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The SAP Man

Every January, the discussion about the "Davos Man" resumes. SAP is also seeking to play an important role at the WEF, so here we will begin a discourse on the Davos Man in general and SAP in particular.
Peter M. Färbinger, E3 Magazine
January 27, 2025
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The “SAP Man” had its say right at the start of the new year: everything remains better! My colleague Christof Kerkmann reported on the German magazine Handelsblatt on January 20 that SAP wants to delay the end of maintenance for Business Suite 7, also known as ERP/ECC 6.0, until 2033. How is this supposed to work?

The announcement confirmed by SAP seems akin to that of the geometric challenge of squaring the circle. The child even has a name: SAP ERP, Private Edition, Transition Option. However, at a recent event in Leipzig, SAP Board Member Thomas Saueressig declared that it was absolutely impossible to postpone the end of ECC maintenance. Now Business Suite 7's official end date is still set for 2027, but there's paid extended maintenance available until 2030. With a RISE with SAP contract, it might extend to 2033. Some even think 2035 could be the final end date.

SAP makes the impossible possible: in his DSAG keynote, Thomas Saueressig explained that there can be no maintenance extension beyond 2030 because the database vendors IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft no longer provide their specific SAP DB licenses. The license for Oracle's Java will also expire, which has reignited the old discussion about NetWeaver Dual Stack. Does ECC 6.0 need the Java stack or is Abap sufficient?

Thomas Saueressig painted a horror scenario in Leipzig, Germany, and implored the DSAG members present to finally switch to S/4. However, the SAP executive's moral appeal went unheeded in the exhibition hall without any significant response. This meant SAP had to develop a plan B, which could now look like this: as a first step, there will be a database release change to Hana for all SAP customers by 2027, at least on paper. Operationally, there's a three-year buffer until 2030, but then that’s it! Thomas Saueressig explains why: "The database vendors are no longer renewing their cheap SAP DB licenses. There are alternatives for the expiring Java license, if Java is still needed at all. On SAP BTP, applications can be programmed in ten different languages, including the alternative option, Java.

If SAP's Plan B, called "SAP ERP, Private Edition, Transition Option", works out, then SAP itself will have a higher support effort in the years 2030 to 2033, but this can be well compensated by the comprehensive and still expensive Hana licensing—all's well that ends well! A SoH, Suite on Hana, is not new and therefore not without risk for SAP. It is more difficult to communicate this plan, as there is nothing to prevent SoH until 2040 in terms of technology and licensing. The combination of ERP/ECC 6.0, Hana and SAP Business Technology Platform (without Java from Oracle) has already been implemented at some SAP customers landscapes. The BTP gets excellent marks here, so the new community buzzword may soon be: SoH/BTP—Suite on Hana and the Business Technology Platform. Will the SAP Man like that?

At the World Economic Forum, social issues are, of course, high on the agenda. The self-image of the Davos Man, as political scientist Samuel Huntington once defined it, has always been ambivalent. After all, the concept is always about documenting your own status as a global elite. The “who” is always more important than the “what”. This leads us to: who exactly is the Davos Man at SAP? History repeats itself: this year, SAP board member Thomas Saueressig will once again represent the global ERP market leader in the Swiss mountains.

SAP's Christian Klein will stay at home and keep the company's share price high. SAP's share price on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is currently over 250 EUR, quite a positive picture that, however, is not reflected in the SAP community: SAP's customers have been following the S/4 Hana company less and less. As previously mentioned, SAP has been forced to develop more and more tricks to keep its own customers happy. Unresolved issues are all that surround the pleasing stock market price. SAP still does not have a new Chief Technology Officer and lacks a consistent AI strategy. Of course, more and more ERP business processes are being enhanced and optimized with AI functions, which is commendable; however, an orchestrated AI strategy, such as that pursued by the German tech company DeepL with its own Nvidia data center, is lacking at SAP.

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Peter M. Färbinger, E3 Magazine

Peter M. Färbinger, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief E3 Magazine DE, US and ES (e3mag.com), B4Bmedia.net AG, Freilassing (DE), E-Mail: pmf@b4bmedia.net and Tel. +49(0)8654/77130-21


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Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

This gives the Competence Center strategic importance for existing SAP customers. Regardless of the S/4 Hana operating model, topics such as Automation, Monitoring, Security, Application Lifecycle Management and Data Management the basis for S/4 operations.

For the second time, E3 magazine is organizing a summit for the SAP community in Salzburg to provide comprehensive information on all aspects of S/4 Hana groundwork.

Venue

More information will follow shortly.

Event date

Wednesday, May 21, and
Thursday, May 22, 2025

Regular ticket

EUR 590 excl. VAT

Venue

Hotel Hilton Heidelberg
Kurfürstenanlage 1
D-69115 Heidelberg

Event date

Wednesday, March 5, and
Thursday, March 6, 2025

Tickets

Regular ticket
EUR 590 excl. VAT
The event is organized by the E3 magazine of the publishing house B4Bmedia.net AG. The presentations will be accompanied by an exhibition of selected SAP partners. The ticket price includes attendance at all presentations of the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2025, a visit to the exhibition area, participation in the evening event and catering during the official program. The lecture program and the list of exhibitors and sponsors (SAP partners) will be published on this website in due course.