About this guide
An independent buyer's guide for companies reviewing their options before SAP's ECC maintenance deadlines, written for the finance, IT and operations leads who will carry the decision.
Most pages about SAP alternatives are written by a vendor or a partner with a stake in the answer, and few quote SAP's own dates. This guide sets out SAP's options as SAP states them, compares the alternatives on published evidence and says what each one leaves out.
Who it is for
CFOs, CIOs, IT directors and operations leaders at companies running SAP ECC, from mid-sized firms to larger groups, who are deciding whether to move to S/4HANA, extend ECC or replace it. We assume readers know their own estate, custom code and interfaces far better than any vendor.
Independence and the SAP name
This guide is independent of SAP SE and of every vendor it reviews. SAP, SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA are named only to identify the products being discussed; we use no SAP logos and nothing here implies endorsement by or affiliation with SAP.
How it is made
SAP's maintenance dates come from SAP's News Center and Support Portal. Every alternative is described from the vendor's own pages and documentation and from reputable third-party reporting, each fact with a numbered source and access date. Vendor-reported figures are labelled. The criteria are set out on the methodology page.
We re-check the guide at least once a quarter and whenever SAP or a vendor changes a date, price or programme. Every page shows its last update and keeps a change log.
Corrections
If a fact is wrong or a ranking looks unfair, tell us. Verified errors are corrected promptly, and each correction is recorded on the page.
Ownership
This publication is owned by the company that makes OpenLazarus, one of the options it reviews. OpenLazarus is ranked first for one stated situation, described in the methodology, and is assessed against the same published criteria and sources as every other entry. Its limits are listed as plainly as anyone else's.