Standard (Z / Y): These are free and intended for local, custom development within a single customer landscape. They do not offer protection from other vendors who might use the same names.

Registered (e.g., /COMPANY/): These are unique prefixes reserved globally via SAP. They are mandatory for using the Add-On Assembly Kit because they ensure your code never conflicts with SAP standard code or other third-party add-ons.

No. The AAK requires a namespace to "brand" the software component. Without a registered prefix, the Software Delivery Composer (SDC) cannot distinguish your product from local system customizations, making professional packaging impossible.

Technically, yes, but practically, it is highly discouraged. Changing a namespace requires a massive migration of all development objects (tables, programs, data elements) and their references. It is much more efficient to finalize your naming strategy with a partner like SAPVISTA before writing the first line of code.

You typically need a dedicated S/4HANA or ECC Development System. It is a best practice not to use a shared sandbox for AAK packaging because:

• You need full Basis authorizations to install the kit
• The system must have specific "Change Options" enabled for the namespace
• You need a clean environment to perform "Test Imports" of your generated .SAR files

SAPVISTA provides technical enablement and advisory. While the actual legal "reservation" of the namespace must often be done through your company's S-User ID on the SAP Support Portal, SAPVISTA guides you through the documentation, helps select the prefix, and handles the high-level technical activation (applying the license keys) in the system.

SAPVISTA often offers a Free Trial for standard SAP server access, but AAK and Namespace enablement are usually "Premium" services due to the manual Basis configuration and dedicated system resources required. However, you can use a trial to evaluate the performance of the S/4HANA environment before committing to an AAK project.

Namespace Activation: Usually 24–48 hours once you have the keys from SAP.

Full AAK Environment: 3–5 business days, including the installation of the AAK 5.0 (or latest) components and transport layer configuration.