SAP ERP Private Edition Transition Option: CIO Decision Guide to ECC Support Until 2033

SAP ERP Private Edition Transition Option

SAP’s new SAP ERP private edition transition option offers a path for CIOs to keep SAP ECC running with support until 2033 by moving it into a RISE with SAP private cloud environment.

SAP is introducing this now to accommodate large, complex customers who are not yet ready to fully migrate to S/4HANA by 2030.

For CIOs, this option is strategic: it buys extra time to transform, but comes with higher costs and stricter conditions. Choosing it means balancing the value of a three-year reprieve against implications for budget, architecture, and future vendor leverage.

Strategic Context: SAP’s RISE Push and the Transition Offer

SAP is pushing customers toward S/4HANA and its RISE with SAP cloud subscription model, ending mainstream ECC support in 2027 (with paid extended maintenance to 2030). Many enterprises, especially in Europe and the US, have struggled to complete S/4HANA migrations under those deadlines.

The SAP ERP private edition transition option is SAP’s concession to reality: a cloud subscription that allows ECC to run in a private edition cloud until the end of 2033.

This isn’t a simple support extension, but a conditional offer integrated with RISE. SAP’s aim is twofold: to prevent customer attrition by providing more time, and to retain those customers within its cloud ecosystem.

CIO Lens: Strategically, this reflects SAP’s broader RISE agenda – it fits into their cloud-only push by funneling on-premise clients into cloud contracts. CIOs must see it as SAP’s move to keep them on their platform for the long term.

It could ease immediate transformation pressure, but it also signals that SAP expects your enterprise to commit to S/4HANA Cloud (via RISE) rather than consider alternatives.

Takeaway: Use this context to your advantage. SAP requires cloud commitments; if your company is truly too complex to migrate by 2030, the transition option can serve as a bargaining chip.

However, remain vendor-neutral in strategy – treat this as one option among many, not an inevitability. If you’re closer to being ready for S/4HANA, the better leverage might be to skip this offer and push for incentives to move sooner.

ECC Support Timeline and Key Deadlines

What’s changed? SAP’s support timeline for ECC now has three key stages:

• 2027: End of mainstream maintenance for ECC (Business Suite 7 core).
• 2028–2030: Optional extended maintenance 2027/2030 at an extra fee (approximately +2% on annual maintenance) to keep support until Dec 31, 2030.
• 2031–2033: Transition option period – not traditional maintenance, but running ECC under a RISE private cloud subscription with support through 2033.

Crucially, certain S/4HANA Compatibility Packs (2025) deadlines loom even earlier. These compatibility packs (which allowed S/4HANA systems to temporarily use old ECC functionality) expire on Dec 31, 2025. SAP has warned that using them beyond 2025 is “commercial non-compliance.”

A few complex modules have exceptions to 2030, and RISE customers receive extended use rights to 2030; however, by and large, the bridge they provided is coming to an end. This raises the stakes for any partial or phased migration approach that relied on those packs.

CIO Lens:

Every CIO must map these dates to their roadmap. Suppose your ECC landscape includes components or add-ons that reach end-of-life (for example, classic warehouse management LE-WM is only supported until 2025 and will be replaced by stock room solutions). In that case, you can’t simply “freeze” until 2033.

You may need interim solutions or upgrades even if you delay S/4HANA.

The transition option itself has prerequisites by 2030 (e.g., migration to SAP HANA database and move to SAP’s cloud infrastructure). This means significant IT projects (database migration, replatforming) must occur before 2031, consuming time and budget in the late 2020s.

Takeaway:

Build a timeline view of all critical deadlines: ECC support, compatibility pack sunset (2025), extended maintenance (2028–2030), and any third-party software support in your SAP landscape (databases, OS, add-ons).

This will clarify whether the transition option genuinely provides you with breathing room or if other constraints render 2033 moot.

In many cases, the extra time to 2033 is only valuable if you can navigate these interim deadlines without service disruption or compliance issues. If not, accelerating certain upgrades or module migrations might be necessary even if you opt to keep ECC longer.

Cost vs. Value: Weighing Extra Time Against Investment

Delaying the full S/4HANA migration comes at a price.

CIOs need a cost vs. value analysis for three scenarios: sticking to ECC on extended support, using the transition option, or moving to S/4HANA now.

• Staying on ECC (extended maintenance or third-party support): Direct costs include rising maintenance fees (24% of license value per year during 2028–2030, up from 22%) or fees to third-party support providers if you drop SAP maintenance after 2027. Indirect costs are maintaining aging systems and possibly missing out on process improvements. The value in this scenario is minimal new investment in the short term, but technical debt and support risks accumulate.
• SAP ERP Private Edition Transition Option (2031–2033): This comes as a subscription. SAP has indicated it will be priced at a premium (an “expanded fee” in 2031–33) compared to normal cloud subscriptions. In other words, running ECC in SAP’s cloud for those extra years will cost more than an equivalent S/4 subscription would. You’ll also incur costs to migrate your ECC to HANA and into SAP’s private cloud by 2030. However, the value gained is extra time – potentially priceless if a rushed migration would disrupt business or if significant re-engineering is needed. Additionally, the subscription bundles infrastructure and support, potentially offsetting the hardware refresh costs you’d face by keeping ECC on-premises through 2033.
• Accelerating S/4HANA Migration Now: Costs are front-loaded – a major migration program, new licenses or cloud subscriptions, systems integrator fees, and change management investments. Yet, you avoid paying extended ECC maintenance or the high premiums of 2031–33. Moreover, you start realizing benefits sooner: improved analytics, automation, and innovations in S/4HANA (which SAP largely delivers to cloud customers first). The business value of moving now can be significant if the new capabilities drive efficiencies or growth. There’s also an opportunity cost to waiting: every extra year on ECC is a year competitors might gain an edge via digital innovation.

CIO Lens:

From a budgeting perspective, shifting to RISE means moving from CapEx to OpEx (licenses + maintenance become subscription fees). This can smooth spending over time, but beware the long-term TCO – over 5-10 years, a subscription can cost more than owning plus maintenance, especially with the premium for ECC extension.

Engage your CFO early: calculate the total projected cost of each path through 2035. Include “hidden” costs, such as running dual environments during transition, training staff on new systems, or inflation in subscription fees.

Also, consider the value of time: Will an extra 2-3 years allow a much more effective transformation (better implementation, cleaned-up data, reengineered processes) that delivers higher ROI when you do go live on S/4HANA? If yes, that added value might justify paying more to avoid a rushed job now.

Takeaway:

Develop a clear business case for the chosen route. If using the transition option, quantify what that additional time buys you – e.g., avoiding X dollars of business risk, enabling Y% more process optimization, or aligning with a major event (like an acquisition or system overhaul) at the right time.

Conversely, if accelerating now, articulate the gains from earlier modernization versus the cost. CIOs should present this cost-value analysis to the board so that the decision is grounded in financial reality and strategic benefit, rather than just technical convenience.

Vendor Leverage and Lock-In Implications

Accepting SAP’s transition offer has big implications for your negotiating position and long-term flexibility.

Essentially, it extends your lock-in with SAP through 2033 and likely beyond.

Leverage the Impact of Saying Yes: 

Signing up for the transition option means committing to RISE with SAP, a single-vendor contract that covers your ERP software and cloud infrastructure.

On one hand, SAP might reward early commitments: some customers have negotiated incentives (like credits for existing licenses or even special support concessions) when signing a RISE deal.

For example, SAP may agree to recognize a high percentage of your ECC maintenance spend as credit toward the subscription, or even grant interim ECC support at no extra charge until 2031 if you sign now.

These sweeteners, however, are negotiated on a case-by-case basis and tend to diminish as 2027/2030 approaches (SAP knows that late holdouts have fewer options).

On the other hand, once you are under contract, vendor leverage shifts to SAP.

You will have less freedom to consider alternatives or play vendors against each other. SAP’s ability to increase subscription fees over time (within contract terms) or push additional cloud services could grow.

And since you’ve demonstrated an intent to stick with SAP long-term, the urgency for SAP to offer attractive incentives later (say, for the final S/4HANA migration) is reduced – they’ve essentially secured your business.

Leverage Impact of Saying No (or Not Yet):

If you decide not to take the transition option (or at least delay committing), you retain more freedom. You could explore third-party support after 2027 to cut costs (some providers charge ~50% of SAP’s maintenance fees), using savings to fund an eventual migration.

You could also evaluate alternative ERP solutions or best-of-breed approaches in the interim, using the pressure of potential defection as leverage with SAP.

However, this path has risks: dropping SAP maintenance can result in losing future conversion credits and incurring substantial fees to reinstate support later. SAP also employs other levers – for instance, SAP Digital Access audits (for indirect usage licensing) can become a threat if you are outside their good graces.

If you’re not moving to S/4HANA, ensure you have addressed digital access licensing under ECC to avoid surprise penalties. Staying off-contract might preserve negotiation power, but SAP will still hold considerable sway given the mission-critical nature of ECC.

CIO Lens:

Treat vendor negotiations as part of the strategic decision. If you lean toward the transition option, negotiate aggressively upfront. Lock in pricing protections (caps on subscription fee increases), include those conversion credits for your existing investment, and clarify the cost of moving to S/4HANA later.

Ask for contractual flexibility, e.g., the ability to reduce user counts or modules if your footprint shrinks, or an exit clause if business needs change before 2033 (even if SAP is reluctant, raising the issue can improve your leverage).

Ensure SAP Digital Access (indirect use) is addressed in the contract, ideally get a blanket allowance or fixed document volume so you don’t face an audit bill in 2028 or 2031 when you’re deep into the transition.

If you decide not to take the offer, consider leveraging the implicit competition: SAP wants to retain you as a customer.

Use the threat of moving off SAP or delaying S/4 indefinitely to negotiate early mover incentives now. For example, you might secure a better deal on S/4HANA licenses or RISE if you demonstrate a willingness to consider alternatives such as Oracle or Workday.

Just be mindful not to overplay your han.d SAP’s deadlines are real, and an outright standoff (with no support plan post-2030) puts your company at risk more than SAP.

Takeaway:

Whether you accept the transition option or not, maintain a vendor-neutral posture in your strategy discussions. If proceeding with SAP, do so on your terms as much as possible.

Use your current ECC spend and the prospect of a long-term cloud commitment as leverage to extract concessions now – you may not get another chance to negotiate before 2033. If holding off, continually reevaluate SAP’s offers; your leverage is highest before extended maintenance expires.

Keep alternative options visible to SAP to encourage a better deal, but have a contingency plan in place to support negotiations if they falter.

Operational Implications: Architecture, Resourcing, and Risks

Delaying core ERP replacement doesn’t mean a quiet status quo – there are operational impacts to plan for:

• Two-Stage Migration (Tech then Functional): The transition option effectively breaks the journey into two phases: first, the technical migration of ECC onto HANA and into SAP’s private cloud by 2030; second, the functional migration to S/4HANA by 2033. The first move is mainly technical (database and hosting change) but still complex – expect significant testing, remediation of custom code for HANA compatibility, and reworking interfaces. The second move (ECC to S/4) still awaits, meaning you’re deferring the hardest part. CIOs must ensure the organization doesn’t treat the 2030 move as a full victory – complacency could set in during 2031–2032 when, in fact, the S/4 project should be in full swing.
• Architecture and Integration: Running ECC on SAP’s cloud (private edition) might introduce new architecture considerations. You’ll use SAP’s managed infrastructure and possibly have to adjust integrations (e.g., network connectivity, security models) for a cloud-hosted ECC. Some on-prem custom solutions or third-party systems may need rework to connect to the cloud ECC environment. Additionally, confirm that all your ECC modules or bolt-ons will function in the private cloud. If certain legacy components aren’t supported beyond 2030, you must replace or upgrade them. This period could see a mix of old and new: for instance, you might start using some S/4HANA cloud modules (like procurement or HR) alongside ECC during the transition. That can add complexity – dual landscapes, data sync challenges – but could also reduce risk by phasing functionality.
• Resource Skills and Staffing: Supporting ECC through 2033 requires retaining or sourcing individuals with ECC and ABAP skillsets into the early 2030s. While those skills won’t vanish overnight, many SAP practitioners are retraining on S/4 and cloud technologies. Plan for talent continuity: consider knowledge transfer to younger IT staff, or partner with system integrators who commit to ECC expertise in the interim. Simultaneously, start building S/4HANA skills internally so that when you switch to implementation mode, your team isn’t entirely reliant on external consultants.
• Technical Debt and Innovation Gap: Every extra year on ECC accumulates technical debt. Customizations built years ago continue to age; some may not easily port to S/4 and will require refactoring or retirement. Also, staying on ECC means forgoing new SAP innovations. By 2025 and beyond, SAP’s big bets (AI, advanced analytics, and industry cloud solutions) will be largely S/4HANA-exclusive. The longer you remain on ECC, the more you risk an “innovation gap” where competitors on modern platforms outpace you. This can have operational impacts (less efficient processes) and strategic implications (harder to pivot business models or integrate new digital offerings). Mitigation can include selectively deploying side-by-side innovations (e.g., data lakes or AI tools that interface with ECC) to modernize where possible without a full S/4 core.
• Risk Management: From an IT risk perspective, running an aging ECC until 2033 carries risks: security vulnerabilities if patches aren’t available (SAP pledges security patches under the subscription, but you’ll rely on SAP’s cadence), compliance risk if regulatory changes occur and ECC isn’t updated (the transition option is supposed to cover legal patches, but confirm what is guaranteed). There’s also the risk of unplanned downtime or technical issues: as third-party components (browsers, Office integrations, Java, etc.) evolve, they may become incompatible with ECC GUI or older integration methods by the 2030s. Proactively identify these and use the extra time to systematically address or isolate them.

CIO Lens:

Ensure that your CTO and enterprise architecture teams view the transition period as an active preparation time, not just an extension of legacy operations. Update your architecture roadmap to leverage the cloud move: for example, you might modernize backup, disaster recovery, and scaling capabilities when ECC sits on cloud infrastructure.

Revisit your integration strategy – consider an API layer or SAP’s Integration Suite to decouple some interfaces, easing the eventual S/4 switch.

From a process standpoint, use the time to clean house: archive old data to shrink the migration size, standardize processes where ECC had custom workarounds (so you can adopt standard S/4 processes later), and cut unused custom code. Each of these will reduce pain later and make the final migration smoother.

Takeaway:

Delaying doesn’t equate to relaxing. It might require more careful operational planning because you’re sustaining an older environment longer than anyone expected.

Treat the period up to 2033 as an opportunity to modernize around the edges of ECC and prepare your foundation (data, integrations, cloud infrastructure familiarity) so that when the big S/4 switch happens, your risk is mitigated.

In parallel, manage the people aspect – maintain the right mix of legacy and new skills on the team and avoid “change fatigue” by clearly communicating that the journey isn’t over until S/4 is live.

Comparing the Options: ECC Extended vs Transition Option vs S/4 Now

To decide on the transition option, CIOs should compare it against simply staying on ECC (with extended support or other means) versus moving to S/4HANA sooner.

The table below highlights key differences in cost, flexibility, vendor lock-in, and risk:

Note: In all cases, staying compliant with licensing (user counts, indirect access) is vital to avoid unexpected fees.

The “vendor lock-in” for SAP is significant in all options (since all involve SAP ERP), but the degree of contractual freedom varies.

CIO Recommendations

Based on the above analysis, here are actionable recommendations for CIOs considering the SAP transition option:

• 1. Align the Option with Strategic Needs: Only consider the transition option if your business genuinely needs the extra time due to complexity. It makes strategic sense for large enterprises with highly customized, multi-system landscapes or those in regulated industries that can’t afford a rushed cutover. If you’re on track for 2027–2030 migration, don’t derail that momentum for an optional extension.
• 2. Beware a Bad Fit: Warning signs for a poor fit include relatively standardized ECC environments (which could be moved sooner), or scenarios where the cost premium outweighs the benefit (e.g., if the subscription costs through 2033 come close to funding a full S/4 project now). Additionally, if your organization lacks a clear vision for S/4HANA and business process evolution, opting for this option could simply prolong indecision – a significant concern.
• 3. Negotiate Hard – Use Leverage Now: If you decide to pursue the transition option, treat the negotiation like a major ERP deal (because it is!). Guardrails to set: ensure you get credit for your existing ECC licenses/maintenance (to avoid paying twice), lock in pricing for the entire term (no sudden hikes), and clarify what happens after 2033 (e.g., predefined pricing or discounts for the S/4HANA phase). Push for flexibility to adjust downward if needed – for example, the ability to drop users or modules if you streamline processes before S/4.
• 4. Protect Budget and Flexibility: Don’t let SAP bundle in unnecessary services at high cost. Scrutinize the RISE with SAP contract terms – understand how fees are calculated (by users, capacity, etc.) and ensure they match your usage expectations. Set caps on SAP Digital Access charges or get them included to prevent future budget surprises. If possible, negotiate an escape clause or at least a partial termination right (even if it comes with a fee), so you have an out if your business strategy shifts before 2033 (e.g., a major M&A transaction or a decision to switch platforms).
• 5. Plan for Risk Mitigation: If proceeding, immediately start mitigating key risks. Invest in staff training and retention for the long haul on ECC and then S/4. Begin the HANA migration planning early – treat it as a prerequisite project that cannot slip. Address known technical debt now (obsolete customizations, outdated integrations). Also, keep security and compliance up to date: just because SAP will support ECC to 2033 for you, don’t assume all compliance is covered – double-check that things like tax localization updates, industry-specific regulations, and security patches are explicitly included and tested.
• 6. Use the Time Wisely – No Idle Extension: A critical guardrail is governance on how the extra time will be used. Establish a 2033 Transformation Roadmap that details year-by-year goals, e.g., 2025-2026: process harmonization, 2027: migration to HANA, 2028: clean master data, 2029: build S/4 prototype, etc. This prevents the organization from treating the transition option as a license to procrastinate. Tie these milestones to budget releases or executive KPIs to ensure accountability.
• 7. Watch for Changing Signals: Continuously monitor SAP’s communications and peer benchmarking. If the uptake of the transition option is low or if SAP changes its terms (for instance, if it introduces an even newer program or if S/4HANA’s support horizon changes), be prepared to adjust. Similarly, track the ERP market – if competitors’ solutions leap ahead compellingly, you might reassess staying with SAP through 2033. Keep your board informed that this decision is being actively managed, not set in stone.
• 8. Prepare for Post-2033 Early: Even as you negotiate to 2033, consider what life looks like after. Will you go live on S/4HANA in 2032 or 2033 to avoid any gap? If so, you may want commitments from SAP on resource availability (e.g., SAP services or partner support slots, since a large wave of customers could also be rushing in 2032). Mitigate the risk of a bottleneck by perhaps starting parts of the migration earlier (like a phased approach). Planning the final move now, at least at a high level, gives confidence that you won’t face a cliff at the end of the extension.
• 9. Don’t Neglect Alternative Plans: As a CIO, you should maintain a Plan B. Even if you fully expect to continue with SAP, having a parallel evaluation of alternatives (however lightweight) can be a useful insurance. It keeps your team thinking creatively and provides talking points in negotiations. For example, assess what it would take to migrate specific functions off SAP if needed (CRM to Salesforce, etc.) as a contingency. This isn’t to abandon SAP, but to ensure you’re not left with a difficult choice.
• 10. Communicate Up and Down: Finally, ensure the decision and its rationale are well understood at the C-suite and board level (“we are paying more for support to de-risk a transformation – here’s why it’s worth it”) and equally with the IT teams on the ground (“we have extra time, but it’s allocated to specific improvement tasks, not just business-as-usual”). Setting the tone that this is a strategic extension with conditions will focus the organization on using the time productively.

Decision Checklist: 5 Actions for CIOs

If you’re at the go/no-go decision point for SAP’s transition option, follow this step-by-step checklist:

1. Assess Your Timeline and Complexity: Take an honest inventory of your SAP landscape and migration program status. Can you realistically complete the S/4HANA migration by 2027 or 2030, given the current resources and budget? Identify what’s truly blocking the timeline – e.g., a large custom code base, multiple ERP instances, integration with legacy systems, or simply a lack of organizational change capacity. This assessment will determine whether the transition option is a necessity or a nice-to-have. If you find you’re on track, you likely don’t need it; if you’re far behind, it becomes a serious consideration.

2. Quantify Costs and Benefits of Each Path: Work with your finance team to model out the total costs of (a) staying on ECC with extended maintenance (and perhaps third-party support beyond 2030), (b) moving to the RISE transition option and then to S/4HANA, and (c) migrating to S/4HANA on a faster timeline. Include one-time project costs and recurring support/subscription fees. At the same time, estimate the benefits or avoided costs for each (for example, savings from retiring old hardware under RISE, or process improvement gains if on S/4 sooner). This step transforms the decision into a business case comparison, illuminating which option provides the best value to the enterprise. It will also prepare you for board discussions with hard numbers.

3. Consult Stakeholders and Align on Risk Tolerance: Engage your executive peers – CEO, CFO, business unit leaders. Present the scenarios and gauge the organization’s appetite for risk versus change. Some businesses might say, “We cannot afford any major ERP disruption in the next 3 years, even if it costs more,” while others might say, “We’d rather take some pain now than pay a premium to delay.” Also consider external stakeholders: Are there regulatory or customer requirements that effectively force you to modernize sooner (or conversely, that would be better met after a thorough redesign, which needs more time)? This alignment ensures that the decision has broad buy-in and that the level of transformation risk is acceptable to all parties.

4. Engage SAP (and Possibly Third Parties) for Proposals: Open a dialog with your SAP account team about options. You don’t have to show your hand fully, but inquire about the estimated pricing for the transition option in your situation and what a RISE contract might entail. Simultaneously, consider consulting with third-party maintenance providers for a post-2027 support quote and/or systems integrators for a fast-track S/4 migration estimate. Having concrete proposals and quotes will enrich your decision-making data. It also signals to SAP that you are exploring all avenues – which can lead to better offers from them. Just be careful to manage this strategically; you want information and leverage, not a premature commitment.

5. Decide on “Go or No-Go” with a Clear Roadmap: With all the information gathered, convene your steering committee or board to make the call. If the decision is “Go” for the transition option, immediately map out the key milestones (e.g., sign the RISE contract by X date, complete the HANA migration by Y date, etc.) and allocate owners and budgets to those milestones. Treat it as entering a new program phase, not just deferring the old one. If the decision is “No-Go” (i.e., you will not use the transition option), then double down on your chosen path – whether that’s executing the S/4 migration ASAP or perhaps a tactical use of third-party support to bridge a shorter gap. In either case, formally document the decision, the rationale, and the assumptions (e.g., “we assume our migration will finish by 2029, given funding and resources remain at current levels”). That becomes your guiding plan, and you should schedule periodic reviews (at least annually) to ensure those assumptions still hold. If things change, you may revisit the decision, but at least you’ll do so consciously, rather than letting the timeline slip by default.

FAQs

Q1: Who is eligible for the SAP ERP private edition transition option?
A: SAP is positioning this option for large, complex ECC customers who genuinely cannot complete a migration by 2030. In practice, you must sign up for RISE with SAP’s private edition – meaning a cloud subscription contract – and meet certain prerequisites. Your ECC system will need to be on the SAP HANA database and migrated into SAP’s cloud infrastructure by the end of 2030. It’s not offered automatically to every customer; SAP will evaluate if your situation warrants it. If you’re already well underway with S/4HANA or have a smaller landscape, SAP expects you to complete the transition by 2027/2030 using standard support arrangements. In short, eligibility comes down to commitment (to RISE) and complexity (scale of your environment) – and you’ll likely work with SAP to confirm you qualify as you approach the decision.

Q2: What will the transition option cost compared to staying on ECC or moving to S/4HANA now?
A: While exact pricing will depend on your enterprise size and negotiation, expect the transition option to cost more on an annual basis than regular support or even a normal S/4 cloud subscription. SAP has indicated a premium for the 2031–2033 period. Think of it as paying for a specialized extension service. If you stayed on ECC with standard support until 2027 and then extended maintenance (with a 2% fee increase) until 2030, that’s your baseline cost (or lower if you cut costs through third-party support). Going with the transition option, your cost structure shifts to subscription: you’ll pay for RISE (which bundles software, support, and infrastructure). This will likely be significantly higher per year than just maintenance fees, but remember it replaces some costs (data center, database licenses) since SAP provides hosting and HANA. Accelerating to S/4HANA now may involve a significant one-time cost and increased license/subscription expenses starting earlier, but it also avoids the premium from 2031 to 2033. In many cases, if you project the total spend from now until 2035, the transition option route can be the most expensive due to the high last-mile fees and the cost of paying for two migrations (one to cloud ECC and one to S/4). However, the value of avoiding disruption or failure might justify it. CIOs should run a detailed TCO comparison; the costs are not only license fees but also project implementation costs and potential business downtime or inefficiencies.

Q3: How do we justify the business case for using the transition option?
A: The business case for paying more to get to 2033 hinges on what that extra time buys you. Justification points could include: (1) Risk avoidance – if an aggressive migration now might cause business interruption or if falling off support in 2030 with no plan would be catastrophic, then the transition option is an insurance policy. (2) Better transformation outcomes – extra time could allow for thorough process reengineering, data cleanup, and change management, meaning when you do move to S/4HANA, you realize more business value (e.g., higher productivity, better user adoption, more automation) than a rushed project would deliver. (3) Alignment with business strategy – perhaps major initiatives (like a merger, divestiture, or new market expansion) are happening in the next few years; pushing ERP transformation to slightly later might ensure it doesn’t conflict with or distract from those critical efforts. (4) Financial smoothing – from a budgeting perspective, the company might prefer subscription OpEx over a large CapEx project right now, especially in tight economic conditions. If you articulate these benefits and show that they outweigh the premium costs, you have a solid business case. Include qualitative benefits (stability, focus, employee bandwidth) as well, not just IT metrics. The key is to frame the option as value-adding, not just a delay. If it’s merely postponing the inevitable with no added business improvement, the case will fall flat.

Q4: Can we exit the deal or switch plans if we change our mind before 2033? (What are the exit clauses?)
A: By default, once you sign up for the RISE with SAP transition option, you’re in a binding subscription contract for the duration (likely through 2033). These contracts typically don’t allow early termination without hefty penalties covering the remaining term. However, this is exactly why you need to negotiate and read the fine print. It’s wise to negotiate any possible exit clauses upfront. For example, you might seek a clause that allows you to convert the contract to a standard S/4 subscription or terminate the ECC portion without incurring additional costs if you complete your S/4HANA transition early (say by 2032). Or negotiate a co-term clause that aligns with your internal plans (maybe a break option at 2032 if certain milestones are met). In reality, SAP may not grant easy outs, because they’re committing resources to support your ECC. At the very least, ensure there’s clarity on what happens if you choose not to go to S/4HANA by 2033 – theoretically, that’s not an option SAP encourages, but what if you decide to jump to a different ERP in 2033? Know the post-2033 obligations (you likely would simply stop paying and lose support, but are there any data extraction services needed, etc.?). In summary, expect limited flexibility to exit once signed, so make your decision with the assumption that you’re in it through 2033. Negotiate whatever flexibility you can, and document any scenarios (merger, divestment, etc.) that might require contract re-evaluation so that you can discuss those with SAP in advance.

Q5: What’s the timeline for deciding and executing on this?
A: The clock is already ticking. SAP plans to make the transition option officially available for purchase starting in 2028; however, in practical terms, you cannot wait until the last minute. If you believe you’ll need this, the decision should be made well before 2027. Here’s a rough timeline: By 2025–2026, evaluate and choose your path (so you can inform budgeting and start any prerequisite work). By 2027, if you’re taking the option, you’d likely signal that to SAP and perhaps even sign a preliminary RISE agreement or at least start migrating some systems. Remember, one condition is that systems must be on HANA and SAP cloud by the end of 2030 – that means your migrations (database and rehosting) probably need to be in project mode by 2028/29 to finish in time. So, backing up, you’d want the contract and planning locked in by 2028 at the latest. In contrast, if you decide not to use the option, you still need a timeline – either complete S/4HANA by 2027 (to avoid extended fees) or factor in extended maintenance till 2030 if finishing in that window. Also note the S/4HANA Compatibility Packs 2025 deadline: if you were counting on a phased S/4HANA move using those packs, you need to take action in 2024/2025 to avoid compliance issues. In short, treat 2025 as your decision point, 2026–2027 as the time to negotiate and plan (or execute a fast migration), and 2028–2030 as the window to carry out whatever preparatory projects are needed for your chosen path. Starting late will either close off the transition option (you won’t be able to complete the prerequisites) or force an awkward scramble. As a CIO, mark these dates on your strategic roadmap now.

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