Real-Time SAP Migration with Zero-Downtime Data Transformation
200-Thread Parallel Migration Achieving 1-Second Latency from SAP R/3 & S/4 HANA
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SAP Migration Platform
Real-time SAP data migration control center with parallel processing dashboards
The Challenge
Migrating 20 Years of SAP Data in Real-Time with Near-Zero Downtime
A leading healthcare factoring company had relied on SAP for two decades and decided to migrate to a new modern solution. The challenge was to migrate extensive customer data seamlessly while maintaining real-time synchronization during the transition, requiring an extremely sophisticated system to extract, transform, and migrate data without service interruption.
20 years of accumulated SAP data requiring migration
Real-time migration approach needed - no downtime acceptable
Complex data extraction from SAP modules (FI, CO, SD, custom Factoring module)
Custom BAPI functions required for logical data extraction
Near-instantaneous SAP data replication (1-second latency requirement)
Dynamic data migration during active database access
Infrastructure transformation from ESX VMs to Kubernetes
Network isolation requirements for test/production environments
The Solution
Real-Time SAP Synchronization with Automated Migration Engine
I architected and implemented a sophisticated Spring Boot-based microservices solution communicating with both SAP R/3 (via JCO) and S/4 HANA (via Java connector). The system extracted all existing data from SAP modules, replicated it to a PostgreSQL cluster with 200 parallel threads achieving 1-second latency, then dynamically migrated data into the new software database during live access - completing the entire process in 120 minutes with near-zero downtime and no customer-visible interruptions.
SAP Integration Layer
Spring Boot microservices with JCO interfaces to SAP R/3 and direct Java connectors to S/4 HANA, utilizing custom BAPI functions for logical data extraction
Real-Time Replication Engine
200-thread parallel extraction from SAP modules (FI, CO, SD, Factoring) writing to PostgreSQL 11 cluster with 1-second latency
Dynamic Migration Library
Custom library injected into new software product, dynamically aggregating SAP copy data during database access and migrating to new database
Multi-Protocol Integration
Selenium, SOAP, and REST for specific data exchange and import into new software
Kubernetes Infrastructure
Complete dockerization and K8s 1.14 deployment replacing ESX VMs, with Calico RBAC network isolation for test/prod environments
Critical Challenges
Key technical hurdles and how they were overcome
On-the-Fly Migration with Minimal Downtime
Problem
Factoring company needs near-zero downtime for critical healthcare operations. SAP R/3 and S/4 HANA systems have many customizations making database export highly problematic. The sheer volume of data means normal SAP migration approaches take days or weeks of system shutdown - completely unacceptable for healthcare factoring.
Solution
Implemented innovative two-step approach: (1) JCO connection to SAP database continuously exporting all data to PostgreSQL using 200 parallel threads achieving 1-second latency for real-time mirror. (2) On migration day, custom software job imports the mirrored data to new factoring software within a short timeframe using optimized batch processing.
20 years of SAP data - over 50GB - migrated over the weekend. Monday morning, the healthcare factoring provider opened for business on the new platform as if nothing had changed, with full historical data intact.
Impact
Instead of multi-day or multi-week shutdown, the entire import was completed in just 3 hours. Business operations continued normally throughout the migration process.
Business Impact
Measurable value delivered to the business
Cost Savings
Eliminated SAP R/3 licensing costs through successful migration to modern platform
Migration Speed
200 parallel threads vs sequential: multi-week migration reduced to 120 minutes
Business Continuity
Healthcare factoring operations continued without interruption during migration
Data Volume
20 years of SAP data migrated during weekend maintenance window
Infrastructure Modernization
Complete transformation from ESX VMs to Kubernetes cloud-native architecture
Innovations
Groundbreaking solutions that set new standards
200-Thread Parallel SAP Extraction
Massive parallelization of SAP JCO connections extracting data from R/3 and S/4 HANA simultaneously across FI, CO, SD, and custom Factoring modules
Industry first: 1-second replication latency for real-time SAP mirror using coordinated thread pool architecture
Impact: Enabled continuous SAP synchronization during migration preparation, reducing cutover window from days to hours
Dynamic Migration Library
Custom library injected into new factoring software that dynamically aggregates SAP copy data during live database access and migrates to new database on-the-fly
Zero-downtime migration approach - new system reads from SAP mirror and writes to new database simultaneously
Impact: Business operates normally during migration with automatic fallback capabilities
Dual SAP Integration (R/3 + S/4 HANA)
Simultaneous JCO interfaces to legacy SAP R/3 and modern S/4 HANA systems with custom BAPI functions for logical data extraction
Unified extraction layer handling both SAP generations with automatic version detection and protocol adaptation
Impact: Future-proof migration architecture supporting SAP landscape evolution
Kubernetes Infrastructure Transformation
Complete modernization from ESX VMs to Kubernetes 1.14 with Calico RBAC network isolation for test/production separation
First Kubernetes deployment for healthcare factoring - cloud-native architecture with enterprise security
Impact: Foundation for future scalability, automated deployment, and infrastructure cost optimization
Technologies Used
core
sap
persistence
infrastructure
integration
additional
Need SAP Migration with Near-Zero Downtime?
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