SAP has announced the end of support for SAP Commerce (formerly Hybris). The official “sunset date” is July 31, 2026. Existing customers will receive security updates through 2028, but will not be able to further develop the system. SAP is thus pursuing a “cloud-first” strategy that allows further development only on SaaS solutions. SAP uses a SaaS model hosted on Azure that enables seamless updates, security patches, and improvements. While this can simplify infrastructure operations, it leads to limitations of customization possibilities.

Existing SAP Commerce customers who are not yet on the SAP Commerce Cloud will be more or less forced to migrate by 2028. SAP states that a migration time of 4–8 months is to be expected. For custom integrations within a complex IT architecture, this will entail significant effort and may even take longer.

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Why Migrate to the Cloud?

It is somewhat unclear what concrete benefits the cloud is supposed to offer customers. While setting up a standard online store without custom integrations may become easier, any customizations are likely to involve greater limitations and more effort. It appears that this business model is primarily more profitable for the software providers. This means that, as a customer, you must expect higher costs and greater dependence. Given the pricing trends for cloud solutions, it is reasonable to assume that the costs for the new cloud solution will continue to rise (e.g. https://www.softwareseni.com/why-saas-prices-are-rising-4x-faster-than-inflation-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/). SAP is already in the process of migrating its first services to the cloud, with the goal of making everything available as a pure SaaS solution (for example, the Search Service is being moved to the cloud):  (https://help.sap.com/docs/SEARCH_SERVICE/96c6b036f78a4d4b99972cfaf09a008a/ffc36e80944740adad45efb2ce7c9a49.html).

Regardless of perspective, one thing is clear: If you are currently using SAP Commerce on-premise, a significant migration project is unavoidable.

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Are There Advantages to Migrating to SAP Commerce Cloud?

‍Advantages of the Cloud Solution

• One advantage that is often cited is that customers need to purchase less hardware and can outsource its maintenance. But after nearly 20 years of cloud solutions, it has become clear that the costs of cloud solutions are steadily rising. In the long run, they can become more expensive than self-hosting.
• Simpler operation: For standard solutions, SaaS can indeed lead to greater efficiency (easier maintenance, automatic updates, etc.). Custom solutions, however, become more complex and expensive and may not integrate flexibly.
• Cloud solutions reduce DevOps effort by automating hardware maintenance, updates, scaling, and security. Here are a few examples:
  
  • Automated backups in geographically redundant data centers.
  • Cloud platforms centrally manage SSL/TLS certificates and renew them automatically, typically using modern encryption standards such as TLS 1.2/1.3
  • Hardware resources are dynamically adjusted to current needs thanks to autoscaling. This is one of the biggest advantages of cloud solutions. Horizontal scaling is another advantage: additional instances/containers (e.g., Kubernetes pods) are launched as needed.
  • The integrated DDoS protection also defends against attacks from various layers.
• AI integration is a compelling argument for the cloud: due to the high computational requirements, it can be better integrated in a SaaS cloud. However, not all services require AI integration. Additionally, potential data protection issues must be considered.

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‍Disadvantages of the cloud solution:

• Vendor lock-in: You become more tied to SAP. This lock-in effect complicates any migration away.
• No multi-cloud or hybrid solutions: Hosting is only available via Microsoft Azure, which limits your freedom of choice.
• Less flexibility: SaaS solutions rely on a “one size fits all” approach. Custom integrations become more expensive and cumbersome. Any connection to a system not anticipated by SAP will generate additional effort and may depend on additional middleware. Furthermore, various optimizations are no longer possible with the SAP cloud solution.
• Costs: While the costs for standard solutions may be lower in the short term, overall costs are expected to rise steadily. Additionally, some providers charge higher fees for heavy usage or revenue-based licensing costs. This makes cost control particularly difficult for SMEs in the long term.
• Data protection: You have less oversight and control over your data and its processing. Furthermore, you are at the mercy of your providers, who are known for unilaterally changing their terms of use to the detriment of customers (Source: https://www.techspot.com/news/103575-companies-including-google-snap-meta-quietly-changing-privacy.html).
• Architecture: The SAP Commerce Cloud has a monolithic architecture. Despite the Spartacus frontend and APIs, the integration of composable microservices is not fully realized. (Admittedly: This drawback lies in the architecture of SAP Commerce and is not caused by the cloud.)

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So ask yourself: Is it worth to invest time and money to migrate to the same provider that is now forcing me into the migration? When will you be forced to migrate again? What terms and conditions will apply then? (Hint: The terms and conditions won’t improve). Or will you seize the opportunity and become more independent? Do you want to update your system landscape with modern components and build a composable commerce system based on a MACH architecture? Or will you use this opportunity to reduce your dependence on individual providers? Do you want to modernize your system landscape and transition to a future-proof composable commerce architecture based on the MACH principle (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless)? Then these are the next steps.

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What are the alternatives to SAP Commerce (on-premise)?

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1. Switch to SAP Commerce Cloud: 👎 This keeps you in a monolithic ecosystem and completely dependent on SAP.

2. Switch to an alternative SaaS solution such as Adobe Commerce or Shopify: 👎 Out of the frying pan and into the fire. They remain stuck in proprietary systems with expensive licenses and dependencies similar to those of SAP.

3. Switch to a MACH-based commerce solution: 👍 Greater flexibility and better cost control with no hidden fees. Less reliance on individual providers (including the option to use purely European solutions).

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Waiting is no longer an option. Contact us for a consultation on how you can continue to operate your commerce solution in a sustainable, independent, and customizable way.

If you’ve decided to make the switch, the next post will outline the steps for migrating from SAP Commerce to an alternative solution.