The European Commission's recent ruling against SAP's practices has reconfigured the bargaining board for thousands of companies that rely on its ERP systems. By eliminating reinstallation fees and reducing retroactive maintenance costs, Brussels is not only sanctioning anti-competitive conduct, but also giving customers a strategic weapon to rethink their modernisation roadmaps. In this new scenario, organizations no longer have to choose between a forced migration to S/4HANA or limited support: they can now explore alternatives, save time and, above all, regain control over their technology decisions.
For years, SAP has put considerable pressure on its installed base, especially on those still operating with SAP ECC, whose mainstream support ends in 2027 and extended support in 2030. The RISE with SAP strategy, launched in 2021, accelerated the push to the cloud, but many companies have resisted because of the high cost, technical complexity, and risk of accumulating premature technical debt. Gartner has already warned that more than 10,000 customers will continue to use ECC beyond 2030, which shows that migration is not a matter of deadlines, but of organizational maturity.
With this European decision, customers get a break. The possibility of combining maintenance services from different suppliers – known as mix and match – breaks the monopoly that SAP had on after-sales support. This allows companies to hire third-party services to extend the life of their on-premise systems without losing the option to return to SAP in the future if they choose to do so. In fact, SAP's promise not to penalize return opens the door to hybrid strategies that were previously unfeasible.
For CIOs and digital transformation managers, this regulatory change should be interpreted as an invitation to review migration timelines. Instead of rushing to meet vendor-imposed deadlines, it's now possible to prioritize internal factors: the organization's actual technical debt, readiness for an operating model shift (from on-premise to cloud), and the real urgency of the new capabilities that S/4HANA promises. A sensible approach is to conduct a deep audit of the SAP ecosystem and assess whether investments in new functionality outweigh the risks of a poorly planned migration.
This is where it makes sense to turn to specialists who understand both legacy and innovation. Companies like Q2BSTUDIO offer precisely that independent and technical point of view. With expertise in custom applications and custom software, they can help organizations build bridges between today's SAP environment and modern solutions without falling into contractual ties. For example, instead of migrating the entire ERP to the cloud at once, specific modules can be developed that integrate artificial intelligence to optimize logistics or financial processes, or implement AI agents that automate repetitive tasks within the SAP ecosystem itself.
The flexibility now granted by the EU also invites us to rethink the infrastructure architecture. Many companies are combining on-premise SAP environments with AWS and Azure cloud services to scale on demand without compromising the security of critical data. In this context, Q2BSTUDIO can advise on the selective migration of workloads to the cloud, ensuring interoperability with legacy systems. In addition, cybersecurity becomes a fundamental pillar: by opening up to multiple support providers, the attack surface potentially increases, so having a robust cybersecurity plan is essential. Here, services such as pentesting and security auditing help identify vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
Another key aspect is data-driven decision-making. Artificial intelligence for business and business intelligence tools make it possible to extract value from the data stored in SAP, even if the migration is delayed. Deploying a dashboard in Power BI connected to the ECC system can reveal supply chain bottlenecks or spending patterns that warrant an investment in modernization. Q2BSTUDIO, through its business intelligence services, integrates these capabilities without the need to change the core of the ERP, offering a strategic vision in real time.
Negotiation with SAP also benefits from this new framework. Customers can use the European Commission's concessions as an argument to renegotiate maintenance contracts, demand discounts on cloud licenses or delay payments for forced upgrades. The credible threat of third-party support is now a real pressure tool. But for this strategy to work, you need to have a solid plan B. Therein lies the value of having a technology partner that designs custom applications that fill the gaps in external support, or that facilitates the transition to more open platforms without losing business continuity.
However, a massive abandonment of SAP support is not expected. User groups warn that, for organizations with complex and critical SAP landscapes, extended maintenance remains the lowest-risk option as they prepare for the next step. But the difference now is that this next step can be taken on the terms of the company, not the supplier. The European decision returns the power of the agenda to customers, and those who know how to take advantage of it will be the ones who avoid the trap of panic-driven modernisation.
At this point, technology is not the only factor: data governance, internal team training, and alignment with business objectives are equally decisive. A successful migration is not measured by how many modules are moved to the cloud, but by the agility the organization gains to respond to the market. Therefore, we recommend that each company perform a technology maturity analysis, including an assessment of its technical debt, and consider incorporating AI agents that automate business processes directly on top of SAP, without waiting for the full migration.
For those looking for comprehensive support, Q2BSTUDIO offers everything from strategic consulting to technical implementation, as well as custom software development and integration with AWS and Azure cloud services. His team has an in-depth knowledge of the SAP ecosystem and the alternatives that the new European regulation puts on the table. If your company is reevaluating its roadmap with SAP, we invite you to explore how AI solutions for business and Power BI can complement your strategy by visiting our Business Intelligence with Power BI section.
Ultimately, the EU's decision is not just a regulatory triumph, but an opportunity for SAP customers to regain control over their digital destiny. The road to modernization does not have to be a race against time; It can be a strategic process, measured and supported by partners who understand both legacy and innovation. Now that bargaining power is on the customer's side, the question is not when to migrate, but how to do it wisely.
