Defining Release Upgrades for the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Deployment Options

Beginning in the year 2022, SAP S/4HANA Cloud shifted from a quarterly release cycle to a semi-annual release cycle with Continuous Feature Deliveries (CFD) between releases. A semi-annual cycle of major releases provides less disruption for customers, while CFD updates delivered between the major releases enables SAP to provide new capabilities in a non-disruptive manner, faster. For example, instead of waiting to deliver a new feature at the next major release, SAP can make a feature available immediately as a "pre-delivery" with a CFD update. A CFD update is optional for customers; they can choose to enable the new feature as soon as it's released via the SAP Fiori Activate New Features app on the launchpad, or wait until the next major release, at which point it will be automatically activated by SAP.

This strategy also enables SAP to quickly react to feedback and improvement requests submitted by customers and partners in the Influence Portal.

The release reference consists of the last two digits of the year and the numerical month. For example, the first release of the year 2022 in February is release 2202. A continuous feature delivery is indicated by a suffix following the release. For example, the first continuous feature delivery after release 2202 is 2202.1, then 2202.2, etc.

Continuous Feature Delivery (CFD) updates become available in the Activate New Features SAP Fiori app in the launchpad. A customer admin can activate a new feature in the app when it's released, or wait until the next major release, when it will automatically be activated by SAP in their system.

Note

You must first activate a new feature using theActivate New Features app in the Quality system. After testing the feature in the Q system, you then use the Activate New Features app in the Production system to activate the feature. Feature activation is not transported, therefore you must activate a new feature independently in each system. Once a feature is activated, it cannot be deactivated.

The Release Assessment and Scope Dependency (RASD) tool enables customers to understand the impact of changes to the activated scope items in their SAP S/4HANA Cloud system at each release. The tool is personalized for each customer, to ensure they see only the information relevant to their active scope. Information on changes to existing scope, new functionalities, and deprecated functionality is presented. This enables customers to understand the enhancements of each release and the impact on their system.

Features of the Release Assessment and Scope Dependency Tool include:

• Personalized scope analysis for customers based on their active scope.
• Option to view information on previous releases.
• Option to choose country versions or specific tenants for analysis.
• Categorization of changes into functional, API, Deprecated, CDS Views, and Authorizations to provide a quick assessment of a release's impact to a customer's existing scope.
• Recommendations on what to test based on degree of change and impact of change to the customer's active scope.
• Additional information on new scope items the customer may choose to activate based on dependencies between scope items.

The SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition solution is directly aligned with the SAP S/4HANA On Premise release cycle. To understand this, we will first review details of the On Premise upgrade schedule.

SAP S/4HANA On Premise has one base release upgrade per year, with each base release falling out of mainstream maintenance after 5 years.

After an upgrade, Feature Pack Stacks (FPS) are released quarterly with new, non-disruptive features until the next base release is launched.

After a new release, the previous release version will receive Support Pack Stacks (SPS) each quarter with only corrections (no new functionality) until the end of mainstream maintenance. The customer is completely responsible for implementing all aspects of the upgrade with SAP S/4HANA On Premise.

While SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition follows the annual base release of SAP S/4HANA On Premise, there is a requirement to install at least one upgrade every five years to stay within mainstream maintenance. As part of the RISE with SAP services, customers are entitled to request one upgrade per year from SAP. SAP executes the technical upgrade; additional planning, preparation, testing, and other related non-technical activities can be requested from a partner or managed by the customer.

You can find the latest release information, and influence future releases in the following resources:

• What's New and What's New Viewer in SAP Help Portal
  • Explore new and changed features in the latest release in the SAP Help Portal.
  • You can download a PDF document of the latest changes, or explore the What's New Viewer webpage, which allows you to search and filter on a variety of areas to find the information essential to your needs.
  • SAP S/4HANA What's New in SAP Help Portal
    Note

    Refer to the SAP S/4HANA area of the SAP Help Portal for information about SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition. There is no dedicated area of the SAP Help Portal for private cloud because the solution has the same functional scope as the on premise solution.
  • SAP S/4HANA Cloud What's New in SAP Help Portal
• SAP Road Map Explorer
  • SAP Road Map Explorer is an interactive tool with functionality to mix and match different filters to create, save, and share a customized road map.
  • Access SAP Road Map Explorer
• Customer Influence Portal
  • The Customer Influence Portal enables you to influence SAP software development decisions.
  • You can submit improvement requests for different SAP products and get involved in special projects for early adopters and best testing.
  • Access the Influence Portal