Last reviewed June 2026
A buyer-side guide to the December 2027 SAP ECC maintenance cliff: how stay, RISE, GROW, and on-premise S/4HANA compare, extended maintenance against third-party support, where conversion credits create timing leverage, and the calendar that keeps the decision yours.
SAP mainstream maintenance for ERP 6.0 / Business Suite 7, the release most enterprises still run as ECC, ends on 31 December 2027. After that an estate takes extended maintenance to 2030, moves to third-party support, or has already begun an S/4HANA transition. None of those is a default.
This guide is written for the buyers who fund SAP, not for the vendor that sells it. Every section ends with the buyer move and the discipline that protects the negotiating position.
CIOs and IT leaders owning the SAP ECC to S/4HANA decision.
Procurement and vendor-management leads negotiating with SAP.
SAM and licensing teams sizing entitlement and conversion credit.
Finance teams modelling maintenance, subscription, and migration cost.
Across more than 500 enterprise engagements, buyers we advise have negotiated over $2.4 billion in software contracts, with average savings of 38 percent and average audit claim reductions of 72 percent.Atonement Licensing engagement record
Related resources: read the full guide on the SAP ECC 2027 End-of-Life Strategy Guide page, then see our SAP Licensing Advisory service and the SAP S/4HANA Guide.
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