Lesson 1 of 5
Why migrate
10 min
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SAP Process Orchestration (PO) has carried a large share of SAP customers' integrations for more than a decade. It runs on SAP NetWeaver 7.5, and SAP Learning states that SAP NetWeaver 7.5 is in mainstream maintenance until the end of 2027, with an extended maintenance option until the end of 2030. SAP calls the end of maintenance the main reason to move. The target SAP points to is SAP Integration Suite.
- TodayPO in mainstream maintenanceSAP NetWeaver 7.5 supported; new integrations should already be built on Integration Suite.
- End of 2027Mainstream maintenance endsThe date SAP Learning gives for SAP NetWeaver 7.5.
- 2028 to 2030Extended maintenance optionAvailable until the end of 2030, at additional cost and under its own terms.
- After 2030No SAP maintenanceRunning critical integrations here is an unsupported risk.
More than a deadline
SAP's migration course lists reasons beyond the date: a broader set of integration styles (API management, events, B2B trading partner management, an integration advisor), prebuilt content on the SAP Business Accelerator Hub, a cloud-native platform on SAP BTP, and the goal of lower total cost of ownership. Treat these as hypotheses for your own business case rather than conclusions. What matters for Contoso is which of its interfaces become simpler, cheaper or safer on the new platform.
Contoso's starting point
Contoso Motor Co. runs SAP Process Orchestration 7.5 in three systems, XD1, XQ1 and XP1, alongside its ECC landscape. The S/4HANA conversion program deliberately kept the interfaces on PO and only repointed them from EP1 to CMP, to keep go-live risk down. Theo's integration team now owns a second program: move 64 integrated configurations off PO before the end of 2027, run in SAP Cloud ALM like the conversion. New interfaces, including everything for the planned Mexican acquisition, are already built on Integration Suite.
The target runtime question
Not every interface has to run in the public cloud. SAP describes Edge Integration Cell as an optional hybrid runtime of Integration Suite: design and monitoring stay in the cloud, but integration flows and APIs run in a customer-managed landscape, so messages between on-premise systems never leave it. SAP's migration material positions it for integrations where every system sits inside the private landscape. Cross-domain integrations, such as S/4HANA to a SaaS application or a partner, typically run in the cloud tenant and reach on-premise systems through SAP Cloud Connector.
SAP's migration course also recommends a sequence that fits Contoso: build all new integrations on Integration Suite, use it during the S/4HANA transition (where new APIs, events and prebuilt content may remove some old interfaces altogether), and then scale up and finish the move off PO. Many customers run both platforms in parallel for a while; the plan has to make that coexistence safe and short.
What would you do?
Grace, the PMO lead, is asked by the steering committee whether the PO migration can wait until 2029 because extended maintenance runs to 2030. What is the most responsible answer?
- SAP Learning states mainstream maintenance for SAP NetWeaver 7.5 until end of 2027, extended option until end of 2030.
- Check maintenance dates in SAP's own material and record where you checked.
- Edge Integration Cell is an option for interfaces that stay inside the private landscape.
- Build new integrations on Integration Suite now; plan coexistence to be safe and short.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. According to SAP Learning, until when is SAP NetWeaver 7.5 in mainstream maintenance?
2. What does SAP's migration course recommend for new integrations while PO is still running?
3. Which target runtime suits an interface between two systems inside Contoso's private network?
4. What happens to PO at the end of mainstream maintenance?