Apr 26: Trends and Investments in the SAP community 2026
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The DSAG Investment Report 2026 reveals a picture characterized by scepticism: although general IT budgets continue to rise, investments in SAP software are being made in a much more targeted, selective and critical manner than in the past. The loyal user base is increasingly resisting the dictated cloud constraints. As a result, S/4 in on-prem operation remains a preferred choice for many companies, while the aggressively marketed pure cloud models are struggling to gain momentum.
For a worrying 70 percent of the companies surveyed, the restrictive and complex SAP license and contract structure is one of the biggest hurdles. For the critical SAP user, the conclusion is that although SAP remains strategically relevant as a transactional centerpiece, trust in the Walldorf pricing policy (SAP PKL) and cloud strategy has been permanently eroded. „The development of budgets reflects the ongoing economic pressure that many companies are under. Energy prices, geopolitical uncertainties and a tense market environment mean that investments are being scrutinized more critically and in some cases postponed - including in the SAP environment,“ says DSAG CEO Jens Hungershausen. From DSAG's point of view, companies are investing in a more targeted manner without fundamentally questioning SAP.
The path to the SAP cloud is sold to existing customers as the ultimate liberation and a haven of limitless agility, but an investigative look at the exit options reveals an unprecedented strategic abyss. The bitter truth, which is systematically concealed in the glossy brochures, is that SAP does not actually have a viable and standardized cloud exit strategy. Anyone who, as an existing SAP customer, embarks on the much-vaunted Rise with SAP model is entering a dangerous one-way street that is quite rightly referred to in specialist circles as a mathematical „trapdoor function“ - a path that is temptingly easy to enter, but from which there is virtually no technical or contractual escape.
„The results clearly show that companies no longer view SAP investments in isolation. Digital transformation and process modernization remain the key drivers, but are clearly flanked by the need to operate more efficiently and reliably meet regulatory and security requirements,“ says Jens Hungershausen. „Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, rising costs and complex license and maintenance models, SAP investments must be innovative, economically viable and resilient at the same time.“
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