SAP HCM journey from on-premise to the cloud: A high-level outline

Danielle Larocca has created an informative guide called THE ULTIMATE GUIDE: SAP HCM & PAYROLL OPTIONS FOR EXISTING CUSTOMERS which reviews the journey and options for customers as they migrate from On-Premise SAP HCM and Payroll to SAP SuccessFactors and the cloud. In this guide, Danielle provide information on how SAP HCM has evolved with the latest technologies and enhancements, focusing on how SAP, now SAP SuccessFactors, has adapted its landscape models and product offerings from on-premise to the cloud to assist customers as they make their journey.

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The first book I wrote on SAP, back in 1999, was called “Teach Yourself SAP in 24 Hours”. It was a technical version of a “for Dummies” style book designed to give a basic overview of all things SAP. I remember when writing the book that I was a bit overwhelmed with the concept of being able to cover a basic overview of everything in twenty four, one hour chapters. 

That book, which made the top ten for SAP books several years running, was also translated into over a dozen different languages, and continued on through 2015 via a 5th Edition.

These days I find the concept of writing a book nearly impossible, as with continual new innovations, by the time the book is published it is nearly outdated. The SAP landscape, technology and User Experience evolves daily, and staying on top of the changes can be a full-time job.

I experienced that challenge first-hand when writing a short 80-page ebook on SAP HCM reporting early in 2019 called 'Reporting and Analytics for SAP HCM and SuccessFactors Customers'. As you may know, reporting and analytics or Intelligence, as it is now called, is one of the most exciting areas in SAP that has been undergoing a huge metamorphosis with new information being published frequently. Publishing relevant, timely content in this changing environment is a challenge.

So when I was asked to write about the journey from on-premise to the cloud I was a bit apprehensive, as I wanted to do the story justice while balancing information overload. Rather than trying to ‘boil the ocean’ as they say, I made an effort to create a story around the journey related to SAP Human Capital Management and its high level offerings.


SAP’s HCM module has been around since 1986 and has undergone several iterations, most occurring in the past seven years since the acquisition of SuccessFactors and the movement to the cloud. My story stays at a high level and provides you with information on how Human Capital Management has evolved with the latest technologies and enhancements.

My focus is not on the individual pieces of functionality, but rather the higher level structural design of the solution with a special emphasis on how SAP, now SAP SuccessFactors, has adapted its landscape models and product offerings from on-premise to the cloud to assist customers as they make their journey.