SAP Marketing Cloud sunset in 2026: challenges, alternatives, and migration tips

SAP has officially announced that it will discontinue development and support for SAP Marketing Cloud by the end of 2026. For the more than 2,000 companies worldwide currently relying on the solution, this milestone is fast approaching and the implications are serious.
According to a 2024 Gartner survey, nearly 60% of organizations impacted by major SaaS sunsets experience operational disruption lasting longer than six months, while one in three struggle with data integrity issues post-migration. For SAP Marketing Cloud users, that risk is real and planning ahead is essential to ensure business continuity and future-proof growth.

This shift poses a direct challenge for marketing and CRM leaders, CMOs, Marketing Operations managers, CRM architects, and IT decision-makers, who rely on SAP Marketing Cloud to run campaigns, manage data, and orchestrate customer journeys. For them, the question isn’t simply which tool will replace it, but how to ensure a seamless migration that protects data integrity, maintains marketing performance, and minimizes downtime.

In this blog, we unpack what the sunset means for current users, explore viable alternatives to SAP Marketing Cloud, and outline five essential migration steps to help organizations turn this challenge into an opportunity for modernization.

The challenges for customers

For SAP Marketing Cloud customers, the sunset means more than a technical migration. It represents a strategic inflection point affecting data, processes, and people.

“Many organizations underestimate the complexity of marketing cloud transitions,” notes Michael Jäger, Managing Partner at Cremanski & Company. “It’s not only about moving data from A to B, it’s about redefining your engagement model, your segmentation logic, and your marketing-to-sales handover.”

Here are the most pressing challenges companies face:

• Uncertainty about the future: Organizations need clarity on SAP’s CX strategy and whether Emarsys, positioned as the successor, can deliver the same flexibility and B2B capabilities.
• Risk of disruption: Marketing and Sales teams depend on the Marketing Cloud for campaign orchestration, segmentation, and analytics. Any disruption could impact lead generation, pipeline health, and customer experience.
• Complex data migration: Years of customer and behavioral data must be migrated without losing relationships, permissions, or historical attribution data.
• Employee adoption: Switching platforms means retraining teams and changing established workflows, one of the most underestimated migration hurdles.
• Vendor lock-in concerns: The new system must offer flexibility, scalability, and openness for integrations.
• Security and compliance: GDPR, ISO 27001, and other privacy standards must remain intact throughout the migration.
• Cost and ROI: Budget planning must account not only for licensing but for implementation, training, and long-term enablement.

The real cost of migration isn’t just technical: it’s the opportunity cost of lost agility. Choosing the right next platform determines whether your marketing stays reactive or becomes truly data-driven.

Alternatives to SAP Marketing Cloud

While SAP is discontinuing Marketing Cloud, several strong platforms can step in,  each with unique advantages depending on your business model and tech stack.

1. SAP Emarsys Engagement Platform

Emarsys is SAP’s natural successor, focusing on B2C omnichannel engagement. It offers AI-driven personalization, automation, and strong retail and eCommerce capabilities. Best suited for consumer brands that wish to remain within the SAP ecosystem and benefit from a familiar integration environment.

2. HubSpot Marketing Hub

HubSpot delivers a unified CRM and marketing automation platform, combining ease of use with powerful automation and analytics.
For B2B and hybrid organizations, HubSpot allows teams to consolidate multiple third-party tools into a single source of truth. Its capabilities in nurturing flows, company segmentation, and attribution reporting make it a standout choice for businesses seeking transparency and operational efficiency.

HubSpot’s rapid development in AI-driven marketing assistants and data enrichment tools like Breeze further reduces complexity.

“HubSpot today is not just a marketing automation tool, it’s a growth engine,” says Leon Ibrahim, Revenue Consultant at Cremanski & Company. “For many of our clients, it replaces fragmented stacks and delivers measurable impact across marketing and sales alignment.”

3. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Ideal for enterprises already invested in the Salesforce ecosystem, this platform excels in data-driven engagement and real-time analytics. With AI tools like Agentforce, Salesforce supports complex, omnichannel journeys for organizations needing scale and flexibility.

4. Oracle Eloqua

A tried-and-tested B2B marketing automation solution, Eloqua is designed for advanced lead management and account-based marketing. Its strength lies in customization and enterprise-grade campaign orchestration, making it a fit for organizations with sophisticated funnel architectures.

5 tips for a successful migration

If you’re a marketing or CRM leader planning your next steps, these five best practices will help you ensure a smooth and strategic transition:

1. Analyze your current setup: Audit your SAP Marketing Cloud environment, from integrations to data models and campaign logic, to create a comprehensive migration baseline.
   
   
2. Define requirements clearly: Avoid a simple “lift-and-shift.” Instead, rethink what your teams need for future growth and map requirements against your business goals.
   
   
3. Get expert advice: Partner with specialists who understand both SAP and modern marketing ecosystems. Their experience can reduce risk, accelerate vendor selection, and shorten implementation timelines.
   
   
4. Plan your data migration carefully: Prioritize data quality. Clean, enrich, and standardize records before migration to ensure your new system starts with reliable information.
   
   
5. Enable your teams: Invest in training, documentation, and change management. The success of your new platform hinges on how quickly your teams adopt and trust it.
   
   

Key takeaways and how Cremanski & Company can help

The 2026 sunset may feel distant, but in transformation terms, it’s tomorrow. The earlier you act, the smoother your transition and the greater your opportunity to rethink how your marketing technology drives measurable growth.

At Cremanski & Company, we specialize in helping organizations plan, migrate, and optimize their marketing and CRM ecosystems. From strategy and vendor selection to implementation and enablement, we ensure your next marketing cloud is an upgrade.

If you’re ready to evaluate your options and future-proof your marketing stack, let’s start the conversation today.