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SAP Customers Gain More On-Premise Support Choices—but Not a New Cloud Exit Right

By Freedom251 Team · · 5 min read

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SAP says customers can choose different support arrangements for separate commercial installations of its on-premise products under commitments effective July 10, 2026. That gives organizations more room to manage parts of an SAP landscape differently, but it does not change the published maintenance timetable for specific products or releases, establish that every system can be separated, or alter SAP cloud subscription terms.

What SAP changed

In a July 9, 2026 announcement, SAP described new options for on-premise maintenance and support following dialogue with the European Commission and customer representatives, including the German-Speaking SAP User Group (DSAG). SAP says the commitments took effect July 10, 2026, apply globally to current and future customers across its on-premise products, and run for 10 years from the European Commission decision adopted that day.

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The central change is the ability to structure a landscape as separate “commercial installations” and choose a support arrangement for each. Options may include SAP Support, another arrangement outside SAP Support, or no SAP Support for a given installation. The choice is defined around an installation under SAP’s framework; it should not be assumed that a customer can split any individual component from an installation simply because it would be convenient.

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DSAG chairman Jens Hungershausen called the flexibility “an important step in the right direction,” saying it could help member companies make decisions about system architecture while retaining systems that still benefit their businesses. His comment reflects the user group’s position, not a guarantee about any customer’s eligibility or the operational suitability of a particular support choice.

What the changes do not mean

They do not change cloud subscription terms

SAP says the commitments concern on-premise maintenance and support. Its cloud offerings, including S/4HANA Cloud and RISE with SAP, are unaffected. A new choice about support for an on-premise installation does not itself create a right to change a cloud subscription’s price, scope, or end date.

They are not a universal right to terminate licenses

SAP also announced additional ways to terminate on-premise licenses in specified objectively justified situations. Its examples include severe workforce reductions, products in customer-specific maintenance, bankruptcy, divestiture, and implementation failure. These are conditional cases governed by detailed terms, not permission for every customer to cancel any license at will.

Other announced measures include expanded access to single-metric contracts and clearer contractual provisions. For customers returning to SAP maintenance, SAP says it will charge no administrative fee and cap back-maintenance at the lower of six months or 50% of the fees for the time away. Some defined outdated products will incur no back-maintenance. The announcement does not establish that every returning customer or product qualifies; the detailed commitments and individual circumstances matter.

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Support dates remain a separate decision

SAP’s maintenance strategy page, accessed October 13, 2026, sets out broad product timelines. Those dates describe general policy, not the status of every release. Customers should confirm their own product and release in SAP’s Product Availability Matrix or release strategy.

Product or support path Published timing or condition What it means for planning
SAP Business Suite 7 core applications Mainstream maintenance through the end of 2027 Customers should identify their exact application and release and plan for the support path that follows.
Optional extended maintenance Available from 2028 through the end of 2030; SAP states a premium of two percentage points on the maintenance basis for the scoped support offerings. It is an optional, time-limited path, not a continuation of mainstream maintenance on unchanged terms.
Customer-specific maintenance Applies to customers that do not select extended maintenance, or after their extended maintenance ends. Confirm the actual support scope and consequences for the specific product rather than treating this label as equivalent to mainstream support.
S/4HANA innovation commitment Through 2040; SAP says at least one release will remain in maintenance until then. The commitment does not mean every S/4HANA release is maintained through 2040. Check release-specific status.

The 2031–2033 transition option has prerequisites

SAP announced an “SAP ERP, private edition, transition option” as a time-bound business-continuity measure for 2031–2033 while customers continue toward SAP Cloud ERP or SAP Cloud ERP Private. The August 4, 2025 announcement made the option conditional, rather than a general extension of ECC support.

  • The participating system must first move to SAP ERP private edition on HANA before December 31, 2030.
  • HANA is the only supported database for the option.
  • The stated minimum system size is 2 TB, and technical readiness conditions apply.
  • The option is tied to a max success plan.

SAP’s 2025 announcement described an uplift against then-current SAP ERP private edition pricing, including a 20% uplift for customers signing up in 2026. That is a dated vendor term, not a universal current quote; confirm live eligibility, pricing, product scope, and the applicable SAP Note before making a decision. The public announcement did not disclose later pricing.

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Extension programs may help with selected investments

SAP’s strategy page also describes cloud and on-premise extension programs. Under the cloud extension program, customers may be able to reallocate eligible elements of installed on-premise solutions to selected SAP cloud subscriptions. The on-premise extension program supports reallocating investments to selected on-premise products. SAP also describes a process to request abandonment of usage rights for certain licenses and corresponding maintenance termination without a replacement purchase, with a rediscounting of the maintenance base.

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These are SAP-defined programs, not universal entitlements. SAP directs customers to their account team for a contract-specific assessment, so the public description alone cannot determine which products, license values, or contract terms apply.

How to assess the options for your landscape

  1. Inventory the estate. Record each SAP product, release, database, deployment model, commercial installation, contract, and current support status. Map components to the installation boundaries SAP recognizes.
  2. Check the maintenance path. Verify each product and release against SAP’s Product Availability Matrix or release strategy. Do not infer a release’s support end date from the Business Suite 7 or S/4HANA headline dates alone.
  3. Define the required support. For each installation, determine what coverage the business and technical teams need, and assess the operational risks of reduced, customer-specific, or non-SAP support.
  4. Test eligibility and cost. Ask SAP to map the relevant commitments, termination cases, extension programs, and contract provisions to your agreement. Model maintenance premiums, any license changes, and cloud subscription terms separately.
  5. Match the choice to the migration plan. For a proposed 2031–2033 transition path, validate the HANA move, 2 TB minimum, technical-readiness conditions, success-plan requirement, and current commercial terms before relying on it.

The public announcements do not establish an individual customer’s contract eligibility, total cost, or operational risk. A decision that makes sense for one commercial installation may not suit another; support coverage, technical dependencies, transition timing, and contractual scope need to be assessed together.

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Enterprise SoftwareERPon-premise supportSAPSAP maintenance

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