Author: Priyasha Purkayastha, Global Content Manager, TJC Group
As the 2027 deadline for SAP ECC support approaches rapidly, organisations worldwide face one of the most critical technology decisions of the decade. With less than three years remaining, the time for strategic planning to S/4HANA migration is now. This comprehensive article explores the best possible options while helping you navigate the complex landscape of SAP’s future, positioning your organisation for long-term success.
Table of contents
- Introduction: The 2027 inflection point
- Understanding SAP’s support timeline
- S/4HANA migration: What ends with mainstream ECC support?
- Strategic option: Migration to S/4HANA
- S/4HANA migration approaches | The strategic trinity
- Beyond your standard transformation: RISE with SAP cloud solutions
- Extended maintenance and third-party support
- Data management: The critical success factor for S/4HANA migration
- Making the right choice for your organisation
- Conclusion: Your path forward
Introduction: The 2027 inflection point
The year 2027 represents a watershed moment for the global SAP community. With mainstream support for SAP ECC ending on 31st December 2027, millions of users across thousands of organisations must make strategic decisions that will shape their technology landscape for the next decade and beyond, especially when it comes to migrating to S/4HANA
This deadline is not merely a technical milestone; it’s a business imperative that demands immediate attention. Organisations that delay their decision-making risk facing rushed implementations, inflated costs, security vulnerabilities, and competitive disadvantages. Conversely, those who act strategically can transform this challenge into an opportunity for modernisation, efficiency gains, and competitive advantage.
The complexity of this decision extends far beyond simple technology considerations. It encompasses data management strategies, regulatory compliance, workforce planning, financial budgeting, and long-term business strategy alignment. Each organisation’s optimal path to S/4HANA migration will depend on their unique circumstances, including system complexity, customisation levels, data volumes, regulatory requirements, and strategic objectives.
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Understanding SAP’s support timeline
To make informed decisions, organisations must first understand the precise timeline and implications of SAP’s support changes. The landscape is more nuanced than a simple “support ends in 2027″ narrative, with different options available depending on your current SAP version and future commitments.
Current support structure
- SAP ECC 6.0 EHP 0-5: It is imperative to note that mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC6.0 with EHP 0-5 ended on 31st December 2025, with automatic conversion to customer-specific maintenance.
- SAP ECC 6.0 EHP 6-8: For SAP ECC 6.0 with EHP 6-8, mainstream maintenance continues until 31st December 2027.
- Extended maintenance: While organisations can avail extended maintenance, it comes at an 9% additional cost above the standard maintenance fees. This extended maintenance support is available until 31st December 2030.
- RISE transition option: Additionally, select complex customers can extend support to 2033 through SAP’s private cloud offering i.e., RISE.
S/4HANA migration: What ends with mainstream ECC support?
After 2027, organisations remaining on unsupported ECC versions will lose access to standard support channels, regular security patches, compliance updates, and new functionality. This creates significant operational risks, particularly around cybersecurity and regulatory compliance, emphasising on the importance of timely S/4HANA migration.
Extended maintenance implications
Extended maintenance, while providing a temporary relief, comes at a premium cost, which can typically be 2-3 times higher than regular maintenance fees. Moreover, it offers limited functionality improvements and represents a temporary solution rather than a strategic path forward.
Strategic option: Migration to S/4HANA
Migration to S/4HANA remains SAP’s preferred strategic direction, offering the most comprehensive long-term solution with access to the latest innovations, AI capabilities, and cloud-native features. However, the migration path involves several critical considerations and approaches. As a matter of fact, organisations often find themselves at a crossroad, wondering which approach they should opt for. The trick is really simple though – you just need to understand your data, your business needs, and your IT budget.
Nevertheless, through our webinar on the selecting the right path for s/4HANA migration, we have not only given insights into the three approaches, but also what organisations must do for experiencing a streamlined future.
Head on the link below to watch the webinar
S/4HANA migration approaches | The strategic trinity
Greenfield implementation
Also known as the “new implementation” – this approach involves implementing S/4HANA from scratch, offering the opportunity to redesign business processes and leverage best practices. While the Greenfield approach – this provides the cleanest implementation, it requires significant change management and typically involves longer implementation timelines.
Benefits:
- Clean system with optimised processes
- Latest functionality from day one
- Simplified data model
- Reduced technical debt
Challenges:
- Extensive change management required
- Longer implementation timeline
- Higher training requirements
- Potential business disruption
Brownfield implementation
Commonly referred to as the “system conversion” approach, Brownfield converts existing ECC systems to S/4HANA, preserving customisations and historical data. While it offers faster implementation when undergoing migration to S/4HANA, the approach may carry forward legacy complexities.
Benefits:
- Faster implementation timeline
- Preserves existing customisations
- Minimal process disruption
- Lower training requirements
Challenges:
- May perpetuate inefficient processes
- Carries forward technical debt
- Limited opportunity for process optimisation
- Potential performance issues from legacy data
Hybrid implementation
If your organisation wants to avail the benefits of both system conversion and new implementation, hybrid approach to S/4HANA migration. This approach combines elements of both greenfield and brownfield, allowing organisations to selectively migrate data and processes while implementing new functionality. The hybrid approach is also known as Selective Data Transition or SDT.
Benefits:
- Balanced approach to innovation and preservation
- Selective process optimisation
- Managed change impact
- Flexible implementation strategy
Challenges:
- Complex project management
- Requires careful planning and expertise
- Potential integration complexities
- Extended implementation timeline
Beyond your standard transformation: RISE with SAP cloud solutions
While migrating to S/4HANA is the best way forward; RISE with SAP also serves as a reliable and strategic option. It represents SAP’s comprehensive cloud transformation package, combining S/4HANA Cloud with infrastructure, platform services, and support in a single subscription model. This option has gained significant traction, particularly among organisations seeking to minimise infrastructure management responsibilities.
RISE with SAP components
- S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
- SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)
- Infrastructure hosting and management
- Application lifecycle management
- Enterprise support services
- Analytics and AI capabilities
GROW with SAP: For mid-market organisations, GROW with SAP offers a simplified path to S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, with preconfigured processes and industry-specific solutions. This option provides faster implementation but with reduced customisation capabilities.
Read in a glance about the S/4HANA migration paths. Download the key takeaway sheet now!
Extended maintenance and third-party support
For organisations not ready for immediate S/4HANA migration, extended maintenance and third-party support options provide viable alternatives to maintain current systems while planning future strategies.
SAP extended maintenance: Available until 2030, extended maintenance provides continued support for ECC systems at approximately 9% additional cost. However, this option offers limited new functionality and represents a temporary solution.
Third-party support options: Third-party support providers offer compelling alternatives, with potential cost savings of 50% or more compared to SAP’s maintenance fees. Several leading providers are planning to offer support until 2040, extending system life well beyond SAP’s timelines.
Data management: The critical success factor for S/4HANA migration
Regardless of the strategic path chosen, effective data management emerges as the critical success factor that can make or break any SAP transformation initiative. This is where TJC Group’s expertise becomes invaluable, as we offer proven methodologies and solutions, developed for streamlining your data management process.
Pre-migration data optimisation: Before embarking on the migration to S/4HANA path, organisations should implement comprehensive data optimisation strategies. TJC Group’s approach typically achieves 30-70% data volume reductions through:
- Strategic archiving of historical data
- Deletion of obsolete and temporary data
- Decommissioning of redundant legacy systems
- Implementation of data quality improvement processes
- Establishment of ongoing data governance frameworks
The business impact of data volume management
Effective data management delivers measurable benefits across multiple dimensions:
Performance benefits:
- Faster system response times
- Improved query performance
- Reduced backup and recovery times
- Enhanced user productivity
Cost benefits:
- Lower infrastructure requirements
- Reduced storage costs
- Faster migration implementations
- Decreased maintenance overhead
Risk benefits:
- Improved system stability
- Enhanced security posture
- Better regulatory compliance
- Reduced technical debt
Legacy system decommissioning
Many organisations maintain multiple legacy systems solely for historical data access, even after S/4HANA migration. TJC Group’s Enterprise Legacy System Application (ELSA) solution enables extraction and preservation of historical data while decommissioning expensive legacy infrastructure, delivering immediate cost savings and simplified system landscapes.
Watch our webinar on “Post S/4HANA go-live: Unlocking critical legacy data access use cases”.
Regulatory compliance and data retention
Modern data management must balance operational efficiency with regulatory compliance requirements. TJC Group’s solutions ensure compliance with GDPR, local tax regulations, and industry-specific requirements whilst optimising data volumes and system performance.
Making the right choice for your organisation
Selecting the optimal strategic path for migration to S/4HANA requires careful evaluation of multiple factors specific to your organisation’s circumstances, objectives, and constraints.
Assessment framework
- Current system complexity and customisation levels
- Data volumes and quality
- Integration requirements with other systems
- Security and compliance requirements
- Risk tolerance and change management capabilities
- Timeline constraints and business priorities
- Competitive pressures and market dynamics
- Internal technical expertise and resources
- Change management capabilities
- Training and development capacity
Decision matrix approach
Organisations should develop a comprehensive decision matrix, evaluating each option against their specific criteria, weighted by importance. This structured approach ensures objective evaluation and stakeholder alignment.
Conclusion: Your path forward
The 2027 SAP ECC support deadline represents both a significant challenge and a transformational opportunity. Organisations that approach this decision strategically, with comprehensive planning and expert guidance for their S/4HANA migration, RISE with SAP, and so on, can emerge with modernised, efficient, and competitive technology platforms.
It is imperative for organisations to prioritise data management, regardless of your chosen path. Partnering with TJC Group to implement strategic data archiving, data quality improvements, system optimisation, and more will make the entire migration to S/4HANA process much simplified and easier. Apart from this, plan for the long term also becomes quintessential for a streamlined migration. Consider long-term strategic objectives, technology trends, and business evolution. The decisions made today will impact your organisation for the next decade and beyond.
Contact us today if you are planning for an S/4HANA migration and get your data prepped with us.
