Changes / BI & analytics / SAP
End of supportmedium impact
SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3 mainstream maintenance ends
SAP extends BI 4.3 Mainstream Maintenance to end of 2026, with security fixes guaranteed to end of 2027.
Who’s affected
Teams running SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3 on-premises or self-managed, whose mainstream maintenance ends at the end of 2026 (the 2026-12-31 date is a placeholder). Whoever owns the SAP maintenance contract and the BI roadmap needs to decide what happens after that.
Not affected: Anyone already off BusinessObjects 4.3, or already moved to another BI platform. Security fixes are still guaranteed until end of 2027 through Customer Specific Maintenance, so there is no immediate security cliff.
What it costs
The record has no prices. The cost is effort: planning a move off 4.3 or negotiating continued support, plus any extra maintenance terms SAP attaches once mainstream maintenance ends. Ask SAP in writing what Customer Specific Maintenance includes and whether it costs extra.
When to act
Report and universe migrations typically take months, and the date is only about 76 days away, so start planning now rather than waiting for the security-fix window to narrow.
Blast radius: Existing BO reports, universes, scheduled jobs and distribution lists, plus any embedded or SSO-integrated apps. Report rebuilds and universe-to-semantic-layer rework are the main downstream effort.
What should you do? decision tree
- you have already moved or are mid-migration to another BI platformCheck that the cutover finishes before security fixes end at the end of 2027, and decommission 4.3 on that schedule.
- you plan to stay on BI 4.3 for nowGet SAP to confirm in writing what Customer Specific Maintenance covers (security fixes only?) and any extra cost, and note the end-of-2027 limit.
- you have not inventoried reports, universes and schedules yetDo it now: count what is actually used, retire the rest, and size the migration before choosing a target.
- you are an SAP-centric shopCompare SAP's own successor options (SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Business Data Cloud) with non-SAP BI before committing.
- none of the above applies and you have no budget yetStay on 4.3 under security-only maintenance, put a migration project in next year's plan, and revisit support terms mid-year.
Options
- WaitStay on BI 4.3 and rely on guaranteed security fixes until end of 2027; accept no new feature or general fixes.
- NegotiateAsk SAP for written Customer Specific Maintenance terms, scope and cost, ideally bundled into your next renewal.
- OptimizeAudit usage and retire unused reports and universes so the eventual migration is smaller and cheaper.
- MigrateMove BI content to a supported platform (SAP or non-SAP) in phases, starting with the most-used reports, to finish before security fixes end.
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The facts straight from the source
Facts above are extracted from the source and checked word-for-word before publishing. The guidance sections are AI-assisted analysis based only on those facts: a starting point, not legal or procurement advice. Spotted an error? Tell us.
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