Lesson 5 of 5
The SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit
8 min
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SAP's tool of choice for loading data into SAP S/4HANA in a new implementation is the SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit. SAP describes it as embedded in SAP S/4HANA and included at no additional cost. It is available for on-premise, Private Edition and Public Edition, although the functions and available migration objects differ between them.
Where you find it
You use the cockpit through the SAP Fiori app Migrate Your Data – Migration Cockpit on the launchpad, with the appropriate authorizations. Older on-premise releases used the transaction LTMC; it has been replaced by the Fiori app in newer releases, and projects created with LTMC cannot be opened in the new app. In on-premise and Private Edition, the Migration Object Modeler (transaction LTMOM) lets specialists adjust and extend migration objects, for example to add custom fields.
Two ways to migrate
| Approach | How data arrives | Typical use | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migrate data using staging tables | The cockpit generates staging tables per migration object; you fill them from templates (XML or CSV) or with your own tools, then the cockpit loads from them | Any source system, SAP or non-SAP; data transformed outside the cockpit | On-premise, Private Edition and Public Edition |
| Migrate data directly from an SAP system | The cockpit reads data from a supported SAP ERP source over a remote connection and converts it during the load | Source is an SAP ERP system and the data can be selected there | On-premise and Private Edition |
The steps of a migration project
Work in the cockpit is organized into migration projects. Within a project you select the migration objects you need, and for each one you follow broadly the same steps:
- Create the project and choose the approach and the migration objects.
- Provide the data: fill the staging tables (for example by uploading the object's template) or select the data in the source SAP system.
- Prepare the data so that the cockpit can analyze it.
- Complete mapping tasks: confirm value mappings from source values to target values (for example old payment term codes to new ones) and fixed values for target fields.
- Simulate: the cockpit checks the data against the target system and reports the errors a real load would produce, without creating data.
- Migrate: the data is posted, using the same checks as the normal application.
- Validate: check results in the business apps named for each object, and reconcile against the source.
- Create projectChoose the approach and the migration objects
- Provide dataUpload templates to staging tables or select from the source SAP system
- Prepare and mapPrepare the data; confirm value mappings and fixed values
- SimulateCheck against the target and see the errors without creating data
- MigratePost the data with the standard application checks
- ValidateCheck in the business apps and reconcile with the source
What the cockpit does and does not do
The cockpit loads data with SAP's standard checks, provides predefined objects and templates, supports value mapping and simulation, and records messages for each record. It does not decide what the right data is, cleanse your source, approve mapping rules or prove the business result. Those remain the jobs of the data owners and the test team, covered in the course on testing data migration.
What would you do?
A new member of Contoso's migration team plans to write custom ABAP load programs for business partners and products, "because that's how we did it in ECC". What should the migration lead recommend?
Messages and post-processing
Every simulation and migration run produces messages per record: errors that stopped a record, warnings worth reading, and confirmations. Treat the message log as test evidence and as a work list. Group errors by cause (missing configuration, invalid value, missing reference) and fix the cause in the source data, the mapping or the configuration, then run again. For each migration object, SAP's documentation also points to the business apps used to check the result after loading; the course on testing data migration builds those checks into reconciliation and business validation.
- Did the record fail because configuration is missing, such as payment terms or a valuation class?Yes → functional consultant fixes configuration and transports it · No → next question
- Did it fail on an invalid value?Yes → correct the source data or the value mapping, with the data owner's approval · No → next question
- Did it fail on a missing reference, such as a customer that does not exist yet?Yes → fix the load sequence or load the referenced object first · No → read the message and escalate to the migration specialist
- The SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit is SAP's tool of choice, embedded and included at no additional cost.
- Use it through the Migrate Your Data – Migration Cockpit app; LTMC is replaced in newer releases; LTMOM extends objects on-premise and in Private Edition.
- Two approaches: staging tables (any source) and direct transfer from an SAP system (on-premise and Private Edition).
- Steps: create project, provide data, prepare, mapping tasks, simulate, migrate, validate.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. According to SAP, the SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit is:
2. Which Fiori app gives access to the cockpit?
3. What does simulation do?
4. Which approach can load data from a non-SAP source?