These announcements bring AI-led transformation to focus and are very relevant as we approach the end of mainstream maintenance for Â鶹ԭ´´ Solution Manager on December 31, 2027*, many customers are transitioning to Â鶹ԭ´´ Cloud ALM to stay competitive and future-ready. Â鶹ԭ´´ recommends that customers complete the transition to Â鶹ԭ´´ Cloud ALM before this date.

We are proud that Â鶹ԭ´´ Solution Manager has served thousands of customers exceptionally well over two decades as a key element of Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s support offerings, providing the governance, monitoring, and lifecycle management capabilities needed to support mission-critical landscapes.

Twenty-five years in, the business environment that it was built for has significantly evolved to one where enterprises innovate continuously, scale globally, adopt AI, maintain a clean core, and deliver business outcomes at unprecedented speed. Market expectations have changed, technology stacks are running on cloud-ready architecture, and the revenue potential of businesses has exponentially grown. These realities require a fundamentally different approach and functional scope for application lifecycle management. Â鶹ԭ´´ Cloud ALM was designed with exactly these factors in mind. As a cloud-native solution coming with Â鶹ԭ´´ Enterprise Support, or any cloud subscription from Â鶹ԭ´´, it can close the gaps that modern organizations face in an increasingly fast-moving digital landscape.

All the information required for the transition from Â鶹ԭ´´ Solution Manager to Â鶹ԭ´´ Cloud ALM is available on the page. You can access essential tools for a seamless transition as well as recommendations based on your current landscape, project plans, and operational needs. You can also find focused .

Take action now:

• Request your Â鶹ԭ´´ Cloud ALM tenant via .Ìý
• Join the , a 90-minute onboarding designed to help you get up and running quickly.Ìý
• Run the  to get an exact understanding of your current Â鶹ԭ´´ Solution Manager footprint and receive guidance for your transition journey.Ìý
• Expand your knowledge through the  and join our .Ìý
• Subscribe to the monthly  to stay updated on innovations, tips, and use cases.Ìý

While Â鶹ԭ´´ Solution Manager’s end of mainstream maintenance in itself is a call to action, it isn’t the primary business case. The real need for transitioning lies in the value that Â鶹ԭ´´ Cloud ALM delivers: accelerated implementations, AI-powered and autonomous operations, continuous feature innovation, lower TCO, and a platform purpose-built for modern, cloud-first landscapes. As every digital touchpoint around you is being modernized and optimized for value, your ALM landscape should not be an exception.

Stefan Steinle is executive vice president and head of Global Customer Support at Â鶹ԭ´´.

*Details related to maintenance options are covered in Â鶹ԭ´´ Notes 52505 and 3255311.

Â鶹ԭ´´ will also provide mainstream maintenance for core applications of Â鶹ԭ´´ Business Suite 7 until end of 2027 and an optional extended maintenance for additional fee until end of 2030.

In this exclusive interview, Michael Kleinemeier, member of the Executive Board of Â鶹ԭ´´ SE, Â鶹ԭ´´ Digital Business Services, and Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of Â鶹ԭ´´ SE, Â鶹ԭ´´ Product Engineering, share how this strategy delivers what customers need most: a clear path to become intelligent enterprises, support for new business models, investment protection, and planning stability.

Q: How can Â鶹ԭ´´ make such long-term maintenance commitments when business is changing so rapidly?

Kleinemeier: We are on the journey in close partnership with our customers. More than 13,800 customers are on this journey with us already, and several user group surveys show that the movement toward Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA is running at full steam. Our German-speaking user group DSAG reports increases in Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA investments and Americas Â鶹ԭ´´ Users’ Group , in its latest survey, did not find a single customer not planning to move to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA. We know that on this important path; our customers should not have to sacrifice stability for innovation, particularly during times of accelerated change. That’s why we’ve made the commitment to deliver innovations to our flagship product, Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA, through updates for at least the next 20 years. Customers will have this secure backbone in place delivering continuous innovation they can count on for business value.

Saueressig: Â鶹ԭ´´ is taking this proactive step because we are absolutely convinced of the business value of Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA and Â鶹ԭ´´ HANA as the long-term platform and architecture for innovation and new business models. Our extended maintenance commitment to both Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA and for Â鶹ԭ´´ Business Suite 7 is the logical evolution in our strategy to help customers become intelligent enterprises driving innovation in shorter cycles for modern digital transformation. We’ve learned from many discussions with our customers this is the best way to provide them with a clear strategy for making a smooth transition forward. In fact, we anticipate these commitments will actually further boost adoption of Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA because they provide long-term planning stability based on our future-looking model.

Why did Â鶹ԭ´´ decide to extend maintenance time frames for all these solutions now?

Kleinemeier: This next digital era isn’t about doing the same activities in different ways. Moving to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA is not just a technical replacement; it’s about reinventing how a business operates, delivering net-new customer and employee experiences and establishing new business models. We understand that our customers aren’t making these decisions lightly. The changes are substantial across organizations when they move to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA. To make sure customers receive the full benefits of their Â鶹ԭ´´ investments, we are deliberately providing a longer time frame that will bring increased flexibility to help them become intelligent enterprises.

Saueressig: These are likely among the longest commitments any vendor has provided to a software solution. Even so, we made it because regardless of a customer’s future business demands, we know that Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA will address all these changes. At the same time, customers are moving at their own pace to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA, which is why we’ve committed maintenance for Â鶹ԭ´´ Business Suite 7 for two additional years plus the additional option until end of 2030. For example, if a customer is moving to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA, they should standardize business processes first. Also, many companies have to rationalize complex landscapes with multiple ERP systems. Our objective is to respect our customers’ current investments, allowing them the time they need to re-engineer business processes and systems so they can tap into the full business opportunities of Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA.

Can you detail how these programs will benefit Â鶹ԭ´´ customers?

Kleinemeier: Customers can make long-term yet flexible plans to meet their fast-changing business demands backed by the security of the most innovative business platform. Even if a customer is unable to move to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA in the next two years, we’ll work with them to get there in the next decade. Overall, our approach is to provide guidance through informed recommendations — not just a long list of options. The customer decides when and how to move based on their business demands.

Saueressig: Customers see the value of moving to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA and want to know the best way to move forward. Maybe they need to figure out whether to move to cloud or on premise. We do provide this choice, we see strong growth and differentiation to competition in both models. Or, they need to decide which country, subsidiaries, or business processes to start with. They might want to begin with a central finance scenario to harmonize financial systems and procurement processes, and then move to operational, manufacturing, and logistics. We’re providing the breathing space and assistance to help customers identify the ideal path forward.

What advice do you have for customers about how they can get the most business value from their Â鶹ԭ´´ investments?

Saueressig: We can share concrete, quantitative business results from all those customers that have adopted Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA already. Customers can use these experiences to build a solid business case for their company’s transition to Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA, including benchmarks and KPIs relevant to their industry and specific growth objectives. We have numerous tools and services to help customers identify where Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA will provide the most business value and how to orchestrate and manage this transformation in the best way.

Kleinemeier: Customers can jump-start their transition using best practices in , which provides preconfigured industry-specific solutions based on the real-world experiences of organizations worldwide using Â鶹ԭ´´ solutions. To set benchmarks and KPIs for continuous process improvement and performance optimization, companies can use . For technical migration, whether moving to the cloud or on premise, customers can use a number of tools, including extension evaluation and optimization services for standardization of their core systems. That way they can quickly consume the innovations we’re delivering with Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA every quarter.

Read the press release: “Â鶹ԭ´´ Extends Its Innovation Commitment for Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA, Provides Clarity and Choice on Â鶹ԭ´´ Business Suite 7.”