In my previous article, I listed SAP analytics tools that will no longer be covered by mainstream support at the end of 2018. Most SAP customers use Microsoft Windows Server to host the SAP BI platform. And many use Microsoft SQL Server to host the BI platform’s CMS and Audit databases. So it’s important to look at which versions of Windows Server and SQL Server are also losing mainstream support this year.
Microsoft provides a handy web site called the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy that allows you to search by product. It’s a very extensive database – you can look up very old products like Microsoft Windows 3.1.
Below I’ve created a composite screen shot showing multiple Windows Server and SQL Server editions.
Notice that both Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012 are running out of mainstream support in 2018. If you’re still using those versions, it’s definitely worth considering how to upgrade as a late-2018 or 2019 budget priority.
According to the Platform Availability Matrix for SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2:
- SAP BI 4.2 SP3 and higher support Microsoft Windows Server 2016
- SAP BI 4.2 SP4 and higher support Microsoft SQL Server 2016
- SAP BI 4.2 SP6 and higher support Microsoft SQL Server 2017