SAP ECC End of Support Assessment: Pick Your Path Before 31 December 2027
This assessment scores twelve facts about your SAP ECC 6.0 system and maps the result to one of four exit paths from the 2027 end of mainstream maintenance. Each result lists the next technical steps and the dates SAP has published for that path.
1. Which enhancement package is your SAP ERP 6.0 production system on?
Check in System > Status > Component information (SAP_APPL and EA-* levels). Per SAP Note 2881788, mainstream maintenance to end 2027 and extended maintenance apply to EHP 6 and higher.
2. What are your Unicode status and database platform?
S/4HANA runs only on Unicode and SAP HANA. The SAP ERP private edition transition option also supports SAP HANA only.
3. How many custom (Z/Y) development objects are in the system?
Count from TADIR for the customer namespaces, then check usage with SCMON or UPL data before you plan remediation.
4. How large is your modification footprint (SPDD and SPAU work at the last upgrade or support package)?
5. How far along are you with Business Partner and Customer Vendor Integration (CVI)?
Conversion to S/4HANA requires every customer and vendor to have a Business Partner. This is a mandatory pre-conversion step.
6. What is your database size and archiving position?
Size drives HANA memory, conversion downtime and subscription sizing. Check the largest tables in DB02 or the database monitor.
7. Are your add-ons and industry solutions confirmed for the target?
Maintenance Planner blocks a conversion when an installed add-on has no released successor.
8. How heavy and how documented is your interface landscape?
Count active partner profiles in WE20 and outbound ports in WE21 as a starting inventory.
9. What budget is approved for 2026 to 2028?
10. What internal SAP skills can you commit?
11. Would you sign a RISE with SAP subscription and move off perpetual licence maintenance?
The transition option is a subscription offering that sits on top of SAP ERP, private edition. Have your licence team review what happens to existing perpetual licences.
12. Does a regulator, customer contract or auditor require vendor-supported software?
Validated GxP systems, defense contracts and some financial audits often ask for supported software and current security patches.
The dates that apply to SAP ECC 6.0
SAP announced in February 2020 that mainstream maintenance for SAP Business Suite 7 core applications, including SAP ERP 6.0, runs to 31 Dec 2027, with optional extended maintenance from 1 Jan 2028 to 31 Dec 2030. SAP Note 2881788 ties this to enhancement packages: EHP 6, 7 and 8 get the 2027 and 2030 dates, while EHP 0 to 5 left mainstream maintenance at the end of 2025. Customers who do not opt in to extended maintenance by end 2027 move to customer-specific maintenance from 2028. In February 2025 SAP added the SAP ERP, private edition, transition option, which covers ECC from 2031 to 2033 for systems moved to SAP ERP, private edition on SAP HANA before 31 Dec 2030.
- 31 Dec 2025: mainstream end for EHP 0 to 5
- 31 Dec 2027: mainstream end for EHP 6 to 8
- 31 Dec 2030: extended maintenance end, and deadline to be on private edition on HANA for the transition option
- 2031 to 2033: transition option period (SAP Note 3591251)
How to use the score
Answer for your production system, not the landscape average. Each question scores 0 to 3 and the total is shown as a percentage. High scores mean the system and the organisation can convert soon; low scores mean you lack readiness, the will to sign a subscription, or any external pressure to stay vendor-supported. The score is a heuristic, and some answers are hard gates that override it. If you will not sign a RISE subscription, the transition option is closed. If you are below EHP 6, extended maintenance is not available until you upgrade. If a regulator requires vendor support, third-party maintenance is not a real choice even with a low score.
Where to get the answers in the system
EHP level: System > Status > Component information, or the product version in the SAP Solution Manager landscape data. Unicode and database: System > Status shows both. Custom code: count TADIR entries in the customer namespaces and collect usage with SCMON for several months. Modifications: the SPAU and SPDD lists from your last support package or EHP update. CVI: run the CVI pre-checks and look at open items in MDS_LOAD_COCKPIT. Add-ons: run Maintenance Planner for the target release and SAP Readiness Check for simplification items and sizing. Interfaces: partner profiles in WE20, RFC destinations in SM59 and IDoc volumes in WE05 or BD87.
Common mistakes
Treating 2030 as the deadline when you are still on EHP 5 or lower: you already left mainstream maintenance and need an EHP upgrade just to reach extended maintenance. Leaving the extended maintenance opt-in to the last quarter of 2027. Assuming the transition option is a free extension: it is a separate subscription with its own prerequisites, including SAP HANA and a migration to private edition by end 2030. Starting custom code remediation before you know which objects are actually used. Forgetting that CVI work is the same whichever path you choose, so delaying it only shortens the time you have later.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does SAP ECC support end?
Mainstream maintenance for SAP ERP 6.0 EHP 6 to 8 ends on 31 Dec 2027. Optional extended maintenance runs to 31 Dec 2030. EHP 0 to 5 left mainstream maintenance at the end of 2025. After that, the SAP ERP, private edition, transition option covers 2031 to 2033 for systems that meet its prerequisites.
Does SAP support for ECC 6.0 end in 2030?
Extended maintenance, the last standard vendor support for ECC, ends on 31 Dec 2030 and must be opted into. Systems that do not opt in move to customer-specific maintenance from 2028. Support beyond 2030 is only through the transition option, which requires SAP ERP, private edition on SAP HANA before 31 Dec 2030.
What happens if ECC is out of support?
The system keeps running. Under customer-specific maintenance you get known fixes, but no new legal changes or support packages. That matters for payroll, tax and statutory reporting, and for security notes. Kernel, operating system and database versions also drift out of their own support matrices.
Can I upgrade ECC directly to S/4HANA?
Yes, a system conversion (brownfield) uses Software Update Manager, with Database Migration Option if you are not yet on SAP HANA. The source must be Unicode, and customers and vendors must be converted to Business Partners first. Check the minimum source release for your target S/4HANA release in the conversion guide.
If you want your team to query ECC data, custom code inventories or IDoc volumes in plain English on your own servers while you plan the move, we can set that up.
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