Why must Companies archive their ERP Data in the long term?

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

By Emanuel Böminghaus

Legacy Systems Expert and
Managing Director, AvenDATA

Archiving an ERP system is now one of the most important tasks for companies that want to modernise their IT landscape, carry out mergers, implement carve-outs or permanently decommission individual systems. With ongoing digitalisation, ERP data has become the central backbone of many business processes. It not only reflects the history of a company but is often required years later for tax audits, internal analyses or legal proof. ERP Archiving ensures that this data remains available in the long term without having to keep the original system running.

Why ERP Archiving is indispensable for Companies

ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) or AS/400-based solutions have been in use for many years. They contain highly relevant company data from finance, logistics, purchasing, sales, production and HR. As many of these systems can no longer be maintained, for example due to outdated versions, platform changes or missing expertise, archiving is the only way to keep the data available without having to maintain the entire ERP system. This reduces costs while fulfilling legal obligations.

The Challenge: Data must remain Readable regardless of the original ERP system

Modern companies face the task of not only storing data but also ensuring it can be correctly interpreted for many years to come. The key point is to maintain the original ERP visibility. An archived data set from an ERP system is worthless if it cannot be understood or fully retrieved later. This is particularly critical for documents, transactions and their links to master data and records. Without these relationships, the historical process loses its context, which is why professional archiving must guarantee these connections permanently.

Which ERP Data must be archived for the long term

For complete archiving, all relevant company data must remain available, not only technically secured but also presented in a way that is comprehensible from a business perspective. This includes in particular:

Movement and transaction data, postings, document flows, orders, delivery notes, invoices, production data, logistics processes, payroll and salary information as well as the associated documents and document links from different ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics NAV / Navision, AS/400 applications and other enterprise solutions.

This list highlights that archiving must cover many ERP areas. Each of these systems stores its information in its own tables, program logic, file structures or proprietary formats. Professional archiving ensures that this diversity remains consistent and retrievable in the long term.

Different ERP systems, common requirements

Whether SAP, Oracle, Navision or AS/400, the specific technical structures differ significantly, but the requirements for archiving remain comparable. SAP uses complex table landscapes, archive objects and GOS attachments, while Oracle often works with its own database structures and customer-specific extensions. Navision and Microsoft Dynamics bring their own logic model that links movements and histories. AS/400 systems, on the other hand, store data in formats that are often decades old and require special expertise to interpret. Despite these differences, every system requires archiving that makes data fully available, traceable and independent of the original system.

Why Document links are so critical in ERP archiving

ERP systems do not operate on individual table values alone but on complex relationships. A posting is only understandable in connection with the invoice, an invoice only in connection with the customer master and a production order only with the associated material list. Archiving must preserve these links so that processes remain traceable even years later. Many tax or accounting questions can only be answered if both the transaction data set and the associated documents and all relevant metadata are visible. Missing links lead to incomplete archiving, which can cause significant risks during audits.

ERP Archiving as a prerequisite for System Shutdowns and Modernisation

Many companies are modernising their IT landscapes and migrating from old ERP solutions to new cloud or platform systems. Without proper archiving, it would be impossible to completely shut down the legacy system. Archiving therefore forms the bridge between the old and the new system environment. Only when all data has been extracted, checked and stored in an audit-proof archive can the original ERP system be taken offline. This not only avoids security risks but also achieves significant savings on licences, servers and maintenance contracts.

Readability, Transparency and futureproofing in the Archive

An archive only serves its purpose when data remains understandable without technical background knowledge. Archived information must be presented so that even after ten years it is clear how a process was structured in the original ERP system. Auditors and tax authorities must be able to trace which documents belong together, which values were posted and which documents were part of the process. Pure data storage is not enough. Archiving must replicate ERP logic without requiring the ERP system itself.

ERP Archiving is the key to long-term protection of Company Data

Archiving ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Navision or AS/400 ensures that data remains readable, structured and fully available. It enables companies to decommission legacy systems while meeting legal reporting obligations. The long-term availability of documents, transaction data and links makes ERP Archiving a central component of modern IT and compliance strategies.

Planning to archive a legacy system?