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Extend existing maintenance vs S/4HANA Migration

Tamas Szirtes |

SAP S/4HANA is the next generation intelligent platform that’s designed to give businesses better performance, faster response times and access to embedded real-time analytics. A record 40% our SAP S/4HANA customers are net new names*, as businesses start to realise this opportunity to accelerate business processes, innovate and simplify their IT environments. At the same time, 7% of our existing customers have already implemented SAP S/4HANA, with 15% in the process and a further 50% planning to do so within the next three years*.

But some customers whose existing ERP is working fine may not be in a hurry to invest in a new platform and may be still eager to get the best use out of it until it reaches end of life. The good news is that these customers will now be able to extend the SAP maintenance on their existing ERP while considering the next step forward on their technology journey.

What are the ERP extended maintenance arrangements?

SAP is extending maintenance support for core applications of SAP Business Suite 7 software until the end of 2027, with optional extended maintenance until the end of 2030. At the same time SAP is committed to maintenance support for its SAP S/4HANA platform through to end of 2040.

But there are some conditions. This maintenance is only available for SAP ERP customers on enhanced packs of versions 6 or higher. And if as a customer you decide to leverage the extended maintenance on your existing ERP until 2030, it will come with a paid premium of two additional percentage points on the existing maintenance contract.

Options for ERP compatibility packs

If you are ready to move to SAP S/4HANA but need continuity of certain core functionality from your existing ERP then you should consider ERP compatibility packs. These offer those who do move to SAP S/4HANA the option to continue using specific functionality from their existing ERP, where there is no equivalent in SAP S/4HANA.  An example of this is in HR where there is currently limited functionality in SAP S/4HANA, with SAP having already released SAP SuccessFactors as its fully functioning HR solution.

Compatibility packs are valid until 2025, but SAP is committed to creating more comprehensive genuine solutions for SAP S/4HANA across HR and other industry areas by 2023. However, the risk for those starting their journey to SAP S/4HANA imminently is that in few specific cases we don’t yet know what these newly integrated genuine solutions will look like.

When is the right time to migrate?

With SAP heavily committed to ongoing investment in the development of SAP S/4HANA, it might be the right time to consider migrating, rather than investing time and money in extended maintenance for products that are nearing end of life.

When looking to migrate it’s really important to consider the right route for your organisation, such as a system conversion or a complete re-engineer. Interestingly, 33% of our customers are building on their existing SAP environments without the need to re-implement or disrupt their existing processes, while 25% are considering a greenfield approach*.

But whatever you decide, business value will inevitably be high on your agenda as you move your business forward and take advantage of the latest technologies. By removing inefficiencies, reducing TCO, and gaining better governance and control, you’ll increasingly be able to connect your people, devices, business networks and data.

If you need help in understanding what SAP S/4HANA can do for your organisation and in supporting the business case for your transformation, contact a SOA People expert.

In addition, if you need to ensure the success of your SAP S/4HANA strategy, then Performer for SAP lets you quickly and factually assess the benefits of an SAP S/4HANA transformation. It helps to answer questions such as:

  • What will be the business value of migrating to SAP S/4HANA?
  • Which features will be the most valuable for my business, such as SAP Fiori or Machine Learning?
  • What are the license implications?

*Statistics given by Performer for SAP or internal studies

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