Oracle surpassed SAP as the number one ERP applications vendor for the first time in 2024, according to research firm Apps Run the World. Oracle achieved $8.7 billion in ERP revenue versus SAP’s $8.6 billion, ending SAP’s dominance that lasted over four decades.
Substantial financial stakes
The potential financial implications are substantial for SAP, which reported overall revenue of $37 billion (€34.18 billion) in 2024, marking a 10% increase compared to the previous year. EU competition authorities can impose penalties of up to 10% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover for antitrust violations, which could translate to over $3.7 billion (€3.4 billion) in potential fines for SAP based on its current revenue, the report added.
This threat comes at a particularly sensitive time for SAP, as the company’s cloud revenue surged 25% to $18.6 billion (€17.14 billion) in 2024, with Cloud ERP Suite revenue growing 33% to $15.3 billion (€14.17 billion). Maintaining competitive positioning in this rapidly growing market segment is crucial to SAP’s strategic transformation.
