If you're running SAP Business Warehouse today, you face a forced choice: migrate to SAP's platforms by December 31, 2027, or pay for extended maintenance at premium rates. But here's what they're not telling you about organizations that actually complete the migration.
The Pattern Nobody Expected
A first-quarter 2025 management consultancy study reveals a troubling reality: only 8% of companies completed their migrations on schedule. 60% exceeded budgets—with one in four being significantly over budget. Perhaps most concerning: 65% identified severe to very severe quality deficiencies after migration.1
User group research confirms 49% of organizations exceeded original cost estimates2 —and that percentage is increasing year-over-year, not improving. When nearly half your peers underestimate total costs despite years of internal preparation AND SAP promoting migration paths, something more fundamental is at play.
The Hidden Math of "Extended Maintenance"
SAP describes extended maintenance as a "premium of two percentage points." But if you currently pay 22% of license value in annual maintenance, that 2% premium isn't added to your 22%—it's added to the base licensing costs. When you do the math, the real increase is approximately 9% annually. For an organization with $5 million in SAP licenses, that's $300,000 over three years driven by SAP's technology roadmap rather than your business requirements.
Meanwhile, independent research shows SAP HANA carries 2.24x higher total cost of ownership compared to similar database alternatives 3—costs that compound as data volumes grow 20-30% annually.
The Capacity Crisis Multiplying Your Risk
With thousands of organizations needing to migrate by 2027, they'll all compete for the same limited pool of SAP specialists simultaneously. 26% of customers cite SAP-specific skills as their number one challenge—outranking costs, delays, and technical complexity.4
Independent analysts anticipate "a very compressed labor market" as the deadline approaches.5 When demand outpaces supply, consultant rates escalate and timelines extend. You're not just betting on SAP’s technology—you're betting on vendor-centric labor markets when capacity constraints are intensifying.
The Question Worth Asking
What if the binary choice—migrate to SAP's platforms or pay premium maintenance—represents a false constraint?
If 40-60% of your analytics value comes from integrating SAP data with information from Salesforce, Oracle, Workday, and external data sources, doubling down on SAP's proprietary ecosystem may not align with actual business needs. Industry-standard platforms – such as Teradata - offer enterprise-grade analytics without architectural trade-offs or proprietary lock-in that compound migration complexity.
Teradata has received recognition from multiple analyst firms including leadership positioning with the highest scores in strategic vision and data modeling6 —capabilities that matter when building a platform for the next decade, not just solving an SAP deadline.
What Matters for Your Timeline
The December 2027 deadline is real. But when 65% experience severe quality deficiencies and 60% exceed budgets, rushing into a vendor dictated migration path without evaluating alternatives limits your organization’s options when your corporate requirements and strategies should matter most.
Our new whitepaper examines what SAP's recommended paths actually entail, hidden costs organizations discover too late, and why Teradata represents a fundamentally different approach: industry-standard techniques instead of vendor-driven technologies, proven – AND validated - analytical capabilities, and migration paths that don't require complete architectural changes.
Download "Forced Migration, Hidden Costs: What SAP Isn't Telling You About the 2027 Business Warehouse Deadline" to understand your options before deadline pressure eliminates informed choice.
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