FAQs: Archive Central

Archive Central is a long-term SaaS data archiving solution from EPI-USE Labs. It is designed to permanently retain data from legacy ERP and other source systems for any required period — removing the need to keep expensive legacy systems running just for occasional data access. Users can search, retrieve, and export their historical data at any time through a modern web browser, with no dependency on the original source system.

Archive Central is designed for organisations that need to decommission legacy ERP or HR systems while retaining access to historical data for compliance, audit, or operational purposes. It is particularly well-suited to SAP customers undergoing S/4HANA migrations or consolidation programmes, as well as organisations managing data from multiple acquired or retired systems.

A backup is a recovery mechanism — it is designed to restore a system to a previous state, not to provide ongoing access to historical data. Traditional archiving solutions often still require the original ERP system to be running. Archive Central is different: it extracts a complete, structured snapshot of your data, ingests it into a dedicated long-term archive, and makes it fully accessible through its own web interface. The source system can then be shut down entirely — saving licence, infrastructure, and maintenance costs.

Archive Central integrates directly with SAP ECC and S/4HANA through a dedicated extractor built on EPI-USE Labs' Data Sync Manager™ object model — developed and refined over 25+ years of SAP implementation experience. The extractor captures the full data landscape including complex document relationships, cluster tables, and file attachments. Once data has been successfully ingested into Archive Central, your SAP licences and infrastructure can be fully decommissioned. Users continue to access, search, and export their data through Archive Central with no SAP dependency.

Yes. Archive Central is designed to consolidate data from multiple source systems into a single archive. Each system's data is kept logically separated through a workspace model, with access controlled by role. Users only see the data they are authorised to access, regardless of how many source systems are archived. This makes Archive Central well suited to post-merger consolidation programmes.

Archive Central supports configurable retention policies at the collection or jurisdiction level. When a retention period expires, the system supports field-level clearing, individual record removal, or complete object deletion. Our consultants work with you during the implementation workshops to align retention configuration with your specific regulatory requirements. Archive Central also includes comprehensive audit logging of all data access and management activity.

Yes — that is the core purpose of Archive Central. Once your data has been extracted and ingested, it is fully accessible through the Archive Central web interface with no requirement for the original system to be running. Users can search across all archived data, navigate between related records, and export results in standard formats. The source system can be decommissioned completely.

Users access Archive Central through any modern web browser — no specialist software, SAP GUI, or client installation is required. The interface can be configured to mirror the look and feel of your original ERP system, minimising the learning curve for end users. Access is available 24/7 without requiring EPI-USE Labs involvement for day-to-day use.

Archive Central provides flexible search across record identifiers, metadata fields, and predefined queries, with full-text filtering and sorting. Users can save and share views for frequently used searches. Results can be exported as CSV or Excel for structured data, or as PDF for complex reports that rely on original ERP business logic — such as payslips or statutory HR documents.

Yes. Archive Central maintains and reconstructs the record relationships from your source ERP system, allowing users to navigate seamlessly between linked documents — for example from a vendor invoice to the related purchase order, or from a customer document to its financial posting. All data is presented in read-only format.

Archive Central is ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certified and undergoes annual SOC 2 Type 2 attestation. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest using industry-standard protocols. The platform is hosted on enterprise cloud infrastructure with active-active high availability and regular independent security testing. Detailed security documentation, including architecture and compliance artefacts, is available to qualified prospects under NDA.

Archive Central is hosted on a leading enterprise cloud platform. Clients with specific regional requirements — including public sector or regulated industry needs — can discuss and agree an appropriate hosting arrangement during the initial scoping workshops.

Archive Central includes built-in features to support GDPR obligations: configurable retention policies, data purging and deletion workflows, comprehensive audit logging, and search and export capabilities designed to support Data Subject Access Requests. While regulatory compliance remains the customer's responsibility, our implementation consultants provide guidance on configuring the system in line with applicable requirements.

Most implementations complete in around six months, though some have been delivered in significantly less time where requirements are well-defined and a target deadline exists. The key factors affecting timeline are the number and complexity of source systems, data volume, and any custom slicing, reporting or retention requirements. EPI-USE Labs provides a scoping workshop early in the process to produce a realistic implementation plan.

Yes. EPI-USE Labs offers a structured POC where we work with you to define a representative subset of your data and key business scenarios. We then extract and load that data into a dedicated Archive Central environment, so your team can evaluate the solution using their own real data — not generic samples. Get in touch to discuss scope and timelines.

The first step is a no-obligation conversation with our team to understand your landscape, timelines, and requirements. From there we can scope a POC or implementation, provide a personalised demo, and outline commercial terms. Get in touch via epiuselabs.com or ask your EPI-USE Labs account contact to arrange an introduction to the Archive Central team.