Preparing the Legacy System

The data transfer is influenced by the status of the legacy data. You can ensure that the process flows smoothly by preparing your data in the legacy system as much as possible.

This step concerns various aspects:

• Data volume

  Delete any data that is obsolete or that you no longer require in your legacy system such as one-time customers or material that is no longer required.

• Data consistency and data integrity

  You must ensure that no inconsistent data is transferred to the SAP system. All errors must be corrected before actually transferring the data. You should then check how the data is used in the SAP system.

  If, for example, you only use "Material types" in your legacy system to form subtotals for various evaluations, and if you transfer this subdivision of materials directly as an SAP material type, then when you are later processing in the SAP system, the system displays incorrect account bookings and balance sheets, for example. The reason for this is that numerous functions are connected with distinguishing material types in the SAP system.

  Note

  SAP recommends that you do not transfer historical data that is no longer required for the business flow, but instead use other solutions. You have the following options for this:

• Print the list with the corresponding data or use microfiche. In the latter case, the data is archived as a hard copy. It is still available for future evaluations.

• Use your legacy data to analyze historical data. Furthermore, if you save the historical data in your legacy system and only use it as required, on the one hand you can save maintenance costs (no upgrades) and on the other you can the adhere to the analysis options.

• Use the SAP information system and the relevant documentation to inform yourself on the available options.

• Use alternative business objects. Analyze exactly why you want to transfer specific documents and document data. Sometimes the information that you require on a specific business object can be better and more easily determined using an alternative business object. You should therefore transfer the data into the SAP system using price information records instead of old invoice documents, for example.