Until now, internationally operating companies simply had to accept the fact that any changes to the default processes or to the data structure required substantial programming efforts due to incompatible character sets for the different languages.

The representation of characters on different code pages makes it difficult to adapt quickly. What's more, as of release ERP 2006 SAP no longer supports multiple code pages. This fact alone leaves companies no choice but to convert to Unicode eventually.

The letters and other characters of a language have to be interpreted by the SAP system. In order to save hardware resources, code pages are designed to allow for the representation of a limited number of different languages with only one code page respectively. Western European and Eastern European languages, for example, can only be applied at the same time if two different code pages are being used. For the sake of simplification, Unicode as an international standard specifies a digital code for each character.

Unicode Conversion for worldwide exchange of data

Unicode facilitates the worldwide exchange of data – across the boundaries of distributed system landscapes, countries, and languages – independent of whether a company uses standard software or not. This allows for the transfer of data among SAP systems as well as among SAP and non-SAP systems without the risk of data loss or corruption.

We will give you the support you need for your complex Unicode conversion project – from concept design to implementation to post-implementation support. We will work with you to determine whether your infrastructure already meets the requirements and what needs to be done to turn the Unicode conversion into a resounding success. And even if your system won't support Unicode, we got the upgrade approach that best fits your needs.