SAP made two big announcements on the morning of Feb. 4, 2020: It will extend mainstream maintenance on core applications of SAP Business Suite 7 from 2025 to 2027, as well as commit to maintenance for SAP S/4HANA until at least the end of 2040. The goal, according to SAP, is to make it easier for customers to drive business transformations and innovation based on SAP S/4HANA while giving customers clarity, choice, and flexibility for the transition from SAP Business Suite 7.

ASUG sat down with Jens Bernotat, VP of strategy and portfolio for customer success services at SAP Digital Business Services, to discuss what these announcements mean for ASUG members.

“We wanted to provide clarity on our maintenance strategy going forward,” Bernotat said. “The message we gave in the past was that SAP was committing maintenance for SAP Business Suite 7 up until the end of 2025. We said we’ll inform the market in due time what will happen afterward. The time has now come.”

ASUG CEO Geoff Scott welcomed the news from SAP, as it offers customers more flexibility to plan and execute their SAP S/4HANA migrations. But he added a word of caution. “I don’t want SAP customers to see this as a reprieve and delay making any important decisions on their futures,” Scott said. “These are complex, resource-intensive projects that require commitment to business, technological, and cultural change. If you’re already started on your S/4HANA move—keep going. If you’re thinking about moving—get started. Because the future is already here.”