Dive Brief:
- Lemongrass expanded its SAP practice Tuesday, adding AI assessment tools and forward-deployed engineering teams to its menu of ERP modernization services. The MSP’s new migration methodology, dubbed Brightfield, aims to shorten the time it takes organizations to see returns on investments in cloud-based ERP.
- The move comes as SAP plans to terminate mainstream maintenance for its legacy software, including on-premises ERP Central Component systems, next year. Customers that opt not to migrate to SAP’s cloud-based S/4HANA ERP will have to turn to third-party providers for ongoing support.
- “The 2027 timeline is a catalyst, but it should not be the business case," Abe Iruegas, Chief Commercial Officer at Lemongrass, told Channel Dive over email. “The real opportunity is to build a more agile, AI-ready operating platform.”
Dive Insight:
Many organizations have been reluctant to shift from on-premises to cloud-based ERP. Iruegas said that companies aren’t cloud-averse, but they are reluctant to risk disrupting operations without a clear path to ROI.
“ERP systems support the most critical operations of the enterprise, including financial close, manufacturing, supply chain, procurement and order management,” he said. “Leaders understandably want confidence that those operations will be protected throughout the transition. They want to know what will change, how downtime and cutover risk will be managed and, as importantly, when the program will produce a measurable business return.”
Companies typically choose between two models for SAP modernization: a Greenfield approach, which starts implementation from a clean slate, or a more complex Brownfield modernization, which means moving on-premises workloads to the cloud.
Both have risks. Greenfield implementations can bring high costs and long timelines, while Brownfield conversions can delay AI readiness and carry over technical debt. The Brightfield model aims to avoid those pitfalls.
“Brightfield replaces the choice between ‘rebuild everything’ and ‘preserve everything’ with a more intelligent question: What should we keep, what should we change, and where will transformation create the most value?” Iruegas said.
Lemongrass intends to leverage AI throughout the modernization process, automating invoice processing, real-time profit analysis and demand forecasting.
Brightfield contains several steps, including an SAP system value assessment that identifies technical problems and AI opportunities, a transformation program that uses AI to accelerate the upgrade, testing and analysis and forward deployed engineers that act as SAP experts for modernization.
Lemongrass has already fielded its first Brightfield client — a North American lawn and garden products manufacturer. The client was able to identify and activate practical AI use cases on the SAP Business Technology Platform during the transformation itself, according to Lemongrass.
The firm works within the SAP partner ecosystem and alongside SAP account and delivery teams to help customers plan and execute S/4HANA implementations, according to Iruegas.
As the 2027 deadline approaches, SAP is leaning on its partners to accelerate the shift.
