Symptom

Through the Compatibility Packages (CP) listed in the attachment “Compatibility Scope Matrix”, SAP provides a limited use right to SAP S/4HANA on-premise customers to run certain classic SAP ERP solutions on their SAP S/4HANA installation. Condition is that these customers have licensed the applicable solutions as set forth in their License Agreements. Compatibility Pack use rights may apply to selected private cloud deployments as well, without the prerequisite of an on-premise classic license. Please refer to the respective Service Description Guide for details.

The use rights for these compatibility pack items expires on May 31, 2026, and is available to installed-base as well as net-new customers.⁽¹⁾

This blog Compatibility Pack: How to check it in your system going forward? provides explanation about how to check CP items and its usage going forward via compatibility pack item check.

For SAP S/4HANA systems operated under a cloud subscription contract, the Compatibility Pack use rights for all items will expire Dec 31, 2033.

Individual Compatibility Pack use rights are also extended until Dec 31, 2033 if the corresponding solution as described in the compatibility scope matrix (see attachment) is a cloud service which is equally licensed.

SAP decided to give customers that are moving to cloud even more time to move out of the compatiblity packs until the end of 2033.
In case you have any questions regarding whether your SAP S/4HANA systems are eligible in accordance with this policy, please contact your sales representative.

The announcement about the extension of maintenance for Business Suite solutions has no influence on the end of compatibility pack use rights.

Other Terms

SAP S/4HANA Compatibility Scope Matrix, Way Forward

Solution

In the “Attachments” section, the “Overview Presentation” document explains the “why”, “what” and “how” of CPs. For functional details, please also refer to chapter 5 of the Feature Scope Description (FSD) of SAP S/4HANA, latest version (or through http://help.sap.com/s4hana) or SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, latest version (or through https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_CLOUD_PE).

The “Way Forward” ReadMe and spreadsheet, also under “Attachments”, provide information about solution alternatives in the perpetual scope of SAP S/4HANA. They describe the status of each Compatibility Pack and provide links to more detailed information about its strategy. This information is provided via SAP standard documentation, such as the Roadmaps and the Innovation Discovery. The “Item ID” helps to cross-reference between the original, descriptive CP matrix and the future-oriented “Way Forward” spreadsheet.

This blog Compatibility Scope: What happens after expiry of use rights? provides more details about the procedure for Compatibility Packs after their use right expire.

In addition, technical prerequisites for the usage of Compatibility Packs may apply as set forth in the respective documents, e.g. specific release version or simplification item notes.

SAP is planning regular updates of the attachments. All forward-looking information is non-binding and with preview character. ​The released SAP Roadmaps are the proper source of information.
For questions and feedback about this note and its content, please create a customer message on component XX-SER-REL-S4HANA with the prefix ‘CompScope’​.

(1) In the exceptional cases of CS, LE-TRA and PP-PI, the usage right to their respective compatibility pack items (cf. matrix) for on-premise customers terminates at the end of 2030.  As stated above, customers that are running these compatibility packs in an S/4HANA system operated under a cloud subscription contract, have use rights for all compatibility packs until Dec 31, 2033.