S/4hana Delays: the Price of Falling Behind in an Unstoppable World

The clock is ticking for organizations still running on SAP’s legacy platform, SAP ERP Central Component (ECC), which has powered core operations for decades, with the 2027 end-of-maintenance deadline drawing closer. This approaching milestone underscores the pressing need for businesses to adopt the next-generation upgrade to ECC: SAP S/HANA. This version offers a cloud-first, artificial intelligence (Al)-driven business-enabling platform that integrates intelligent technologies, real-time analytics, and scalable architecture to future-proof operations. Yet, as of end-2024, Gartner estimates that approximately 61% of ECC clients had still not procured SAP S/HANA licenses. As IDC predicts a mass migration of large organizations toward modular, API-driven systems and Al-centric process improvements within the next few years, it’s clear that those who delay moving to SAP S/4HANA risk falling behind. The real question now is: What’s holding businesses back, and how can they seize this moment to unlock long-term value through S/4HANA?