When SAP decommissions an ERP systems and application like SAP SRM, clients must archive data for compliance, audits, and procurement analysis, including trend analysis, supplier performance evaluation, budgeting, strategic sourcing, and negotiation power. However, maintaining both old and new ERP systems and applications, along with their hardware, software, and associated resources, poses significant cost challenges. Companies must retain archived data long-term, often up to ten years in Europe, for example, seven years in the United States and Australia, and eight years in India, incurring substantial costs in data retention. This dual maintenance increases financial strain and resource allocation. The costs associated with this long-term data retention can be substantial and involve several key factors.

Challenge of Managing Costs Associated with Long-term Data Retention

• Ongoing Hardware Costs: Even after the ERP system and application is decommissioned, clients must maintain the hardware that stores the archived data. This includes the cost of servers, storage devices, and other infrastructure components required to ensure data availability over the retention period.

• Software Licensing Fees: Clients may need to retain licenses for legacy software or invest in specialized archiving solutions to access and manage the archived data. For example, they might need to continue paying for SAP SRM licenses and archiving the data, anti-virus licence, and additional database management software such as Microsoft SQL Server. These ongoing licensing fees can accumulate over the years.

• Power and Space Costs: Operating and maintaining the hardware necessary for data retention involves significant ongoing expenses for power and physical space. These costs continue to accrue for the entire retention period.

• Human Resources: Dedicated personnel or manhours are required to manage the archived data, including monitoring, maintaining, and ensuring data security. The costs associated with hiring and retaining skilled staff can be substantial.

Example Scenario

A leading manufacturing company faced significant recurring costs maintaining both old and new ERP systems and software after decommissioning their SAP SRM. The client needed to archive procurement data for compliance and analysis, leading to expenses for hardware, software, power, space, and human resources.

Hiranya Garbha provided the global manufacturing company with their innovative ProcurSearch, a lightweight executable file designed to address these challenges effectively. Here’s how the ProcurSearch helped save the client substantial costs:

• Eliminated Hardware cost: With our ProcurSearch, the client was able to sidestep the need for maintaining expensive hardware like servers, storage devices, and other infrastructure components required for data retention. Unlike the traditional approach of keeping archived data on separate, costly servers even after decommissioning their ERP system and application, Hiranya Garbha’s lightweight ProcurSearch operates without any specialized hardware. This streamlined solution removed the burden of ongoing hardware maintenance and upgrades, leading to significant savings on both upfront and ongoing costs. The client enjoyed substantial financial relief by avoiding the hefty expenses associated with maintaining and upgrading complex hardware setups.

• Avoiding Ongoing Software Licensing Fees: By transitioning their data to Hiranya Garbha’s ProcurSearch, the client avoided the need to keep their SAP SRM legacy system running on a separate server, which would have required continued licensing fees and maintenance. Instead of investing in ongoing SAP SRM licenses, antivirus protection, and additional database management software like Microsoft SQL Server, they adopted a single, cost-effective solution. Our ProcurSearch, a lightweight executable file, eliminated the need for separate servers and complex hardware setups. This streamlined approach not only cut down on recurring costs but also simplified their data management, resulting in significant long-term savings.

• Lowered Power and Space Costs: The client can install Hiranya Garbha’s ProcurSearch right on the same system where their new ERP is running, so there's no need for extra space or hardware. This move slashed the client's operational costs big time, making everything way more budget-friendly and green.

• Minimized Human Resources Requirements: With our ProcurSearch, the client’s existing team can easily manage and access the mandatory archived data, cutting out the need for extra hands. No more dedicated resources are needed to handle hardware, software, or data security for the archived SAP SRM data. This frees up their team to focus on more important tasks, slashing costs associated with monitoring, maintaining, and securing the archived data.

Conclusion

By using Hiranya Garbha’s ProcurSearch, the manufacturing client effectively addressed the challenges of maintaining archived data after decommissioning their ERP system and application. This solution not only saved significant costs related to hardware, software licensing, power, space, human resources, and data security but also ensured efficient and seamless data integration. Industry leaders can see this as a practical and cost-effective approach to managing archived data, enabling them to make informed decisions for their organizations.