Can SAP also do cloud?

I am, of course, talking about the cloud licensing model. If one takes a closer look at SAP's cloud subscriptions and FUE (Full Use Equivalent), then the SAP existing customer quickly recognizes a lock-in danger.

Ultimately, SAP has not borrowed from the hyperscalers, but has transformed the on-prem licensing model with one-time payment and maintenance fee into the cloud - there it is only called differently! The effect is similar to an R/3 license: Once customized, the existing SAP customer is deeply trapped in SAP's cloud.

There is no exit strategy. There is no breathing model with a dynamic license adjustment. SAP's cloud licensing model reflects the same rigidity that the SAP community already knows from past R/3 times. The cloud rental model is very inflexible and ultimately negates all the benefits that cloud usage should bring. There is no provision for moving to other clouds with fewer users.

A return to the company's own data center - despite many hybrid concepts on paper - is not planned. Switching database servers from Intel-based infrastructure to IBM Power seems impossible. The future of the SAP cloud is a continuation of the on-prem past.

The existing customer enters the SAP cloud realm and should remain there forever - at least that is how SAP CFO Luka Mucic defines the new security of cloud subscriptions for SAP itself: Yes, SAP can do cloud, even if not for the benefit of its existing customers!