The Case for Deploying or Expanding GE Vernova’s Asset Performance Management (APM) During SAP S/4HANA Upgrade

Author Sticky

Ryan Finger

Director, Global APM Product Marketing

GE Vernova’s Software Business

Ryan is a member of GE Vernova’s global product marketing organization that focuses on pragmatic principles to get powerful software into the hands of our customers. He has a master’s degree in high tech product and digital transformation, paired with experience in Software-as-a-Service marketing to some of the world’s largest financial institutions.

He is now focused on simplifying how the world sees Asset Performance Management software as a driver of operational excellence and accelerator of the energy transition.

Apr 16, 2025 Last Updated
3 minutes

If you’re in the energy industry, chances are that your organization is planning its migration from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA. And while this migration might seem like a headache — it’s a big investment and initiative — there are actually a few things you can do to get more out of the move.

For many, SAP S/4HANA is a major priority and effort. But should your organization ignore the possibility of doing more?

SAP S/4HANA is Just a Part of Energy Digital Transformation

When companies migrate to SAP S/4HANA, they do so with cost, risk, and security in mind.
GE Vernova
But by opening the scope to adjacent systems, the benefits become even greater. In this blog, I’ll break down seven benefits of doing more with your migration — and then explain why it could be the perfect time to upgrade your APM systems.
  1. Aligning Digital Transformation Initiatives

    SAP S/4HANA modernizes core ERP functions, but its full potential is realized when integrated with modernized IT ecosystems (including Asset Performance Management (APM), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), etc.). Upgrading complementary systems ensures a stronger digital foundation rather than just modernizing a single component.
  2. Avoiding Costly Rework Later

    Upgrading SAP alone might create integration challenges with other systems, requiring future upgrades anyway. But by conducting multiple system upgrades in parallel, you can reduce long-term costs and prevent redundant IT efforts.
  3. Enhancing Data Connectivity & AI Capabilities

    SAP S/4HANA’s real-time data processing capabilities are best leveraged when other systems support modern APIs, cloud architectures, and AI/ML — otherwise keeping outdated systems can limit the benefits of predictive analytics, automation, and digital twins.
  4. Improving System Performance & User Experience

    Legacy systems may not handle the speed and efficiency of SAP S/4HANA, leading to bottlenecks in workflows, reporting, and analytics. If you upgrade surrounding applications, you can support a consistent and modern user experience across the enterprise.
  5. Regulatory Compliance & Security

    Many companies upgrade SAP for better compliance, but outdated connected systems can still expose them to security risks, audit failures, and operational inefficiencies. A broader upgrade ensures end-to-end compliance and cybersecurity alignment.
  6. Leveraging Cloud & SaaS Modernization

    Many companies move SAP S/4HANA to the cloud — upgrading other applications at the same time allows them to fully embrace SaaS, microservices, and flexible deployments. This future-proofs your IT ecosystem and avoids vendor lock-in with outdated, on-prem solutions.
  7. Enabling Business Process Transformation

    SAP S/4HANA changes how businesses operate, so other systems must often evolve to support new workflows, automation, and AI-driven decision-making. Companies that upgrade holistically can fully realize efficiency gains and competitive advantages.

Why Upgrade APM Systems Alongside an SAP S/4HANA Migration?

When migrating to SAP S/4HANA, energy organizations could also consider upgrading their APM systems. While SAP modernizes enterprise resource planning (ERP), to truly optimize asset-intensive operations, businesses need a modern APM solution that integrates seamlessly with their new SAP environment.

Upgrading your APM systems is the key to:
  1. Unlocking the Full Value of Predictive Maintenance

    SAP S/4HANA enhances asset tracking and work order management, but digital asset strategies, condition-monitoring, and predictive and prescriptive analytics require advanced APM capabilities. A modern APM system with AI/ML-powered failure prediction enables proactive maintenance, reducing downtime and unplanned failures.
  2. Supporting Data Integration & Visibility

    Legacy APM systems often rely on outdated data models and rigid integrations that may not work well with SAP S/4HANA’s modern architecture. Upgrading APM ensures near real-time data sharing across maintenance, operations, and supply chain systems.
  3. Enhancing AI & Computer Vision Capabilities

    SAP S/4HANA improves ERP efficiency, but modern APM solutions bring AI-driven insights like computer vision-based inspections and anomaly detection. AI-powered asset diagnostics and risk assessment tools help organizations prioritize maintenance spending and increase outcomes from reliability strategies.
  4. Eliminating Integration Bottlenecks

    SAP S/4HANA introduces new ways to manage financials, procurement, and logistics—but if an outdated APM system can’t sync work orders, costs, and asset performance data in real-time, operations suffer. Upgrading APM helps with a fluid data exchange for better decision-making and compliance tracking.
  5. Supporting Cloud & SaaS Modernization

    Many companies migrate SAP S/4HANA to the cloud but still run on-premises APM solutions with monolithic architectures. A cloud APM system with APIs and microservices aligns with SAP’s modernization goals, enabling scalability and cost savings.
  6. Enabling 'Bring Your Own Analytics'

    A modern APM system allows companies to bring their own analytics and combine SAP data with AI/ML models, IoT sensor data, and real-time asset health indicators. This flexibility supports and evolves asset strategies along with business needs and technological advancements.
  7. Driving Financial and Operational Synergies

    APM upgrades help organizations link asset health to financial outcomes, enabling better capital planning and ROI calculations. SAP S/4HANA’s improved financial analytics become even more valuable when paired with an APM system that quantifies the cost of failures, unplanned downtime, and maintenance efficiency.
  8. Maintaining Compliance & Sustainability Alignment

    Many organizations adopt SAP S/4HANA for regulatory compliance and sustainability tracking, but an outdated APM system might not support ESG reporting, emissions monitoring, or safety regulations. A modern APM system provides granular tracking of asset emissions, failures, and safety risks—helping organizations stay compliant and meet sustainability goals.

See it in Action: Key Integration Points Between GE Vernova’s APM and SAP S/4HANA

APM plays a critical role in helping enterprises move beyond traditional reactive maintenance by integrating predictive analytics, AI-driven insights, and near real-time asset monitoring into SAP S/4HANA’s modernized environment. Upgrading to SAP S/4HANA presents an opportunity to align APM with the new data model, automation capabilities, and cloud infrastructure.

Here's what that looks like.

Integration Area

How It Works with SAP S/4HANA

APM Benefits

Maintenance Planning (PM Module)
SAP S/4HANA's Intelligent Asset Management (IAM) connects with APM to schedule and automate work orders.
Optimized maintenance schedules, fewer breakdowns
Asset Health Monitoring
APM collects IoT & sensor data, feeding real-time condition insights into SAP.
Enables condition-based and predictive maintenance
Work Order Management
APM-generated insights trigger work orders in SAP S/4HANA.
Reduces manual intervention and maintenance costs
AI & Machine Learning
APM’s AI-driven failure prediction enhances SAP’s Predictive MRP & Logistics.
Reduces unplanned downtime, improves asset lifecycle
Financial & Cost Tracking
APM analytics help optimize maintenance budgets, feeding cost insights into SAP’s Universal Journal.
Improves OPEX/CAPEX planning
ESG & Sustainability
APM tracks asset emissions, energy efficiency, and integrates sustainability data into SAP.
Supports regulatory compliance & carbon footprint reduction
Several Tools in GE Vernova’s APM Platform Enable SAP Integration:

APM Connect enables data transfer from Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems like SAP into GE Vernova's APM, allowing for the analysis and processing of asset data.
  • APM Connect EAM Adapters facilitate the transfer of data from EAM systems (like SAP) to GE Vernova's APM, enabling users to analyze asset performance and reliability.
  • APM Strategy helps users prioritize asset strategy investments, ensure optimal performance, and mitigate risks, all while integrating with other systems like SAP.

Customer Stories of APM and SAP Integration

GE Vernova's APM software integrates with SAP systems, enabling users to leverage APM capabilities while maintaining data flow and workflows within their SAP environment.

OQ Cuts Costs & Production Loss With APM Software: OQ used GE Vernova's APM Integrity to take a risk-based approach to inspections, conduct a risk-based inspection (RBI) analysis of all downstream assets, initiate integrity operating windows (IOW) to set safe operating limits for key assets, and integrate GE Vernova's APM Integrity application with its SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) software

Petronas Moves to Cloud APM for Greater Operational Outcomes: Petronas moved to a cloud APM solution to harmonize APM across its units, migrate from SAP IC 6 to SAP S/4HANA, and improve system performance and cybersecurity.

Conclusion

Upgrading to SAP S/4HANA is a major step forward in digital transformation, but its full potential is only realized when asset-intensive companies also modernize their APM strategy. By upgrading APM systems in parallel, businesses can gain:
  • Predictive & prescriptive maintenance with AI/ML
  • Better data integration between SAP and APM
  • Cloud-ready, scalable architectures
  • Financial alignment of asset strategies
  • Better compliance & sustainability tracking
By including APM as part of an S4HANA migration, organizations can combine resources in a single project, that can dramatically reduce potential costly rework.

GE Vernova’s APM solutions are built to integrate with SAP S/4HANA, providing energy enterprises with an AI-powered, ecosystem that enables real-time asset insights, predictive analytics, and operational excellence.


1 Strategies for Enterprise Applications Modernization Success , 25 November 2024, By Enterprise Applications Research Team

Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and its affiliates.

Author Section

Author

Ryan Finger

Director, Global APM Product Marketing
GE Vernova’s Software Business

Ryan is a member of GE Vernova’s global product marketing organization that focuses on pragmatic principles to get powerful software into the hands of our customers. He has a master’s degree in high tech product and digital transformation, paired with experience in Software-as-a-Service marketing to some of the world’s largest financial institutions.

He is now focused on simplifying how the world sees Asset Performance Management software as a driver of operational excellence and accelerator of the energy transition.