Exoscale
Switzerland· Cloud Computing
Exoscale vs SAP
Vergelijk Exoscale en SAP op mogelijkheden, rechtsgebied, waarborgen en geschiktheid voor Europese kopers.
Beide vermeld als alternatief voor: Microsoft Azure
SAP
Germany· Cloud Computing
Needs review
Shortlist SAP when you need S/4HANA-class ERP breadth under a German parent entity and can fund a structured implementation. Skip when you want lightweight self-serve finance SaaS without a transformation partner. Consider Salesforce when CRM is the system of record, or a Microsoft Dynamics / Azure-centric stack when identity and productivity are already standardised on Microsoft.
EU-operatedFull ERP suiteS/4HANA CloudISO 27001 (claimed)B2B DPA published
Gemarkeerde rijen verschillen tussen de twee producten.
| Kenmerk | Exoscale | SAP |
|---|---|---|
| Land van herkomst | Switzerland | Germany |
| Categorie | Cloud Computing | Cloud Computing |
| Open source | Nee | Nee |
| Self-hosted | Nee | Ja |
| Hoofdkantoor | Niet vermeld | Germany |
| Juridische entiteit | Niet vermeld | SAP SE, Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16, 69190 Walldorf (Mannheim HRB 719915) |
| Toepasselijk recht | Niet vermeld | German entity; order forms may name local SAP affiliates |
| VS-moeder / zeggenschap | Niet vermeld | Geen bekende VS-moeder |
| CLOUD Act-blootstelling (indicatief) | Niet vermeld | Middel |
| EU-hostingstatus | Niet vermeld | Gedeeltelijk |
| Hosting / residentie | Niet vermeld | Mixed: SAP-operated data centers (including Walldorf / St. Leon-Rot, Germany) plus Enterprise Cloud Services documented on AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, or customer data centers. Product-specific subprocessor lists are primarily on My Trust Center for customers. |
| Samenvatting | European public cloud (IaaS) from Swiss operator Akenes SA (A1 Digital): multi-zone compute, managed Kubernetes (SKS), DBaaS, object and block storage, and GPUs across CH, DE, AT, BG, and HR. | German-headquartered enterprise ERP suite (SAP Cloud ERP / S/4HANA) for finance, supply chain, procurement, and HR. |
| Tags |
| In één oogopslag | Exoscale | SAP |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Niet vermeld | Walldorf, Germany |
| Legal entity | Niet vermeld | SAP SE (HRB 719915 Mannheim) |
| Product focus | Niet vermeld | Cloud ERP / S/4HANA |
| Commercial model | Niet vermeld | Enterprise subscription and licences (quote-based) |
| Open source | Niet vermeld | No |
| Data residency regions | Niet vermeld | Customer-selectable; Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific (incl. SAP DE sites and hyperscalers) |
| Compliance certs (claimed) | Niet vermeld | ISO 27001, SOC 1/2, BSI C5, plus regional attestations via Trust Center |
Exoscale
High-Performance Compute Instances
Exoscale's compute instances use SSD local storage with options for standard, CPU-optimized, memory-optimized and storage-optimized flavors. Sizes range from Micro (512MB RAM, 1 core) to Jumbo (225GB RAM, 24 cores). GPU instances with NVIDIA cards (A30, V100, A40, A5000, RTX 6000 Pro) suit AI tasks. Anti-affinity ensures instances spread across hosts for resilience. Snapshots and custom templates aid backups and deployments. Billing prorates to the second, with powered-off instances charged only for storage.
Scalable Kubernetes Service (SKS)
Managed Kubernetes deploys clusters in 120 seconds. Starter clusters are free (no SLA), Pro offers 99.95% uptime. Users scale worker nodes, manage control planes via portal, CLI, API or Terraform. Integrates with network load balancers. Supports cloud-native apps across zones.
Managed DBaaS and Storage
DBaaS covers PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, OpenSearch, Valkey and Grafana, with plans from Hobbyist (2GB RAM) to Premium (225GB RAM, multiple replicas). Object Storage is S3-compatible with multi-redundancy and replication. NVMe Block Storage attaches multiple volumes per instance for low-latency needs. Traffic: inbound free, intra-zone free, 1TB outbound free per instance monthly.
SAP
SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP core
Public and private cloud editions cover finance, supply chain, procurement, sales, and related processes on an in-memory data model with role-based UX. Scope and extensibility differ between Public Edition (standardised) and Private Edition (closer to classic on-premises flexibility).
GROW and RISE packaging
SAP GROW targets organisations starting on standardised AI-enabled cloud ERP. RISE with SAP supports existing on-premises customers migrating toward cloud with transformation services. Packaging choice drives implementation shape more than feature marketing slides.
Integration via SAP BTP
SAP Business Technology Platform and Integration Suite provide APIs, iPaaS connectivity, and extension points to link SAP ERP with third-party and legacy systems. Expect integration projects rather than plug-and-play SMB connectors.
Selectable cloud regions and sovereign options
Customers can choose data center regions; SAP documents Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific availability, including SAP-operated German sites and hyperscaler regions. Sovereign / regulated options (for example German IT-Grundschutz messaging for SAP-owned facilities) exist but must be contracted explicitly.
Trust Center compliance artifacts
SAP publishes ISO 27001, SOC, C5, and other certificates plus DPAs through the Trust Center and customer portals. Audit reports for specific services are often gated to customers rather than fully public PDFs.
| Assurance & compliance | Exoscale | SAP |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Niet vermeld | Not applicable ERP suite; not a no-logs privacy network product. Rely on SOC/ISO/C5 attestations instead. |
| ISO 27001 | Niet vermeld | Vendor claimed Trust Center lists ISO 27001 certificates for cloud services and publishes certificate finder entries (e.g. Central / Enterprise Cloud Services). |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Niet vermeld | Vendor claimed SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports described on Trust Center; many reports customer-gated via SAP for Me / My Trust Center. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Niet vermeld | Vendor claimed EU parent entity; Trust Center privacy pages and DPAs reference GDPR processing terms. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Niet vermeld | Partial German SAP SE parent with no known US parent, but Enterprise Cloud Services explicitly include AWS, Azure, and GCP paths. Medium exposure for hyperscaler-backed tenants. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Niet vermeld | Vendor claimed SAP states it signs DPAs; Trust Center hosts Data Processing Agreement documents for cloud, support, and professional services. |
| BSI C5 | Niet vermeld | Vendor claimed Trust Center lists Cloud Computing Compliance Controls Catalogue (C5) audit reports among EU regional offerings. |
| EU AI Act | Niet vermeld | Partial SAP publishes EU AI Act governance materials for Joule Agents and AI features; customer still must assess in-scope AI uses. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Exoscale | SAP |
|---|---|---|
| Hyperscaler hosting is common | Niet vermeld | Medium Even with a German parent, many cloud tenants run on AWS, Azure, or GCP. EU region selection does not remove US-group infrastructure operators from the path. Confirm contracted region and subprocessors. |
| Heavy implementation programmes | Niet vermeld | Medium S/4HANA and RISE projects typically need partners, data migration, and process redesign. Poor fit if you expected self-serve SaaS onboarding. |
| Detailed subprocessor lists often customer-gated | Niet vermeld | Low Public pages confirm lists exist on My Trust Center, but a full anonymous dump was not available in this research pass. Request the list for your exact cloud service before security sign-off. |
| Catalog category is Cloud Computing, not ERP | Niet vermeld | Low EuropeanStack has no dedicated ERP category yet. This entry is filed under Cloud Computing as the closest existing slug. |
Geschiktheid
Exoscale
Best fit when
Niet vermeld
Poor fit when
Niet vermeld
SAP
Best fit when
- Midsize to large enterprises consolidating finance, supply chain, and procurement on one ERP
- Organisations that need deep industry process templates and multi-country localisation
- Buyers that require a German / EU parent contracting entity plus formal Trust Center attestations
- Existing SAP ECC customers planning a RISE or S/4HANA transformation
- Teams with budget for partner-led implementation rather than pure self-serve SaaS
Poor fit when
- Startups or SMBs needing only simple invoicing without ERP programme overhead
- Buyers that require a guaranteed EU-only, non-hyperscaler hosting path without reading the contract region
- Teams seeking an open-source ERP they can fork and fully self-operate without vendor lock-in
- CRM-first organisations where Salesforce-class customer platforms are the real system of record
Consider instead when
When: Your primary system of record is CRM and revenue operations, not manufacturing or complex finance
Consider: Salesforce
Stronger CRM depth; US parent and different compliance posture.
When: You already standardise on Microsoft identity, M365, and Azure and want ERP in that estate
Consider: Microsoft 365 / Azure-centric Dynamics stacks
Compare total cost of identity + productivity + ERP under one US vendor.
When: You need a smaller European mid-market ERP without S/4HANA transformation scope
Consider: Evaluate EU mid-market ERP vendors outside this catalog (no peer ERP slug listed yet)
Catalog currently lacks a direct European ERP alternative entry.
Open questions for due diligence
Exoscale
Niet vermeld
SAP
- Which exact cloud service and region would this buyer contract (Public Edition vs Private Edition vs RISE on which hyperscaler)?
- Will the order form be with SAP SE or a local affiliate, and which governing law clause applies?
- Can the vendor provide the current subprocessor list and SOC/C5 reports for the specific service code without an existing customer login?