Executive Clarity · SAP Contract Terms

Mainstream Maintenance

FixedEffectively non-negotiable in standard paper. Spend your capital elsewhere; manage the consequence instead.

What it governs

The first of SAP's maintenance phases for a release: full support under the customer's support agreement from release-to-customer through the unrestricted shipment phase. It is followed by extended maintenance where SAP offers it — at an additional fee and under a separate contract — and otherwise, automatically and at the unchanged support fee, by customer-specific maintenance with a restricted scope and no expiry date.

Why SAP moves on it — or doesn't

Maintenance phases are published policy, not contract terms. For the core applications of SAP Business Suite 7, mainstream maintenance runs to 31 December 2027 — and after 2025 only on the latest three enhancement packages, so an older EhP must be upgraded to stay inside it. Extended maintenance runs 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2030 and applies to the whole landscape, never to a subset. From 2031 only customer-specific maintenance is offered. SAP S/4HANA is committed to the end of 2040.

The lever

Plan the conversion to the dates, not the other way around. Extended maintenance is a separate quotation from your account executive; the transition option beyond 2030 carries an uplift on top; and staying on customer-specific maintenance costs the same fee for less support — new errors are analysed only at very-high priority. Every year of delay is priced, and the price is not negotiated.

In SAP's published documents

SAP Note 2881788, version 6, released 8 July 2025: mainstream maintenance for SAP Business Suite 7 core applications (SAP ERP 6.0, CRM 7.0, SCM 7.0, SRM 7.0 and Business Suite powered by SAP HANA) until 31 December 2027 — after 2025 only on the latest three enhancement packages (for SAP ERP 6.0: EhP6, EhP7, EhP8). Optional extended maintenance 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2030 "at an additional fee on top of the respective support fee", always for the full landscape, never a subset; the percentage is not stated in the note. Default from 1 January 2028 and the only option from 2031: customer-specific maintenance. SAP's maintenance-phases page adds that extended maintenance needs a separate contract quoted by the account executive, and that customer-specific maintenance continues at the same annual fee, with restricted scope per SAP Note 52505 and no expiry date. Maintenance commitment for SAP S/4HANA: end of 2040.

Source: SAP Note 2881788 — End of SAP Business Suite 7 mainstream maintenance — Version 6, released 08.07.2025 (read via SAP for Me) · also SAP Support Portal — SAP Maintenance Phases (read 17 Sep 2026). Checked 2026-09-17 against the SAP Trust Center; editions change — re-verify before relying on it.

Before you rely on this. A judgement, not legal advice. SAP's standard terms change — verify the current wording of this term in the standard documents published at the SAP Trust Center before using it in a live negotiation.
Also rated fixed
  • Continuous Quality Check — CQC: at least one remote quality-check service per year for each supported solution under Enterprise Support, delivered through SAP's lifecycle tooling, ending in an action plan or written recommendations.
  • Data Processing Agreement — Roles, security measures, sub-processors and transfer mechanisms for personal data.
  • Delivery of Software — How the software is made available, typically electronic download with an S-user ID and passcode stated in the order form.
  • Full Use Equivalent — The RISE / S/4HANA Cloud aggregation metric. Individuals are converted into a single pooled number at fixed ratios, and the pool may be reallocated between use types during the term.

This entry was generated with AI assistance from SAP contract vocabulary that is publicly available through search, and reviewed for plausibility, not completeness. General guidance only — verify the current wording and your own position before relying on it.