How to Run a SAP BTP Maturity Assessment Before Your Cloud Migration

Cloud migration is not an if anymore; it’s a matter of how well prepared you are when you start.

A lot of companies go into SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) with a dream that this is the magic solution to modernise your SAP landscape at once and be innovative and future-proof. Because of this, many of them are struggling to unlock value as they shift into the cloud, however, without even knowing where their current level of maturity stands. This is the point where SAP BTP maturity assessment steps in.

Therefore, SAP BTP maturity assessment offers a harnessed approach to assess whether your architecture, governance, integration strategy, security model, and how you operate are realistically prepared for cloud-based innovation, before it becomes locked in at scale.

A SAP BTP maturity assessment is a critical first step for organisations planning cloud migration on SAP Business Technology Platform.

What’s the Big Deal About SAP BTP Readiness: Preparing for Cloud Migration?

SAP BTP is architected to be the system of extension, integration, and innovation on S/4HANA. But the efficacy relies heavily on how mature your existing SAP landscape.

Without proper readiness:

• Cloud costs spiral unexpectedly
• Integrations become fragile
• Security and compliance risks increase
• Innovation initiatives stall
• SAP BTP becomes underutilised

An SAP BTP maturity assessment allows the leadership team to answer a pivotal question up-front:

Or is it going to be the “separate castle” model, where we’re doubling down and making hybrid a strategic platform rather than adding yet another layer of complexity?

SAP BTP Maturity Assessment – What is it all about?

A SAP BTP maturity assessment is a disciplined review of an enterprise’s ability to leverage and expand use of SAP BTP as part of its cloud and digital strategy.

It measures maturity in several dimensions, such as:

• SAP landscape architecture
• Integration strategy
• Extension and development approach
• Security and identity management
• Governance and operating model
• Skills and enablement

“[The result is] a clear baseline of maturity, [and the ability to identify] gaps and risks, so that you can identify prioritised actions which need to be taken either before or during your journey into the cloud.”

Why the C-Suite Should Care About SAP BTP Maturity

Top-Level Decisions in SAP BTP

From an executive position, your decision-making at the top level of SAP BTP directly impacts:

• Total cost of ownership
• Speed of innovation
• Vendor dependency
• Security posture
• Long-term architectural flexibility

A SAP BTP maturity assessment is necessary to ensure cloud migration is aligned with business outcomes, not only technical modernisation.

It enables leaders to:

• Avoid over-engineering
• Make informed platform choices
• Phase investments intelligently
• Integrate BTP selection with enterprise strategy

SAP BTP Maturity Assessment vs Technical Readiness Checks

Aspect	SAP BTP Maturity Assessment	Technical Readiness
Scope	Business + IT	Technical only
Focus	Capability and scalability	System compatibility
Output	Strategic roadmap	Findings report
Value	Predictive and directional	Diagnostic

A maturity assessment is context, not a data dump.

Central Elements of an Assessment of Maturity on SAP BTP

Key areas you’d typically assess in a full maturity assessment of SAP BTP are as follows: Each of those dimensions is a critical success factor for cloud.

SAP Landscape and Architectural Readiness

For this reason, this factor measures how capable your current SAP landscape is for hosting SAP BTP.

Key considerations include:

• ECC vs S/4HANA status
• Clean core adherence
• Custom code footprint
• Cloud and hybrid architecture readiness

Consequently, Low maturity in this space also triggers over-customization on BTP, adding cost and complexity.

Integration Strategy Maturity

Integration is the lifeblood of SAP BTP.

Assessment areas include:

• SAP Integration Suite usage
• API-first design adoption
• Point-to-point vs centralised integrations
• Real-time vs batch processing

A weak integration approach is one of the greatest SAP BTP adoption risks.

Extension and Development Capability

SAP BTP allows for side-by-side extensions—but only when it’s done right.

This dimension assesses:

• Extension design principles
• Use of SAP-recommended services
• DevOps and CI/CD maturity
• Lifecycle management practices

Here, without maturity, organizations come to copy the same core customization mistakes they made in the past in the cloud.

Data and Analytics Readiness

Data-driven decision-making is crucial for SAP BTP.

Assessment focuses on:

• Data ownership and governance
• Analytical architecture
• Use of SAP Analytics Cloud
• Data integration and quality

Lack of data maturity curtails BTP’s capacity to provide insights and intelligence.

Security, Identity, and Compliance Maturity

Cloud adoption doesn’t make security simpler; it makes it more complex (not less).

This dimension evaluates:

• Identity and access management
• Role and authorisation design
• Compliance and audit readiness
• Integration with enterprise security tools

Late unearthing of security gaps will hold up adoptions to the cloud.

Governance and Operating Model

The measure of SAP BTP’s success will be how decisions are arrived at.

Assessment areas include:

• Platform governance structures
• Change and release management
• Cost management and consumption controls
• Vendor and partner dependencies

Effective governance ensures that BTP scales responsibly across the enterprise.

Skills and Organisational Readiness

The readiness of technology is nothing without the readiness of people.

This dimension assesses:

• Internal SAP BTP expertise
• Cloud skill availability
• Training and enablement plans
• Change adoption capability

One of the main reasons BTP platforms are underused is due to skill gaps.

SAP BTP Maturity Levels Explained

The majority of SAP BTP maturity assessments group companies in terms of levels of maturity, e.g.,:

• Initial – Experimental, isolated usage
• Defined – Pilots and governance emerge in the early structure
• Standardised – Enterprise-aligned usage
• Optimised – Scalable, cost-controlled adoption
• Innovative – BTP as a strategic platform for an innovative perspective

This knowledge will help you set realistic expectations for your journey to the cloud.

How to Do a SAP BTP Maturity Assessment?

Step 1: Define Strategic Objectives

Start with business goals—not tools.

Why are you adopting SAP BTP?
What outcomes matter most?
What must you actually do?

(Note: This is what keeps the assessment results based!)

Step 2: Assess Current-State Capabilities

Evaluate each maturity dimension using:

• Stakeholder interviews
• System and architecture reviews
• Process and governance analysis

This builds a fact-based baseline.

Step 3: Pinpoint Maturity Gaps and Risks

Compare current maturity against:

• SAP best practices
• Target-state cloud architecture
• Business expectations

Furthermore, this technique also implies constraints and interdependencies.

Step 4: Sequence Actions and Investments

So, some gaps are better closed later.

Here’s a good SAP BTP maturity assessment:

• Prioritise gaps by importance and urgency
• Aligns remediation with roadmap phases
• Supports budget and timeline decisions

Step 5: Construct a Phased SAP BTP Roadmap

The result should be a simple, phased roadmap that:

• Aligns with S/4HANA migration plans
• Good mix of early value and long-term value
• Supports scalable adoption

Business Gains from a Maturity Assessment of SAP BTP

Companies that conduct a SAP BTP maturity assessment before moving to the cloud consistently realise:

• Lower cloud operating costs
• Faster innovation cycles
• Reduced architectural risk
• Better governance and control
• Increased return from SAP BTP investment

And, best of all, they spare you trial-and-error adoption.

Most Common Mistakes: They didn’t have a SAP BTP Maturity Assessment

The consequences of failing to conduct a Maturity Assessment are that frequently, we:

• Overuse of custom extensions
• Fragmented integration landscapes
• Poor cost visibility
• Security and compliance gaps
• Limited business adoption

These are costly and largely avoidable problems.

Final Thought

In Conslusion, SAP BTP has the potential to be a compelling enabler for innovation, but not if it’s built on a shaky foundation.

A SAP BTP maturity assessment provides leaders with certainty, confidence, and overall control before cloud transition. It repositions SAP BTP from a technology platform to a strategic business capability.

If your company is already on SAP BTP or intends to adopt it, or migrate to the cloud, a maturity assessment can be deployed as an organised tool that reduces risk, optimises investment, and accelerates value.

Begin with a clear view and let maturity run your cloud game.

Resources:

SAP Discovery Center
What is SAP Business Technology Platform