With mainstream maintenance for the core applications of SAP Business Suite 7 scheduled to end on 31 December 2027, organisations are deciding how and when to transition from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA. SAP currently states that optional extended maintenance will be available for eligible customers until the end of 2030.
For many organisations, S/4HANA will be the right strategic destination. However, a complex ERP transformation should be assessed against business value, operational readiness and long-term priorities, rather than maintenance timelines alone.
Independent software maintenance partner Origina and South African digital transformation specialist Ovations Technologies believe organisations should evaluate the full range of options available to them. The decision to transform an ERP environment should begin with the organisation's objectives, investment priorities and readiness, rather than a predetermined destination or date.
Understanding the SAP maintenance timeline
SAP’s life cycle position provides several paths for customers running the core applications of SAP Business Suite 7.
Mainstream maintenance for covered applications is scheduled to continue until the end of 2027. Customers requiring additional time can purchase extended maintenance from the beginning of 2028 until the end of 2030. SAP has stated that optional extended maintenance is available for eligible Business Suite 7 scope from 2028 through 2030 and is subject to an additional maintenance premium.
Customers that do not select extended maintenance, or that remain on the applicable software after extended maintenance ends, move to customer-specific maintenance. Organisations should assess what that model includes and whether it aligns with their operational, regulatory and business requirements.
SAPinsider’s 2026 ERP Migration and Transformation research illustrates that many surveyed organisations are still at different stages of their S/4HANA transition. While 55% of respondents reported having deployed SAP S/4HANA or SAP S/4HANA Cloud, only 34% said they had completed the overall transition. A further 36% were implementing, evaluating or developing a business case, while 4% reported that their project was on hold and 5% had no current plans for S/4HANA.
For some organisations, deployment may represent one stage of a broader transformation rather than the completion of the overall programme. SAPinsider notes that organisations with complex landscapes may continue to run multiple systems in parallel, while a deployment may represent a pilot or proof of concept rather than a completed transition.
Start with the business outcome
The approaching maintenance milestone is an important planning factor, but it should be considered alongside business value, operational readiness, and investment priorities.
Starting with the question of how to migrate before the end of 2027 can cause an organisation to decide both its destination and timing before fully evaluating the alternatives. A more useful executive question is what business outcomes require transformation of the ERP core, and when that investment will deliver greater value than the other options available.
“The approaching maintenance milestone creates urgency, but it should not determine the decision by itself. Organisations should first ask what business outcomes require transformation of the ERP core, and when that investment will deliver greater value than the alternatives available,” says Nicolas Field, Associate Director of Advisory and Agentic AI, Ovations Technologies.
This approach does not dismiss the value of SAP S/4HANA. It places the transformation within the organisation's broader enterprise investment roadmap.
The business case should consider expected operational and strategic benefits alongside implementation costs, custom-code requirements, integration dependencies, resource availability, organisational readiness and the potential effect on other priority programmes.
Timing matters
SAP S/4HANA is a modern ERP platform and will be the appropriate strategic destination for many organisations. SAP has made an innovation commitment for S/4HANA through the end of 2040, meaning that at least one release is expected to remain in maintenance until then.
However, identifying S/4HANA as a strategic destination does not, by itself, determine the right timing or path for every organisation.
“S/4HANA may be the right strategic destination for many organisations, but that does not automatically make immediate migration the right decision. The timing should reflect the business case, the organisation’s readiness, and its capacity to manage the transformation successfully,” according to Field.
Organisations should assess whether transforming the ERP core will deliver a defined business outcome and whether the timing reflects their investment priorities and ability to execute. For organisations running stable, highly customised SAP ECC environments, this decision may involve weighing the expected benefits of transformation against the demands placed on capital, specialist resources and executive attention.
Organisations evaluating S/4HANA should also distinguish between its deployment and maintenance models. Each option should be assessed against the organisation’s desired level of control, transformation approach and long-term architecture.
An additional transition option
SAP’s transition-option guidance indicates that some large or complex customers may need additional time beyond the end of extended maintenance in 2030.
The SAP ERP, private edition, transition option is a time-bound subscription offering designed to provide business continuity from 2031 to 2033 while supporting a structured path to SAP Cloud ERP or SAP Cloud ERP Private.
The option should be evaluated as a distinct transition model rather than treated as a like-for-like continuation of existing ECC maintenance. SAP states that eligible systems must move to SAP ERP, private edition on SAP HANA before 31 December 2030. It also identifies prerequisites relating to the database, system size, technical readiness and participation in its max success plan.
For qualifying organisations, the transition option may provide additional time. Its prerequisites, subscription model and prescribed destination mean it should be evaluated as part of a broader enterprise investment decision.
Creating strategic runway
Organisations that are not ready to move immediately can also evaluate Independent Software Maintenance and Support as part of their SAP roadmap.
“Most organisations understand that the 2027 maintenance milestone is approaching, but they may not realise that immediate migration is not their only option. Independent Software Maintenance and Support can help maintain continuity while an organisation evaluates its business case, readiness, and long-term SAP roadmap,” says Sharon Ehnat, Head of SAP, Origina.
Many SAP environments include custom code; business-specific configurations and integrations developed over several years. These dependencies can increase the complexity, cost and operational demands associated with transformation.
“Many SAP environments have been customised and integrated over years to support critical business processes. Transforming those environments can require significant investment, specialist capacity, and careful planning, so organisations need the flexibility to move when the business case and operational readiness support it,” says Ehnat.
Independent Software Maintenance and Support may help organisations maintain stable, business-critical SAP environments while they evaluate the timing, scope and business case for modernisation.
Origina provides independent maintenance and support for SAP software, which can help organisations support stable environments while they assess long-term modernisation options. Origina’s published SAP proposition describes support across life cycle extension, operational support, strategic guidance, custom code and integrations.
The service is positioned to support continuity while organisations validate target architecture, develop the business case, prepare internal teams and plan a realistic transformation roadmap.
Supporting stable, customised environments
Origina’s Independent Software Maintenance and Support model is designed for organisations seeking to maintain stability across business-critical SAP applications, customisations and integrations while assessing whether vendor maintenance milestones align with their business case, readiness and investment priorities.
The approach considers the wider software environment and operational context. Origina’s approach considers the architecture surrounding the software, including infrastructure, middleware, integrations and configuration, to help identify root causes and support resolution planning.
Independent Software Maintenance and Support is not an argument against modernisation. It is an additional operating model that can help customers determine what to change, when to change it and where investment will create the greatest value.
The strategic reinvestment opportunity
Delaying a major ERP transformation does not have to mean delaying innovation.
Where appropriate, extending the useful life of a stable SAP environment may allow an organisation to reassess how budget, specialist capacity and executive attention are allocated across competing priorities. Resources may instead be directed toward areas such as data, automation, artificial intelligence, customer experience, operational resilience or progressive modernisation.
Potential areas of reinvestment may include data, automation, artificial intelligence, customer experience, operational resilience and progressive modernisation of the architecture surrounding the ERP core.
The organisation may still migrate to S/4HANA, but it can do so when the business cases, transformation readiness and strategic priorities align.
This reflects Origina’s position that technology should be maintained and evolved according to the customer’s roadmap. Its published messaging emphasises life cycle control, stability, customer-defined timing and the potential to reassess resource allocation towards innovation.
More than extending an existing system
Independent Software Maintenance and Support can be considered as part of a broader strategy for maintaining existing environments while evaluating future transformation options.
The objective is not simply to delay change. It is to ensure that the timing and scope of change are evaluated against business priorities, resource availability and expected value.
Origina’s approach is designed to help organisations protect, extend and enhance the software they already own: reducing risk and maintaining control across security, licensing and compliance; keeping stable, proven software running for as long as it continues to deliver value; and adding capabilities, integrations and functionality without unnecessary version changes. Together, these options give organisations greater flexibility to evolve their software environments according to business need rather than vendor-driven timelines.
From an SAP roadmap to an enterprise investment roadmap
An ERP decision should begin with an objective assessment of business value, technology fitness, operational risk, transformation capacity and competing investment priorities.
For some organisations, that assessment will support accelerating the move to S/4HANA. For others, it may support stabilising the existing SAP estate, using Independent Software Maintenance and Support to create additional runway, progressively modernising the surrounding architecture, and redirecting investment towards other priorities.
The objective is not to avoid SAP transformation. It is to ensure that transformation happens because the value case, organisational readiness and strategic priorities support it.
For SAP customers approaching the 2027 maintenance milestone, the key question is not simply whether to move to S/4HANA.
It is how to build an enterprise investment roadmap that supports operational continuity, preserves strategic choice and directs resources toward the outcomes that matter most.
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