SAP announces an upcoming change in the release and maintenance strategy for SAP S/4HANA. In October 2023, there will be the new release 2023 of SAP S/4HANA. This represents a target release for next generation technology!

After that, SAP S/4HANA will move to a 2-year release cycle, longer mainstream maintenance per release of seven years, and easier to implement feature packs.

The new strategy will enable customers to better realize the potential of the SAP system.

The new strategy will target new goals that can be easily summarized:

2-year release cycle

This will provide customers with more opportunities to benefit from ongoing innovations.

Extension of Mainstream Maintenance per release from 5 to 7 years:

With the extension of Mainstream Maintenance from five to seven years per release, customers who upgrade to new releases early will be able to use the product longer. This results in a higher return on investment.

Easier to adapt feature packs

The added value to the business is great. The company will create business process optimization and a better selection of services and best practices with the more frequent feature packs. Also, with the ease of adapting the feature packs that will be available on a regular basis starting with the new release, there will be more options and opportunities for continuous innovation in the business and without having to upgrade.

“Zero Downtime” feature will be maintained

This option will enable that only a short business downtime is expected during maintenance.

Another change from SAP in the future is the Extended Maintenance option, which will help ensure support into the cloud.

For more information, also feel free to read here.