SAP’s Extended Business Suite 7 Support: A Lifeline or a Strategic Dilemma for CIOs?

A surprising shift in SAP’s roadmap has left CIOs and business leaders at a crossroads: take the extra time or risk falling behind?

SAP’s recent decision to extend support for Business Suite 7 may feel like a relief, but it’s not a free pass to delay migration. While RISE with SAP customers now have until 2033, others must still transition by 2027—or pay for extended maintenance until 2030. This move raises a fundamental question: is this an opportunity to refine strategy, or a subtle push towards SAP’s cloud-first vision?

For organizations that have yet to begin their transition, this extension may seem like a lifeline. But in reality, it’s a test of long-term strategic thinking. The question isn’t just when to move but how to ensure that an S/4HANA migration is more than just a technical upgrade. Business leaders need to ask:

• Are we using this extra time to truly modernize, or just postponing a difficult decision?
• What’s the right balance between on-premise control and SAP’s cloud-based RISE model?
• Will delaying actually cost us more in technical debt, resources, and lost business agility?

Re-evaluating the S/4HANA Business Case

This timeline extension presents a rare opportunity to reassess the true value of moving to S/4HANA. The best-run organizations won’t simply migrate; they’ll use this transition to optimize, automate, and transform.

Too many companies treat S/4HANA migration as an IT-driven project when, in reality, it should be a catalyst for business transformation. If your current migration plan focuses solely on replicating existing processes, it’s time to rethink. Instead, organizations should:

• Identify new automation and AI opportunities that can drive business efficiency post-migration.
• Rethink outdated workflows and processes instead of lifting and shifting them to a new system.
• Consider how S/4HANA’s embedded analytics and real-time insights could change decision-making.

If CIOs and business leaders don’t use this time to align the migration with broader business priorities, they risk missing out on S/4HANA’s real advantages.

Clarifying the Cloud vs. On-Premises Debate

SAP has made it clear that RISE with SAP is their preferred path forward. The extended support until 2033 for RISE customers provides a strong incentive, but is it the right choice for every organization?

For companies with high regulatory requirements or complex legacy customizations, an independent S/4HANA deployment might still be the better option. But staying on-premises means navigating SAP’s hard deadline of 2027 or paying premium extended maintenance fees until 2030. That’s why now is the time for CIOs to take a proactive approach:

• Run a cost-benefit analysis comparing the full lifecycle costs of RISE with SAP versus on-premises deployment.
• Ensure that any cloud decision aligns with compliance, security, and data sovereignty needs.
• Assess long-term integration challenges—will the chosen approach work with other enterprise applications?

Choosing RISE with SAP solely for the extended timeline is not a strategy. A well-thought-out plan ensures that technology decisions align with business outcomes, not just licensing deadlines.

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Complacency

There’s a risk that some organizations will see this extension as a reason to delay migration. The reality is that waiting too long could create a bottleneck effect, with rising demand for skilled SAP consultants and an inevitable spike in implementation costs. The closer we get to SAP’s deadlines, the more competitive and expensive migration projects will become.

Meanwhile, organizations that postpone their transition accumulate more technical debt. Older SAP ECC systems become harder to integrate with modern applications, support costs rise, and businesses risk falling behind competitors who are already unlocking S/4HANA’s full potential.

A CIO’s Roadmap: How to Take Action Now

For CIOs and business leaders, the extended timeline should be treated as a strategic advantage, not an excuse to delay. Now is the time to:

1. Re-evaluate the migration plan and ensure it’s a business transformation initiative, not just an IT project.
2. Make a clear cloud vs. on-premises decision based on cost, control, and compliance—not just SAP’s incentives.
3. Engage business leaders early to ensure that the migration delivers measurable operational improvements.
4. Secure resources and budget now to avoid a last-minute scramble as 2027 approaches.
5. Use this transition to modernize—incorporating automation, AI, and analytics for long-term efficiency.

Organizations that act now will gain the upper hand in negotiations, secure the best implementation resources, and position themselves for a competitive advantage in a digital-first world. Those who delay will face higher costs, greater risks, and fewer choices.

How is your organization responding to SAP’s extended timeline? Will you take this as an opportunity to refine your S/4HANA strategy, or is delaying too risky? Share your thoughts in the comments.