Companies often describe their ERP backbone as stable, proven, and irreplaceable. For many, that system is still SAP ECC, heavily customized and running countless business processes every day. And yet, when it comes to AI, that same backbone is quietly working against them.
“SAP ECC was never designed for real-time, high-volume data processing or native AI embedding,” says Karyna Mihalevich, Chief Product Officer and AI Ambassador at CLARITY. “Its architecture makes it hard to support the kind of intelligent, self-learning applications enterprises need today. ”
Why SAP ECC Struggles with AI
Today, however, enterprises expect much more: systems that can anticipate outcomes, detect anomalies, and recommend actions rather than simply storing historical records.
The trouble is structural. SAP ECC’s complex data model, its reliance on aggregate tables, and layers of custom code make AI adoption slow and fragile. It’s a bit like trying to run a high-speed electric car on a dirty road – technically possible, but you won’t get the performance you need. The smarter approach is to clean the road and switch to a car with core components that can scale easily once the road is transformed – in this case, moving to SAP S/4HANA.
The problem is less about AI itself and more about data and the system it runs on. Decades of historical records, inconsistent standards, and duplicate entries mean that the very foundation AI relies on is unstable. As Karyna puts it: “Neglecting data profiling and quality in SAP ECC is like building a skyscraper on swampy ground. No matter how good your AI model is, if the foundation is messy, the project will fail.”
Data complexity in SAP ECC is often underestimated. Businesses typically run multiple company codes, languages, and currencies within one environment, producing vast amounts of redundant information. Add in years of modifications and add-on tools with third-party integrations, and you have an ERP that behaves more like a patchwork quilt than an efficient platform. That’s exactly the opposite of what AI needs, namely, clean, unified datasets that allow for real-time training and inference.
And technical debt only multiplies the problem. ECC is often described as “heavily customized”, but those very modifications often create roadblocks for AI adoption. What worked as a clever fix 15 years ago now acts as a wall preventing new technologies from plugging in.
The Bridge to AI: Building Today, Preparing for Tomorrow
For many enterprises, SAP S/4HANA is the promised land of embedded AI. But full-scale migrations take years but that shouldn’t be a reason to miss out on AI today.
This is where CLARITY positions its AI Workshop for SAP ECC: a structured way to capture immediate value from AI inside SAP ECC environments while preparing for a migration to SAP S/4HANA later.
The approach is two-phased:
AI Assessment. This initial phase focuses on evaluation of an organization’s current processes and data landscape to identify opportunities for AI integration. This includes a detailed Document Intelligence Evaluation, analyzing workflows involving invoices, purchase orders, contracts, etc. to pinpoint automation potential. The workshop also includes a Process Automation Readiness assessment to identify business processes suitable for intelligent AI automation. This phase includes a Data Quality and Integration evaluation, ensuring that the foundational data required for AI implementation meets the necessary standards for both current ECC operations and future S/4HANA migration.
AI Solution Design. This phase focuses on designing a holistic AI architecture. Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) is often established as the foundational entry point for AI adoption, optimizing document-heavy workflows. For complex business processes we examine AI automation options. An important consideration throughout this phase is Migration Alignment that ensures that all AI investments and architectural designs are transferable and optimized for the future S/4HANA environment.
Each step is designed with migration alignment in mind. As Karyna explains: “Every AI investment we design is built with your IT strategy in mind and the potential to migrate smoothly to SAP S/4HANA. Otherwise, companies risk building throwaway pilots instead of scalable solutions.”
This is also where SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) comes in. BTP provides integration services and document AI capabilities, allowing organizations to start automating processes today while keeping workflows ready for a smooth transition to SAP S/4HANA.
Why Start Now?
Starting AI adoption before migrating to SAP S/4HANA is a chance to document processes and requirements, clean and standardize data, and prepare the foundation for smoother transformation. By addressing these challenges early, AI becomes the accelerator of migration rather than a blocker.
And the benefits are immediate. Intelligent Document Processing solutions, whether SAP Document AI or third-party partner offering like Graip.AI (available on SAP Store), extract and structure data from ECC-related documents such as invoices, sales orders, or contracts. This eliminates thousands of manual hours and substantially reduces error rates. These use cases are already proven in real business environments, delivering tangible ROI while simultaneously preparing organizations for a future migration to SAP S/4HANA.
There’s also a risk dimension. AI adoption in SAP ECC can surface broken or inefficient processes before they are migrated, preventing companies from simply “lifting and shifting” bad practices into SAP S/4HANA. Karyna emphasizes that point: “A migration without understanding and updating your processes just moves old problems into a new system. Introducing AI can act as a catalyst to clean up workflows, prepare for migration, and start generating value right away.”
The Pragmatic Path to AI in SAP ECCImplementing AI in SAP ECC is feasible: while native embeddings aren’t available, a strategic approach makes it possible. The real route runs through SAP’s Business Technology Platform, with tools like the SAP Integration Suite and specialized document AI solutions (including third-party options available on SAP Store).
That’s why CLARITY’s methodology is intentionally pragmatic: prove value now, build on a foundation that will carry forward, and ensure AI isn’t sabotaged by the very systems it’s meant to transform.
As Karyna sums up: “AI projects don’t fail because the models are bad. They fail because the systems around them aren’t ready. If you don’t address the legacy debt, you’ll never see real innovation.”
For organizations ready to start capturing AI value today while preparing for a future migration to SAP S/4HANA, the CLARITY AI Workshop provides a structured path forward. You can explore the full details of the workshop and see how it can help your enterprise here.