SAP ECC end of maintenance 2027: Staffing requirements for S/4HANA

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The official end of maintenance for SAP ECC

The official end of maintenance for SAP ERP 6.0 (SAP ECC) has been set: mainstream maintenance by SAP SE will end on 31 December 2027. For you as a department head, this date represents a hard deadline for the transformation of your system landscape. After this deadline, SAP does offer optional, fee-based Extended Maintenance until 31 December 2030, but this is associated with noticeable surcharges on your previous license fees. Anyone who remains on the old system even after 2030 will fall into Customer-Specific Maintenance without legal updates or functional enhancements.

Despite the looming deadline, you are by no means the only one looking for suitable project resources. According to the current DSAG Investment Report, only 37 per cent of companies currently plan to complete their migration to SAP S/4HANA by the end of 2027. Around 50 per cent of all SAP user companies are not targeting a migration until the end of 2030 using Extended Maintenance due to high system complexity and the acute shortage of skilled workers.

The high proportion of companies putting off the transformation is creating a massive cumulative effect on the market. 63 per cent of the companies surveyed cite the end of maintenance as a central influencing factor on their SAP investment decisions, meaning that project requirements across the entire DACH region are rising drastically at the same time.

The S/4HANA migration and the shortage of skilled workers

The temporal compression of migration projects is hitting a highly strained labor market. According to surveys by the digital association Bitkom, around 149,000 IT positions are currently vacant in Germany, with open vacancies remaining unfilled for an average of 7.7 months. In the SAP environment, this gap leads to critical bottlenecks when implementing a complex S/4HANA migration.

Specific profile requirements in the transformation process

To ensure a successful system migration, general module knowledge is no longer sufficient. As a department head, you need specialists who bring deep practical experience in demanding core disciplines. If these key individuals are missing, there is a risk of project delays, budget overruns and dangerous cutover risks.

• Cutover expertise: Experience in the error-free transition and go-live control of complex ERP systems during ongoing operations.

• Brownfield and system conversion experience: Know-how in the technical conversion of existing SAP ECC systems, including historical adjustments.

• ABAP Cloud & Business Technology Platform (BTP): Development and integration expertise for modernising individual extensions.

• Process Customising: Deep understanding of finance (FI/CO) and logistics modules (MM, SD, EWM) to map modern best-practice processes.

As demand for these niche qualifications explodes at the same time, traditional job advertisements are rarely successful. Anyone who waits months for incoming applications risks the entire project schedule.

Salary development and daily rates for SAP consultants

The worsening resource bottleneck is reflected directly in price and salary trends. For your budget planning in 2026, you must expect higher market conditions. A detailed look at the current SAP consultant salary reveals clear differences depending on employment type, module and seniority.

For permanently employed Senior Inhouse Consultants, the salary bands in Germany typically range between 70,000 and 95,000 euros gross per year. For lead positions, cloud architects or in in-demand regions such as Munich (+10-18%) and Frankfurt (+8-15%), annual salaries easily reach 100,000 to 130,000 euros.

If internal capacity is lacking in the short term, external experts secure the milestones. The daily rates for freelancers range from 1,000 to 1,400 euros per day at senior and architect level. This investment secures the go-live and protects against much more expensive project delays.

Recruiting strategies for the SAP resource bottleneck

To master the ECC end of maintenance without project risks, you need a flexible staffing strategy that absorbs peaks and builds up long-term expertise. The combination of permanent core teams and targeted external reinforcement forms the most reliable foundation for your ERP transformation.

Three pillars for a future-proof team setup

1. Permanent Recruitment: Targeted sourcing of in-house professionals for core modules, basic administration and process architecture to secure long-term expertise.

2. Freelancers & Contract Staffing: Short-term deployment of vetted specialists for cutover phases, data migrations and specific niche topics.

3. Proactive Direct Sourcing: Actively reaching out to professionals open to a change via specialised industry networks, without the time-consuming noise of resume screening.

As a specialised SAP recruitment consultancy, Nova Search supports line managers and IT managers in the DACH region in filling open key positions quickly and accurately. Under the professional leadership of Xenia Sadzikowski, we have access to a network of more than 1,500 pre-qualified SAP profiles. We deliver your first matching profiles for permanent recruitment within 5 working days – and vetted freelancers & contract staff within 48 hours. Our 90-day guarantee provides additional protection for your investment in permanent hires.

Would you like to secure your S/4HANA migration with the right staff and wait 5 days instead of 5 months for qualified candidates? Request a non-binding briefing now and gain immediate access to vetted SAP expertise.

Read more

• S/4HANA migration: finding staff, roles & timeline

• S/4HANA Greenfield vs. Brownfield: who you need and when

• Finding SAP consultants in medium-sized businesses: modules, salary & path