Introduction: SAP Commerce’s Legacy
History is littered with retailers and brands who were too slow to adapt to changing dynamics in the ecommerce industry, offering subpar digital experiences and getting trapped under a growing mountain of technology debt. When it comes to digital commerce, the platform you choose can either drive growth for your business or seal your demise.
Today, we delve into the capabilities of two major commerce platforms born of different eras: SAP Commerce Cloud, representing legacy technology, and VTEX, representing modern commerce. We'll examine why a growing number of forward-looking businesses, particularly those managing both B2B and B2C operations on a single platform, are opting for VTEX.
SAP Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Hybris, was born in 1997, a time when ecommerce was in its infancy. Its monolithic architecture was state-of-the-art back then, but like a dinosaur caught in the ice age, it’s now struggling to adapt to a radically different environment. Mobile-first design, cloud-native architecture, and RESTful + GraphQL API integrations weren’t considerations when Hybris was built - and it shows. The platform’s outdated architecture, compounded by a labyrinth of admin interfaces developed over decades, creates a confusing and inefficient experience for today’s business users.
Declining Customer Base and Market Position
SAP Commerce Cloud’s struggle to evolve is reflected in its declining customer base. The platform has lost ground as more companies pivot to modern, flexible alternatives. Ecommerce website metrics tools, such as Builtwith, paint a clear picture of SAP’s waning influence in the ecommerce sector (see picture). The once-dominant platform now finds itself overshadowed by more agile competitors. Notably, high-profile customers have already jumped ship, signaling that SAP’s best days are behind it in the commerce platform space. The problem is compounded by an outdated ecosystem of partners, many of whom have moved on to greener pastures.
SAP’s “Cloud” Myth
SAP’s “Commerce Cloud” isn’t truly SaaS. Key limitations include:
- SAP Commerce Cloud runs on a private cloud, not true multi-tenant SaaS. Customers miss out on shared infrastructure benefits like automatic updates and lower total cost of ownership.
- Hosting may be simplified, but upgrades and innovation are still manual. Updates require effort and planning, slowing the pace of change.
- Agility is limited by long implementation timelines. Even small changes can take weeks, delaying improvements.
- This lag makes it hard to keep up with market shifts. Businesses can’t respond quickly to new trends, customer needs, or competitive pressure.
Headless and Composability Nightmares
In today’s ecommerce landscape, composable commerce is a necessity. Unfortunately, SAP’s monolithic design makes integrating third-party applications a cumbersome task. The lack of flexibility means businesses can’t easily build a truly composable tech stack with SAP, leaving them stuck with a rigid and outdated system that’s difficult to evolve. For example, SAP commerce customers I’ve interviewed stated that it took weeks to move a button on their product detail pages. This is a change that takes minutes or hours on a modern platform.
Headless commerce, where the front-end and back-end are decoupled, is becoming the new standard, but SAP Commerce Cloud has failed to keep up. Its APIs were bolted onto the system as an afterthought, leading to a clunky and brittle experience that frustrates developers. SAP’s failure to provide adequate developer tooling has led to a “brain drain,” with talent migrating to more modern platforms.
The Financial Burden of SAP
One of the most common complaints about SAP Commerce Cloud is its lengthy and costly implementation process. As reflected in Gartner Peer Insight reviews, these extended timelines often cause businesses to fall behind current trends by the time they go live. SAP Hybris, by design, is more of a framework for application development than a polished product, leading to excessive custom development and a move away from more complete, configurable solutions.
SAP’s legacy platform is technologically outdated and a financial burden. The private cloud model necessitates extensive customization, which in turn drives up maintenance costs. Over time, the majority of IT investments in SAP Commerce are directed toward keeping the system operational rather than driving innovation. This “maintenance mode” is a costly trap that many businesses can’t afford.
VTEX: The modern alternative to monolithic woes
Enter VTEX: the composable, microservices-based platform designed for modern commerce with comprehensive B2C and B2B functionality out of the box. Unlike SAP, VTEX’s architecture allows for seamless integration with modern third-party applications, enabling businesses to build a flexible, scalable platform tailored to their needs. VTEX’s true multi-tenant SaaS model ensures continuous updates and innovation, so retailers, distributors, and brand manufacturers can stay ahead of the curve without the burden of excessive customization and maintenance.
VTEX’s API-first design isn’t just a checkbox feature; it’s a core strength. This approach makes headless commerce implementations not only possible but efficient and developer-friendly. With VTEX, businesses can easily create adaptable, future-ready commerce experiences that meet the demands of today’s digital consumers and the expectations of developers (Spoiler - SAP doesn’t). VTEX’s extensive developer tooling makes headless and composable implementations straightforward, empowering businesses to create flexible, future-proof commerce experiences.
When it comes to implementation, VTEX outpaces SAP by a wide margin. VTEX’s streamlined process minimizes disruption, enabling businesses to go live faster and stay ahead of trends. Whether rolling out at scale or supporting multiple business models, VTEX offers flexibility and speed that SAP can’t match.
VTEX Customer Success Spotlight
One of VTEX’s most significant differentiators is its unwavering commitment to customer success. Each VTEX client is paired with a dedicated commerce engineer who offers personalized attention and deep insights into the business’s unique needs. These commerce experts actively work to optimize frontend performance, enhance catalogs, streamline processes, and boost sales. This level of proactive and tailored support is something SAP simply doesn’t offer, making VTEX’s customer success approach a game-changer in the industry.
In 2024, VTEX was the sole vendor named a Customers' Choice in the Gartner Voice of the Customer for Digital Commerce Report. In 2025, the platform became the ONLY vendor to earn that designation for the second year in a row. Additionally, VTEX was the only vendor rated top 5 for all use cases in the 2023 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Digital Commerce Report.
Financial Benefits of VTEX
VTEX offers a clear financial advantage over SAP’s monolithic Commerce Cloud by providing a modern, composable platform that reduces maintenance costs and maximizes ROI. Unlike SAP, which requires heavy customization and ongoing maintenance, VTEX’s modular architecture allows businesses to integrate only the best-of-breed applications that directly impact their goals. This eliminates the waste of paying for unused features that come with SAP’s all-in-one system. VTEX also allows for faster adaptation to market changes without the downtime or high IT costs associated with SAP, enabling businesses to invest more in growth and innovation rather than keeping outdated technology operational.
VTEX IO: The Game-Changer for Business Model Flexibility
Over-reliance on customizations is often where legacy platforms falter, but VTEX IO is a game-changer in the era of SaaS. VTEX IO is VTEX’s application development framework for building on top of the platform - enabling quick development of custom apps and integrations that are native to VTEX’s data model. All while maintaining the benefits of multi-tenancy, such as non-breaking updates and access to new features and innovations. The result? Seamless updates and reduced long-term costs. Customers like OBI, Roadrunner Sports, and Pierce Manufacturing have successfully re-platformed to VTEX from legacy platforms, leveraging VTEX IO to enable unique business models and drive growth.
Conclusion: Why VTEX is the superior choice in 2025 and beyond
In a world where technology decisions can mean the difference between thriving or going extinct, VTEX stands out as the superior choice to fossils like SAP. VTEX’s modern, composable architecture, developer-focused tools, comprehensive functionality for B2C and B2B, and unmatched customer success focus make it the ideal platform for businesses looking to future-proof their ecommerce strategy. For decision-makers, the choice is clear: VTEX it’s a path to sustainable growth and innovation.
If you’re ready to evolve your commerce strategy, speak to VTEX’s experts in SAP migrations today.