SAP projects are rarely short on ambition.
In 2025, we worked with companies across manufacturing, logistics, retail, and services. Some were upgrading from ECC. Others were launching their first SAP environment. All had big goals. But even among the most experienced IT leaders, common regrets emerged — not from failures, but from what got underestimated or deprioritised along the way.
Here’s what we kept hearing from CIOs and IT heads once the dust settled.
1. “We should’ve planned Phase 2 earlier.”
Many rollouts focused heavily on the core modules such as finance, logistics, procurement. But strategic features like analytics, automation, or integration with external tools were pushed into “phase 2” with no real timeline.
The regret? Without a roadmap for what happens after go-live, momentum fizzled. Budgets got locked elsewhere. And the full value of SAP? Delayed again.
2. “We underestimated how much users needed support.”
This one came up a lot. Not just technical support, but guidance, training, and reinforcement.
• Teams struggled with new processes
• Workarounds crept in
• Adoption slowed quietly while leadership assumed success
One CIO summed it up well — “We went live. But the business didn’t really follow.”
3. “Documentation fell through the cracks.”
When timelines tightened, documentation was the first thing sacrificed. The result?
• Knowledge gaps between consultants and internal teams
• Support tickets piling up post-go-live
• Difficult handovers to internal IT
Several leaders told us they didn’t realise how crucial proper documentation was until the original project team moved on.
4. “We lost the bigger picture halfway through.”
Nearly every project began with clear strategic goals — efficiency, compliance, scalability. But midway through, those goals were quietly replaced by one priority: go-live.
In the rush to meet deadlines, projects shifted from transformation to delivery mode. Strategic value took a backseat to survival.
What we’re advising for 2026
The most successful SAP projects we saw in 2025 weren’t the flashiest. They were the ones with:
- A realistic post-go-live roadmap
- Clear ownership of training and adoption
- Solid documentation habits
- Regular checkpoints to align with business goals
And most importantly, clients who treated the rollout not as a finish line, but a foundation.
At Britemotion, we help clients avoid the regrets we’ve seen too many times before. If you’re planning your 2026 SAP roadmap, let’s make sure you learn from 2025.