Extended maintenance of SAP Business Suite 7 until 2033? Yes, but only with “RISE with SAP”!
The extended maintenance of SAP Business Suite 7 until the end of 2033 came as a big surprise at the end of January 2025. Many companies are still actively using this system as SAP ERP and SAP HCM.
The news first appeared in Handelsblatt, but a day later DSAG also published a corresponding press release. SAP has not yet officially released any information on this.
What conditions apply?
The first and fundamental condition is the conclusion of the “RISE with SAP” program between the company and SAP. In addition, the “SAP ERP, private edition, transition option” must be agreed. Only then is it possible to defer the maintenance commitment until December 31, 2033.
“RISE with SAP” is an offer from SAP that supports companies in their digital transformation. It comprises software solutions and services that enable the transition to a cloud-based SAP ERP environment. In the form of a managed cloud approach, the SAP ERP or SAP HCM environment is operated jointly with a hyperscaler.
SAP will probably publish more details, such as the price, in the first half of 2025.
What is our recommendation for you?
Both SAP, DSAG and we would like to emphasize that this is not a universal option available to everyone. For companies that have decided or will decide against “RISE with SAP”, the end of maintenance of SAP Business Suite 7 remains on December 31, 2027. SAP Business Suite 7 will be maintained until December 31, 2030 (“extended maintenance”) against payment of an increased maintenance fee.
We consider the option of “buying” time until 2033 by concluding the above-mentioned agreement to be merely an emergency solution. We continue to recommend that you devote yourself to the implementation of SAP HCM for S/4HANA (“H4S4”) as soon as possible!
Use the H4S4 Readiness Check to get an idea of which activities are pending and how large the H4S4 project will be. There is not much time left until the end of 2027. The monetary component of the increased maintenance fee for extended maintenance should also not be neglected.