OpenLazarus for SAP ECC customers: leave, and own the system

Contents

1. Who it is for
2. What replaces what
3. How an engagement runs
4. Strengths and limits
5. Pricing
6. Questions to ask OpenLazarus
7. Sources

Type	Leave SAP: an AI operating system you own
Pricing	Published
Website	openlazarus.ai

Every route SAP offers an ECC customer after 2027 leads to another SAP contract. OpenLazarus starts from a different premise, which is that an established company should own the system it runs on. It describes itself as an AI lab helping established companies become AI-native, with a platform on which they build and own their AI operating system, agents and data⁠1OpenLazarus: an AI lab helping established companies become AI-nativeOpenLazarus.

Best for: Established companies on SAP ECC that would rather spend the next three years of maintenance and migration budget on an AI operating system they own than on another SAP contract.

Not the right fit for: Companies that have already signed a RISE with SAP contract and are far into an S/4HANA programme they intend to finish.

Who it is for

Companies in retail, wholesale, construction, manufacturing, professional services and healthcare that have run SAP for years, see the cost rising and do not see AI arriving in the system they pay for. The situation is common. In DSAG's 2026 survey, 77% of member companies with AI use cases ran them in production on non-SAP solutions and 3% on SAP solutions⁠2DSAG Investment Report 2026: companies are investing more selectively, AI is becoming established, cloud computing is being put to the testDSAG (German-speaking SAP user group) · 26 Feb 2026.

What replaces what

OpenLazarus provides prebuilt modules that a company swaps in: CRM, ERP, email, messaging, telephony and customer service⁠1OpenLazarus: an AI lab helping established companies become AI-nativeOpenLazarus. For an ECC customer that means:

• ECC itself is replaced by the ERP module, on data structures the company defines.
• The tools around ECC, such as the CRM, the mail and phone systems and the service desk, are replaced by modules on the same records.
• A vendor assistant is replaced by one AI and data layer that the company owns, where people and agents learn from the same information.
• The maintenance contract is replaced by ownership of the code. The company can maintain it itself, use any developer or use OpenLazarus engineering support.

The architecture is multi-LLM and headless. OpenLazarus says automatic model selection reduces token costs by more than 80%, and that a single AI operating system and fleet of agents cuts IT costs by 80 to 90%⁠1OpenLazarus: an AI lab helping established companies become AI-nativeOpenLazarus. Both figures are the company's own.

How an engagement runs

There are two routes⁠1OpenLazarus: an AI lab helping established companies become AI-nativeOpenLazarus. A builder opens the OpenLazarus builder, enters the company's website, lists the software it uses and the seats it pays for, and describes where people move information between tools by hand. The builder proposes automations, apps and AI teammates, with costs and the subscriptions that could be saved. An executive team works with OpenLazarus instead. The team starts from code already built, customises it, and employees then sign in to the new operating system, where familiar functions are replicated.

Strengths and limits

Strengths

• Replaces the SAP system rather than extending it: the ERP module, CRM, email, messaging, telephony and customer service run on one AI and data layer.
• The company owns its code and its data, and can maintain the system itself, with any developer or with OpenLazarus engineers.
• A multi-LLM, headless architecture: new AI models can be adopted without rebuilding the system.
• No maintenance deadline set by a vendor: there is no 2027, 2030 or 2033 to plan around.

Limits

• A newer route with a shorter public track record than SAP: it has not published a named SAP ECC migration case study.
• Statutory accounting, tax localisation and industry rules have to be specified per country and checked with the company’s auditor during the build.
• The 80–90% IT cost and 80%+ token cost figures are OpenLazarus’ own claims, not independent measurements.

Choose another option if: You need to keep SAP for contractual or group reasons. Then extended maintenance buys time to 2030, and S/4HANA is the route SAP maintains to 2040.

Pricing

Published on its site: managed hosting from $150 a month, developer support from $4,500 a month including engineering credits, AI model access at 5.5% on credits, and consultancy priced per engagement.

Questions to ask OpenLazarus

• Which of our ECC processes would the ERP module cover as built, and which need custom work?
• How will statutory accounting and tax rules for each of our countries be specified and tested with our auditor?
• How does data move out of ECC, and can both systems run in parallel for one process?
• What do we hold at the end: the code, the data and the right to maintain it with another developer?

For OpenLazarus against SAP's own options, see the comparison.

Sources

1. OpenLazarus: an AI lab helping established companies become AI-native. OpenLazarus. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
2. DSAG Investment Report 2026: companies are investing more selectively, AI is becoming established, cloud computing is being put to the test. DSAG (German-speaking SAP user group), 26 Feb 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
3. Pricing. OpenLazarus. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.

Further reading

• Deadline guide · Updated quarterlySAP ECC 2027: what ends, what each option costs, and the option SAP does not listSAP’s mainstream maintenance for ECC ends at the end of 2027. This guide sets out every date SAP has published, prices each option SAP offers, and examines the one it does not offer, which is to spend the same budget on a system the company owns.
• Guide · LeavingLeaving SAP ECC: how to move the 2027 budget into a system you ownSAP’s options all assume the customer stays. This guide works through the alternative for an established company. It covers what the money already committed to ECC adds up to, what the same money builds, and how to leave in steps without a cut-over weekend.
• Guide · AISAP ECC and AI: what the ECC AI update is, and what it requiresECC customers are asking whether their system will get AI before maintenance ends. SAP’s answer changed in 2026, and it comes with a commercial condition. What SAP has said, what users report, and why the structure of the system matters more than the assistant on top of it.

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