SAP Cloud ALM maturity
When SAP Cloud Application Lifecycle Management (CALM) was first introduced at SAPPHIRE 2019, the promise was a cloud-native successor to SAP Solution Manager that would align with SAP’s vision for a streamlined, cloud-first ERP future.
The original roadmap showed a phased rollout of features, with good parity and functional maturity expected by 2022.
Fast forward six years, and we’re well past that milestone.
SAP Solution Manager (SolMan) is officially approaching end-of-life (with mainstream maintenance ending in 2027), and CALM is now being positioned by SAP as the operational backbone for customers moving to SAP S/4HANA Cloud and RISE with SAP. The message from SAP is clear - CALM is the future.
But what’s the reality for SAP operations teams tasked with making that future work today?
In this article, we’ll explore whether SAP CALM is truly ready for prime time by evaluating it across three critical dimensions: Functionality, Usability, and Reliability.
Functionality: Fit for Purpose—or Not Quite?
While SAP Cloud ALM is billed as the successor to SAP Solution Manager, it’s important to note that it’s not a one-for-one replacement. SAP has intentionally reimagined CALM as a leaner, more focused toolset tailored for clean core, modular, cloud-based ERP landscapes. That vision works—on paper. But it doesn’t always match the complex, hybrid reality of most enterprise SAP customers.
“For global enterprises, teams are still heavily reliant on Solution Manager — especially for deep-rooted ALM use cases like CHARM, Test Suite, and Business Process Monitoring.”
Indeed, Solution Manager evolved over two decades to support sprawling, on-premise, and hybrid SAP environments with deeply integrated features like Change Request Management (ChaRM), ITSM, custom code monitoring, and business process analytics. CALM, by contrast, offers a modular but more limited set of capabilities that is still under active development.
As one user put it:
“While SAP Cloud ALM shows promise and aligns with the move to cloud-first operations, it’s not yet a full replacement for Solution Manager in complex landscapes.”
CALM’s functional gaps are most noticeable in organizations that rely on SAP's Focused Build or Focused Run toolsets—both of which currently have no direct equivalents in CALM.
Usability: Easier to Use—Finally
Where CALM does win points is in ease of deployment and overall usability. Compared to the heavy lifting required to get SAP Solution Manager up and running, users report that CALM feels refreshingly lightweight. It features a more modern UI, guided setup wizards, and improved integration with SAP support systems.
“Rollout Solution Manager with ITSM, CHaRM (eventually Focused Build), Test Suite and SolDoc and I am 100% sure that the overhead is much bigger than with Cloud ALM.”
Smaller SAP teams or those without extensive ALM expertise can benefit from CALM’s simplified setup. It also offers better out-of-the-box capabilities for cloud-native monitoring, integration, and business process insight compared to SolMan, which often requires extensive configuration and customization.
Reliability: A Worrying Weak Link
Despite usability gains, reliability remains a sticking point. Several enterprise users have reported recent outages, some of which were not even acknowledged on SAP’s availability dashboards. For a tool meant to support 24x7 monitoring, alerting, and system readiness, this is a critical concern.
“CALM is not (yet) enterprise ready. We had a long outage last week in addition to outages which were not even visible in SAP’s availability dashboard”
Such issues raise alarm bells. System management platforms must be stable and transparent. Any downtime, especially unreported—undermines trust and weakens CALM’s case as a mission-critical tool.
Conclusion: Not Yet Prime Time—for Everyone
So, is SAP Cloud ALM ready for prime time? The answer depends on who’s asking.
For new S/4HANA Cloud implementations, or smaller SAP shops moving toward standardized, cloud-centric operations, CALM may be “good enough” and increasingly capable. Its simplified setup, lower total cost of ownership, and integration with SAP support infrastructure are genuine positives.
But for large enterprises with complex landscapes, especially those running hybrid environments or relying heavily on Solution Manager's deeper functionality, SAP CALM still has ground to cover. Critical features are missing, reliability is not yet where it needs to be, and expectations around parity with Solution Manager or Focused Run are unmet.
Until CALM matures further and proves itself as stable and robust under enterprise-grade pressure, many customers will need to consider hybrid approaches or third-party ALM tools to bridge the gaps.
The vision is compelling—but the execution isn’t quite there. At least not yet.
About Leg Up Software
Leg Up Software is an expert in SAP IT operational and infrastructure software automation solutions.
We know the SAP operations and infrastructure automation solutions landscape and have already done the legwork identifying the best available solutions.
We have excellent relationships with many software vendors, including many of those that can fill in the gaps between SAP CALM and user expectations, and can negotiate an evaluation process that best suits your circumstances and budget.
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