Two clocks are running.
Make one decision, not two.
Broadcom's per-core VMware pricing at your next renewal and the end of ECC maintenance (2027, extended 2030) point at the same decision. skie.io runs it as one program: assess the estate, choose the S/4 path on evidence, move SAP and everything around it to AWS, and operate it from day one.
Why now
Your VMware renewal and your SAP 2027 deadline are the same question.
Both force a decision about where SAP and the systems around it will run for the next decade. Answering them separately means paying for the transition twice.
VMware under Broadcom
- Perpetual licenses are gone; subscription only
- Thousands of SKUs collapsed into a handful of bundles, so you pay for capabilities you may not use
- Billing moved to per-core, with minimums
- Renewal quotes commonly come in at two to three times the previous term; Gartner puts the typical increase at 300-400%
- The servers under it are due as well: replacement hardware is quoting 1.5-2× the last cycle on memory shortages
The renewal date is your decision deadline for the whole virtualized estate, from the hypervisor up. It applies whether that estate is in your data center or in a hosting provider's.
SAP ECC mainstream maintenance
- Mainstream maintenance for ECC 6.0 ends in 2027; extended maintenance runs to 2030 at a premium, with limited options beyond
- Every path forward, whether you keep the infrastructure or SAP runs it, starts with a new landing
- An SAP move is the largest, most sensitive workload in the VMware estate
Choosing where S/4 will run answers the VMware question for SAP's whole dependency chain.
So instead of a VMware project and an SAP project
One assessment. One landing on AWS. One program that finishes optimized.
The full estate around SAP
SAP never moves alone.
The databases, integration, identity, custom applications, file services and backup around SAP are what make the migration hard. We scope, sequence and move the whole cluster under one dependency map, one wave plan and one team, so cutover does not leave you with a hybrid estate and two operating models.
Four executable S/4 paths
We do not sell one answer.
The assessment compares all four against your estate, your timeline and your budget, and shows the trade-offs before you commit. SAP's own cloud editions are on the table as real options, not defaults; so is keeping SAP on infrastructure you own.
Move ECC to AWS now, convert later
Migrate ECC and its cluster to AWS ahead of the renewal, then run the S/4 conversion on AWS when the business is ready.
This is the path a large vertically integrated food producer took: ECC and 40+ applications to AWS in one cutover, SAP upgraded on the way, with the S/4HANA decision kept open inside the original budget.
S/4HANA on AWS, migrate and convert in one step
Move to AWS and convert to S/4HANA in a single program with one cutover, one test cycle and one business freeze. Your custom code comes with you.
The skie.io SAP team has converted a multi-plant packaging manufacturer from ECC to S/4HANA by brownfield in six months, with six hours of technical downtime and 1,000+ custom objects carried forward.
SAP Cloud ERP Private (RISE with SAP) on AWS
Single-tenant, SAP-managed S/4HANA on AWS under a RISE subscription (formerly S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, or PCE). Brownfield conversion is allowed and custom code carries over.
The skie.io SAP team has moved full SAP estates (ECC, BW, GRC, BusinessObjects) from on-premises Oracle Database into SAP's managed private cloud, halving migration time through repeated test runs.
SAP Cloud ERP thin core, cloud-native periphery
Finance and materials management land fit-to-standard on SAP's multi-tenant public edition (GROW with SAP, formerly S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition), as a new greenfield implementation. The processes that differentiate you are rebuilt as cloud-native applications on AWS, on a data layer you own.
Every path is delivered by senior, certified SAP and AWS consultants. On every path, skie.io leads the assessment, the surrounding estate, the integration layer and day-to-day operations, so the environment lands optimized and stays that way. AWS migration funding applies to the estate landing in your AWS account, not to an SAP-managed tenant.
How the program runs
Assessment-led. Landed optimized. Operated from day one.
Rightsizing, storage tiering, license optimization and consolidation happen before cutover, so the environment starts at its efficient baseline instead of drifting toward it.
Assess
AWS Transform discovery plus SAP readiness and usage analysis. About 30 days to a signed baseline and a costed four-path comparison; a deeper 6-8 week process assessment when a conversion or SAP cloud edition is on the table.
Plan
Wave plan by dependency cluster, target architecture on AWS, and the AWS funding pathway confirmed in writing before anything moves.
Migrate by wave
Each wave lands right-sized, tiered, consolidated and patched. No optimization backlog after go-live.
Operate
The skie.io platform takes over on cutover: 24×7 automation-first operations with continuous optimization, so the baseline holds.
Assessment-backed target
20%+ lower steady-state run cost
compared with the agreed VMware baseline
Our goal, and based on past results our expectation, is 20%+ lower steady-state run cost against the agreed baseline. The assessment validates it for your estate before anything moves. We share the full results with you, and you decide whether to proceed, with skie.io or anyone else. The report and the baseline are yours either way.
Baseline, scope, measurement period and responsibilities for the target are defined in the assessment report and, if you proceed, in the statement of work.
Where the difference comes from
Four places a VMware estate carries cost that AWS does not have to.
Hypervisor subscription
The Broadcom bundle and per-core minimums disappear. Compute is billed for what runs, not for licensed cores.
Over-provisioning and one-tier storage
VMs are right-sized from observed utilization before the move; cold and warm data leave the SAN for tiered EBS and S3, and backup retention moves to S3 Deep Archive.
Database and software licensing
Oracle Database under SAP ECC can move to SAP ASE or SQL Server; scattered SQL Server consolidates; OS and middleware entitlements are matched to license-included, BYOL or open-source options.
Operations effort
Automation-first operations on the skie.io platform replace hardware, hypervisor and patch-cycle toil with a predictable fee.
Why skie.io
Senior-led, full-estate, choice-aware, continuous.
Larger SAP-on-cloud specialists serve enterprise accounts. Regional SAP partners stop at go-live. Mid-market companies facing both clocks need all four of these under one accountable team.
Senior-led
The people who scope the assessment lead the migration. No hand-off from a sales architect to a delivery bench.
Full-estate
SAP, its databases, integration, identity, custom apps and backup move as one planned cluster.
Choice-aware
Four executable S/4 paths, compared on your numbers. Including SAP's own cloud editions, when they are the right answer.
Continuous
Cutover is the start of the relationship. The skie.io platform operates the environment and keeps optimizing it.
Delivered, then operated
SAP landscapes we have moved, converted and still run today.
Programs on AWS, Azure and SAP’s managed private cloud. Every one is referenceable; ask us for the contact and we will arrange the call.
A large vertically integrated food producer
With the cloud decision still open, AWS was chosen on a written 20%+ commitment against the customer's existing infrastructure and managed-services spend. SAP ECC and 40+ applications then moved off VMware to AWS in eight months with zero data loss, SAP upgraded in the same cutover and the S/4HANA decision kept open. skie.io has operated the estate since, and the account has added a data platform and GenAI agents on AWS.
A multi-country mining group
SAP S/4HANA moved off VMware to AWS in four weeks with zero incidents. skie.io has operated the environment since cutover.
A multi-plant packaging manufacturer
ECC 6.0 to S/4HANA brownfield conversion with New GL migration and 100+ Fiori apps; 1,000+ custom objects carried forward.
A global ceramics manufacturer
ECC to S/4HANA 1909 on Azure for two countries; highly customized, integrated with CRM, MDM, DMS, PI and portals.
A global footwear brand
ECC, BW, GRC and BusinessObjects moved from Oracle Database on premises to SAP HANA in SAP’s managed private cloud.
An optical networking manufacturer
BW 7.4 on SQL Server to BW/4HANA by remote conversion, within a full-landscape move to SAP’s managed private cloud.
A semiconductor company in 11 countries
24×7 SAP Basis, functional and infrastructure managed services across 16 data centers, replacing an offshore incumbent.
Who runs it
Senior consultants with 25+ years in SAP and infrastructure, working with agents, not a delivery bench.
The consultants who scope your assessment lead your migration and stay accountable through cutover. The skie.io SAP migration team has led SAP migrations and conversions across ECC, S/4HANA and BW/4HANA, to AWS, Azure and SAP's managed private cloud, including brownfield conversions and moves to RISE. Delivery teams across the US, LATAM and Europe, working in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Start here
The VMware & SAP assessment
Read-only discovery, nothing changes in your environment, then the analysis the tools don't do: a signed baseline, an independent SAP license audit and a costed comparison of the four S/4 paths. About 30 days. You decide what happens next.
Request the assessmentNo commitment. The assessment stands on its own whether or not you migrate with skie.io, and it is eligible for AWS assessment funding.
Download the assessment brief- Estate inventory and dependency mapEvery VM, database and integration around SAP, and what talks to what
- Process and custom-code inventoryEvery customer enhancement and Z-object classified from real usage: replaced by standard S/4HANA, migrated and upgraded as is, rebuilt cloud-native on AWS, or retired as dead. Scopes any conversion before you pay for it
- Agreed run-cost baselineYour current VMware, hardware, storage, backup and operations cost, signed off by both sides
- Four-path S/4 comparisonRun cost, licensing, change effort and timeline side by side
- Independent SAP license audit and optimization planThe edition and FUE count you actually need after conversion, from observed usage rather than from the SAP quote; plus database, OS and middleware with a priced replacement option for each
- Target, architecture and AWS funding pathwayThe 20%+ assessment-backed figure with its assumptions, the wave plan, and MAP eligibility confirmed with AWS
Before the renewal quote lands
Decide once, for both clocks.
Thirty days of assessment is enough to know whether AWS beats your VMware renewal, which S/4 path fits, and what the program costs, and AWS will often fund it. Start before Broadcom sets the timeline for you.