SAP Marketing Cloud is sunsetting.
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1. What's happening and why

SAP Marketing Cloud — SAP's B2B and B2C marketing automation platform — is being sunset. SAP has officially announced it will stop development and end all support by December 31, 2026. Gartner estimates that over 2,000 organizations currently rely on the product, many of them deeply integrated with SAP ERP systems.

The reason is straightforward: SAP acquired Emarsys in 2020 and has been building it into the strategic marketing platform for its CX portfolio. Maintaining two overlapping marketing automation products is not sustainable. SAP Marketing Cloud users are being asked to migrate — to Emarsys if they want to stay in the SAP ecosystem, or to a third-party platform if Emarsys doesn't fit.

What this means for SAP Marketing Cloud customers:

• No new development: SAP Marketing Cloud will receive no new features, integrations, or roadmap investment
• Security risk: After December 2026, the platform will no longer receive security patches — a significant compliance concern for GDPR-regulated data
• Integration degradation: SAP CX connectors and middleware integrations will stop being certified against new SAP releases
• Data access deadline: Depending on your SAP contract, data access may be restricted or cut off at end-of-support
• Emarsys migration path: SAP is offering migration assistance to Emarsys, but this is not automatic — it requires a new contract and active migration work

2. Timeline and key dates

Check your SAP contract for data retention terms specific to your agreement. Some contracts provide a grace period; others do not.

3. How to export your data (step-by-step)

SAP Marketing Cloud stores data in several modules. Export everything now — do not assume you can come back for it later.

Contact data and profiles

1. Navigate to Contacts → Contacts List
2. Use the Export function to download all contact profiles as CSV
3. Include all custom attributes and enrichment fields — these are often the hardest to recreate
4. Export in segments if your contact count is large (SAP may paginate large exports)
5. Include consent records — GDPR opt-in audit trails must be migrated to stay compliant

Segments and target groups

1. Go to Segmentation → Target Groups
2. Document the logic for every active target group (filter conditions, data source, refresh schedule)
3. Export segment membership as CSV for each group
4. Note: Segment logic is rule-based and must be recreated manually in your new platform — not importable as-is

Campaign history

1. Go to Campaign Management → Campaigns
2. Export campaign performance reports (open rates, click rates, conversion data) as CSV
3. Document all active campaigns and their configuration: audience, schedule, content, goals
4. Campaign templates and content blocks are not portable — you'll need to rebuild or convert them

Marketing journeys (Customer Journey Designer)

SAP Marketing Cloud's journey builder does not have a native export. Document manually:

1. Screenshot every step in each active journey
2. Copy all trigger conditions, wait times, decision logic, and exit criteria to a document or flowchart
3. List every touchpoint in each journey: email, push, SMS, in-app, and the content used at each step
4. Note personalization rules and dynamic content conditions

Content and templates

1. Export all email templates (HTML source) from the content editor
2. Download all images and assets from the content library
3. Document landing page configurations if using SAP Marketing Cloud's landing page capability

Integration and API configuration

1. Document all active integrations: SAP CRM, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Commerce (Hybris), third-party connectors via SAP Integration Suite or CPI
2. Screenshot integration configuration screens and note all field mappings
3. Export API connection details and OAuth credentials for any custom integrations
4. Review your SAP Integration Suite iFlows — these will need to be reconfigured for your new platform

4. What to save before it's gone

Complete SAP Marketing Cloud data inventory — cover all of these before decommissioning:

• All contact profiles with custom attributes and enrichment data
• Consent records — GDPR opt-in audit trail (critical for compliance)
• All segment definitions (logic documentation + member exports)
• Campaign performance history — open, click, conversion data for all campaigns
• Journey documentation — screenshots and written flowcharts for every marketing journey
• Email templates (HTML source + images)
• Content library assets — all images, PDFs, and media
• Integration configurations — SAP CRM/S4HANA field mappings, connector settings
• Custom reports and dashboards — screenshot or export all saved reporting views
• User list and permissions — document which teams have access to what
• Lead scoring rules — document all scoring models and thresholds

5. Alternative comparison

We evaluated the most relevant SAP Marketing Cloud alternatives based on feature coverage, SAP/ERP integration capabilities, pricing transparency, and migration complexity.

6. Head-to-head: SAP Marketing Cloud vs. each alternative

SAP Marketing Cloud vs. SAP Emarsys

SAP Marketing Cloud vs. HubSpot Marketing Hub

SAP Marketing Cloud vs. Adobe Marketo Engage

7. Our recommendation by use case

8. Migration walkthrough

SAP Marketing Cloud migrations are complex. This is a realistic timeline for a mid-market implementation. Enterprise deployments with deep SAP ERP integration should add 4–8 weeks to each phase.

Phase 1: Audit and export (Weeks 1–3)

• Export all contact data with full attribute set and consent records
• Document every active segment, campaign, and journey
• Map all current integrations (what connects to what, which fields, which direction)
• Identify which campaigns are "critical" (active, revenue-generating) vs. dormant
• Get buy-in from IT, legal (GDPR), and the marketing ops team before proceeding

Phase 2: Platform selection (Weeks 2–4)

• Shortlist 2 platforms based on the recommendation guide above
• Involve your SAP Basis team early if you need ERP integration — they'll determine feasibility
• Run proof-of-concept on SAP integration before signing a contract
• Get pricing — most platforms offer migration discounts for documented sunset situations
• Plan data model mapping: understand how contact fields will map between systems

Phase 3: Build and import (Weeks 4–10)

• Import contacts and validate data integrity (check counts, custom field mapping, consent flags)
• Rebuild your top 5–10 most important email templates in the new platform
• Recreate your critical segments using the documented logic
• Rebuild the top 3 active journeys, starting with the simplest
• Configure SAP ERP integration and verify bidirectional data flow
• Set up email deliverability (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for sending from your new platform

Phase 4: Parallel operation and cutover (Weeks 10–13)

• Run new platform alongside SAP Marketing Cloud for 2–4 weeks minimum
• Migrate non-critical campaigns to new platform first
• Monitor deliverability, CRM sync, and reporting accuracy
• Migrate critical campaigns one at a time — don't do a big-bang cutover
• Set a hard cutover date and communicate it to all teams using SAP Marketing Cloud

Phase 5: Decommission

• Confirm all active campaigns, journeys, and integrations are live in new platform
• Archive final data export from SAP Marketing Cloud
• Deactivate SAP Marketing Cloud tenant through your SAP account team
• Remove SAP Marketing Cloud from your integration landscape documentation
• Update all internal runbooks, SOPs, and training materials
• Confirm license termination timeline with SAP to avoid double billing

Printable migration checklist

🖨️ Print this checklist

9. Frequently asked questions

Don't wait until Q4 2026

SAP migrations take time. The companies that start now will have a smooth transition. The companies that wait until Q3 will be scrambling — and paying premium rates for rushed implementation partners.