# abas ERP Migration Assessment: How Hard Will Your Move Be? > Source: https://netray.co/tools/abas-erp-migration-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Ten questions that rate the effort and risk of moving off, or up within, abas ERP, based on customization depth, interfaces and data quality. ## Category erp-migration ## Erp abas ERP ## Industry Discrete Manufacturing ## Region Germany, Austria, Switzerland ## Audience - IT manager - ERP project lead - CIO ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### How heavily is your abas system customized with its own scripting and screen changes? **Help:** Think of custom FOP programs, changed screens, custom Infosystems and your own database fields. **Options:** ##### Close to standard, a few fields only **Score:** 10 ##### Moderate: some Infosystems and screens **Score:** 7 ##### Heavy: many custom programs and processes **Score:** 3 ##### Core processes run on custom code nobody fully documents **Score:** 0 #### How well documented are your custom programs and business rules? **Options:** ##### Documented and in version control **Score:** 10 ##### Partly documented, one or two people know the rest **Score:** 6 ##### Mostly in people's heads **Score:** 2 ##### Author has left and nothing is written down **Score:** 0 #### How many external systems exchange data with abas (shop floor, CAD/PLM, web shop, EDI, banking, DATEV)? **Options:** ##### 0 to 3, all documented **Score:** 10 ##### 4 to 8, mostly documented **Score:** 7 ##### 9 to 15, some point to point scripts **Score:** 3 ##### More than 15 or unknown **Score:** 0 #### How clean is your master data (articles, customers, suppliers, bills of material)? **Options:** ##### Reviewed in the last 12 months, few duplicates **Score:** 10 ##### Some duplicates and obsolete records **Score:** 6 ##### Many duplicates, inconsistent units and numbering **Score:** 2 ##### Unknown, never audited **Score:** 0 #### How much transaction history must be available in the new system? **Options:** ##### Open items and balances only **Score:** 10 ##### Two to three years of history **Score:** 6 ##### Five or more years in the live system **Score:** 3 ##### Full history required with no archive plan **Score:** 0 #### How current is your abas version and maintenance contract? **Options:** ##### Current or one version behind, under maintenance **Score:** 10 ##### Two to three versions behind **Score:** 6 ##### Older version, maintenance lapsed or ending **Score:** 2 ##### Unsupported version running on unsupported infrastructure **Score:** 0 #### How complex are your manufacturing processes (variants, multi level BOMs, subcontracting, serial and batch tracking)? **Options:** ##### Simple make to stock **Score:** 10 ##### Make to order with moderate variants **Score:** 6 ##### Configure to order with many variants and traceability **Score:** 3 ##### Project and engineer to order with heavy custom costing **Score:** 1 #### Do you have a named business owner and key users with time freed for the project? **Options:** ##### Yes, owner and key users with reserved time **Score:** 10 ##### Owner yes, key users part time **Score:** 6 ##### IT driven, business involved on request **Score:** 2 ##### No named owner **Score:** 0 #### How many legal entities, countries and languages does the system cover? **Options:** ##### One entity, one country **Score:** 10 ##### Two to three entities in DACH **Score:** 7 ##### Several countries with local tax rules **Score:** 3 ##### Many entities with intercompany and local statutory reports **Score:** 1 #### Have you defined why you are moving and what must be better afterwards? **Options:** ##### Written goals and success measures **Score:** 10 ##### General goals, no measures **Score:** 6 ##### Driven by a vendor deadline only **Score:** 3 ##### No defined reason beyond 'it is old' **Score:** 0 **Bands:** #### High effort, high risk **Min:** 0 **Max:** 39 **Verdict:** Your abas estate carries heavy customization, thin documentation or messy data. A straight lift and shift is unlikely to work. Plan a discovery phase before choosing a target. **Recommendations:** - Inventory every custom program, Infosystem and interface before any vendor demo. - Run a data profiling pass on articles, partners and BOMs to size cleansing effort. - Decide which customizations are real competitive advantage and which are habits. - Budget for parallel running and a longer cutover window. #### Manageable with preparation **Min:** 40 **Max:** 64 **Verdict:** The move is realistic, but there are gaps in documentation, interfaces or ownership that will cost time if left alone. **Recommendations:** - Document the top 10 custom processes and map each to target standard functions. - Name a business owner and reserve key user time in writing. - Agree what history migrates and archive the rest read only. #### Good starting position **Min:** 65 **Max:** 84 **Verdict:** Your system is close to standard with reasonable data and ownership. Focus on the few risky interfaces and the cutover plan. **Recommendations:** - Test the two or three most critical interfaces first. - Run at least two full data migration rehearsals. - Confirm statutory outputs (VAT returns, DATEV export, e-invoices) in the target early. #### Low risk migration profile **Min:** 85 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** You are well prepared. The main risk now is scope creep, so lock the goals and hold to them. **Recommendations:** - Freeze the scope and handle new requests through a change list. - Use the clean position to adopt standard processes instead of recreating old ones. ## Content **Intro:** abas ERP is a widely used mid-market ERP in German-speaking manufacturing. Many shops are now deciding whether to upgrade, re-platform or leave. This assessment rates the effort and risk of that move in ten questions. **Sections:** #### How to use this assessment **Body:** Answer each question for your productive system, not the system you wish you had. Involve the IT lead and at least one key user from production or purchasing, because their answers will differ on documentation and data quality. Your score is a percentage of the maximum, and the band tells you how much preparation to plan before talking to vendors. Print the PDF and share it with your steering group so everyone starts from the same picture. #### What drives migration effort in abas environments **Body:** In practice three things dominate: custom code written over the years, the number and quality of interfaces, and master data quality. abas allows deep adaptation through its own scripting language and Infosystems, which is a strength during operation but means a replacement must reproduce or retire those behaviours. Interfaces to CAD, shop floor systems, banking and accounting such as DATEV often hide undocumented assumptions. **Bullets:** - Custom programs and screens that carry real business rules - Point to point interfaces without documentation - Duplicate or inconsistent article and partner records - Open ended history requirements - Missing business ownership #### Reading the result **Body:** The bands are not a verdict on whether to leave abas. A low score means preparation is the cheapest risk reduction, and sometimes staying on abas for another cycle while you clean up is the right call. A high score means you can negotiate from strength and run a shorter selection. Retake the assessment after your discovery phase to see how the picture changes. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Teams often treat migration as a data copy exercise and discover late that process differences are the real cost. Another frequent error is scoping every historic report for rebuild instead of checking which ones were used in the last year. Finally, do not let a vendor deadline set your scope. Ask your abas partner for a usage report of custom programs before you decide what to carry over. **Cta:** If you want a second opinion on your abas estate, Netray can review your custom code and interfaces and give you a written effort range. This is optional and the assessment above works without it. **Faq:** #### Is this assessment official from abas Software? **Answer:** No. It is an independent self check built from common migration risk factors in mid-market ERP projects. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by abas Software, and it does not replace a formal assessment by your implementation partner. #### Should I move to a different ERP or upgrade abas? **Answer:** The score only measures effort and risk, not the right target. Upgrading within abas is often cheaper if customization is light and your needs have not changed. Move when processes, support or strategy no longer fit. #### How long does an abas migration usually take? **Answer:** It depends heavily on scope. A single entity near standard may take under a year, while multi country, heavily customized estates can run well beyond that. Data cleansing and interface testing usually decide the timeline more than software configuration does. #### Can AI help with the migration work? **Answer:** It can help inventory custom code, document business rules and draft test cases, with a human reviewing the output. It does not remove the need for data cleansing decisions or business sign off. ## Search terms abas erp migration, abas erp upgrade, abas erp alternative, abas to s/4hana, abas fop customization, abas erp abloesung, abas migration assessment, abas erp end of life, mid-market erp migration --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json