SAP extends support deadline for getting off legacy software – in very special circumstances

SAP has confirmed that it will extend support for legacy systems beyond its previously stated deadlines for customers who have already signed up for a specific ERP cloud transition deal.

In 2020, SAP gave in to customer demand and extended the mainstream support deadline for customers using its Business Suite 7 (BS7) applications, including the ERP software SAP ECC 6.0, from 2025 until 2027, with extended support available until 2030 at a premium. Since then, Europe's largest software vendor has stuck to the deadline, and few commentators have suggested it would budge.

However, it conceded this week that there might be some leeway for customers in special circumstances, provided they sign up for a cloud migration deal.

“In the first half of 2025 SAP will announce a cloud subscription transition option designed for ERP customers with large and very complex IT landscapes who need more time to transform on their RISE with SAP journey,” a vendor spokesperson said.

The new option would be named SAP ERP, private edition, transition option. It is expected to consist of an SAP ERP cloud subscription, complemented by services designed to facilitate the transition to RISE with SAP and maintain customers' business continuity. “The option will be offered for the period from 2031 until the end of 2033,” the spokesperson said.

However, the German software giant insisted it was not extending the 2027 deadline set out five years ago. “This is not a prolongation of the mainstream maintenance deadlines communicated in 2020, namely the end of 2027 for SAP Business Suite 7 and the end of 2030 for extended maintenance. SAP will inform the market in the first half of 2025 with more details on the offering,” the spokesperson said.

In September last year, Gartner said that only 37 percent of ECC customers had licensed S/4HANA, compared with 34 percent in the same quarter last year. The analysis firm noted there was little evidence that migrations to SAP S/4HANA were taking place at the rate needed to meet SAP's target of terminating mainstream maintenance support for ECC in 2027.

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Speaking to investment analysts on a recent call, SAP CEO Christian Klein said the end of maintenance by 2027 would not be changed. “We will stick to that. But you also have to consider, in some parts of the stack, there are third-party components included and they are running out of maintenance as well. We don't want to leave the customers behind.”

Klein said the offer would be designed for “very few large customers [which would] not making the [deadline] because, to transform and consolidate ERP and business processes in over 100 countries is sometimes not that easy. It's not about the extension of on-premise maintenance”.

In its fourth-quarter results, SAP broadly beat analysts’ expectations. Total revenue grew 11 percent to reach €9.38 billion. Operating profit grew by 6 percent to reach €2.02 billion compared to the same period last year. Full-year revenue was up 11 percent to €34.18 billion. ®