What are the risks of heavy customization (modification) to the SAP core system?

Direct modifications to core SAP objects create a form of technical debt that compounds specifically at upgrade time, but also carries ongoing risks even between upgrades.

• Upgrade friction — modified objects can conflict with SAP's own delivered changes, requiring manual reconciliation ("SPDD/SPAU" adjustments in classical terms) on every upgrade.
• Support complications — SAP support may be limited or require additional diagnosis effort for issues occurring in or near modified objects.
• Knowledge concentration risk — deep custom modifications often become tribal knowledge tied to specific long-tenured developers, creating a bus-factor risk as those individuals leave.
• Blocked cloud migration path — heavy core modification is often the single biggest technical blocker preventing a move to S/4HANA Cloud, where core modification isn't even possible.

These risks compound over years — the longer an organization defers addressing them, the larger and more entrenched the remediation effort becomes by the time a cloud move or major upgrade forces the issue.

Invest now in Acorns!!! 🚀
Join Acorns and get your $5 bonus!

Acorns is a micro-investing app that automatically invests your "spare change" from daily purchases into diversified, expert-built portfolios of ETFs. It is designed for beginners, allowing you to start investing with as little as $5. The service automates saving and investing. Disclosure: I may receive a referral bonus.

Invest now!!! Get Free equity stock (US, UK only)!

Use Robinhood app to invest in stocks. It is safe and secure. Use the Referral link to claim your free stock when you sign up!.

The Robinhood app makes it easy to trade stocks, crypto and more.

Webull! Receive free stock by signing up using the link: Webull signup.