Third-party support for SAP ECC: Rimini Street and the 2026 rule change

Contents

1. What changed in July 2026
2. How it is used in practice
3. Where it fits in a plan to leave
4. Strengths and limits
5. Pricing
6. Questions to ask a third-party provider
7. Sources

Type	Stay on ECC without SAP support
Pricing	Not published
Website	riministreet.com

Rimini Street advertises "immediate savings of up to 50% on annual SAP ECC and Business Suite support fees", "a rolling 15-year commitment for support" and "customizations and tax, legal and regulatory updates included"⁠1Support for SAP ECC and Business SuiteRimini Street. These are the vendor's statements about its own service.

Best for: Companies with a stable ECC system that want to cut the maintenance bill and keep the system running while they build its replacement.

Not the right fit for: Companies that depend on new SAP patches, releases or SAP’s AI roadmap.

What changed in July 2026

SAP's commitments to the European Commission, effective 10 July 2026, apply to all current and future on-premise customers for ten years⁠2SAP maintenance and support commitments effective July 10, 2026SAP Support Portal. A customer can split its landscape and choose a different provider, or no support, for each part. SAP waives the reinstatement fee for customers that return, and caps back-maintenance at the lower of 50% of the fees for the period off support or six months of payments⁠2SAP maintenance and support commitments effective July 10, 2026SAP Support Portal. The financial penalty for trying third-party support and coming back is now limited.

How it is used in practice

DSAG's licensing lead describes third-party maintenance as "a total niche business" in German-speaking countries, with much higher acceptance in the United States⁠3SAP concedes to EU, freeing CIOs from expensive support shacklesCIO · 10 Jul 2026. An advisory firm that reviewed the decision notes that third-party support excludes new SAP patches and updates, which only SAP can provide⁠4The EU just handed SAP on-premise customers a win: what it actually meansUpperEdge · 17 Jul 2026.

Where it fits in a plan to leave

Third-party support is most useful as a source of budget. If the vendor's claim holds, half of the annual support fee is released while ECC keeps running, and that money can fund the system that replaces it.

Strengths and limits

Strengths

• Frees budget immediately: the vendor advertises up to 50% lower annual support fees.
• Removes the 2027 and 2030 dates from the plan; the vendor says it supports ECC through 2040 and beyond.
• SAP now waives the reinstatement fee and caps back-maintenance at the lower of 50% of the fees missed or six months’ payments.

Limits

• No new SAP patches or releases: the system is kept running, not developed.
• No route to SAP’s AI: Joule on ECC is tied to a cloud commitment with SAP.
• A small market in German-speaking countries: DSAG’s licensing lead calls third-party maintenance "a total niche business" there.

Choose another option if: You need SAP’s own corrections for new legal requirements delivered as SAP notes, or you plan to move to S/4HANA soon.

Pricing

Not published as a price list. The vendor advertises savings of up to 50% on annual SAP support fees.

Questions to ask a third-party provider

• What will the annual fee be for our landscape, and for how long is it fixed?
• How are legal and tax changes for each of our countries delivered, and how quickly?
• Which security issues can be addressed without SAP's own patches?
• What happens if we want to return part of the landscape to SAP support?

For third-party support against the other options, see the comparison.

Sources

1. Support for SAP ECC and Business Suite. Rimini Street. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
2. SAP maintenance and support commitments effective July 10, 2026. SAP Support Portal. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
3. SAP concedes to EU, freeing CIOs from expensive support shackles. CIO, 10 Jul 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
4. The EU just handed SAP on-premise customers a win: what it actually means. UpperEdge, 17 Jul 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
5. SAP’s AI offer to legacy customers comes with a catch. CIO, 13 May 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.

Further reading

• Deadline guide · Updated quarterlySAP ECC 2027: what ends, what each option costs, and the option SAP does not listSAP’s mainstream maintenance for ECC ends at the end of 2027. This guide sets out every date SAP has published, prices each option SAP offers, and examines the one it does not offer, which is to spend the same budget on a system the company owns.
• Guide · CostsSAP ECC support after 2027: extended maintenance, 2030 and 2033, pricedAfter 31 December 2027 an ECC system can stay maintained in four ways, three of them sold by SAP. What each one costs according to published terms, and what the bill looks like when the years are added up.
• Guide · LeavingLeaving SAP ECC: how to move the 2027 budget into a system you ownSAP’s options all assume the customer stays. This guide works through the alternative for an established company. It covers what the money already committed to ECC adds up to, what the same money builds, and how to leave in steps without a cut-over weekend.

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