SAP Market Update Q1 2026

We are excited to share our latest SAP Market Update as of Q1 2026 – this edition with a dedicated focus on SAP Business One and the investment opportunity in the SME ERP partner landscape.

SAP Business One remains one of the most commercially attractive segments within the SAP ecosystem – serving over 83,000 customers across 170+ countries through an exclusively indirect partner channel. With the SME ERP market growing at ~11-12% per annum, a cloud transition that structurally lifts enterprise value, and an intensely active buyer universe spanning international strategics and private equity, SAP Business One partners in the DACH region are in high demand.

Key Takeaways:

• Current valuation levels and M&A drivers across the SAP partner landscape
• SAP’s strategic commitment to Business One – the product roadmap, cloud-first direction, and what Version 11 means for partners
• Why DACH-based Business One partners with vertical depth are attracting the strongest buyer interest

SAP Market Data & Insights Overview

What is SAP Business One – and why does it matter for M&A?

• SAP Business One is SAP’s flagship ERP for small and medium-sized businesses, targeting companies with revenues below €50 million and 10-250 employees
• Distributed exclusively through an indirect partner channel, making SAP B1 Value-Added Resellers (VARs) and consultancies the critical interface between SAP and its 83,000+ end customers
• The shift from on-premise perpetual licences to cloud-based Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is fundamentally transforming partner economics – and valuation levels

What is SAP’s strategic commitment to Business One?

• In December 2025, SAP Chief Partner Officer Karl Fahrbach publicly reaffirmed Business One’s strategic importance and the centrality of the partner ecosystem to its success
• SAP is actively investing across four pillars: core ERP development, partner co-innovation via SAP BTP and SAP Build, flexible cloud-first deployment, and SME competitiveness
• Version 11, announced for 2027, introduces hyperscaler-native deployment (AWS, Azure) and deep AI integration – an evolutionary step that preserves backward compatibility while opening new extension opportunities for partners

Why are SAP Business One partners becoming attractive M&A targets?

• The SME ERP market is growing at ~11-12% p.a. – and SAP Business One addresses a commercially attractive sub-segment
• Partners with high cloud-ARR share, vertical depth, and a DACH footprint are commanding significant valuation premiums in current transactions

What M&A activity is shaping the SAP Business One landscape?

• The DACH Business One partner landscape is seeing increasing buyer interest in recent years an accelerating wave of consolidation – primarily driven by strategic acquirers and consolidators building SME ERP platforms
• The full report includes an overview of recent transactions across the DACH SAP partner landscape – it can be requested below

What is driving SAP partner M&A more broadly in DACH?

• SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) is creating consolidation opportunities among solution developers and ISVs, enabling buy-and-build one-stop-shop strategies
• SAP partners often expand into new markets through M&A – a trend accelerating as interest rates in Europe have declined
• The SAP partner ecosystem is highly fragmented with over 25,000 businesses worldwide, creating significant geographic roll-up opportunities
• PE-backed platforms and strategics are the most active acquirers – executing bolt-ons to build scale, add vertical IP, and enhance competitive positioning ahead of exit

What are current valuation levels and what drives premiums?

• Transaction multiples for SAP partners vary significantly depending on business model, revenue quality, profitability, and geography – the full breakdown is available in the report
• Partners combining consulting with proprietary software or deep integration capabilities achieve meaningfully higher multiples than pure consulting businesses

Carlsquare’s View

SAP Business One partners with DACH footprint and vertical expertise are in high demand at attractive valuation levels. The active buyer field – including international strategics and financial investors – supports competitive transaction processes and premium outcomes for well-prepared sellers.

Carlsquare is one of Germany’s most active M&A advisors in the SAP ecosystem. Our recent transactions include:

• implico advised on its sale to EGERIA
• verovis advised on its merger with valantic
• circle unlimited advised on its merger with valantic
• LINKIT Consulting advised on its merger with valantic
• movento advised on its integration into the DABERO Service Group