During the summer of 2024, SAP quietly announced the end of the Landscape Manager product. You can find out more from SAP directly here, including linked SAP Notes.
Unlike the news for Solution Manager or Focused Run, where the 2027 date signals a transition to extended support options, with LaMa the product is discontinued and extended support options aren’t available.
For customers using LaMa, the announcement and timeline are disruptive. These customers lose useful features including system copy/refresh automation, mass automation across SAP landscapes, hybrid/on-premises landscape support and centralized start/stop/control automation.
While the abrupt end of support is contrast to SAP’s policies on ECC, Solution Manager and Focused run, the larger story is one consistent with SAP’s general strategy focused on cloud solutions and services: SAP support and development resources are focused on Cloud ERP, and one consequence is the deprecation of tooling aimed at complex on premises and hybrid SAP estates.
Ironically, many of SAP’s largest customers are unlikely to fully transition to Cloud ERP by 2027, leaving an estate management gap for customers with a mixture of on premises, hyperscaler and Cloud ERP deployments – the exact firmographic most likely to be LaMa users.
So, what’s an SAP customer with a complex mix of SAP landscapes to do?
The silver lining in this announcement is the SAP solution ecosystem. For customers coming to the end of LaMa and Solutions Manager, Avantra provides a comprehensive superset of functionality beyond these legacy solutions. Avantra is designed to help customers manage existing systems now and the transition to Cloud ERP and Cloud ALM in the future from a single point of control.
With Avantra, one can manage SAP from ground-to-cloud and migrate from LaMa, enhancing SAP operations automation:
• Automate System Copy and System Refresh faster and with more complete pre and post-refresh activity automation
• Automate Kernel Upgrades, Job Maintenance, Profile Maintenance, SPAM/SAINT packages and more
• Automate SAP Notes and HotNews
• Automate certificate management
• Integrate SAP management with ServiceNow and other IT systems
• Support an SAP estate with any mix of on-premises, hyperscaler and Cloud ERP (private or public) from a single point of control
• Support hybrid landscapes containing Production and QA environments across Cloud ERP and on-premises deployment architectures (perfect for migration projects!)
• Add comprehensive hybrid monitoring, reducing the dependency on and accelerating the replacement of Solution Manager.
SAP LaMa End of Support: The December 2027 Deadline
SAP Landscape Management 3.0 reaches end of mainstream maintenance on 31 December 2027. SAP has confirmed no extended maintenance phase will follow. Solution Manager and Focused Run customers get a transition runway. LaMa customers do not.
The reason is architectural. LaMa 3.0 ships as an add-on to SAP NetWeaver AS Java, so its lifecycle is tied to the end of SAP Business Suite 7 mainstream maintenance on the same date.
After 31 December 2027, you lose:
- Security patches and SAP Notes for the LaMa stack itself
- Support tickets for LaMa incidents
- Compatibility updates for new SAP kernel and database releases
- Any path to extend, at any price
Your LaMa Migration Timeline
| Window | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Now to Q2 2026 | Inventory every LaMa automation in use: system copy, refresh, mass start/stop, provisioning workflows | SAP Basis |
| Q3 2026 | Shortlist replacements. Run a proof of concept against your two most complex automations | Basis lead plus vendor |
| Q4 2026 to Q2 2027 | Rebuild automations on the new platform. Start with non-production | SAP Basis |
| Q3 2027 | Parallel run. Validate every workflow against LaMa output | Basis plus QA |
| Q4 2027 | Decommission LaMa. Retire the NetWeaver AS Java host | Basis plus Infrastructure |
| 31 Dec 2027 | Mainstream maintenance ends | SAP |
Eighteen months looks generous. Rebuilding system copy and refresh automation for a landscape with 40 or more systems takes two to three quarters on its own. Teams starting in 2027 will run out of runway.
See how system copy and refresh automation works on a modern platform, or read the practical walkthrough on SAP system refresh automation.
The Compliance Risk Nobody Costed Into the LaMa Decision
Running unsupported infrastructure tooling stopped being a purely technical decision in the EU. Two regulations changed the calculation.
NIS2
NIS2 (EU Directive 2022/2555) applies to essential and important entities across energy, transport, banking, health, manufacturing, digital infrastructure and public administration. Most SAP-running enterprises in Europe fall inside scope.
NIS2 requires documented risk management for network and information systems, including patch and vulnerability handling. Significant incidents need an early warning to the national CSIRT within 24 hours and a full notification within 72 hours.
An unsupported LaMa instance sits in the middle of your provisioning and change chain. You cannot patch a product SAP no longer maintains. You cannot evidence a vulnerability management process for a component with no vendor fix path. Senior management carries personal accountability for these controls under NIS2.
DORA
DORA (EU Regulation 2022/2554) has applied to financial entities since 17 January 2025. Banks, insurers, payment institutions and their critical ICT providers must maintain ICT risk management covering the full lifecycle of every system supporting a critical function.
If LaMa automates provisioning or refresh for systems tied to a critical or important function, an unsupported version becomes a documented ICT risk your regulator will ask about. DORA also requires you to track concentration risk and exit strategies for ICT dependencies, which means an explicit, dated replacement plan for LaMa.
What This Means in Practice
Your 2027 LaMa deadline is not a Basis housekeeping item. Treat the replacement decision as an audit deliverable:
- Document the LaMa dependency in your ICT asset register now
- Record the replacement decision, timeline and owner
- Evidence that automation controls survive the migration
- Keep the audit trail continuous across the cutover
Platforms with built-in audit and compliance reporting shorten that evidence path considerably.
Avantra vs SAP Cloud ALM for LaMa Capabilities
SAP positions Cloud ALM as the strategic successor for application lifecycle management. For LaMa customers the question is narrower: which LaMa functions survive, and where?
| LaMa capability | SAP Cloud ALM | Avantra |
|---|---|---|
| System copy and refresh automation | Not covered | Full pre- and post-refresh activity automation |
| Mass start, stop and control across systems | Not covered | Yes, across the full estate |
| On-premises ECC and NetWeaver operations | Limited focus | Full support |
| Hybrid estate from one control point | Cloud-first orientation | On-premises, hyperscaler and Cloud ERP together |
| Kernel upgrade automation | Not covered | Yes |
| SAP Notes and HotNews automation | Not covered | Yes |
| Certificate management automation | Not covered | Yes |
| Technical monitoring for on-premises systems | Cloud-service oriented | Full technical monitoring and daily checks |
| Anomaly detection without manual thresholds | Not covered | Learns environment normal automatically |
| Automated root cause analysis | Basic exception handling | Smart root cause analysis |
| ServiceNow and ITSM integration | Limited | Native integration |
| Migration-phase support (ECC and S/4HANA in parallel) | Cloud target focus | Both, from one point of control |
The pattern is consistent. Cloud ALM covers lifecycle management for cloud-centric estates. LaMa’s operational automation for customer-operated systems has no direct equivalent inside it. Enterprises with a mixed estate need a second platform regardless of the Cloud ALM roadmap.
Compare the deployment options in the Avantra platform overview, or look at the Enterprise Edition and Observability Edition capability sets. For RISE estates, see Avantra Cloud Edition for RISE with SAP.
What exactly does Avantra do?
Avantra extends the automation available to SAP landscape management, automating many basis tasks:
• Diagnose problems before they arise, automatically evaluating systems and learning environment normal without the use of manual thresholds and settings
• Accelerate root cause analysis, leveraging Avantra’s extensive SAP operations expertise
The decision to terminate LaMa by SAP has created a gap for customers with hybrid implementations. For those customers, there are solutions supporting SAP across on premises, hyperscaler and Cloud ERP with comprehensive capabilities for the operations of ECC, S/4HANA and migration projects between them.
If you want to explore how Avantra can help your team and business manage the end of Landscape Manager, explore our Platform pages or get in touch with one of our SAP experts for a customised demo and conversation.
SAP LaMa Replacement FAQs
When does SAP Landscape Management reach end of support?
SAP Landscape Management 3.0 reaches end of mainstream maintenance on 31 December 2027. SAP has stated no extended maintenance period will follow.
Is extended maintenance available for SAP LaMa after 2027?
No. Unlike Solution Manager and Focused Run, LaMa has no paid extension option. The 2027 date is final.
Does SAP Cloud ALM replace SAP LaMa?
Not directly. Cloud ALM covers application lifecycle management with a cloud-first orientation. LaMa’s core automation, including system copy and refresh, mass start and stop, and provisioning across customer-operated systems, has no equivalent in Cloud ALM today.
What are the best alternatives for SAP landscape management after LaMa?
Look for a platform covering four things: system copy and refresh automation, mass control across systems, on-premises and hyperscaler support alongside Cloud ERP, and technical monitoring to reduce dependency on Solution Manager. Avantra covers all four from a single control point.
Which solutions replace SAP LaMa for landscape virtualisation?
Replacement platforms handle provisioning, cloning and refresh workflows across virtualised and cloud-hosted SAP systems. Avantra automates these workflows with pre- and post-activity handling, and extends into kernel upgrades, SAP Notes and certificate management.
How do you manage an SAP system landscape across hybrid environments?
Use one platform covering on-premises, hyperscaler and Cloud ERP deployments together. Mixed Production and QA estates spanning both worlds are common during migration. See automating SAP operations in hybrid landscapes.
What compliance risks come from running unsupported SAP landscape tooling?
Unpatched software inside your provisioning chain conflicts with NIS2 vulnerability management duties and DORA ICT risk management obligations. Both frameworks expect a documented, dated replacement plan for unsupported components.
How long does a LaMa migration take?
Plan two to three quarters for a mid-sized estate, longer for landscapes above 40 systems or with heavy custom provisioning workflows. Starting in 2026 leaves room for a parallel run before the deadline.