Companies can continue operating their classic ERP systems until the end of 2027. Mainstream maintenance for the Business Suite 7 (including SAP ECC) will end on that date. However, optional and paid extended maintenance will still be available until the end of 2030. No additional license fees will be charged until the end of 2030.
The go-live of SAP S/4HANA does not change this: companies may choose to run their existing ERP systems in parallel with SAP S/4HANA. If issues arise with SAP S/4HANA, the legacy ERP system can even serve as a fallback option, helping to prevent operational disruptions.
Although SAP S/4HANA was developed from scratch, its software is fundamentally based on the data model of the previous SAP ERP system. However, SAP has significantly simplified this data model. The benefit of this compatibility with the traditional ERP system is that a complete new implementation of SAP S/4HANA (“greenfield”) is not necessarily required.
Companies can also opt for a transformation of their existing SAP ERP system to SAP S/4HANA (“brownfield”) or even consolidate multiple ERP systems (formerly called “landscape transformation,” now known as “selective data transition”).
SAP S/4HANA features SAP Fiori as its user interface, which resembles consumer-grade apps. The advantages of SAP Fiori include personalization, user-friendliness, and ease of use. It is role-based, meaning the right information is available at the right time across different interfaces, and it can be used both on desktop computers and mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.