Anyone moving their old SAP add-ons to the Private or Public Cloud often migrates not only processes – but also their own legacy baggage.
In cloud projects, we keep seeing the same mistake: companies spend hours discussing target architecture, S/4HANA, processes, and operating models – but when it comes to partner products and SAP add-ons, suddenly anything goes. True to the motto: “The tool works today, we still have the license, so we’ll just take it with us.”
And that is exactly what is increasingly becoming a problem for many SAP add-ons in the new SAP world.
Introduction
Let’s say it directly:
Many classic SAP add-ons will have a hard time in the future.
Not because every partner solution is bad.
Not because SAP can do everything better itself.
But because SAP is increasingly standardizing more topics itself, integrating them into its own cloud logic, and occupying them strategically.
This can be seen particularly clearly in areas such as:
- E-invoicing
- Compliance
- industry-specific extensions
- fleet management and eMobility
As soon as SAP pulls such topics into its standard, platform, and operating model, the pressure on SAP add-ons to justify themselves increases massively. It is no longer enough for a product to have “always been there.” It has to deliver real added value. Functionally. Technically. Architecturally.
And this is exactly where things get tight.
Table of Contents
- Why many SAP add-ons are coming under pressure in the cloud
- The real question: Does the tool still solve a problem of tomorrow?
- Example: E-invoicing – when SAP occupies the topic itself
- Example: Fleet management – why many classic SAP add-ons will die
- The counterexample: Why FITS/eMoC fits into the new SAP world
- What you now need to watch out for with your 3rd-party tools
- A pragmatic evaluation framework for your SAP add-on
- Conclusion
- FAQ
Why many SAP add-ons are coming under pressure in the cloud
The new SAP world is significantly less tolerant of historically grown special paths.
What “somehow worked” on-premise for years quickly becomes critical in cloud scenarios. Many older SAP add-ons are deeply embedded in the ERP core, work with old interface logic, or are based on extensions that are becoming increasingly problematic in modern target architectures.
This particularly affects solutions that:
- work in a highly modifying way
- are directly attached to the SAP core
- do not have a clean API strategy
- are not update-proof
- bring technically barely documented dependencies
In the past, the key question was often only whether a tool worked functionally.
Today, the more important question is:
Does this SAP add-on still fit our target architecture at all?
And this is exactly where things become uncomfortable for many existing solutions.
Because in the cloud, the tool with the most features does not automatically win. The solutions that will win are those that can be cleanly integrated, remain upgrade-capable, and do not permanently distort the SAP standard.
SAP itself is actively driving this development – among other things with the clean core strategy and its clear focus on side-by-side extensions via the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP).
The real question: Does the tool still solve a problem of tomorrow?
Many SAP add-ons originally emerged because SAP used to have functional gaps.
That is what partner solutions are for. That is what specialized providers are for.
But:
A gap from yesterday is not automatically a business case for tomorrow.
As soon as SAP strategically occupies a topic itself, the evaluation of external solutions changes massively. It is no longer enough that a provider has been on the market for years or was “faster than SAP in the past.”
Then one thing matters above all:
What additional value does the SAP add-on really still deliver today?
And this is exactly the question that is currently becoming uncomfortable in many companies.
Example: E-invoicing – when SAP occupies the topic itself
E-invoicing is one of the best examples of this.
For many years, this was a classic space for third-party providers:
- regulatory requirements
- country-specific characteristics
- complex formats
- high pressure to adapt
It was an ideal playing field for specialized tools.
Today, the picture is shifting significantly.
When SAP strategically reinforces a topic like e-invoicing itself and anchors it in the standard or in its own solution portfolio, it changes the market.
For customers, this means very specifically:
An external tool is no longer automatically the best choice just because it used to be the only practical choice.
The decisive question now is:
What additional value does the third-party tool still deliver today?
If the answer is only: “more history,” “more habit,” “more familiarity,” “more of the past,” or “it’s cheaper,” then the argument becomes weak.
If, however, the answer is:
- real specialization
- clear functional advantage
- regulatory depth in special cases
- additional process intelligence
- better international coverage in complex scenarios
then the discussion is worthwhile.
But this threshold is much higher today than it was a few years ago.
Example: Fleet management – why many classic SAP add-ons will die
When it comes to fleet management, this development is even more obvious from our perspective.
We are deliberately putting it bluntly:
Most classic fleet management add-ons will not win in the new SAP world.
Not because fleet management is becoming unimportant.
On the contrary. Mobility, vehicle data, charging processes, costs, user processes, and reporting remain relevant.
But many existing solutions come from an old add-on mindset:
- closely tied to the ERP core
- technically deeply embedded
- strongly linked to individual modifications
- difficult to modernize
- not cleanly designed for cloud operations
And that is exactly what is now becoming a problem.
Because in the new world, other things matter:
- Clean Core
- API-based integration
- side-by-side instead of deep in the standard
- clean extension logic
- upgrade capability
- cloud operation capability
Many classic fleet management add-ons simply were not built for this.
That has to be said clearly.
They are not under pressure because the functional need is disappearing.
They are under pressure because their architecture comes from an SAP world that is currently being phased out.
And that is uncomfortable for many companies, because these exact tools have often been running for years and are considered internally as a given.
But “a given” is not the same as “future-proof.”
The counterexample: Why FITS/eMoC fits into the new SAP world
This is exactly why it is important not to lump all additional solutions together.
Not every tool loses. But the rules of the game have changed.
And this is precisely where we see FITS/eMoC as a good example of the right direction.
With FITS/eMoC, we show what a modern fleet management and eMobility scenario can look like in the new SAP world:
- clean-core-capable
- designed with SAP BTP in mind
- side-by-side instead of core-adjacent
- cleanly integrable
- future-proof for cloud target architectures
That is the difference.
FITS/eMoC is not simply a classic add-on in new packaging.
From our perspective, it is exactly the kind of solution companies will need in the future:
a solution that remains functionally relevant without dragging yesterday’s architecture along with it.
Because this is exactly how the market will sort itself:
- old core-adjacent add-ons with a lot of historical inertia
- versus
- modern, platform-adjacent solutions that fit the SAP target architecture
And we are convinced:
The future does not belong to the loudest tool.
The future belongs to the tool that combines functional added value with technical cleanliness.
That is exactly why we see FITS/eMoC as a strong positive example.
What you now need to watch out for with your 3rd-party tools
Anyone currently moving toward S/4HANA, SAP Cloud ERP Private, or Public should critically evaluate existing SAP add-ons.
Not based on history.
Not based on habit.
But based on future viability.
The following questions are especially helpful:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Does SAP now cover this topic itself? | Then the pressure on external solutions increases |
| Does the tool deliver real added value? | History alone is no longer enough |
| Is the add-on clean-core-capable? | Core-adjacent solutions are becoming problematic |
| Does the solution work API-based? | Cloud capability is becoming mandatory |
| Is the solution upgrade-capable? | Permanent special paths become expensive |
| Would you introduce the tool again today? | Often the most honest assessment |
The last question in particular often leads to interesting discussions in workshops.
Because many companies realize for the first time that certain SAP add-ons are actually only still running out of habit.
A pragmatic evaluation framework for your SAP add-on
| Category | Meaning | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Green | clear added value, clean-core-capable, cloud-oriented, cleanly integrable | keep and selectively expand |
| Yellow | functionally relevant, but technically not fully aligned with the target architecture | modernize and safeguard |
| Orange | historical gap filler, added value is becoming weak | reassess the business case |
| Red | SAP covers the topic itself and the tool is technically stuck in the old world | replace or phase out |
Conclusion
Cloud migration does not only mean modernizing SAP technically.
Cloud migration also forces companies to reassess their entire landscape of SAP add-ons.
And this is exactly where many classic solutions will fail.
Not because nobody wants additional solutions anymore. But because SAP add-ons today have to deliver more: more architectural cleanliness, closer platform alignment, greater upgrade capability, and above all, real functional added value.
This is currently particularly evident in areas such as e-invoicing or fleet management. Many older add-ons come from an SAP world that is coming under increasing technical pressure. Not suddenly. Not overnight. But gradually, because they are becoming increasingly difficult to integrate into modern cloud and clean core strategies.
The winners will be the solutions that remain functionally relevant while also technically fitting into the new SAP world.
That is exactly why we see FITS/eMoC as an example of what modern SAP add-ons should look like today: clean-core-capable, close to SAP BTP, and consistently designed for modern side-by-side architectures.
If you want to critically evaluate your existing SAP add-ons or set up your cloud target architecture cleanly, we will be happy to support you.
Find out more here:
https://www.fink-its.de/startseite.html
FAQ
No. The tools coming under pressure are primarily those that merely close old SAP gaps or no longer technically fit the cloud architecture.
Because SAP is strategically occupying the topic more strongly itself. As a result, external solutions have to justify their added value much more clearly.
Because many of these solutions come from an old, core-adjacent add-on logic and are difficult to translate into clean core and cloud target architectures.
Because we see exactly the architecture here that will endure in the future: close to SAP BTP, designed side-by-side, clean-core-capable, and functionally relevant.
Evaluate the entire tool landscape – not based on history, but based on added value, cloud fit, integration quality, and future viability.