Cella retires your legacy SAP ECC system as you move to S/4HANA or RISE, keeping every historical record accessible, reportable and compliant. Migrate only the data you need, switch the old system off, and carry none of its cost or risk into your new platform.
SAP s/4HANA migration and ECC decommissioning Move to S/4HANA. Leave the old system behind.
Trusted by enterprise SAP teams making the move to S/4HANA and RISE.
The 2027 deadline
The SAP ECC end-of-life deadline
SAP has confirmed that mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC (Business Suite 7) ends in 2027, with optional extended maintenance available until the end of 2030. Every SAP customer now faces the same decision: how, and when, to move to SAP S/4HANA. Whichever route you choose, one question follows you through the whole programme – what happens to the decades of historical data sitting in your old ECC system? You rarely need it running day to day, but you cannot simply delete it. Cella is the answer to that question.
2027
SAP ECC (Business Suite 7) mainstream maintenance ends.
2030
Optional extended maintenance ends. No further general extension has been announced.
2040
SAP S/4HANA maintenance is committed – the platform you are moving to.
How Cella fits
Decommission SAP ECC as you migrate to S/4HANA
- Migrate less. Move only current, in-scope data into S/4HANA and leave the historical burden behind.
- Cut your HANA and RISE footprint. Keep years of legacy data out of your most expensive platform.
- Keep every record. Historical data stays accessible for statutory retention, audit and reporting.
- Reduce risk and cost. A smaller, cleaner migration is faster to deliver and lower risk.
- AI-ready history. Freed from the legacy system, your historical data is clean and governed – ready for AI and analytics when you are.
Every route to S/4HANA
Greenfield, brownfield or bluefield
There is no single way to reach S/4HANA, and Cella complements all of them.
Greenfield
A fresh start
A new S/4HANA implementation built from scratch. Cella decommissions the ECC system you are leaving behind, retaining its full history without carrying it into the new build.
Brownfield
In-place conversion
A system conversion of your existing ECC to S/4HANA. Use Cella first to archive and remove data you do not need to convert, so the brownfield migration is lighter and lower-risk.
Bluefield / selective
The hybrid route
A selective transition that moves only chosen data. Cella holds everything you choose to leave behind, so “selective” never means “lost”.
Related use cases
Explore related use cases
An SAP move is rarely the only reason to decommission. If you’re also moving another ERP, carving out a business, or targeting legacy IT cost, Cella covers those scenarios too.
ERP
ERP migration support
Keep accessible, auditable history when you move to a new ERP – whatever the vendor.
Learn more
M&A
M&A carve-outs
Separate, retain and access the right data through mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
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Cost
Legacy IT cost reduction
Cut up to 80% of the cost of running systems you only keep for the data.
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Proof
Trusted on complex SAP programmes
50+
enterprise clients
600+
systems decommissioned
40+
system types
Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major European multinationals and public sector organisations across Europe, the Americas and Asia, and built on 30+ years of legacy data experience. Enterprises across energy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and government trust Cella to retire SAP systems on the way to S/4HANA while keeping their data accessible and compliant.
Any questions?
Get in touch
SAP S/4HANA migration FAQs
If you have a question, please use our short form to send it over. We’re always happy to chat.
SAP mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC (Business Suite 7) ends in 2027, with optional extended maintenance typically the end of 2030 for customers who have not contracted to RISE. After that, customers must move to SAP S/4HANA or a third-party support arrangement. The deadline is the main reason organisations are planning their S/4HANA migration now.
A greenfield migration is a fresh S/4HANA implementation built from scratch, leaving the old ECC system behind. A brownfield migration is an in-place conversion of your existing ECC system to S/4HANA, carrying its configuration and data across. A bluefield or selective approach sits between the two, moving only chosen data. Cella supports all three by decommissioning the legacy data you do not migrate.
No. Most organisations only need current, in-scope data in S/4HANA. Historical data kept for reporting, audit or compliance can be decommissioned into Cella, keeping it fully accessible while your new system stays lean and lower-cost.
RISE with SAP is SAP’s bundled offering that brings S/4HANA Cloud, infrastructure and managed services together in one subscription. Because pricing reflects the size of your system, decommissioning legacy data with Cella before you move helps keep the ongoing RISE cost down.
Cella extracts historical data from your legacy SAP system into one secure, reportable store, so your migration to S/4HANA carries only the data you need. The old system is switched off, and its data stays accessible for reporting, audit and compliance.
Ready to move to S/4HANA without the baggage?
Talk to our team about decommissioning your legacy SAP systems as you move to S/4HANA or RISE, and see how much you could save.