With the extended maintenance end date rapidly approaching for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition releases 1503, 1603, 1709 – 1909, it is time for impacted customers to start planning their next steps before entering customer-specific maintenance on January 1, 2026.
Mainstream maintenance, extended maintenance, and customer-specific maintenance are the three distinct maintenance phases applicable to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition under the SAP Maintenance Strategy.
During mainstream maintenance, full support (SAP Notes, Support packages, Support package stacks, Feature package stacks, etc) is offered for a SAP product until a successor product is available. Extended maintenance offers similar support but requires a specific maintenance contract. For RISE customers, extended maintenance for S/4HANA Cloud private edition is covered by the regular annual subscription fee and does not require a specific maintenance addendum. Once extended maintenance ends, systems enter customer-specific maintenance (CSM), a phase with limited and restricted support services. Entering CSM as a RISE customer means the support and Service Level Agreement currently provided by SAP Enterprise Cloud Services will no longer be available.
S/4HANA Maintenance Timelines
To fully leverage the value of SAP, it’s essential for customers to keep their S/4HANA release up to date – ensuring robust security, continuous innovation and optimal system performance. For this reason, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service has been released to support RISE with SAP customers who have not yet upgraded to the latest S/4HANA Cloud, private edition version and are at risk of falling into customer-specific maintenance. New customers who have not yet upgraded must upgrade before moving to RISE. Alternatively, they can move to RISE on their current S/4HANA release before entering customer-specific maintenance, as long as they also purchase the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service. Customer-specific maintenance is not supported for new RISE customers. Safekeeper services are only applicable to S/4HANA Cloud releases, not SAP ERP.
The SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service is purchased as a single sales SKU and includes:
1) Upgrade Services
A) SAP Cloud Application Services (CAS) for Release Version Upgrade
OR
B) SAP Cloud Application Services (CAS) for Regression Testing
2) Infrastructure
An additional non-productive sandbox tier is provided by SAP to match the size of the existing production system up to 6TiB.
3) Maintenance-related services
Your existing S/4HANA landscape entering customer-specific maintenance will continue to receive SAP Notes and corrections generally aligning with the scope of Extended Maintenance. It will mitigate the limitations of the customer-specific maintenance for the contracted period.
Let’s look at two real-world scenarios.
Example #1 In-Place Upgrade from S/4HANA 1809 to S/4HANA 2023
I’m a RISE with SAP customer running SAP S/4HANA release 1809 which will enter customer-specific maintenance on January 1st, 2026. I want to upgrade my existing systems to SAP S/4HANA 2023.
In this scenario, the customer purchases SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper at least 90 days prior to the safekeeper contract start date (Sept-30-2025) and opts for the upgrade service a) CAS for Release Version Upgrade. Customer has a production system RAM of 512GB.
As of January 1, 2026, the safekeeper service will be initiated. This includes:
Deployment of the sandbox infrastructure (copy of existing production system running S/4HANA 1809) Commencement of the CAS services SAP Notes and corrections on the existing S/4HANA 1809 landscape
Following the infrastructure deployment, an upgrade planning workshop is scheduled with CAS delivery team to provide a detailed project plan. Any additional infrastructure for a parallel landscape (e.g. development/ testing) will need to be procured separately. SAP specialists guide, navigate, and support the upgrade/update process as a whole. On-going support is offered until the production go-live.
Example Brownfield Scenario
Further reading
CAS for Release Version Upgrade Scope Document: https://www.sap.com/about/trust-center/agreements/services/scope-documents.html?sort=latest_desc&search=release%20version%20upgrade
How to upgrade blog: https://community.sap.com/t5/enterprise-resource-planning-blog-posts-by-sap/upgrade-your-sap-s-4hana-cloud-private-edition-following-sap-activate/ba-p/13956251
#2 Greenfield/ Selective Data Transition
I’m a RISE with SAP customer running SAP S/4HANA release 1909 entering customer-specific maintenance on January 1, 2026. I do not want to upgrade my existing systems, but instead, implement a new installation of systems on a more current release.
In this scenario, the suitable upgrade service is b) CAS for Regression Testing.
As of January 1, 2026, the safekeeper service will be initiated. This includes:
Deployment of the sandbox infrastructure (empty greenfield system with the desired target release e.g. 2023) Commencement of the CAS package for Regression Testing SAP Notes and corrections on the existing S/4HANA 1909 landscape
Implementing a greenfield S/4HANA deployment typically involves replicating or redesigning previous business processes or adopting SAP best practices. These processes can be tested and validated in the new sandbox environment before implementing in other tiers. Customer will need to procure additional systems (DEV, QAS and PRD) based on the project plan.
Example Greenfield Scenario
Further reading
Regression Testing Service Scope Document: https://www.sap.com/about/trust-center/agreements/services/scope-documents.html?sort=latest_desc&search=SAP%20Cloud%20Application%20services%20for%20regression%20testing
As SAP S/4HANA 1503 and 1605 were built on an ECC solution stack, customers running these releases will require a system conversion to a more recent SAP S/4HANA release. In this scenario, CAS for Release Version Upgrade does not apply, and the CAS for Regression Testing will be offered.
Contract Duration
The minimum contract duration for Safekeeper is 12 months and the maximum is 27 months (or up to 48 months in case of releases 1503 & 1605). Customers are expected to have moved to a more current release within mainstream maintenance by the end of their contracted period. Extensions are available for customers who did not purchase the full term initially.
Add-ons
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper services are available for selected add-ons within the scope of RISE with SAP, as set forth in the list attached to the following SAP Note 3424346. This list will be expanded as new products are added, so it is recommended to check back frequently if you plan to use Safekeeper.
Extract from the SAP S4HANA Cloud Safekeeper Add-on List
The single source of truth for Safekeeper availability is the SAP Product Availability Matrix at https://support.sap.com/pam
Please note that add-ons having a longer mainstream maintenance date than Safekeeper availability for the specific release will not be included in the list attached to the SAP note. However, such add-ons will still be covered by SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper services.
Conclusion
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper has been introduced to support RISE with SAP customers in their transition to a more current SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition release. By providing structured upgrade or reimplementation paths, enabled by SAP Cloud Application Services, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper bridges the gap between the end of extended maintenance and the adoption of a current S/4HANA release, helping RISE customers maintain their support and SLAs from the SAP Enterprise Cloud Services organization.
Acknowledgment to contributors/reviewers/advisors:
Aurelien Kuleczka, co-author, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud Services
Tara Gibney, co-author, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud Services
Saurabh Sharma, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud Services
Allan Hughes, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud Services
Jurgen Pirotte, S/4HANA Centre of Excellence
Stefan Held, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud Services
Sara Dya, RISE with SAP Partner Business Development
With the extended maintenance end date rapidly approaching for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition releases 1503, 1603, 1709 – 1909, it is time for impacted customers to start planning their next steps before entering customer-specific maintenance on January 1, 2026. Mainstream maintenance, extended maintenance, and customer-specific maintenance are the three distinct maintenance phases applicable to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition under the SAP Maintenance Strategy. During mainstream maintenance, full support (SAP Notes, Support packages, Support package stacks, Feature package stacks, etc) is offered for a SAP product until a successor product is available. Extended maintenance offers similar support but requires a specific maintenance contract. For RISE customers, extended maintenance for S/4HANA Cloud private edition is covered by the regular annual subscription fee and does not require a specific maintenance addendum. Once extended maintenance ends, systems enter customer-specific maintenance (CSM), a phase with limited and restricted support services. Entering CSM as a RISE customer means the support and Service Level Agreement currently provided by SAP Enterprise Cloud Services will no longer be available. S/4HANA Maintenance Timelines To fully leverage the value of SAP, it’s essential for customers to keep their S/4HANA release up to date – ensuring robust security, continuous innovation and optimal system performance. For this reason, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service has been released to support RISE with SAP customers who have not yet upgraded to the latest S/4HANA Cloud, private edition version and are at risk of falling into customer-specific maintenance. New customers who have not yet upgraded must upgrade before moving to RISE. Alternatively, they can move to RISE on their current S/4HANA release before entering customer-specific maintenance, as long as they also purchase the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service. Customer-specific maintenance is not supported for new RISE customers. Safekeeper services are only applicable to S/4HANA Cloud releases, not SAP ERP. The SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service is purchased as a single sales SKU and includes: 1) Upgrade Services A) SAP Cloud Application Services (CAS) for Release Version Upgrade OR B) SAP Cloud Application Services (CAS) for Regression Testing 2) Infrastructure An additional non-productive sandbox tier is provided by SAP to match the size of the existing production system up to 6TiB. 3) Maintenance-related services Your existing S/4HANA landscape entering customer-specific maintenance will continue to receive SAP Notes and corrections generally aligning with the scope of Extended Maintenance. It will mitigate the limitations of the customer-specific maintenance for the contracted period. Let’s look at two real-world scenarios. Example #1 In-Place Upgrade from S/4HANA 1809 to S/4HANA 2023 I’m a RISE with SAP customer running SAP S/4HANA release 1809 which will enter customer-specific maintenance on January 1st, 2026. I want to upgrade my existing systems to SAP S/4HANA 2023. In this scenario, the customer purchases SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper at least 90 days prior to the safekeeper contract start date (Sept-30-2025) and opts for the upgrade service a) CAS for Release Version Upgrade. Customer has a production system RAM of 512GB.As of January 1, 2026, the safekeeper service will be initiated. This includes: Deployment of the sandbox infrastructure (copy of existing production system running S/4HANA 1809) Commencement of the CAS services SAP Notes and corrections on the existing S/4HANA 1809 landscape Following the infrastructure deployment, an upgrade planning workshop is scheduled with CAS delivery team to provide a detailed project plan. Any additional infrastructure for a parallel landscape (e.g. development/ testing) will need to be procured separately. SAP specialists guide, navigate, and support the upgrade/update process as a whole. On-going support is offered until the production go-live. Example Brownfield Scenario Further reading CAS for Release Version Upgrade Scope Document: https://www.sap.com/about/trust-center/agreements/services/scope-documents.html?sort=latest_desc&search=release%20version%20upgrade How to upgrade blog: https://community.sap.com/t5/enterprise-resource-planning-blog-posts-by-sap/upgrade-your-sap-s-4hana-cloud-private-edition-following-sap-activate/ba-p/13956251 #2 Greenfield/ Selective Data Transition I’m a RISE with SAP customer running SAP S/4HANA release 1909 entering customer-specific maintenance on January 1, 2026. I do not want to upgrade my existing systems, but instead, implement a new installation of systems on a more current release. In this scenario, the suitable upgrade service is b) CAS for Regression Testing. As of January 1, 2026, the safekeeper service will be initiated. This includes: Deployment of the sandbox infrastructure (empty greenfield system with the desired target release e.g. 2023) Commencement of the CAS package for Regression Testing SAP Notes and corrections on the existing S/4HANA 1909 landscape Implementing a greenfield S/4HANA deployment typically involves replicating or redesigning previous business processes or adopting SAP best practices. These processes can be tested and validated in the new sandbox environment before implementing in other tiers. Customer will need to procure additional systems (DEV, QAS and PRD) based on the project plan.Example Greenfield Scenario Further reading Regression Testing Service Scope Document: https://www.sap.com/about/trust-center/agreements/services/scope-documents.html?sort=latest_desc&search=SAP%20Cloud%20Application%20services%20for%20regression%20testing As SAP S/4HANA 1503 and 1605 were built on an ECC solution stack, customers running these releases will require a system conversion to a more recent SAP S/4HANA release. In this scenario, CAS for Release Version Upgrade does not apply, and the CAS for Regression Testing will be offered. Contract Duration The minimum contract duration for Safekeeper is 12 months and the maximum is 27 months (or up to 48 months in case of releases 1503 & 1605). Customers are expected to have moved to a more current release within mainstream maintenance by the end of their contracted period. Extensions are available for customers who did not purchase the full term initially. Add-ons SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper services are available for selected add-ons within the scope of RISE with SAP, as set forth in the list attached to the following SAP Note 3424346. This list will be expanded as new products are added, so it is recommended to check back frequently if you plan to use Safekeeper. Extract from the SAP S4HANA Cloud Safekeeper Add-on List The single source of truth for Safekeeper availability is the SAP Product Availability Matrix at https://support.sap.com/pam Please note that add-ons having a longer mainstream maintenance date than Safekeeper availability for the specific release will not be included in the list attached to the SAP note. However, such add-ons will still be covered by SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper services. Conclusion SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper has been introduced to support RISE with SAP customers in their transition to a more current SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition release. By providing structured upgrade or reimplementation paths, enabled by SAP Cloud Application Services, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper bridges the gap between the end of extended maintenance and the adoption of a current S/4HANA release, helping RISE customers maintain their support and SLAs from the SAP Enterprise Cloud Services organization. Acknowledgment to contributors/reviewers/advisors:Aurelien Kuleczka, co-author, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud ServicesTara Gibney, co-author, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud ServicesSaurabh Sharma, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud ServicesAllan Hughes, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud ServicesJurgen Pirotte, S/4HANA Centre of ExcellenceStefan Held, Cloud Architect & Advisor, Enterprise Cloud ServicesSara Dya, RISE with SAP Partner Business Development Read More Technology Blog Posts by SAP articles
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