Why Companies need SAP Archiving?

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

By Emanuel Böminghaus

Legacy Systems Expert and
Managing Director, AvenDATA

SAP Archiving is now a central Part of modern Corporate IT. It ensures that historical Data from SAP Systems remain complete, traceable and legally compliant for many Years even when the original SAP System has long been shut down. Companies migrate to new Platforms, consolidate Landscapes, sell Business Units or carry out Modernisations. At these Moments the Quality of Archiving decides whether a Company remains auditable in the Future or loses critical Information.

What SAP Archiving essentially means?

SAP Archiving covers the structured, audit-proof Export and long-term Provision of all relevant SAP Data. These Data must be archived so that they remain readable and understandable even Years later without an active SAP System. The Goal is to fully represent both the Business Context and the technical Structure of the original Processes. An Archive must make the same Connections visible that a User from the SAP System would recognise.

Why SAP Archiving is a mandatory Task for every Company?

Legal retention Requirements demand that tax-relevant, financial and operational Information remain accessible for many Years sometimes even decades. SAP is often the Core of Corporate Documentation. Every Document, Transaction, Booking and Workflow is stored there often in complex Structures that are closely linked. Professional SAP Archiving preserves this Information permanently and protects against high Costs of maintaining a running SAP System.

Which SAP Data are essential for Archiving?

To ensure a Company can provide complete Information in the Future, key SAP Data must be archived in full together with all their Links. These include in particular:

Movement Data, Master Data, Transactions, Bookings, Customer and Supplier Information, Balance Sheet Data, Bank Data, Cost Centres, Material Masters, Document Flows and related Records, Attachments, Archive Link Documents and relational Connections that are indispensable for Tax Audits, Business Analysis and Legal Proof

This unique List shows how strongly SAP Data are interconnected and why SAP Archiving is far more than a technical Export of individual Tables.

The Importance of Links in SAP Archiving

An SAP Process can only be fully understood when all related Information remains visible. A Booking only gains its meaning through the associated Invoice. An Order can only be understood when both the Supplier and the Process History are visible. Material Movements are only complete when all Document Flows can be displayed. SAP Archiving must preserve these Relationship Structures and make them available so that even Years later it is clear how a Process originated. Without these Links an Archive loses its Business Value.

Why cannot Companies afford to lose long-term Readability?

Many Companies underestimate the Importance of Readability. It is not enough to store Data in raw Format. What matters is that an Auditor, a Specialist Department or an internal Employee can later understand how a Process was structured, which Values were relevant and which Documents were linked. Users must be able to navigate archived Data as easily as in a live SAP System. This is where the Quality of SAP Archiving makes the difference.

SAP Archiving as a prerequisite for System Decommissioning and Modernisation

The most critical Moment for SAP Archiving often comes when an SAP System is about to be shut down. Decommissioning is complex and can only be carried out safely when all historical Data have been fully archived. Only when Transactions, Documents, Reports and Master Data are audit-proof and accessible can the old SAP System be taken offline. This saves Companies Costs for Licences, Servers, Maintenance and Infrastructure while reducing the Attack Surface for Cyber Risks.

The Importance of Archiving for Carve-outs and Business Sales

Carve-outs, Mergers or Sales require Companies to provide Access to historical Data without continuing to operate a complex SAP System. Professional SAP Archiving makes this possible. It ensures Transparency and guarantees that Buyers, Auditors and other Parties can view exactly the Data they need independently of the original System.

Long-term Security through audit-proof SAP Archiving

An Archive only fulfils its Purpose when it remains stable, legally compliant and transparent over time. The best Archiving is therefore the one that makes SAP Views reproducible in the long term without requiring Users to rely on technical Expertise or the original System. Companies that implement SAP Archiving early and professionally secure their Data, reduce Risks and create the Basis for a modern IT Landscape.

SAP Archiving as a central Component of modern Corporate Management

SAP Archiving preserves the Business-relevant Past of a Company while enabling future-ready Operations without outdated Systems. It ensures that historical SAP Data remain complete, traceable and legally compliant even Years later. This makes SAP Archiving not just a technical Process but an essential Part of Compliance and Corporate Strategy.

Planning to archive a legacy system?