Important: Note: This blog was updated on February 19th, 2025. Please also read SAP note 2269324. |
Background
SAP customers were informed that the usage rights for Compatibility Scope will expire.
Detailed information can be found in SAP Note #2269324. The S4HANA CompScope - Way Forward - Info.xlsx provides a list of corresponding business impact notes for each Compatibility Scope item with further details.
Please also refer to this webinar provided at youtube: The Way Forward in Detail
SAP strongly recommends that customers check their Compatibility Scope usage well in advance to start their transition on time and to plan accordingly. This way customers can reduce change management efforts for the adoption of a new data model.
The following questions and answers provide insights on the next steps and are intended to further support internal and external discussions.
1. What does "end of use rights of Compatibility Scope items" mean?
Compatibility Scope use rights expire automatically December 31, 2025 for all SAP S/4HANA versions independent from their release date. So irrespective of the SAP S/4HANA version, customers no longer have a contractual right to use Compatibility Scope functionality after that point in time even if the affected SAP S/4HANA system release is still in mainstream maintenance. Furthermore, support stops for Compatibility Scope items with the expiration of the usage rights.
Exception: The use rights and support of the selected items of CS, PP-PI and LE-TRA which will end on December 31, 2030.
For SAP S/4HANA systems under a RISE with SAP / SAP Cloud ERP private agreement, the Compatibility Pack use right will expire Dec 31, 2030. 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.
2. What is the approach for the migration to the recommended alternative solution in SAP S/4HANA?
Customers must consider the following activities when they are planning to migrate from Compatibility Scope to the alternative solution in SAP S/4HANA.
- adaptation of custom code
- training of users in the new functionality
More information about how the transition is supported by the respective application can be found in the business impact notes or will be added to the business impact notes in the future. This support could consist of, e. g. guides describing the transition to the alternative solution, functional, technical, and data model mapping between the Compatibility Pack and alternative solution, and dedicated reports and tools for automating individual steps of the transition.
3. What happens to artifacts (e.g. tables, transactions etc.) in Compatibility Scope after 2025?
All support and maintenance (e.g., patches, legal changes) for Compatibility Scope will end with the expiration of the usage rights.
SAP reserves the right to make compatibility scope functionalities technically unavailable in future SAP S/4HANA releases. Please refer to the SAP notes for individual compatibility packages provided in the attachments to SAP note 2269324 for respective information. For the time being, customers need to make sure by organizational or other measures that compatibility package functionality will not be used after expiry of use rights.
4. What happens to interfaces e.g. IDOCs, BAPIs?
Interfaces to external systems e.g., IDOCs used for a functionality which is in Compatibility Scope will no longer be supported by the application after the expiration of the usage rights.
Please check the BAPIs you are using with the following monitoring tool: Unified Connectivity Tools (UCON)
Please check the IDOCs following the instructions in this blog chapter 2: Link
5. How can customers check if Compatibility Scope is in use in their system?
EarlyWatch Alert provides information about used compatibility package functionalities. Refer to the blog Check compatibility pack usage in SAP S/4HANA with SAP EarlyWatch Alert for details how to get this information.
Alternatively customers may run the relevance check via the report /SDF/RC_START_CHECK (for further details see blog: Link The report checks the main transactions, tables, and business functions, etc. to detect if there is a trace that Compatibility Scope is in use.
Thereafter the customers need to verify if they are still productively using the Compatibility Scope discovered by the relevance check or if they have already switched to the alternative solution in SAP S/4HANA.
This report can be run by customers at any time.
6. What happens when Compatibility Scope objects (e.g., tables, functions) are used in custom code?
SAP is no longer responsible in any way for correctness of these development objects, after the expiration of usage rights and if custom code refers to Compatibility Scope functionality, including their semantical and syntactical correctness. The customers must adjust their programs accordingly before expiration of usage rights.
7. How can customers check if their custom code uses Compatibility Scope artifacts?
Custom code can be checked using the ABAP Test Cockpit (ATC) in combination with piece lists, if already available, containing artifacts which are in compatibility scope.
8. Can documents and transactional data in Compatibility Scope still be displayed and can open business processes be finished?
Started objects and open business processes using Compatibility Scope need to be finished by the expiration of the usage rights at the latest.
The data itself belongs to the customer. For compliance reasons, it is planned that customers will be able to only read data from Compatibility Scope applications after the expiration of usage. This will be possible as long as architectural and data model changes are not invalidating this.
Nevertheless, the display transactions which belong to Compatibility Scope must not be used after the expiration of usage rights.
Please check the corresponding business impact note belonging to the Compatibility Scope item regarding recommendations to display the data.
9. Can customers still apply Data Privacy and Protection (DPP) related blocking and destruction activities on Compatibility Scope data?
All archiving and destruction objects from Compatibility Scope applications will be serviced in future in accordance with the applicable retention periods.
10. Can Compatibility Scope artifacts cause security issues after 2025?
SAP generally takes care of security issues in its products. If security issues in Compatibility Scope arise after the termination of usage rights, SAP may block or delete the affected code or use other means to rectify issues.
The security maintenance of functionality outside of the Compatibility Scope is key to continuously protect also against all types of attacks or newly identified potential weaknesses: SAP Security Patch Day.
11. Can customers still run reporting on transactional data based on Compatibility Scope?
Customers can still use historic data in previous structures which belong to Compatibility Scope for reporting purposes . Nevertheless they need to use reports which are not in Compatibility Scope. The data resides for reporting, machine learning and so forth in Compatibility Scope tables. This will be possible as long architectural and data model changes are not invalidating this.
12. What happens to the report painter and report writer?
Certain reports in the report writer and painter are in Compatibility Scope. In this case, the reports in Compatibility Scope may not be used. An alternative solution for the reports already exists. For details check SAP note #2997574.
13. What happens to Logistic Information System (LIS)?
The LIS framework, as such, is not in Compatibility Scope. This means, that the LIS framework is planned to be available and supported even beyond 2025. Only particular LIS analytical standard reports in SD, MM-PUR, Vendor Evaluation, and PP have restricted usage rights as part of the Compatibility Scope which will expire end of 2025. Other applications, e. g. Inventory Controlling, still support their LIS applications beyond 2025. Currently, SAP is not planning specific developments / improvements in the LIS area.
14. What is the impact of Compatibility Scope usage on system conversions?
The expiration of the Compatibility Scope license will not affect customers on SAP ERP. They can continue to use this functionality until the end of SAP ERP maintenance.
In addition, system conversions from SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA which are done after expiration of Compatibility Package use rights are still possible, even if a customer is using the respective Compatibility Package functionality on SAP ERP. However, in this case all system conversions are required to include the migration to the designated alternative functionalities of Compatibility Scope directly in the conversion project. The option to do the system conversion first and then the migration to Compatibility Scope alternatives at a later point in time, will not be available after use rights expired.
15. What happens to Special Ledger in Finance?
Special purpose ledger framework, as such, is not in Compatibility Scope. This means, Special Ledger (FI-SL) is planned to be available and supported. Only particular standard applications using special ledger framework have restricted use rights as part of the Compatibility Scope. These applications are Profit Center Accounting planning, Consolidation (EC-CS), and Cost of Sales Accounting. Please refer to SAP note 3015013 for details.
Please check as well the blog by Jan Gilg: The Future of Compatibility Packs in SAP S/4HANA
