Short answer: nothing happens to them. Your data stays in your own database. Your customizations stay installed. Neither gets touched, migrated, or rebuilt just because you’ve changed who supports the system. Here’s why, and the couple of things actually worth checking before you commit to a date.
Your Data Doesn’t Go Anywhere
our SAP Business One data lives in a database you own, usually SQL Server or SAP HANA, hosted on your own server or whatever cloud setup you already have. Switching partners doesn’t touch that. It changes who has support access, not who owns or hosts your data. There’s no export, no import, no migration step. If a prospective new partner ever tells you they need to “migrate” your data just to take over support, that’s worth questioning. A normal switch shouldn’t require it at all.
What a New Partner Actually Does During Onboarding
A proper system review, the kind a decent partner does before formally taking over, walks through all of that in practice rather than just on paper. They’ll document what’s installed and who built it. They’ll check that reports still run, workflows still trigger, and integrations still sync, rather than assuming they do. Older systems sometimes have a customization nobody quite remembers setting up, so a thorough partner will flag those too, before they turn into a problem down the line. And they’ll confirm they actually have the access they need: database credentials, server access, any third-party logins.
Two Things Worth Knowing Upfront
Most switches are genuinely uneventful. Still, two situations come up often enough that they’re worth flagging rather than glossing over.
If an add-on was built specifically for you by your old partner, rather than being a licensed off-the-shelf product, it might not come with documentation or source code automatically. Worth asking for this in writing as part of your notice. Most partners will provide it without much fuss, but don’t assume, confirm it.
And occasionally, a third-party add-on’s license is tied to your old partner’s reseller account instead of to you directly. That specific add-on (not your core SAP B1 license) might need reassigning, or in rarer cases, repurchasing. It’s uncommon, but it’s the kind of thing worth checking during your initial review, not after you’ve already handed in notice.
Aware as an SAP Business One Partner
Aware Group is listed as an SAP partner for Business One, with over 20 years providing enterprise and SME technology services, and offices in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.
- SAP-listed Business One partner. Verify on SAP’s Partner Finder: https://www.sap.com/partners/profile/aware-corporation-limited
- Existing SAP Business One clients including BEARHOUSE, Bewish Car Rental, and LOTTE Rent-A-Car
Yes, to provide support. But that’s access, not ownership or migration. Your database stays exactly where it is, hosted however it already is.
Ask for documentation and any source code as part of your written notice. Most partners provide it without issue. If yours doesn’t, your new partner can usually still support the add-on as-is, though extending it further may take longer without that documentation.
Only in the uncommon case where a license is tied specifically to your old partner’s reseller account rather than to you directly. Worth having your new partner check this during the initial review, before you give notice.
Your data isn’t moved, so there’s no special backup step required beyond your normal routine. Still, it’s good practice to confirm a recent backup exists before any support handover.
It happens sometimes. A good new partner can usually reconstruct what’s needed straight from the live system during the audit, even without full cooperation. It just takes a little longer than a clean handover would.
If your SAP Business One partner isn’t keeping up, talk to Aware about taking over support: https://www.aware.co.th/software-solutions/erp-software/sap-business-one/
Digital Marketing Manager at Aware Group: Working his way through the world of technology and Thailand as best as he can. Happy to contribute to other tech publications.
