No more FOMO – SAP ECC customers are not missing out on new features

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is a thing, mostly in social media and personal endeavors. But it also has a parallel in enterprise software roadmaps. Stay with me and I’ll explain.

ERP software first hit the scene in the 1960s. In the decades that followed, the number and variety of ERP vendors and packages grew. In 1992, SAP launched the first client-server ERP software with the introduction of SAP R/3.

ERP software vendors vied for new customers and worked to retain existing ones by introducing new features and capabilities at a feverish pace. New versions, service packs, and enhancement packs usually had new bells and whistles to help companies run more efficiently and get more value from their software. SAP users looked forward to getting shiny new toys from their software provider, all included in their annual maintenance agreements.

But that model changed significantly, and in favor of vendors.

By 2010, ERP software packages were feature-rich and quite stable, which meant the rate and quantity of new features began to taper off. Vendors started investing in their next-generation, cloud-based software solutions.

In 2016, SAP delivered its last enhancement pack (EHP 8) for ECC6 (its successor to R/3) and announced there will be no more enhancement packs for ECC. Since then, SAP ECC customers, who number in the tens of thousands, continue to pay increasing annual maintenance fees for the software. For that, they get support and… well… support. But not support for customizations, and with no more new features.

To push more customers to move to the latest products, vendors started to fan the flames on FOMO, selling the idea that customers who do not continue on their upgrade track will be missing out, even if those new features are not aligned to customers’ future business needs.

FOMO or forgo?

For SAP ECC customers, new features aren’t coming. They haven’t been coming since 2016.

S/4HANA on-premises customers find themselves in a similar, though not identical, situation. While SAP plans to deliver three “Feature Pack Stacks” to S/4HANA on-premises customers after each key release, it has announced that its premium innovations will only be available to customers on its S/4HANA Cloud platform.¹ 

The roadmap for customers who migrated to S/4HANA before the cloud version was available now leads to a cul-de-sac. To get the good stuff — the premium innovations — they will be forced to make the leap to S/4HANA Cloud and the RISE with SAP or GROW with SAP programs.

CIOs are being pushed to go back to the board, hat in hand, to ask for more money. And if SAP were to make even more changes to their innovation availability model, how will this impact those who may have already incurred significant cost and disruption to their business?

Many SAP customers around the globe have learned and benefitted from saying “No” to the pretense of FOMO, choosing instead to maximize the value and life of their existing release. They are reallocating the funds and talent that would have been locked up in the lengthy upgrade cycle to instead innovate around the edges and in the areas that make most sense for their business – immediately.

Rimini Street: Replacing FOMO with FOR SURE

In 2005, Rimini Street entered the market, offering organizations an independent, third-party option for transferring their annual support from the vendor to an independent provider. It’s no surprise many of our clients decided that the freedom and responsiveness benefits of third-party support outweighed the unknown value or applicability of future software enhancements.

Many SAP customers, a number of whom customized their systems to best fit their business processes, switch from vendor maintenance to Rimini Street support and benefit from:

• The freedom to stay longer on their current software version
• Comprehensive support, including support for customizations not typically supported by the vendor
• No vendor pressure to upgrade just to stay fully supported
• Flexibility to choose and apply innovations, regardless of vendor

Don’t get caught up in the FOMO trap. You’re not only NOT missing out on new features but also freeing yourself of uncertain value to your company. Choose what is best for your business, now and later, and take control of your IT investments and future roadmap.

Remember: When SAP comes asking WHEN you’re going to upgrade, your response should be, “WHY?”

¹ “ SAP CEO push for cloud-only ‘innovation’ shatters users’ trust in German-speaking heartlands.” Aug. 3, 2023, The Register.

Rimini Street can help accelerate innovation with your existing systems. Connect with our SAP experts here.