These white papers provide detailed guidance on reducing SAP database footprint, improving system performance, and preparing for S/4HANA migration.
SAP data archiving removes inactive transactional data from core SAP tables using SAP-native tools such as SARA and ILM.
It reduces database size, improves system performance, and keeps historical data accessible for reporting, compliance, and audit purposes.
SAP systems accumulate large volumes of historical data over time—completed transactions, closed financial periods, and legacy records—that are no longer actively used but still consume storage and processing resources.
This leads to higher infrastructure and HANA licensing costs, slower reporting and batch performance, increased migration complexity, and greater exposure to audit and compliance challenges.
SAP provides native archiving capabilities, but many organizations lack a structured approach to identifying high-impact archiving targets, defining retention policies, executing archiving jobs efficiently, and aligning archiving with S/4HANA migration strategy.
Data archiving fills this gap by turning a technical capability into a structured, outcome-driven process.
SAP data archiving uses native tools such as SARA and ILM to move inactive data out of active tables while preserving access through standard SAP transactions.
When combined with OpenText, archived data can be stored more efficiently, retention policies can be aligned and enforced, and audit-ready access is maintained while SAP remains focused on active transactional processing.
40–60% reduction in database size
40–60% lower storage and infrastructure costs
50–70% faster reporting and batch processing
20–40% shorter S/4HANA migration timelines
Reduced HANA licensing and compute costs
Analyze SAP data landscape using tools like SARA and ILM
Identify inactive and high-growth tables
Define retention rules and compliance policies
Execute archiving jobs using SAP-native tools
Store archived data securely while maintaining access
S/4HANA migration planning
Systems with large or rapidly growing SAP databases
Performance issues in reporting or batch jobs
High infrastructure or HANA licensing costs
Audit, compliance, or retention challenges
Archiving too late in the migration timeline
Treating archiving as simple storage cleanup
Skipping upfront data analysis
Ignoring ILM and retention planning
Underestimating SAP archiving complexity
Identification of inactive data and archiving opportunities
Estimated database reduction (often 40–60%)
Projected cost savings and performance gains
A phased archiving roadmap aligned to S/4HANA
Clear understanding of what to archive and when
SAP document archiving offloads unstructured content—such as attachments, invoices, and scanned documents—from SAP tables into a secure external archive while maintaining access directly within SAP transactions.
This is typically achieved using ArchiveLink and OpenText solutions, allowing SAP to remain focused on transactional processing while documents are stored and managed externally.
In many SAP environments, documents are stored directly within database tables as BLOBs. Over time, these documents accumulate and can represent a significant portion of total database size.
This leads to increased storage requirements, slower backups and system performance, longer restore times, and higher infrastructure and HANA-related costs.
SAP provides mechanisms for linking documents to business objects, but it is not optimized for managing large volumes of unstructured content within the database.
Document archiving addresses this by separating document storage from transactional data, enabling more efficient storage, better scalability, and improved system performance without disrupting user access.
SAP document archiving uses ArchiveLink to store documents outside of the SAP database while maintaining references to those documents within SAP business transactions. This allows users to access documents directly from SAP without storing large volumes of unstructured content in core tables.
When combined with OpenText, documents are stored in a secure, scalable archive with centralized retention and compliance controls. Access is preserved within SAP transactions, ensuring a consistent user experience while reducing database size and improving overall system performance.
Reduction in database size driven by removal of document-heavy content
Faster backups and system restores
Improved system performance and reduced database load
Lower infrastructure and HANA-related costs
Scalable, compliant, and audit-ready document storage
Identify document-heavy tables and storage patterns within SAP
Configure ArchiveLink connections between SAP and the archive platform
Define storage and retention policies for documents
Migrate documents from SAP BLOB tables into the archive
Validate access to documents within SAP transactions
Monitor and manage document growth over time
Systems with large volumes of attachments or scanned documents
S/4HANA migration preparation
Backup and restore performance issues
High database growth driven by unstructured content
Compliance and retention requirements for business documents
Leaving documents stored inside SAP tables during migration
Treating document archiving as a secondary priority
Failing to identify high-volume document sources early
Not validating end-user access after archiving
Underestimating the impact of document growth on database size
Identification of document-heavy tables and storage drivers
Estimated impact on database size and performance
Recommended ArchiveLink and storage configuration
A phased approach to document offloading
Clear plan for maintaining access and compliance
SAP system decommissioning retires legacy SAP systems while preserving secure, compliant access to historical data using SAP-native tools and OpenText InfoArchive.
It reduces infrastructure and licensing costs, simplifies the system landscape, and ensures legacy data remains accessible for reporting, audit, and business needs.
Many organizations continue running legacy SAP systems long after they are no longer actively used, simply to retain access to historical data.
This creates unnecessary infrastructure and licensing costs, increases system complexity, and introduces ongoing compliance and audit risk.
SAP does not provide a native way to retire entire systems while maintaining structured, compliant access to legacy data outside the original environment.
System decommissioning fills this gap by extracting and centralizing legacy data into a secure archive, allowing systems to be shut down without losing access or audit coverage.
SAP system decommissioning uses SAP ILM and extraction tools to identify, extract, and validate legacy data before storing it in a centralized archive such as OpenText InfoArchive.
Users retain access to historical data through a secure, searchable platform, while the original SAP system can be fully retired and removed from the landscape.
50–70% reduction in legacy system infrastructure and operating costs
60% reduction in SAP migration scope and complexity
40% reduction in IT workload from maintaining legacy systems
75% smaller HANA footprint by removing inactive system data
Centralized, audit-ready access to historical data without keeping systems online
Identify legacy systems and inactive environments using SAP ILM and system inventory
Analyze data scope, compliance requirements, and access needs
Extract and validate structured and unstructured data from legacy systems
Store data in OpenText InfoArchive with retention and audit controls
Decommission systems while maintaining secure, searchable access to historical data
S/4HANA migration programs looking to reduce scope and risk
Landscapes with multiple legacy or redundant SAP systems
High infrastructure, licensing, or maintenance costs from inactive systems
Audit and compliance requirements for historical system data
IT teams managing complex, fragmented SAP environments
Waiting too late in the migration timeline to decommission systems
Treating decommissioning as only a cost-cutting exercise
Skipping upfront system and data analysis
Ignoring ILM and retention policy planning
Underestimating the complexity of data extraction and validation
Identification of systems that can be retired and when
Analysis of legacy data scope, access needs, and compliance requirements
Estimated cost savings across infrastructure, licensing, and maintenance
A phased roadmap for system retirement and data extraction
Clear strategy for maintaining access without keeping legacy systems online
