SAP has recently introduced significant changes to its support model, reshaping the way enterprises engage with its maintenance and support offerings. These updates reflect SAP’s broader shift toward cloud-centric delivery models, especially in the context of RISE with SAP and the impending 2027 end-of-maintenance deadline for SAP Business Suite 7. For IT and procurement leaders, these changes necessitate a careful evaluation of support entitlements, pricing models, service levels, and long-term contract implications. Navigating these changes effectively is not merely a technical exercise but a strategic imperative tied to digital transformation success.
SAP’s new support structure pivots on three pillars: foundational support for on-premise products, cloud-centric support embedded in RISE, and a new premium support tier called “SAP Cloud Application Services” and “SAP Enterprise Support, cloud editions.” These offerings emphasize predictive support, automation, and proactive guidance over reactive issue resolution. Support now includes embedded capabilities like automated health checks, machine learning-driven recommendations, and integrated monitoring tools through SAP Solution Manager and SAP Cloud ALM.
In on-premise environments, SAP continues to offer standard Enterprise Support. However, customers migrating to cloud and hybrid models under RISE must transition to cloud-centric support tiers, which include embedded SLAs, outcome-driven KPIs, and a tighter integration of support within the cloud subscription model. This shift marks a departure from traditional, ticket-based service models toward continuous service performance monitoring and proactive incident prevention.
Additionally, SAP has streamlined its support contracts to align with its move to subscription pricing, emphasizing service continuity, simplified escalation paths, and AI-driven ticket resolution tools. While this increases agility, it also means customers must accept a uniform support baseline across all SAP cloud products. The centralization of support delivery also standardizes support touchpoints but can reduce the flexibility customers had under legacy models.
A few key themes emerge as essential for strategic decision-making:
The new model places more weight on proactive system health, automation, and predictive analytics. However, enterprises used to high-touch support models may find the standard cloud support offering less responsive, especially during major incidents.
For organizations undergoing large-scale transformation, these support models can streamline delivery and reduce total cost of support. However, for those with legacy, highly customized landscapes, support complexity and responsiveness could diminish.
These scenarios also support better alignment between SAP’s support metrics and enterprise IT service management (ITSM) dashboards, improving cross-team collaboration and incident tracking.
Not all enterprises will benefit equally. Some scenarios may pose challenges:
Furthermore, enterprises with critical uptime requirements may find the responsiveness of base-level cloud support insufficient. In such cases, upgrading to premium support tiers may be necessary but can incur substantial costs. For example, the SAP Preferred Success model includes additional fees for faster response times and named technical account managers.
Another pitfall lies in the assumption that embedded support will replace all needs for partner-led AMS (Application Management Services). In reality, many enterprises still require supplemental AMS to cover development, enhancements, and round-the-clock support not bundled in SAP’s offerings.
IT and procurement leaders should proactively assess their support contracts and transition plans. Engage cross-functionally with SAP account managers, legal counsel, and architecture teams to map the impact of support model changes on current and future operations. Demand transparency in pricing and escalation matrices, and where possible, negotiate outcome-based support SLAs tailored to business-critical workloads.
It is also advisable to benchmark SAP’s new support levels against third-party SAP AMS (Application Management Services) providers. In some cases, hybrid support strategies may yield better value and performance. For example, combining SAP’s predictive monitoring with a partner AMS for manual remediation and 24×7 service desk can create a balanced support ecosystem.
Additionally, procurement leaders should request detailed documentation from SAP outlining what is included in each support tier. Where gaps are identified—for example, limited development support or exclusion of certain integrations—these should be addressed in contract annexes or handled via complementary support channels.
To future-proof their strategies, enterprises should:
SAP’s revised support model represents a pivotal shift toward cloud-centric operations. While offering advantages in scalability, predictive insights, and standardized delivery, it also brings challenges around responsiveness and support depth for complex, on-premise workloads. IT and procurement leaders must take a strategic, data-informed approach to navigate these changes, ensuring support models are aligned with business continuity, cost-efficiency, and transformation goals.
More importantly, SAP’s new support model demands a reassessment of roles and responsibilities within the IT organization. Support is no longer a reactive function but a continuous engagement that shapes the reliability and resilience of digital operations.
In this landscape, success depends on integration, governance, and proactive contract management. By adopting a strategic, performance-oriented view of SAP support, enterprises can turn these changes into a competitive advantage—one that safeguards operations today and accelerates innovation tomorrow.
2Data is an independent software licensing advisory specializing in Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Salesforce and IBM optimization. We help companies reduce contract costs, manage risk, and simplify their software licensing.
