Why are SAP Data decommissioning and archiving indispensable?

By Emanuel Böminghaus, Legacy Systems Expert and Managing Director, AvenDATA

By Emanuel Böminghaus

Legacy Systems Expert and
Managing Director, AvenDATA

Archiving an SAP system is now one of the core responsibilities of modern IT and compliance departments. More companies face the challenge of keeping historical data from an SAP system available, auditable and complete for many years, even after the original system has been decommissioned. SAP archiving is therefore not just a technical process but a key element of commercial and legal corporate compliance.

Why SAP Archiving is more important than ever

An SAP system reflects the entire business reality. It contains every transaction, every customer, every posting, bank movement and accounting entry. These data remain highly relevant for years, for example for tax audits, compliance requirements or internal queries. At the same time, many SAP systems are being replaced, migrated or shut down during carve-outs or restructuring. Archiving thus becomes the decisive step to ensure secure access to historical data without having to operate the original SAP system.

The Challenge: Data must remain Readable even years later

An SAP system is highly interconnected. Values, transactions and movements are always linked to records, attachments, references and additional information. For SAP archiving to work properly, it is not enough to simply export tables or secure individual transaction data. The goal must always be to maintain the original SAP view of the data for the long term. Only then can relationships still be understood years later.

Which SAP Data is particularly relevant for Long-Term Archiving

To ensure future auditability, complete and structured archiving is essential. In practice, the following data must remain permanently available:

Transactions, movement data and document flows, supplemented by associated links to records, GOS attachments, Archive Link documents and relevant partner information such as customer master data, supplier details, bank data, accounting assignments, cost centres, balance sheet accounts and regulatory requirements from financial accounting.

This list deliberately includes only one point because all the mentioned information must be considered together. Only in combination does a complete representation of a process emerge as it originally existed in the SAP system. The focus is always on readability and traceability over many years.

Why Links in SAP are so critical

In SAP, data is rarely isolated. A posting line has a cost centre, a cost centre has a posting, an order has a history and an invoice has attachments and documents. SAP archiving must preserve these relationships so that even long after system decommissioning it remains clear how a process originated. This is particularly relevant for document display. When an auditor opens a transaction, they expect to see both the process itself and the associated documents clearly visible. If these links are missing, the archiving will be considered incomplete and likely rejected.

Transactions, Customer Data and Balance Views: Why they must be Archived

Archiving SAP transactions goes far beyond simply securing tables. The key is that the original SAP views remain reproducible in the long term. A company often needs customer data years after system decommissioning, for example to clarify open processes or defend claims. The same applies to bank data, payment flows or balance sheet views that must be reviewed again. Balance sheet data is essential for tax audits and statutory retention requirements and must remain accessible for many years.

Professional archiving ensures that all these views remain complete, structured and clearly retrievable without an active SAP system.

Archiving as a Prerequisite for Secure System Shutdown

Archiving an SAP system is not the end of the system but a prerequisite for its final shutdown. Only when all data has been extracted, validated and provided in an audit-compliant archive can the original SAP system be switched off. This shutdown saves costs, minimises risks and ensures that the IT landscape remains clean and modern. At the same time, the company remains fully auditable for many years.

The Importance of Readability and Transparency in the Archive

An archive only serves its purpose if the stored data remains understandable without expert knowledge. Transaction data, master data, records, attachments and relationships must be prepared so they can be intuitively traced. Particularly important is the ability to open document sets completely even years later to understand values and processes. For auditors, tax authorities and internal reviews, this is critical. Incomplete or poorly structured archiving can lead to high risks because evidence of relationships may no longer be available.

Conclusion: SAP Archiving is the key to long-term data and compliance security

SAP Archiving enables companies to keep their data available in the long term without having to operate a complete SAP system. It ensures that transactions, customer data, bank details, balance sheet information and document links remain fully retrievable even years later. This long-term readability makes archiving an indispensable part of corporate management and statutory retention requirements.

Planning to archive a legacy system?