Why is the end of ECC support a critical point?

Standard support for SAP ERP ends in 2027, and customers need to act.

SAP is a crucial system for storing and organizing business data, playing a key role in improving internal processes. SAP is committed to continuous software updates, prioritizing the development of new versions and, consequently, discontinuing older ones.

This strategy aims to encourage customers to migrate to the latest versions, such as SAP S/4HANA, ensuring they benefit from the most advanced innovations and efficiencies available.

The discontinuation of ECC, announced by SAP in 2020, is a significant milestone. Companies still using the second generation of the software need to migrate to SAP S/4HANA by 2027 to avoid using an obsolete system and incurring high costs.

This transition is also necessary to maintain Enterprise Support, technical support that provides benefits such as access to regular updates, bug fixes and patches, identification of potential problems and assistance, access to libraries, technical documentation, and educational materials.

Furthermore, Enterprise Support provides analysis of factors such as areas where SAP can help improve production time, and provide data and information to improve the organization's inventory, for example. 

At this stage, when all versions of a generation are discontinued, this generation is terminated by SAP, and all users still on it must migrate.

If they do not complete this migration process, they will be charged 2% of their contract value to continue using the system. This detail underscores the urgency and importance of upgrading to the latest software version.

The migration challenge is significant, considering the number of affected companies and the resources required. With over 1,300 companies in Brazil and 40,000 worldwide needing to migrate, the available time and workforce suggest that it may not be possible for all to complete the transition by the established deadline.

The digitalization of internal processes offers significant benefits, including greater operational efficiency, error reduction, increased productivity, enhanced security, faster analytics, as well as greater simplicity and flexibility during processes.

These improvements directly impact organizations' revenue and are essential for agile business models.

S/4HANA is also evolving, aiming, among other things, to adapt to future trends that are part of digital transformation, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and advanced data analytics.

These future trends are shaping the digital transformation of businesses, driving innovation, improving customer experience, and creating new business models.

Unlike the previous version, the system was conceived and developed according to organizations' current operating model, adapting more readily to changes. This demand came from the companies themselves, which are expanding into new markets and creating new needs.

Previously, processes consumed a lot of time and resources, as the previous version was created for business models that did not change as rapidly and no longer supported market technological advancements. 

Another example is the reports, which are simpler and provide more complete information with fewer clicks, helping to save time and resources, and increasing employee productivity by delivering results more quickly and efficiently. 

Designed to meet the current demands of organizations, SAP S/4HANA facilitates changes, acquisitions, and the introduction of new sales channels. The new interface, Fiori, optimizes operations, minimizes data redundancies, and accelerates decision-making, distinguishing itself through its flexibility and ease of use.

With its intelligent data design, it reduces aggregate tables and data redundancy for greater efficiency; instead of storing data in a data warehouse and waiting for it to load, the system provides faster analytics and insights. 

S/4HANA was also designed to work with the in-memory database (IMDB), offering fast recovery and optimized performance. IMDB stores data in RAM instead of traditional disks or SSDs and is 3,600 times faster than traditional databases, with a response time of less than 1 second.

Databases are used in applications that require speed and capacity, such as telecommunications, and banking systems can adopt in-memory databases for analytical functions, predictive modeling, and much more.

Business transactions and existing analytical capabilities also accelerate insights, allowing decisions to be made easily and quickly, and business processes to be executed within a single application with a single source of truth, without having to switch between systems and applications.

Furthermore, the upgrade provides a 20% reduction in inventory costs and a 30% reduction in total cost of ownership, in addition to a 50% reduction in billing process time.

Moreover, this version significantly enhances security, offering protection against intrusions and cyber threats. The migration process is simplified, with regular updates that improve security, fix vulnerabilities, and introduce new functionalities, leaving ECC behind by over 3,000 functionalities compared to S/4HANA.

This underscores the critical need for an upgrade to maintain competitiveness and future-readiness.

*By Guilherme Joventino, COO and Co-founder of Mignow.

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Why the end of ECC support is a critical
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