SAP S/4HANA Updates to watch out for in 2023

The commercial, competitive, and operational demands on companies are intensifying and therefore companies need to adapt drastically in order to meet the market. In such scenarios, it is crucial for businesses to continuously innovate, while also upgrading their operational processes and business models. One technology that has emerged as being essential to navigating this chaos is ‘cloud computing’. 

SAP has introduced a new release of SAP S/4HANA offering customers more options for continuous innovation and a flexible path to cloud readiness, in order to help their users tackle and get used to the shifting business environment. The 2023 version of SAP S/4HANA is designed to innovate and make functioning more flexible by employing the following strategies:  

1) Next-generation Technology, Compatible with Legacy System:  

Since 2015, SAP S/4HANA has been providing customers with innovative solutions and support for regular upgrades to their installations. Next year’s 2023 release of SAP S/4HANA will provide customers with forward-looking technologies that will further enhance areas of your business like – Finance management, Cybersecurity Application Development & Integration, Analytics & Automation, Human Capital Management and Supply chain management. 

The many new features of SAP S/4HANA 2023 lie in the compatibility scope of SAP’s legacy software. This updated environment provides better opportunities for continued innovation without disrupting ongoing operations and prepares companies for the desired time to move to the cloud. 

2) SAP S/4HANA will change to a two-year release cycle: 

By adopting the 2023 version of SAP S/4HANA, customers may find it easier to bring their SAP environment up to date and keep it current. The product will move to a two-year release cycle starting with SAP S/4HANA 2023. Easy-to-adopt feature packs are currently planned to be delivered every six months in the first two years of a release. The combination of two-year release cycles and more feature packs will offer more opportunities for co-innovation with customers without the need to upgrade the product. This facilitates easy adoption of the technology’s latest version and reduces total implementation costs. 

SAP S/4HANA 2023 retains the zero-downtime capabilities of its predecessors. 

3) A longer seven years of mainstream maintenance per release:

Apart from class apart innovation, to make it easier for customers on lower releases to upgrade to the 2023 version of SAP S/4HANA, SAP is offering an Extended Maintenance option for older versions of SAP S/4HANA that will soon reach the end of their five-year Mainstream Maintenance. The Extended Maintenance is available from 2023 to 2025 and can be renewed quarterly during this period. 

4) Advantage for users of the 1709, 1809, and 1909 versions: 

If you belong to the customer group using versions 1709, 1809, and 1909 of SAP S/4HANA in an on-premise environment or as a subscription model, you can benefit from Extended Maintenance in the following ways: 

• Customers who have purchased a subscription for RISE with SAP or are using older subscription models (for example, a subscription for SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud) benefit from Extended Maintenance at no additional charge. This is also the recommended migration for SAP S/4HANA customers who want to switch from an on-premise version to RISE with SAP. This then only requires a change in infrastructure and provides customers with the same flexibility they already know from their on-premise version.
• For customers who are running one of these older versions of SAP S/4HANA in an on-premise environment and want to keep it in that environment, Extended Maintenance is an option that requires an additional fee equal to four percent of the maintenance base for their core SAP S/4HANA solution. 

5) Business Process Optimisation to help all parties realize their full potential: 

Today when sustainability is more important a conversation than ever before, we encourage you to upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 2023 version. SAP supports these factors and therefore offers a solution that can be adapted to the specific requirements of each company. 

The 2023 release of SAP S/4HANA represents an important step in the evolution of product maturity. It offers a growing range of services and best practices, as well as business process optimizations, to help businesses realize their full potential. The flexibility to innovate at their own pace is essential for customers. SAP responds to the same customer needs by offering the Extended Maintenance option to support them on their journey to the cloud, no matter how far along they are in their transition or whether already planned. 

According to SAP specialists at Exalogic Consulting, early adopters of SAP's new updates will have a longer period of productive use of the product, boosting the return on their investments. At Exalogic Consulting, we take pride in the significant projects we have completed in the cloud industry. Our clients have profited from the capability of SAP S/4HANA in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, construction and transportation. We anticipate that all market participants will benefit from HANA's newly discovered features as we look forward to stepping into a successful new year. 

Reach out to us for a detailed insight on SAP S/4HANA 2023 version, or set up a free demo with our consultants, today.