SAP S/4HANA Migration: 60% Over Budget – What Midsize Companies Must Know Before 2027
7 min Read Time
SAP ends mainstream support for ECC at the end of 2027. Companies that haven’t migrated to S/4HANA by then will pay surcharges for Extended Maintenance – and will struggle to find consultants still familiar with the legacy system. Sixty percent of all completed migration projects have exceeded budget, timeline, or both. Yet waiting is the most expensive option of all.
The Key Takeaways
- Support deadline looms: SAP ends ECC mainstream support at the end of 2027; Extended Maintenance until 2030 incurs extra fees (SAP, 2025).
- Projects routinely overrun: 60% of S/4HANA migrations deviate from budget, schedule, or quality targets (Horváth Study, 2025).
- Consultants grow scarce: SAP migration consulting rates are projected to rise by up to 50% in 2026/27 compared to 2024.
- Business processes underestimated: 49% of companies cite process changes as the biggest migration hurdle (Horváth, 2025).
- Executive leadership absent: Only 14% of smaller companies assign the CEO to lead the S/4HANA project.
The Deadline That Won’t Be Postponed – This Time
SAP has pushed this date back multiple times – first to 2025, then to 2027, with Extended Maintenance extended to 2030. That’s lulled many midsize firms into a dangerous comfort zone. But the calculus has shifted: Extended Maintenance carries an additional fee on top of standard maintenance charges, and SAP no longer invests development resources in ECC. New features, security patches for emerging threats, and integration with cloud services are available only for modern system landscapes.
Real pressure now comes from three directions simultaneously:
● Consultant shortage: The pool of SAP consultants experienced in ECC-to-S/4HANA migrations is shrinking, while demand peaks in 2026/27. Industry observers estimate daily rates rising by up to 50% versus 2024.
● Compliance risks: NIS2, DORA, and the EU AI Act impose new requirements on data governance and transparency. An ECC system receiving no active development becomes a compliance liability.
● Competitive disadvantage: Companies on S/4HANA can leverage SAP’s Business AI and Business Data Cloud – AI-powered forecasting, automated procurement, real-time reporting. Those staying on ECC watch from the sidelines.
Why 76% Have No Roadmap
The Horváth study – surveying 200 SAP-using companies across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland – reveals a recurring pattern: Migrations are treated as IT projects, though they’re fundamentally transformation initiatives. Forty-nine percent of respondents name business process changes as their biggest hurdle; 44% cite decades-old customizations; 37% point to organizational resistance.
That’s no surprise. A midsize manufacturing firm running a heavily customized ECC system for 15 years likely relies on hundreds of Z-transactions, bespoke reports, and organically grown interfaces. This technical debt doesn’t vanish with an upgrade – it must be deliberately resolved or consciously migrated.
“Migrating to S/4HANA is more than deploying new software – it means transforming entrenched workflows into future-ready business processes.”
– IT-Matchmaker / Trovarit AG, SAP Trends 2026
Only 17% of companies support their migration preparation with change management measures like training or process workshops. Among smaller firms, the CEO leads the S/4HANA project in just 14% of cases; the CFO or COO is involved in only 7%. In other words: the most expensive IT decision of the decade proceeds without executive sponsorship.
SAP’s Incentive Program: Why the First Half of 2026 Is the Right Moment
SAP has relaunched its Transformation Incentive Program for H1 2026 – with one crucial change: 50% of the incentive value now flows directly into project costs as an Implementation Credit. This isn’t marketing fluff – it’s tangible budget relief.
Specifically: For each additional Line of Business (Finance, HR, Procurement) included in the cloud migration, the credit increases by 10%. So migrating three additional domains alongside core ERP yields a 30% uplift on the base credit. The program runs until 30 June 2026 and applies retroactively from 16 February.
Redemption requires working with authorized SAP partners. That’s critical: Not every consultant can activate the incentive. To use it, you must engage a certified implementation partner.
● But: The incentive program is no panacea. It reduces project cost – not complexity. Starting migration without a clear roadmap or thorough process analysis burns the credit on rework and scope creep. The incentive rewards preparedness – not haste.
Brownfield, Greenfield, or Hybrid: What Works for Midsize Companies
The SAP community has debated Brownfield vs. Greenfield for years. For the typical midsize company – 500 to 5,000 employees, long-standing ECC, limited internal IT capacity – the answer is usually far more pragmatic than theoretical.
● Brownfield (system conversion): The existing system is converted; data and customizations remain intact. Advantage: Lower risk, shorter downtime. Disadvantage: Technical debt carries over. Governance mandates like CSRD or NIS2 often trigger follow-up work.
● Greenfield (new implementation): Processes are reimagined; the system is built from scratch. Advantage: Maximum innovation, clean start. Disadvantage: Significantly higher cost, longer duration, elevated change management risk.
● Selective Data Transition (hybrid): New processes are built on S/4HANA; relevant master and transactional data are migrated selectively. Companies like Heinzel Group adopt this approach – phased across multiple releases to distribute risk.
The trend clearly favors RISE with SAP: DSAG’s survey shows 48% of companies now use or plan RISE – up from 16% last year. Why? RISE bundles licensing, infrastructure, and migration services into a single package, reducing the number of decisions a midsize company must make.
“● Selective Data Transition (Hybrid): New processes are built on S/4HANA; relevant master and transactional data are migrated selectively.”
The 90-Day Roadmap: What to Do Now
If you still lack a migration strategy, don’t panic – but do start now. Three months are enough to lay the groundwork:
● Weeks 1-4 – Inventory assessment: Catalog all Z-transactions, custom reports, and interfaces. Use SAP’s Application Value Assessment (AVA) – free of charge, delivers an initial migration complexity analysis.
● Weeks 5-8 – Process analysis: Identify the 20 core processes driving 80% of business value. For each, decide: retain, simplify, or reinvent? Leadership – not just IT – must be at the table.
● Weeks 9-12 – Partner selection & incentive activation: Evaluate three SAP partners, request RISE proposals, apply for the Transformation Incentive before 30 June 2026. Concurrently: launch change management, identify key users, schedule initial training.
The biggest mistake isn’t choosing the wrong migration strategy – it’s having no strategy at all. Seventy-six percent of companies operate without a defined roadmap. That’s the true cost trap: not the migration itself, but improvisation under time pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I keep running ECC after 2027?
SAP offers Extended Maintenance until 2030 – but at an added cost on top of standard maintenance fees. No new features or security patches will be released. The system continues functioning, but grows increasingly risky – especially regarding compliance mandates like NIS2 or DORA.
How long does a typical S/4HANA migration take for midsize companies?
Brownfield migrations typically take 9 to 15 months; Greenfield projects run 12 to 24 months. Actual duration depends heavily on the volume of customizations and the complexity of the process landscape. Selective-data approaches with phased releases can compress individual phases to six months.
How much does an S/4HANA migration cost?
Costs vary widely: For a midsize company with 500-2,000 users, Brownfield migrations typically range from €500,000 to €2 million; Greenfield projects may cost twice as much. SAP’s Transformation Incentive can offset part of implementation costs. Crucially, rigorous preparation is decisive – 60% of budget overruns stem from inadequate process analysis.
Does RISE with SAP make sense for midsize companies?
RISE bundles licensing, cloud infrastructure, and migration services into a single contract. For companies without large internal SAP teams, it dramatically simplifies procurement – you get one point of contact instead of five. DSAG’s 2025 survey shows 48% of DACH companies now use or plan RISE, up from 16% the prior year.
Brownfield or Greenfield – which do consultants currently recommend?
For most midsize companies, consultants recommend a pragmatic Brownfield approach – or Selective Data Transition. Pure Greenfield makes sense only if existing processes are fundamentally outdated – or if a carve-out is imminent. Companies like QD Group have deliberately chosen Brownfield to minimize downtime and change management effort.
Further Reading
- Cloud Talent: Why Germany Is Finally Catching Up on Upskilling – cloudmagazin
- NIS2 in Germany: What Companies Must Know and Implement Now – SecurityToday
- CSRD Reporting Obligation 2025: What the CFO Needs to Know Now – Digital Chiefs
Header Image Source: Kampus Production / Pexels
