Modernizing SAP Custom Code: What ASUG Research Reveals About S/4HANA, AI and Clean Core

Clean Core helps SAP AI agents and data services access the customer-specific business logic embedded in custom code. Standard agents may understand standard SAP processes, but they do not automatically have access to custom pricing rules and other proprietary logic. Released APIs and Clean Core-compatible architecture help create the connection these innovations need.

Not exactly. SAP’s agent is already trained, but it may lack the customer- and industry-specific context embedded in your customizations. The custom logic must first be transformed and made accessible so that context can be provided to the agent. This is less about retraining the agent and more about securely connecting it to your business-specific logic.

No. Clean Core does not automatically require moving every customization to SAP BTP. It can include on-stack approaches such as converting older customizations into SAP-approved key-user extensions. More complex developments may be candidates for SAP BTP, but organizations should evaluate each use case and move code selectively.

A high-level count of custom objects will not reveal specific security risks. Identifying those risks requires a detailed code-level assessment. smartShift’s Rapid Code Analysis scans custom code for security, performance, optimization, compliance, and business-related issues, helping organizations understand their exposure before beginning transformation work.

smartShift applies agentic AI to Clean Core use cases such as CDS view transformation. For example, the technology can analyze direct table access, identify an appropriate CDS view, present available options and tradeoffs, and recommend an approach. Similar capabilities can be applied to other Clean Core and custom logic modernization needs.

smartShift provides an ABAP extractor that the customer runs within its SAP environment. The extractor creates an XML representation of the custom code repository, which smartShift uses to perform the analysis and return the findings.

smartShift can provide guidance and recommendations based on its experience working with enterprise SAP custom code. However, it does not currently provide a real-time governance solution that controls code as it is being generated. Its primary focus is analyzing, cleaning, modernizing, and governing the existing custom code landscape.

Yes. Organizations should understand which custom code is active, how it supports business processes, and whether each object should be retired, replaced, remediated, replatformed, or retained. smartShift’s Clean Core Analysis performs this assessment object by object and provides modernization recommendations. It can be delivered as a point-in-time analysis or through an ongoing subscription approach.

No single technology is appropriate for every custom code use case. Generative AI is valuable for creating new code and developing business context, while repeatable automation is better suited to work requiring consistency, security, and predictable outcomes. The webinar recommends a hybrid approach that applies the right form of AI or automation to each use case.