About IBM
IBM was converting its SAP ECC system to S/4HANA, and the 33,000 custom objects in that system had to be fixed and cleaned up first. On top of that, about 1,000 objects a month were changing at the same time and had to be kept in sync on both sides.
IBM brought in smartShift to automate the custom code remediation and Dual Maintenance. The work in the SBX and DEV environments took 5 months end to end. Doing it by hand would have meant 6 months of assessment and another 18 months of fixes.
The Challenge
- 33,000 custom objects that had to be fixed and cleaned up before the conversion
- An estimated 6 months just to work out what needed fixing, then 18 months to fix it by hand
- About 1,000 objects a month changing at the same time, all of which had to stay in sync
- Code tied to IBM's own business rules, which only IBM's team could check
“We would have taken more than 6 months to understand what needs to be remediated, it would be practically impossible to remediate manually.”
IBM iERP S/4HANA Development Lead
Project Scope
- Custom code fixes and clean-up for IBM's S/4HANA conversion, covering 33,000 custom objects
- 330,000 issues fixed by smartShift across 5 million lines of code
- Dual Maintenance kept about 1,000 objects a month in sync, so IBM avoided a code freeze early in the project
- Work completed in the SBX and DEV environments over 5 months
Results & Outcomes
- Finished in 5 months, against the 18+ months a manual approach would have taken
- 99%+ of issues fixed automatically by smartShift's rule sets
- 20% of IBM's unused code removed
↓IBM's code fixes could have cost 10 times more.
See what they actually took from the budget in the full case study.
Sitting on a Lot of Custom Code Ahead of S/4HANA?
The full case study shows what the work cost IBM and how often IBM's own team had to step in.
Why IBM Worked With smartShift
- Proven automation: smartShift's automation draws on 300+ S/4HANA conversion projects across many customers.
- One approach for both workstreams: the same automation handled the code fixes and Dual Maintenance.
- Fast support: the smartShift team answered questions and fixed defects within 24 hours, even across time zones.
