composite organization, which has an existing team of eight FTEs, avoids hiring an additional five FTEs.
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The avoided FTEs are technical developers and integration specialists who build custom ETL logic, manual conversion scripts, and code adjustments, as well as data analysts and data management specialists responsible for manual profiling, correction, duplicate resolution, and quality checks.
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The five avoided FTEs would have spent three years working on building and maintaining custom scripts and ETL logic; manual data cleansing and correction; running reconciliation, validation, and quality checks; and supporting testing cycles and fixing late-stage data defects.
Risks. Potential risks that can impact this benefit include:
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The number of additional FTEs the organization needs for building and maintaining custom scripts and ETL logic; manual data cleansing and correction; running reconciliation, validation, and quality checks; and supporting testing cycles and fixing late-stage data defects.
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The amount of time required to build these processes and workflows.
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The average fully burdened annual salary for a data management FTE.
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Whether or not the resulting in-house tooling yields a minimum viable product that offers the same tools and functionality of SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.6 million.
Reduced Resource Requirements
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Avoided planned FTE hires due to SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management | Composite | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| B2 | Fully burdened annual salary for a data management FTE | Composite | $150,000 | $150,000 | $150,000 | |
| Bt | Reduced resource requirements | B1*B2 | $750,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Btr | Reduced resource requirements (risk-adjusted) | $637,500 | $637,500 | $637,500 | ||
| Three-year total: $1,912,500 | Three-year present value: $1,585,368 | |||||
Increased Operational Efficiency
Evidence and data. Interviewees said that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management replaced fragmented, manual, and error-prone data activities with a unified, automated platform that streamlined the broader data management lifecycle, enabling their organizations to strengthen operational efficiency. Rather than allocating time and attention to coordinating spreadsheets, reconciling inconsistent files, executing repetitive cleansing tasks, or correcting issues uncovered late in testing, the interviewees’ organizations relied on the solution’s automated controls and integrated workflows. This reduced unnecessary hand-offs, minimized time spent tracking changes or securing approvals, and ensured that data issues were surfaced and addressed much earlier in the process, preventing costly downstream rework. With enhanced visibility and centralized workflows, their teams operated with greater speed and focus, allowing them to redirect effort from manual correction and documentation toward higher value strategic activities.
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The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has enabled full end-to-end orchestration of our migration process — from connecting to the source system, to simulating outcomes, to loading into the target environment. By eliminating the need for spreadsheets, we have reduced risk, minimized errors, and significantly decreased manual effort. The platform’s automated task sequencing ensures handoffs occur at the right time and in the correct order. As a result, IT tickets per cycle have decreased from roughly 30 to 10, and average resolution time has dropped from about 5 hours per ticket to approximately 1 hour.”
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The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has strengthened our operational efficiency by streamlining and optimizing the end-to-end data management process. The solution has reduced the time and effort required to execute data management operations while enhancing visibility and governance through continuous, real-time status updates.”
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The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “The solution has significantly enhanced our team’s overall efficiency by reducing the time spent on administrative activities, such as tracking changes and managing approvals. This has allowed us to redirect our focus toward higher value, strategic priorities.”
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The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has enhanced our operational efficiency by automating several critical components of the data migration and data management process. Its automated transformations, validations, workflow capabilities, and audit logging have significantly reduced the time required to complete key tasks.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
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The composite organization’s data management team is comprised of eight FTEs, including technical developers, integration engineers, data analysts, data migration specialists, and testing and remediation support staff.
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Each person on the team spends 7 hours per day on data migration and data management operations and tasks before SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
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The percentage of time saved after using SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management is 30%.
-
The fully burdened hourly rate for a data management team member is $72.
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The organization recaptures 50% of productivity because not all hours gained from efficiency translate into additional work being completed.
Risks. Potential risks that can impact this benefit include:
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The extent to which the organization leverages SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
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The number of resources (FTEs) the organization dedicates to data migration and management.
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The number of hours spent on data migration and management.
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The percentage of time saved after using the solution.
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The fully burdened hourly rate for a data management team member.
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A decrease in productivity capture
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $352,000.
30%
Reduction in time spent on data management tasks
Increased Operational Efficiency
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Data management team FTEs | Composite | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| C2 | Time spent on data management tasks per person per day before SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management (hours) | Composite | 7 | 7 | 7 | |
| C3 | Data management team time savings due to SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management | Interviews | 30% | 30% | 30% | |
| C4 | Total time saved with SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management (hours) | C1*C2*C3*260 | 4,368 | 4,368 | 4,368 | |
| C5 | Fully burdened annual salary for a data management FTE | Composite | $72 | $72 | $72 | |
| C6 | Team efficiency benefit | C4*C5 | $314,496 | $314,496 | $314,496 | |
| C7 | Productivity recapture rate | TEI methodology | 50% | 50% | 50% | |
| Ct | Increased operational efficiency | C6*C7 | $157,248 | $157,248 | $157,248 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Ctr | Increased operational efficiency (risk-adjusted) | $141,523 | $141,523 | $141,523 | ||
| Three-year total: $424,570 | Three-year present value: $351,947 | |||||
Reduced Audit Preparation Costs
Evidence and data. Interviewees explained that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management transformed their organizations’ audit preparation processes from manual, time intensive, and error-prone activities to fully governed, automated, and consistently traceable operating models. Previously, their organizations had to assemble documentation from disparate spreadsheets, emails, and versioned files; manually track changes to rules; and reconstruct mappings or approval histories — efforts that demanded multiple rounds of review and rework. With SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, all validation rules, mappings, data lineage, and approval pathways were systematically captured and retained, significantly reducing the administrative burden at interviewees’ organizations. Real-time transparency into data quality, program status, and historical changes further enabled the interviewees’ organizations to meet compliance expectations with far greater efficiency. By embedding consistent governance and traceability into core data processes, their organizations reduced compliance risk.
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A head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has significantly accelerated our audit preparation processes. By maintaining comprehensive documentation and system approvals within the platform, we have eliminated many of the previously time-consuming manual tasks.”
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A data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Since implementing SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we have significantly reduced the time required to prepare for and respond to audit requests. The platform has automated the majority of our audit‑related tasks and processes, eliminating substantial manual effort and improving overall audit readiness.”
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A data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has delivered substantial time savings by streamlining and accelerating our audit related activities. Our overall audit preparation effort has been reduced significantly.”
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A data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “The solution provides comprehensive, auditable documentation of our data‑cleansing and enhancement activities, strengthening the integrity of our audit trails. This level of transparency has also contributed to a meaningful reduction in the time and effort required for audit preparation.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
-
Before using SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, the composite organization spends an average of 275 hours preparing for an audit.
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After leveraging SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, the organization sees an audit preparation time reduction of 80%.
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The internal employee audit preparation cost per hour is $67.
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The organization recaptures 75% of productivity.
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Prior to using SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, the average time an external auditor spent conducting an audit per year is 300 hours.
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After leveraging SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, external auditor time is reduced by 20%.
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The external audit consultancy cost per hour is $250.
Risks. Potential risks that can impact this benefit include:
-
The extent to which the organization leverages SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management to support audit preparation processes.
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The specific goals and activities of the organization to manage compliance and prepare for audits.
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The way the organization leverages SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management to make strategic decisions about compliance management and audit preparation.
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The frequency of audits each year.
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The cost of dedicated internal resources.
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The cost of external audit consultancy.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $62,000.
80%
Reduction in internal employee audit preparation time
Reduced Audit Preparation Costs
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Time per year spent preparing for audits (hours) | Composite | 275 | 275 | 275 | |
| D2 | Internal employee audit preparation time savings due to SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management | Interviews | 80% | 80% | 80% | |
| D3 | IT team member audit preparation cost per hour | Composite | $67 | $67 | $67 | |
| D4 | Productivity recapture rate | TEI methodology | 75% | 75% | 75% | |
| D5 | Subtotal: Reduction in internal employee audit preparation costs | D1*D2*D3*D4 | $11,055 | $11,055 | $11,055 | |
| D6 | External auditor time per year spent conducting audits (hours) | Composite | 300 | 300 | 300 | |
| D7 | Reduction in auditor time needs due to SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management | Interviews | 20% | 20% | 20% | |
| D8 | External audit consultancy cost per hour | Composite | $250 | $250 | $250 | |
| D9 | Subtotal: Reduction in external consultancy costs | D6*D7*D8 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 | |
| Dt | Reduced audit preparation costs | D5+D9 | $26,055 | $26,055 | $26,055 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓5% | |||||
| Dtr | Reduced audit preparation costs (risk-adjusted) | $24,752 | $24,752 | $24,752 | ||
| Three-year total: $74,257 | Three-year present value: $61,555 | |||||
Unquantified Benefits
Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:
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Empowered teams through simplified, cohesive data experiences. Interviewees said that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management provided an intuitive, user-friendly experience that empowered both technical and nontechnical teams with minimal onboarding effort and enhanced their organizations’ overall effectiveness. The solution’s streamlined interface replaced a patchwork of legacy tools with a cohesive, modern environment that reduced friction, encouraged broad adoption, and strengthened organizational alignment around shared data processes. Interviewees noted that this ease of use not only drove strong user satisfaction but also enabled smoother, more efficient data management operations, allowing teams to focus more on strategic, value driving work rather than navigating complex or fragmented tools.
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “After adopting the solution, we initially required some technical support to understand how to fully leverage the platform’s capabilities. Since then, the system has proven intuitive and easy to navigate.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “The platform delivers clear, insightful information, and we are able to interpret its dashboards quickly. The interface and visualizations have made it easy for our teams to understand and leverage the available insights and use them towards advancing business objectives.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management is highly intuitive and user-friendly, enabling our teams to quickly become proficient with the platform and its built-in capabilities without requiring extensive ramp up time. This has enabled our team to support the organization’s business initiatives more efficiently.” -
Enhanced organizational agility and responsiveness. Interviewees said that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management enabled their organizations to respond more quickly to evolving business and transformation personalities, providing their organizations with greater agility. They noted that the solution’s unified, configurable platform enabled rapid refinement of data rules, mappings, and processes without lengthy development cycles or heavy reliance on outside partners, ensuring their organizations could adapt at the pace of the business. This flexibility has supported faster, more informed decision-making and smoother iteration throughout migration, integration, and data management efforts, helping the interviewees’ organizations advance through complex transformation initiatives with greater efficiency and control.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has enabled our organization to remain aligned with SAP standards while also accommodating custom extensions. This level of adaptability has been instrumental in enhancing our business agility and supporting continued growth.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has delivered meaningful gains in flexibility and agility across our organization. We are now better positioned to support ongoing business transformation initiatives and to pursue new strategic opportunities as they arise.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester, “The solution has delivered substantial flexibility, which has been especially valuable given the complexity of our multinational operations and the scale of our ongoing business transformation initiatives.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has strengthened our organizational agility and flexibility. As our data management program has matured, we have continually identified new strategic applications for the platform, expanding the value it delivers across the business.” -
Integrated collaboration for accelerated transformation. Interviewees said that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management brought all migration and data management activities into a single, unified platform, strengthening organizational alignment, enhancing collaboration, and accelerating transformation. Interviewees said that by enabling teams to access shared information, monitor progress in real time, and align rules and decisions without relying on scattered spreadsheets or disconnected tools, the solution improved coordination and reduced operational drag. This shared visibility enhanced communication and removed the back-and-forth interactions that previously slowed delivery at their organizations, allowing technical teams, business users, and stakeholders to collaborate more effectively and drive faster, more predictable projects.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has strengthened cross functional collaboration across our organization. With information centralized in a single platform, teams are able to communicate and coordinate more quickly and efficiently.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Following the adoption of the solution, we established a data governance council composed of group directors from across the organization who now engage in data management discussions informed by the platform’s capabilities. This structure has strengthened cross department collaboration and driven broader improvements in data quality enterprise wide.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester, “The solution has facilitated more meaningful cross organizational dialogue around how we can collaborate to strengthen our data management practices enterprise wide.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “With multiple departments and teams contributing to our data migration program, SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has become our centralized system of record — our single source of truth for all data related information”
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Enhanced business stewardship and data governance. Interviewees said SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management gave business stakeholders clear, real-time visibility into data rules, quality checks, and process steps within a centralized platform, therefore strengthening accountability for data. With transparent insight into data flows and how issues are resolved, internal stakeholders at the interviewees’ organizations became more engaged stewards of data quality and played a more active role in driving reliable outcomes across the business. Interviewees said the solution’s intuitive interface and guided workflows made it easier for their organizations’ business teams to understand and validate transformations, reducing dependence on technical specialists. Their business users participated more consistently in data initiatives, strengthening overall governance and data literacy across their organizations.
The head of DevOps at a technology company told Forrester: “The solution has empowered our business stakeholders by deepening their understanding of our data and the broader importance of effective data management. As a result, responsibility for data management activities is now more widely distributed across the organization, fostering greater ownership and alignment.”
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Since adopting the solution, a growing number of stakeholders across the organization have gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of data quality and effective data management. There is now broader recognition that data quality is a core business responsibility.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared, “SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has fundamentally reshaped how we operate as an organization, strengthening business stakeholders’ ownership and accountability for data.”
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Provided modern data foundation for scalable innovation. Interviewees said SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management established a reliable and consistent data foundation that supported future business transformation initiatives, enhancing their organizations’ ability to scale and innovate. They noted that by centralizing, cleansing, and standardizing data, the solution ensured that downstream systems consistently received high-quality, reliable information, improving the accuracy of reporting, forecasting, and strategic decision-making. According to interviewees, the solution’s structured governance model and repeatable processes made it easier for their organizations to expand internal analytical capabilities or introduce new automation without rebuilding core data pipelines. As a result, their organizations were better positioned to pursue future business opportunities with agility.
The data analytics director at a construction organization shared: “Our organization has placed a strong emphasis on advancing operational excellence. With SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, we are positioned to drive greater process improvement and automation, enabling more informed and timely decision-making across the business.”
The data development manager at a retail company told Forrester: “Our team is responsible for data management, analytics, and integration, and SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has enabled us to deliver increasingly accurate and consistent data. This improved data foundation now supports more reliable analysis and informs higher value strategic decision-making across the organization.”
The data manager at an oil and gas organization shared: “Consistent, accurate data builds the foundation for analysis that informs business performance and operational outcomes. SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management has become a core enabler of our strategic analysis and decision-making capabilities.”
Flexibility
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
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From data migration to continuous data integration. Interviewees noted an organization could initially adopt SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management to support a major SAP S/4HANA migration, leveraging the platform to cleanse, harmonize, and transform data for a single transformation initiative. They noted that once deployed, the solution’s automated rules, governance framework, and repeatable processes could be extended beyond the initial migration to continuously synchronize data between legacy systems and SAP. This could unlock additional value for their organizations, such as daily integration of materials or business partner data, reduced manual reconciliation, and accelerated onboarding of new products or suppliers. Over time, the platform could evolve into a permanent operational data integration layer, strengthening business continuity and reducing the cost and complexity of future transformation efforts at the interviewees’ organizations.
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Turning data quality stabilization into a foundation for enterprise data governance and stewardship. Interviewees said their organizations initially adopted the solution to address persistent data quality challenges — including duplicates, missing fields, and inconsistent standards — that previously limited ERP performance and business operations. Once data was stabilized and higher levels of quality were achieved early in testing cycles, their organizations could recognize that the solution’s governance framework, lineage visibility, and business friendly interface could serve as the foundation for broader data stewardship. The platform then could become a means for the interviewees’ organizations to standardize processes, enforce global data rules, and expand business ownership across departments. This progression would not only strengthen compliance and audit readiness but also advance the interviewees’ organizations’ overall data maturity, enabling more informed decision-making and smoother execution of future digital initiatives.
-
Building long-term business agility on a unified data foundation. According to interviewees, their organizations could initially deploy SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management to automate data migration activities, replacing spreadsheets and fragmented ETL tools with a unified platform that could accelerate delivery and reduce labor requirements. Interviewees said that after migration, their organizations could recognize that the clean, structured, and centralized data foundation the solution established could support ongoing business initiatives and new opportunities, including product launches, product enhancements, and core operational workflows. With standardized and governed data, their organizations could more effectively support overall business performance. This foundation could enable the interviewees’ organizations to pursue higher value strategic initiatives without needing to rebuild data structures with each new effort.
Analysis Of Costs
Quantified cost data as applied to the composite
Total Costs
| Ref. | Cost | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etr | SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management subscription and support cost | $0 | $262,500 | $262,500 | $262,500 | $787,500 | $652,799 |
| Ftr | Total internal effort costs | $26,928 | $247,104 | $247,104 | $247,104 | $768,240 | $641,439 |
| Total costs (risk-adjusted) | $26,928 | $509,604 | $509,604 | $509,604 | $1,555,740 | $1,294,238 |
SAP Advanced Data Migration And Management Subscription And Support Cost
Evidence and data. Interviewees said their organizations paid ongoing SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management subscription fees. Interviewees said that subscription fees included technical support. Pricing may vary. Contact the vendor for additional details.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
-
The composite organization pays approximately $250,000 in subscription fees annually.
-
Subscription fees also include technical support.
Risks. There are potential risks that can impact the SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management costs, including:
-
The size and scope of the deployment.
-
Using value-added services.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $653,000.
SAP Advanced Data Migration And Management Subscription And Support Cost
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management subscription and support cost | Composite | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Et | SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management subscription and support cost | E1 | $0 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | |||||
| Etr | SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management subscription and support cost (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $262,500 | $262,500 | $262,500 | |
| Three-year total: $787,500 | Three-year present value: $652,799 | |||||
Total Internal Effort Costs
Evidence and data. Interviewees reported that their organizations needed internal resources to deploy and integrate SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management, and to support it on an ongoing basis.
-
Interviewees’ organizations needed internal resources (FTEs) to assist with the deployment and integration of SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
-
Interviewees’ organizations took approximately four months to deploy, integrate, and become acquainted with SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management and its functionality.
-
Interviewees shared that there are ongoing internal support efforts.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
-
The composite organization requires four FTEs to deploy and integrate SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
-
It takes the organization 17 weeks to integrate and configure the solution and become acquainted with its functionality and capabilities.
-
The fully burdened hourly rate for a data management team member is $72.
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There is an ongoing internal cost of 1.5 FTEs to support the solution.
-
Risks. There are potential risks that can impact the internal effort costs, including:
-
The complexity of deployment and integration.
-
The size and scope of the deployment.
-
The number of FTEs needed to integrate and configure the solution.
-
The number of FTEs needed to support the solution.
-
The fully burdened cost of a resource.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $641,000.
1.5 FTEs
Number of team members supporting the solution post-deployment and implementation
Total Internal Effort Costs
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Data management team FTEs needed to initially deploy solution | Composite | 4 | |||
| F2 | Deployment time (weeks) | Composite | 17 | |||
| F3 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a data management FTE | Composite | $72 | |||
| F4 | Subtotal: Initial deployment costs | F1*F2*F3*5 | $24,480 | |||
| F5 | Data management team FTEs providing ongoing support for the SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management solution | Composite | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | |
| F6 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a data management FTE | F3 | $72 | $72 | $72 | |
| F7 | Subtotal: Total ongoing costs | F5*F6*2,080 | $224,640 | $224,640 | $224,640 | |
| Ft | Total internal effort costs | F4+F7 | $24,480 | $224,640 | $224,640 | $224,640 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Ftr | Total internal effort costs (risk-adjusted) | $26,928 | $247,104 | $247,104 | $247,104 | |
| Three-year total: $768,240 | Three-year present value: $641,439 | |||||
Financial Summary
Consolidated Three-Year, Risk-Adjusted Metrics
Cash Flow Chart (Risk-Adjusted)
Cash Flow Analysis (Risk-Adjusted)
| Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | ($26,928) | ($509,604) | ($509,604) | ($509,604) | ($1,555,740) | ($1,294,238) |
| Total benefits | $0 | $1,653,775 | $1,653,775 | $1,653,775 | $4,961,326 | $4,112,694 |
| Net benefits | ($26,928) | $1,144,171 | $1,144,171 | $1,144,171 | $3,405,586 | $2,818,456 |
| ROI | 218% | |||||
| Payback | <6 months |
Please Note
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interviews, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management can have on an organization.
Due Diligence
Interviewed Syniti and SAP stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management.
Interviews
Interviewed four decision-makers at organizations using SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.
Composite Organization
Designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees’ organizations.
Financial Model Framework
Constructed a financial model representative of the interviews using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewees.
Case Study
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Total Economic Impact Approach
Benefits
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
Financial Terminology
Present value (PV)
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PVs of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
Net present value (NPV)
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
Return on investment (ROI)
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
Discount rate
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
Payback
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Appendix A
Total Economic Impact
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Appendix B
Endnotes
1 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Disclosures
Readers should be aware of the following:
This study is commissioned by Syniti and SAP and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management. For any interactive functionality, the intent is for the questions to solicit inputs specific to a prospect's business. Forrester believes that this analysis is representative of what companies may achieve with SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management based on the inputs provided and any assumptions made. Forrester does not endorse Syniti and SAP or its offerings. Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this model, Syniti and SAP and Forrester Research are unable to accept any legal responsibility for any actions taken on the basis of the information contained herein. The interactive tool is provided ‘AS IS,’ and Forrester and Syniti and SAP make no warranties of any kind.
Syniti and SAP reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
Syniti and SAP provided the customer names for the interviews but did not participate in the interviews.
Consulting Team:
Byron Ramirez
Published
May 2026
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