Clean Core
An architectural principle promoted by SAP requiring that the S/4HANA standard core remain unmodified, with all extensions implemented through released APIs, the BTP extension framework or side-by-side extensions, so that the core can evolve smoothly during system upgrades.
Timeline (last 90 days)
An enterprise cannot clean up twenty years of accumulated custom code in one project; it can only stop making it worse and let time do the work.
Before moving code, first define its behavioral contract with an OpenAPI specification; if a team cannot write an OpenAPI document for a piece of logic, it means they do not understand the real requirements of that logic.
Advancing Clean Core should be tied to business goals such as S/4 migration, new AI capabilities or operating model transformation, rather than being a standalone "virtue project".
The official definition of Clean Core contains three levels: no modification (not directly changing standard code), no implicit extension (not relying on unpublished internal interfaces, tables or function modules), and contract-based extension (all custom logic interacting with the core through published APIs, BAdIs or BTP services).
AI can collaborate with anything that has a contract, but cannot collaborate with "folklore"-style extensions that have no documentation and no contract; Clean Core is the process of turning folklore into contracts.
The typical distribution in industry migration assessments shows that about 45% of enterprise custom code is unused dead code, about 25% duplicates standard functionality, about 20% can be trivially replaced, and about 10% is genuinely differentiating logic.
Audit results still require business confirmation and cannot be mechanically deleted, because some code is only triggered during annual settlement or extreme exceptions.
Clean Core is an architectural principle that SAP has heavily promoted in recent years, whose core requirement is to keep the S/4HANA standard core unmodified by customers (no modifying standard code, no directly writing to standard tables), with all extensions implemented through released APIs, the BTP extension framework, or side-by-side extensions.
The promise of Clean Core is that upgrades do not break standard functionality, and combined with the continuous improvement delivery model, this ensures that once AI extensions are built, they will not have to be torn down and rebuilt because of the next upgrade.
All Facts (9)
An enterprise cannot clean up twenty years of accumulated custom code in one project; it can only stop making it worse and let time do the work.
50%UnverifiedBefore moving code, first define its behavioral contract with an OpenAPI specification; if a team cannot write an OpenAPI document for a piece of logic, it means they do not understand the real requirements of that logic.
50%UnverifiedAdvancing Clean Core should be tied to business goals such as S/4 migration, new AI capabilities or operating model transformation, rather than being a standalone "virtue project".
50%UnverifiedThe official definition of Clean Core contains three levels: no modification (not directly changing standard code), no implicit extension (not relying on unpublished internal interfaces, tables or function modules), and contract-based extension (all custom logic interacting with the core through published APIs, BAdIs or BTP services).
50%UnverifiedAI can collaborate with anything that has a contract, but cannot collaborate with "folklore"-style extensions that have no documentation and no contract; Clean Core is the process of turning folklore into contracts.
50%UnverifiedThe typical distribution in industry migration assessments shows that about 45% of enterprise custom code is unused dead code, about 25% duplicates standard functionality, about 20% can be trivially replaced, and about 10% is genuinely differentiating logic.
50%UnverifiedAudit results still require business confirmation and cannot be mechanically deleted, because some code is only triggered during annual settlement or extreme exceptions.
50%UnverifiedClean Core is an architectural principle that SAP has heavily promoted in recent years, whose core requirement is to keep the S/4HANA standard core unmodified by customers (no modifying standard code, no directly writing to standard tables), with all extensions implemented through released APIs, the BTP extension framework, or side-by-side extensions.
50%UnverifiedThe promise of Clean Core is that upgrades do not break standard functionality, and combined with the continuous improvement delivery model, this ensures that once AI extensions are built, they will not have to be torn down and rebuilt because of the next upgrade.
50%