SAP ECC end of support in 2027: deadlines, risks and migration

When does SAP ECC support end, and what changes on each date?

The first date is the end of 2027. Until then, SAP ECC remains under mainstream maintenance, with legal updates, fixes and security patches. This is the date most companies should plan around.

The second date is the end of 2030. Companies that need more time can opt in to extended maintenance, which is optional and paid. It isn’t automatic: you have to sign up for it. Companies that don’t move into customer-specific maintenance, where the system keeps running but receives no new legal changes and no new security patches.

SAP has also offered a transition option for some customers moving to SAP ERP, private edition, running until 2033. Eligibility is narrow, so confirm with SAP whether your company qualifies before you build that date into your plan. In practice, the planning window is already short. As of late 2026, there’s only a little more than a year left before mainstream maintenance ends. Even companies planning to use extended maintenance need to decide early, because signing up involves a contract, budget and internal approval.

What are the risks of staying on SAP ECC after 2027?

The most visible risk is legal and tax compliance. Tax rules and reporting requirements change often, especially in countries like Brazil. Without legal updates, every change becomes an internal project, with its own cost, timeline and chance of error.

The second risk is security. Without new patches, vulnerabilities found after support ends stay without an official fix. For certified or regulated companies, that matters in audits, in customer contracts and in conversations with risk and compliance teams.

The third risk is people and time. As the deadline approaches, demand for migration specialists grows and project windows fill up. Companies that decide late usually have fewer scheduling options and less room to test carefully. There’s also a less visible cost: uncertainty. While the decision is pending, improvement projects stall, integration investments get postponed and the IT team operates in waiting mode. A clear decision date helps unblock the whole company’s agenda.

Moving to S/4HANA: RISE with SAP, GROW with SAP or another path?

The natural destination for SAP ECC is S/4HANA, and there’s more than one way to get there. RISE with SAP delivers S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, bundled as a service. It tends to fit companies with more specific processes and many customizations worth keeping.

GROW with SAP delivers S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, designed for standardized processes and generally for mid-size companies. The trade-off is simple: more standard and less customization, in exchange for easier deployment and upgrades.

The choice isn’t only technical. It depends on how much of the way you operate is a business differentiator and how much can follow the standard. That’s why the best time to choose a destination is after you understand what your ECC does today, not before.

How to plan your SAP ECC migration step by step

1 · Take inventory. List the modules, customizations, interfaces and reports in use. Many companies find that part of their custom code is no longer used and can be left behind.

2 · Separate business rules from technical workarounds. Rules that create value must be preserved. Workarounds created for old limitations can often be replaced by S/4HANA standard features.

3 · Assess data quality. Duplicate master data, historical records with no owner and inconsistent information slow down any migration. Cleaning up first costs less than fixing things later.

4 · Choose destination, approach and timeline. With the inventory in hand, it’s easier to choose between RISE with SAP, GROW with SAP or another route, and to decide whether extended maintenance makes sense as a safety margin.

5 · Plan support during and after the migration. Your ECC keeps running while the new environment is built. Keeping today’s operation stable matters as much as the project itself.

How Semantix supports SAP ECC migration

Semantix is an SAP Platinum Partner and was named an ISG leader in SAP solutions in 2024. We start with a diagnostic that shows where data and processes are holding the operation back and what that costs. In about three weeks, we map the environment and return a plan. Then AI agents and specialists work side by side with your team, supporting ECC while the migration moves forward.

Agents handle volume, such as custom code analysis and ticket triage. Specialists handle judgment, such as what to keep and what to retire. Every execution is traced, with human approvals recorded, and what the operation learns stays yours. When it makes sense, the contract can move to outcome-based terms, at your pace.

You choose how far Semantix goes: use the Semantix AI Suite with your team, build together with Semantix or contract the operation. That is how Semantix, The Enterprise AI Company, builds enterprises that learn.