Mandatory SAP Ariba Deadlines: What You Need to Know Now
There are a few big changes coming to SAP Ariba that will affect any company that runs Ariba software. These changes are mandatory and will take some time to prepare for. Are you ready?
Changes are Coming
There are some mandatory SAP Ariba deadlines looming that will affect virtually every company that uses SAP Ariba software or solutions. This is what is on the immediate horizon, and what they mean for your system.
They are listed in the order in which the deadlines are the soonest. Click on the links for more details about each of these changes.
1. Mandatory move to Ariba’s Cloud Integration Gateway (CIG)
Deadline: December 31, 2023
What you need to know: If you have Ariba, you must move to Ariba’s Cloud Integration Gateway (CIG), before Dec. 31, 2023. There will be no additional maintenance provided by Ariba for CI9 after that date.
That includes the following integration solutions:
- SAP Ariba Cloud Integration (CI-9, CI-9 SP1, CI-9 SP2, and all earlier versions)
- Ariba Network Integration for SAP Business Suite 1.0 (Business Suite Add-On (BSAO) up to SP22)
There are two options for CIG: an add on or full CIG enablement with a new Ariba deployment.
- If you have an SAP ERP system, you can choose the add on you want to connect Ariba Buying and Invoicing directly to your ERP system.
- If you are using some sort of a middleware, such as MDG, full CIG enablement with a new Ariba Deployment is the preferred option.
2. End of Support for SAP ITK
Deadline: December 31, 2023
What you need to know: After that date SAP will no longer support SAP Ariba’s Integration Toolkit. That means there will be no new features or bug fixes provided, and there will be no enhancements for security or compliance to the latest standards. Maintenance support will be provided until the end of support date.
Here are your options for phasing out ITK:
- If you are an SAP ERP customer, you will move to SAP’s Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway (CIG) to integrate ERP with Ariba solutions.
- If you use a non-SAP ERP or ad-hoc integrations with SAP Ariba or Intelligent Spend and Business Network solutions, SAP offers three options:
- SAP Integration Suite on BTP.
- Integration toolkit on BTP for SAP Ariba applications.
- Any other 3rd party tool for File transfer between ERP and SAP Ariba applications.
(Ed. note: Effective March 17, 2023, SAP is changing the name of the Cloud Integration Gateway to SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network )
3. End of support for the Supplier Network Collaboration (SNC)
Deadline: December 31, 2025
What you need to know: Prior to this, SAP’s supplier collaboration solution was the SAP Supply Network Collaboration (SNC). SNC is an on-premise application where one customer connects to multiple vendors.
SAP’s Supply Chain Collaboration (SCC) solution is now the future of supplier collaboration, replacing SNC. SNC will be supported through 2025, but there will be no new functionality after that time.
4. Mandatory transition to S/4HANA
Deadline: December 31, 2027
What you need to know: If you’re running an SAP ECC ERP system, you are going to have to migrate to S/4HANA prior to the end of the standard support contract in 2027. You can purchases an extended support contract through 2030, but we do not recommend this. It is not a good value compared to just making the transition.
There are three options for conversion, Greenfield, Brownfield and Hybrid. Which you choose will depend upon your specific needs.
While making this switch can be a complex process, for most small to mid-sized companies, the investment in time and money won’t be as extensive as they think it will be.
What You Need to do Now
The first two mandatory updates detailed here important to take note of because, since end of support is this year, you need to plan to ensure you are in compliance before the deadline.
If you have not yet begun the transition to CIG or BTP, there is no time to wait. A typical CIG implementation or ITK to BTP transition can take as long as 3-6 months depending on the complexity and number of integrations.
Are you ready to start?
We have teams available to help you complete the necessary transitions even if you haven’t begun the process yet. Reach out to us to find out how we can help guide you through these changes.
