What's Next for SAP Business ByDesign Customers?

SAP Business ByDesign was one of the first complete ERP suites built to run as a cloud service. Thousands of companies chose it, many of them midsized businesses and subsidiaries of larger groups, and many still run their business on it every day.

In April 2026, SAP removed ByDesign from its price list. If you're a ByDesign customer, you've probably been asking what that means for you, and what you should do next.

What SAP Has Actually Changed

The short version: ByDesign is no longer sold to new customers, but existing customers are still supported.

• No new customers. SAP announced in September 2025 that ByDesign would come off its price list, and that took effect on April 20, 2026.
• Your system keeps running. Existing contracts continue, you can still add users, and SAP still delivers security, legal and compliance updates.
• No end date has been announced. SAP hasn't published an end-of-support date for ByDesign.
• SAP's direction is clear. SAP's cloud ERP for midsized companies is now SAP Cloud ERP (SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition), offered through GROW with SAP. SAP and its partners offer programs to help ByDesign customers move to it.

So this isn't an emergency. But a product that's no longer sold won't attract the investment, partners and add-on vendors it once did, and that's worth planning for.

A Short History

SAP introduced ByDesign in 2007, when most ERP still ran on companies' own servers. It was an ambitious idea: a complete suite covering finance, supply chain, CRM, projects and HR, delivered and maintained by SAP. Building a new ERP largely from scratch proved hard. Early customers ran into problems, sales were slower than SAP had hoped, and SAP pulled back to rework the product. It returned around 2010 with a new multi-tenant architecture.

ByDesign went on to build a loyal following, especially with project-based businesses and subsidiaries of larger SAP companies. Over time, though, SAP made S/4HANA Cloud the focus of its cloud ERP investment. Removing ByDesign from the price list is the last step in that shift.

Your Three Options

1. Stay on ByDesign for now

If ByDesign does what you need, there's no reason to rush. You'll keep getting updates, and you can take time to plan. Just make sure your plan isn't "wait and see": decide when you'll review it, and keep an eye on SAP's announcements.

2. Move to SAP Cloud ERP

This is the path SAP is encouraging. SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition is a modern, actively developed SaaS ERP with SAP's newest capabilities, including its Business AI. It's a strong fit if you're part of a larger SAP group or expect to grow into a bigger SAP landscape. It's also a different system, with its own data model and ways of working, so plan for an implementation project rather than an upgrade. Ask your SAP account team which transition incentives apply to you.

3. Move to Acumatica Cloud ERP

For many midsized distributors and manufacturers, Acumatica is a strong fit:

• Runs entirely in a web browser, on any device, with a mobile app for barcode scanning in the warehouse.
• Priced by the computing resources you use, not per user. Sales, warehouse and production staff and occasional approvers can all have access without buying another license.
• ERP and CRM in one database, with warehouse management, production, lot and serial traceability, and multi-company and multi-currency accounting built in.
• Two releases a year. The 2026 R2 release added an AI Assistant, a built-in data warehouse, and a secure way to connect AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT to your Acumatica data.
• Your choice of where it runs: as SaaS, in a private cloud or on your own servers.

How to Decide

A few questions help narrow it down:

• Are you part of a larger group that runs SAP? That points towards SAP Cloud ERP.
• Are you a distributor or manufacturer that wants a system your whole team can use without per-user licensing? Look closely at Acumatica.
• How much have you extended ByDesign with custom fields, forms, reports and integrations? Each one needs a plan, whichever way you go.
• When does your ByDesign contract renew? That's your natural decision point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SAP Business ByDesign being discontinued?

SAP stopped selling it to new customers on April 20, 2026. Existing customers are still supported and receive updates, and SAP hasn't announced an end-of-support date.

Do we have to move off ByDesign right away?

No. But because the product is no longer sold, it's wise to start planning your next step well before your contract renews.

Can we keep our history when we move?

Yes. Whichever system you choose, we plan with you which history to bring across in detail, which to bring across as summaries, and how to keep older records available for reference.

Talk to Us

CONTAX is an SAP Gold Partner and an Acumatica partner, with more than 30 years of ERP experience. We implement both SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition and Acumatica, so we'll give you an honest view of which path fits your business. Learn more about SAP S/4HANA and Acumatica from CONTAX, or contact us to start the conversation.