Free SAP Health Check: 12 Critical Issues We Find in 90% of UAE SAP Systems
Most UAE organizations believe their SAP systems are healthy because transactions process and users can access data. In reality, hidden security vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, performance bottlenecks, and integration failures silently undermine operations. A comprehensive SAP health check reveals these issues before they become emergencies.
This guide explains what health checks reveal and why 90% of UAE SAP systems have critical issues.
Why Most UAE Companies Don’t Know Their SAP System Is At Risk
SAP systems appear healthy because daily operations continue normally, masking gradual performance degradation, mounting security vulnerabilities, and compliance gaps that emerge only during crises.
Systems degrade gradually. Performance slows imperceptibly. Security gaps remain invisible without active testing. Compliance violations hide until audits discover them. By the time problems become visible, they’ve compounded for years.
Most companies lack expertise to identify SAP issues independently. Your IT team manages systems but may not have specialized SAP knowledge to recognize risks a SAP health check would expose.
The False Comfort of “It’s Working Fine” When Performance Degrades Gradually
System slowdowns happen incrementally, allowing teams to adapt to degraded performance rather than recognizing problems. Month-end reporting that took 6 hours now takes 12 hours, normalized over months.
Users adapt to slowness by working around it. Reports requested night-before instead of real-time. Back-office staff start manual workarounds. Leadership makes decisions on stale data. The system works but inefficiently.
Gradual degradation masks true cost. Calculate actual impact: If 50 staff members lose 2 hours weekly to system slowness, that’s 5,200 hours annually (AED 780k-1.2M in labor cost) for a company of that size.
What a Comprehensive SAP Health Check Actually Reveals
Professional SAP health checks evaluate security, performance, compliance, architecture, and data quality through systematic testing and analysis, identifying issues your organization missed.
A thorough health check tests access controls, analyzes database performance, reviews configuration against compliance standards, evaluates system architecture, and assesses data quality. Results reveal specific issues with business impact quantification.
Health checks differ from standard IT audits. IT audits review IT infrastructure. SAP health checks dive deep into SAP-specific configuration, business processes, regulatory alignment, and operational effectiveness.
How Hidden Issues Compound Into Major Disruptions and Compliance Failures
Individual issues seem manageable: one slow batch job, one unauthorized user account, one missing encryption. Combined, they create perfect conditions for outages, breaches, or regulatory penalties.
Security issues compound: weak passwords, generic accounts, incomplete audit trails, and missing encryption create layered vulnerability. Single breach escalates through multiple layers.
Compliance issues compound: missing controls, inadequate documentation, incomplete audit trails, and configuration gaps accumulate into audit findings and potential penalties.
Security Vulnerabilities That Keep UAE CIOs Awake at Night
SAP security gaps create exposure to data breaches, unauthorized transactions, and regulatory penalties. 12 common security issues affect 90% of UAE SAP systems.
Issue 1: Outdated Authorization Roles Creating Segregation of Duties Violations
Authorization roles accumulate over time. Old roles persist. New roles get added without reviewing conflicts. Result: Users have incompatible authorization (can create and approve transactions) violating segregation of duties.
Issue 2: Generic User Accounts That Bypass Audit Trails
Shared user accounts hide who performed actions. Generic system accounts run batch jobs with excessive authorization. Audit trails show generic account action, not actual user. Compliance requirements demand individual accountability.
Issue 3: Missing Encryption for Sensitive Customer and Financial Data
Sensitive data (customer information, financial details, healthcare records) often stored unencrypted. If database is breached, data is immediately readable. Data encryption protects against this risk.
UAE regulations (DFSA for financial, DHA for healthcare) increasingly require encryption. Missing encryption exposes organizations to regulatory penalties and customer trust damage.
The DFSA and DHA Compliance Gap Most Healthcare and Finance Companies Miss
DFSA and DHA requirements include audit trail completeness, segregation of duties enforcement, encryption standards, and access control documentation. Most healthcare and finance companies fall short on multiple requirements.
DFSA requires: complete transaction audit trails, segregation of duties for financial transactions, encryption of customer data, and documented access controls. Most SAP systems have gaps in audit trail completeness or segregation.
DHA requires: patient data encryption, access audit trails, segregation between clinical staff and financial staff, and compliance documentation. Many healthcare organizations miss access trail requirements or data encryption standards.
Performance Bottlenecks Costing You Productivity Every Single Day
Unoptimized SAP systems cost hours daily in lost productivity: slow reports, sluggish transactions, and delayed batch processing accumulate into thousands of hours monthly.
Issue 4: Database Growth Without Archiving Strategy Slowing Every Transaction
SAP databases grow indefinitely without archiving strategy. Transactional tables contain 10+ years of history. Database size balloons to terabytes. Every query searches massive datasets, slowing transactions.
Archiving old data (completed orders, historical transactions, closed documents) to separate archive system improves performance dramatically. Performance improvements of 30-50% are common after archiving.
Issue 5: Unoptimized Custom Code Running Thousands of Times Daily
Custom ABAP code written without performance consideration runs thousands of times daily. Poor-performing code multiplies impact. Single inefficient query running 1,000 times daily compounds into minutes of system slowness.
Issue 6: Batch Jobs Scheduled During Peak Business Hours
Batch jobs compete with online users for database resources. Month-end close jobs scheduled at 8 AM when users start work. Both compete, slowing everything. Rescheduling batch jobs to off-hours improves responsiveness dramatically.
The Real Cost: How Many Hours Your Team Loses Waiting for SAP to Respond
Quantify true performance cost: 100 users losing 1 hour weekly to system slowness = 5,200 hours annually. At AED 150/hour average cost, that’s AED 780k annual productivity loss from performance issues.
Performance optimization ROI often exceeds implementation cost. Eliminating 1-2 hours daily productivity loss delivers AED 500k-1.5M annual value. Performance improvements often pay for themselves in months.
Integration Failures Silently Breaking Your Business Processes
Point-to-point system integrations break frequently. Failed syncs between SAP and e-commerce, CRM, or other systems cause data inconsistencies, duplicate records, and missing transactions.
Issue 7: Point-to-Point Interfaces That Break Every Time Something Changes
Custom interfaces connecting SAP to other systems are fragile. System changes on either end break interfaces. Without monitoring, failures go unnoticed until data discrepancies emerge.
Issue 8: Failed Data Synchronization Between SAP and E-Commerce Systems
Customer orders in e-commerce don’t sync to SAP. Invoices in SAP don’t sync to customer portal. Data becomes inconsistent. Customers see different information than your team.
Issue 9: Manual Workarounds That Started as Temporary Fixes Three Years Ago
Integration broke 3 years ago. Team implemented temporary manual workaround. Today, someone manually enters data daily. Workaround consumes hours. Nobody has addressed root cause.
The ECC End-of-Life Deadline That 90% of UAE Companies Are Ignoring
SAP ECC support ends December 2027. Organizations still running ECC after 2027 face unsupported systems, compliance gaps, security vulnerabilities, and inability to get vendor support.
Issue 10: Running Unsupported SAP ECC Versions With No Migration Plan
Many UAE companies run old ECC versions (6.0, 7.0) that already lack support. Extended support ends 2027 for all versions. Running unsupported systems violates many compliance requirements.
The 2027 Timeline Reality: Why Starting in 2026 Means You’re Already Late
S/4HANA migrations take 12-24 months. Starting in 2026 means go-live in 2027 or 2028. Organizations delaying until 2027 face emergency timelines, compressed resources, and 40-50% cost premiums for urgent implementation.
Early movers beginning migration in 2025-2026 complete smoothly. Late movers scrambling in 2027 face compressed timelines and higher costs.
Extended Support Costs That Will Shock Your Board When They See the Numbers
Extended support for unsupported ECC costs 2-3x normal support pricing. AED 1.2-2M annually for organizations currently spending AED 600k. Running unsupported until 2030 accumulates significant costs without progress.
Compliance and Audit Readiness Gaps
Audit readiness gaps emerge when auditors request documentation your system cannot generate or require controls missing from configuration.
Issue 11: Missing Documentation for UAE VAT Configuration and Reporting
VAT reporting requires documented configuration proving tax calculation correctness. Many organizations lack documentation. Auditors require this proof. Missing documentation creates audit findings.
Issue 12: Incomplete Audit Logs That Won’t Satisfy Federal Requirements
Federal audits require complete audit trails proving every transaction was authorized and recorded correctly. Incomplete logs mean audit findings and potential penalties.
What a Professional SAP Health Check Actually Evaluates
Professional health checks use systematic frameworks assessing 15+ evaluation areas: security, performance, compliance, architecture, integration, data quality, and compliance documentation.
The 15-Point Assessment Framework
Security assessment tests access controls, encryption, audit trails, and vulnerability exposure. Performance analysis identifies database bottlenecks, slow queries, and inefficient code. Compliance review maps configuration against DHA/DFSA/VAT requirements.
Architecture assessment evaluates system design, upgrade readiness, and technical debt. Integration review tests system connections and data synchronization. Data quality audit assesses master data accuracy and completeness.
Results quantify issues with business impact: security risks valued by potential breach exposure, performance issues valued by productivity loss, compliance gaps valued by potential penalties.
The Business Impact Report You’ll Receive
Health check reports deliver: issue list with severity ratings, business impact quantification in AED, risk prioritization, recommended remediation roadmap, and quick-win opportunities.
Risk Prioritization: Which Issues Need Immediate Attention
Reports distinguish critical issues (compliance violations, security exposures, system outage risks) from important issues (performance optimization, process improvements). Critical issues get urgent attention. Important issues get planned resolution.
Cost Quantification: What These Issues Are Actually Costing Your Business
Reports translate issues into financial impact: security breaches valued at exposure size, performance issues valued at productivity loss, compliance violations valued at audit penalties. Financial quantification justifies remediation investment to leadership.
Roadmap Recommendations: Fixing Critical Issues Without Disrupting Operations
Reports include remediation roadmap sequencing fixes logically: critical issues first, then important improvements, then optimization. Recommendations include timing (which fixes require system downtime), resource requirements, and cost estimates.
Why Free Health Checks Exist, And What Happens After
Free health checks benefit both organizations and SAP partners. Organizations gain clarity on system health and remediation needs. Partners understand customer environment and can recommend solutions.
Free assessments are consultative, not sales-driven. Approach focuses on understanding your environment, identifying gaps, and providing objective findings. Recommendations follow, but only after comprehensive assessment.
Most organizations discover the assessment itself provides value even before recommendations. Clarity about system health and risk exposure enables informed decision-making.
When a Health Check Reveals Issues You Can Fix Internally
Some issues fix internally: disabling unused generic accounts, rescheduling batch jobs, updating authorization roles, archiving old data. Health check identifies these quick wins.
Quick wins typically deliver immediate value without external help. Your IT team can implement many recommendations independently. Others require specialized SAP expertise.
Health check helps you understand which issues are internal priorities versus which require external assistance.
Claiming Your Free SAP Health Check: What to Expect
Free assessments typically require: system access (read-only), 2-3 hours for data collection, 1 week for analysis, and 1 hour for findings presentation.
The Information We’ll Need Access To
We need: read-only access to SAP systems, access to system configuration documentation, details about current processes, and interview time with key stakeholders (CIO, SAP basis team, business process owners).
All access is read-only. We don’t make changes. We analyze your environment and document findings. Your sensitive data remains confidential and is used only for assessment purposes.
Timeline: From Initial Request to Final Report Delivery
Typical assessment: Week 1 access setup and data collection, Week 2 analysis, Week 3 findings presentation. Four weeks total from initial contact to final report delivery.
The No-Obligation Approach
Health check reports are yours regardless of future engagement decisions. You receive comprehensive findings and recommendations with no obligation to hire for remediation. Approach is transparent and consultative.
Contact Acharya Enterprise to schedule your free SAP health check. Our team evaluates your system against 15-point framework, identifies critical issues, quantifies business impact, and delivers actionable roadmap for remediation.
Discover what 90% of UAE SAP systems have in common. Claim your assessment today.
