When is a customer required to upgrade their SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition system?

A customer is required to upgrade their SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition system when the base release falls out of mainstream maintenance. This is crucial because, once a release is no longer supported, it does not receive important updates, bug fixes, or security patches. Operating on an unsupported release exposes the organization to potential risks and technical challenges, as they will not have access to the latest features, enhancements, or essential support resources from SAP.

Mainstream maintenance ensures that customers can rely on SAP for updates and assistance, thus guaranteeing that their system remains stable, secure, and compliant with evolving business needs. It's important for organizations to remain proactive in their upgrade plans to avoid disruptions and maintain the integrity of their SAP environment.