SAP S/4HANA for ECC customers: maintained to 2040, at the price of a project

Contents

1. What the move involves
2. What it costs
3. AI
4. Strengths and limits
5. Pricing
6. Questions to ask SAP and the integrator
7. Sources

Type	Migrate within SAP
Pricing	Not published
Website	sap.com

SAP has committed to keep at least one release of S/4HANA in maintenance until the end of 2040⁠1Maintenance strategy: SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite 7SAP Support Portal. The product was launched in 2015⁠2Most SAP migrations bust budgets and deadlines, study findsThe Register · 5 Feb 2026. By the end of 2024, 39% of SAP's 35,000 ECC customers had bought or subscribed to licences to begin the move⁠3SAP’s grand cloud escape plan €2B short of the runwayThe Register · 19 Mar 2026.

Best for: Groups whose processes, reporting and partners are standardised on SAP and that have the budget and people for a multi-year programme.

Not the right fit for: Companies that want to lower what they pay SAP or to own the system their AI runs on.

What the move involves

S/4HANA is not an upgrade of ECC. Customers convert an existing system, implement a new one or combine the two. In ISG's survey of 200 decision-makers at large companies, 34% chose a conversion, 18% a new implementation on standard processes and nearly half a mix⁠2Most SAP migrations bust budgets and deadlines, study findsThe Register · 5 Feb 2026. Gartner has worked with clients on projects expected to take three to seven years⁠4Nearly half of SAP ECC customers may stick with legacy ERP beyond 2027CIO · 4 Jun 2025.

What it costs

SAP does not publish a price. Gartner has cited projects from $2 million to $1 billion for large enterprises with complex installations⁠4Nearly half of SAP ECC customers may stick with legacy ERP beyond 2027CIO · 4 Jun 2025. ISG found nearly 60% of projects delayed and over budget⁠2Most SAP migrations bust budgets and deadlines, study findsThe Register · 5 Feb 2026. Recurring cost follows: Gartner reports that private cloud customers without a negotiated cap have received renewal proposals 10% or more higher⁠5Unwary SAP private cloud users face 10% renewal hikes, warns GartnerThe Register · 14 Oct 2025.

AI

Joule assistants and agents are built for SAP's cloud products. SAP activates up to three Joule assistants for Cloud ERP Private customers at no additional cost⁠6SAP’s AI offer to legacy customers comes with a catchCIO · 13 May 2026. The data model and the AI layer remain SAP's.

Strengths and limits

Strengths

• The longest date SAP offers: at least one S/4HANA release in maintenance until 2040.
• Keeps SAP’s process depth and the partner ecosystem a group already uses.
• Joule assistants and agents are designed for it; SAP activates up to three Joule assistants for Cloud ERP Private customers at no additional cost.

Limits

• The project record: ISG reports nearly 60% of migrations delayed and over budget, with 49% doing little or no process re-engineering.
• Recurring cost can rise: Gartner reports private cloud renewal proposals up 10% or more where no price cap was negotiated.
• The data model and the AI layer remain SAP’s; SAP’s July 2026 maintenance commitments cover on-premise software, not its cloud contracts.

Choose another option if: The business case does not close. DSAG’s chairman has called the business case of moving to S/4HANA the main problem for its members.

Pricing

Not published. Gartner has cited migration projects from $2 million to $1 billion for large, complex installations.

Questions to ask SAP and the integrator

• What is the total cost over ten years, including subscription, integrator fees and the renewal after the first term?
• Is there a price cap on renewal, in writing?
• Which of our customisations survive, and what replaces the rest?
• What can we take with us, and in what format, if we leave the subscription?

For S/4HANA against the other options, see the comparison.

Sources

1. Maintenance strategy: SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite 7. SAP Support Portal. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
2. Most SAP migrations bust budgets and deadlines, study finds. The Register, 5 Feb 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
3. SAP’s grand cloud escape plan €2B short of the runway. The Register, 19 Mar 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
4. Nearly half of SAP ECC customers may stick with legacy ERP beyond 2027. CIO, 4 Jun 2025. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
5. Unwary SAP private cloud users face 10% renewal hikes, warns Gartner. The Register, 14 Oct 2025. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
6. SAP’s AI offer to legacy customers comes with a catch. CIO, 13 May 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
7. SAP S/4HANA: commitment to innovation and maintenance until 2040. SAP News Center, 4 Feb 2020. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
8. The EU just handed SAP on-premise customers a win: what it actually means. UpperEdge, 17 Jul 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 · AISAP ECC and AI: what the ECC AI update is, and what it requiresECC customers are asking whether their system will get AI before maintenance ends. SAP’s answer changed in 2026, and it comes with a commercial condition. What SAP has said, what users report, and why the structure of the system matters more than the assistant on top of it.

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