What can you do with historical data?

The cost of legacy systems

Many companies choose to retain legacy data in their existing systems as read-only environments until the legally required retention period has expired. However, this approach can be costly. Licensing fees, high-performance databases, and infrastructure requirements quickly add up. Against this backdrop, the migration of legacy data is almost always driven by economic considerations. This is precisely where DCS Retire presents an attractive solution.

Target audience: companies with multiple systems

DCS Retire is particularly valuable for large enterprises with a broad landscape of systems and data repositories, including:

• SAP systems
• Non-SAP systems
• Optical archives for documents
• DART extracts (Data Retention Tool)

By using DCS Retire, companies can significantly reduce costs by efficiently transferring legacy data while remaining fully GDPR-compliant.

Full data unload: efficient and secure

For data migration, a full data unload is recommended – excluding system tables and those with temporary data. This approach offers several key benefits:

• Cost savings
  Analyzing and filtering data can be more costly than storage itself. With routine data deletion runs in DCS Retire, data volume is sustainably reduced.
• Data completeness
  There's no risk of leaving out important data – a critical aspect, especially for audits.
• Time efficiency
  The process is much faster than selective migration.
• GDPR compliance
  Access to data within DCS Retire is limited to authorized personnel only.

Migration with DCS Migrate: a clear path

The data transfer is performed using the DCS Migrate tool. Think of the process like cross-country skiing: in the same way that a track-setter defines the optimal path through the snow, DCS Migrate defines the best structure for smooth and accurate data migration. Whether you have SAP or non-SAP systems, DCS Migrate ensures the data reaches DCS Retire securely and accurately.

Synergies from decommissioning multiple systems

Another major benefit of DCS Retire lies in the synergies gained from shutting down multiple systems simultaneously:

• Template-based approach
  Once defined, migration templates can be reused across projects.
• Reusable architecture
  Infrastructure such as SFTP servers or DCS Migrate instances are built once and reused for multiple migrations.
• Efficient project management
  Structured processes make it easier to plan and execute multiple system decommissioning projects.
• All-in-one solution
  Whereas data was previously spread across several systems – possibly from different vendors – it is now consolidated within DCS Retire, which functions as a stand-alone environment.

Conclusion

DCS Retire offers companies an efficient, cost-effective solution for decommissioning legacy systems. By leveraging modern tools like DCS Migrate, both SAP and non-SAP data can be seamlessly migrated. Large organizations with multiple systems stand to gain the most from the synergies of simultaneous decommissioning. With a well-thought-out approach that balances cost, time, and data integrity, DCS Retire provides a future-proof solution – laying the foundation for a smooth transformation to SAP S/4HANA.