You wouldn’t remodel the kitchen without knowing how long it will take, how much it will cost, the upgrades you’ll receive, and what you could potentially recoup in resale.  However, we’re finding many companies are approaching a migration to SAP® GRC 10.0 without answering some very strategic questions about it.  Yes, you can find installation requirements and checklists on SAP’s website, but like a kitchen remodel, the upgrade to SAP GRC 10.0 is not a decision to take lightly.  The new version includes a new infrastructure and transitions from a JAVA to the ABAP®-based programming language with hooks into Business Warehouse, Crystal Reports, and Adobe Document Server.  These changes could be extensive enough to warrant a “re-implementation” rather than a simple software upgrade.

With version 10.0 just becoming Generally Available (GA), and some of the first implementations only just going live now, there is limited knowledge in the market as to some of the inner-workings of the solution. Our assessment is that the solution continues to provide GRC functionality that can help safeguard your company against risk while making it compliant with current regulations. That’s good news. However, in this era of rapid technology implementations, minimal hardware, and high usability expectations, the cost and effort of migrating may be more than some companies can or should endure.  

Since the announcement of SAP GRC 10.0, we have been in a number of conversations with various companies looking to migrate.  Being as we are in full disclosure, we offer a solution that augments or can be used as an alternative to the SAP GRC product.  While every company has a different set of evaluation criteria, it’s our belief that moving from SAP GRC 5.3 (or an earlier version) to 10.0 should be treated like a kitchen remodel – it is potentially disruptive, time-consuming, and costly.