Over the last three to five years, many SAP ECC customers have been singing the song. If you are a fan of 80’s music, you know the song I mean. It’s been playing at high volume and on repeat in SAP IT team meetings over the last several years.
Of course, the song I’m referring to is “Should I Stay, or Should I Go?” (The Clash, 1982, 1991).
By now, though, almost every SAP ECC customer has turned down the volume and has either gone, decided to stay, or decided to go. For those choosing to remain on SAP ECC for the foreseeable future, a few very practical questions quickly rise to the top:
Perhaps the most important question of all is a simple one: who fixes it when something breaks?
Unfortunately, time doesn’t stop just because ECC is getting older. The world keeps turning:
SAP teams supporting ECC beyond 2027 realistically have three options:
There aren’t many paths forward—but one of them must be chosen.
Keeping an aging ECC system stable isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a people challenge.
Over time, deep operational knowledge tends to walk out the door. That knowledge is often what keeps systems running smoothly, and once it’s gone, stability can quickly suffer.
To counter this, SAP teams need a deliberate strategy to retain and replace critical knowledge. That might include:
Automation and consistency become increasingly important as experience thins out.
When it comes to ECC security, most teams focus on the usual suspects:
But staying secure on ECC gets harder over time.
Managing access risk often relies on deep, specialist GRC knowledge—which may not be available forever. At the same time, traditional patching approaches need to change. There are no future SAP updates coming to neatly solve new security problems.
Add to that years of configuration drift, and suddenly “good enough” security no longer is.
Addressing this requires intent, visibility, and often a solutions‑based approach.
One of the strongest arguments for S/4HANA is modernisation:
But choosing to stay on ECC doesn’t mean choosing to stand still.
Organisations that remain on ECC still need a modernisation plan. This could include:
Standing still is rarely an option—even if the core system stays the same.
For organisations staying on ECC, success comes down to having a clear plan across four key areas:
Standing still takes effort. But with the right approach, staying on ECC can be a deliberate, manageable, and defensible strategy.
Leg Up Software is an expert in SAP IT operational and infrastructure software automation solutions.
We know the landscape of SAP operations and infrastructure automation solutions and have already done the legwork to identify the best available options, including many that can help you if you plan to stay on ECC for a while.
Why not set up a time to start the conversation by putting something on our calendar?