SAP Knowledge Base Article - Public

3597782 - [1H 2025] Retain Global User IDs in Instance Refresh

Symptom

  • What is the "Retain Global User IDs in Instance Refresh" feature?
  • In what way is this feature connected to SAP Cloud Identity Services?

Disclaimer: Image/data in this KBA is from SAP internal systems, sample data, or systems. Any resemblance to real data is purely coincidental. 

Environment

SuccessFactors HCM

Reproducing the Issue

  1. Log in to SuccessFactors
  2. Go to the Instance Refresh Tool
  3. Create an instance of Refresh
  4. The "Do not delete global user IDs" can be seen

Kindly take note of the current update as of May 05, 2025, from Retain Global User IDs in Instance Refresh | SAP Help Portal:

To ensure proper enablement and preparation, the feature is scheduled for:

  • Preview environment: May 16, 2025
  • Production environment: May 16, 2025

Cause

In the previous enhancement, it was made to clear Global User IDs (GUID) from the target system after an instance refresh. This allows new GUIDs to be generated from the IAS tenant.

However, this approach presents challenges in cases where both source and target systems share the same IAS tenant, which leads to time-consuming re-synchronization of Global User IDs back after each refresh, delaying environment setup and affecting productivity. 

Resolution

This new feature gives customers the option to either retain or remove Global User IDs (GUIDs) from the target system after an instance refresh, depending on what works best for their setup and business needs.

In environments where both source and target systems share the same IAS tenant or where frequent instance refreshes are performed (e.g., monthly), keeping the GUIDs can help speed up environment setup and avoid long synchronization times.

With this feature, administrators have control through a simple checkbox option in the instance refresh configuration:

  • Checked – Global User IDs will be retained from the source to the target. This is ideal for shared IAS scenarios where only new users are synced, since GUIDs are retained. 

  • Unchecked (by default) – GUIDs will be deleted, allowing the target system to sync all the deleted GUIDs again. 

See Also

Retain Global User IDs in Instance Refresh | SAP Help Portal

Keywords

1H 2025 Platform Feature, Retain Global User IDs, Instance Refresh, SAP Cloud Identity Services, Purpose, SAP SuccessFactors Platform, Global User IDs, IAS, PLA-50999 , KBA , LOD-SF-PLT-IRT , Instance Refresh Tool , How To

Product

SAP SuccessFactors Platform all versions