Access to your data in S/4HANA Cloud Public edition after end of contract

[Axel_Kleinjan]

I have a customer that is currently on a 2-system landscape, and wants to re-implement on a 3-system landscape with a new contract. This means that they will close the contract of the 2-system landscape of S/4HANA Cloud Public. 

The customer has the requirement to have their data accessible for audit purposes at least for the next couple of years. What tools or what does SAP offer for these customers, how to store or get access to their data?

[Jeremy_Deo]

Hello dear user,

And thank you for asking your question in the SAP Community blog.

When a customer moves from a 2-system to a 3-system landscape in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, it's essentially a reimplementation with a new contract. That means the current system (with the 2-system landscape) will eventually be shut down. Since the customer still needs access to their data for audits or legal reasons, there are a few options SAP provides.

What SAP offers for data access after system termination:

1. Data Export from SAP

Before the system is shut down, the customer can request a full data export. SAP provides this in a structured XML format, which is legally compliant and can be stored outside of SAP. This export has to be requested through a support ticket on the SAP Launchpad before the tenant is terminated.

2. Read-Only Access

SAP may allow the system to stay in read-only mode for a short period (usually up to 3 months) after contract termination. This gives the customer time to manually access, download, or review data. This should also be requested ahead of time through the customer’s SAP contact (Customer Engagement Executive or Customer Success Partner).

3. Store the Data Externally

If the customer needs to keep the data accessible in a user-friendly way (not just as raw XML), they can use third-party archiving solutions like OpenText, KGS, or Datavard. These tools can store the exported SAP data securely and make it easier to search or retrieve if needed later.

What the customer should do:

1. Get in touch with SAP ASAP to plan the data export and/or request read-only access.

2. Decide where and how they want to store the exported data – internally or using a third-party tool.

3. Make sure they request the export before the system contract ends.

I hope this will help answer your question.

Best regards,

Jeremy

[Axel_Kleinjan]

Hi Jeremy, thank you very much for your answer! I received a question from the customer, related to point 1 in your answer Data Export from SAP, does this also contain all attachments; Stock Counting Sheets, Supplier Invoices, Delivery Notes, PR/PO attachments. thank you in advance! Kind regards, Axel