Dotwork vs SAP LeanIX
SAP's enterprise architecture management product for application portfolios, capability maps, technology lifecycle and interfaces.
SAP LeanIX is an enterprise architecture management product built to keep the application and technology inventory accurate, with deep lifecycle, interface and assessment features. Dotwork connects that architecture to investments, allocated cost, standards and AI on one Enterprise Operating Model, so architecture decisions can be made with their cost and funding in view.
At a glance
Enterprise architecture
SAP LeanIX
Operating model
Dotwork
Overlaps with
Dotwork runs these and 14 more on one model.
Usually runs alongside Dotwork
Dotwork connects to it and puts its data in the context of the whole enterprise.
The short version
What each is built for.
SAP LeanIX
SAP LeanIX is the enterprise architecture management product from SAP. It maintains the application portfolio with TIME and 6R assessments, capability maps, technology lifecycle and obsolescence data, and interface landscapes, and it adds an in-workspace AI assistant, an MCP server and an agent hub for discovering AI agents.
- Running an enterprise architecture practice with a maintained application inventory
- Assessing applications with TIME and 6R and planning rationalization
- Tracking technology lifecycle, obsolescence and interface dependencies
- Aligning architecture work with SAP S/4HANA and SAP BTP programs
Dotwork
Dotwork is an AI-native enterprise operating platform built on the Enterprise Operating Model: one live, graph-based model that connects strategy, capital, work, technology and AI across the enterprise. In an architecture context, Dotwork shows the same applications and capabilities alongside the investments that change them, the cost allocated to them and the controls that apply to them.
- Showing what each application and capability costs, based on allocated cost rather than an entered figure
- Linking architecture decisions to the investments, initiatives and strategy that fund them
- Placing standards, technical debt and AI assets on the same model as cost and portfolio
- Giving architecture, finance and portfolio leaders one shared set of records to plan from
The core difference
How Dotwork and SAP LeanIX approach the problem.
SAP LeanIX is built to keep an accurate inventory of the architecture and help architects assess it. Dotwork starts from a reference Enterprise Operating Model in which architecture is one domain beside strategy, portfolio, cost and AI, so the same application record also carries its funding and allocated cost.
Context
LeanIX organizes context around fact sheets for applications, capabilities, technologies and interfaces. Dotwork organizes context around connected records, so an application links to the capabilities it supports, the cost allocated to it and the initiatives changing it.
Decisions
LeanIX supports architecture decisions such as which applications to tolerate, invest in, migrate or eliminate. Dotwork supports decisions that cross domains, such as whether funding the retirement of an application is worth the cost it removes from a capability.
Time
LeanIX tracks lifecycle phases and end-of-life dates for technology components. Dotwork holds plans, investments and cost history on the same records, so architecture changes can be read against budget and planning periods.
Change
LeanIX helps architects plan target states and rationalization roadmaps. Dotwork shows how a change to the architecture connects to the funded work, the cost base and the controls it affects.
Architecture and data model
Side by side.
Both products model applications and capabilities as connected objects, and both offer capability maps. The difference is scope: LeanIX goes deeper inside architecture, with lifecycle, interface and assessment detail, while Dotwork carries the same applications and capabilities into allocated cost, funding, standards and AI so architecture questions can be answered with financial context.
| Dimension | SAP LeanIX | Dotwork |
|---|---|---|
| Core objects | Fact sheets for applications, business capabilities, technology components, interfaces and related objects | Connected operating model records: strategy, investments, capabilities, applications, teams, cost and AI assets |
| Application cost | Cost attributes on application fact sheets, maintained by users or integrations | The sum of allocated cost linked to each application, with the share of cost covered shown alongside |
| Lifecycle and obsolescence | Deep technology lifecycle tracking and obsolescence risk, backed by reference catalog data | Basic lifecycle and obsolescence tracking on technology records |
| Interfaces and dependencies | Detailed interface landscape and data flow mapping between applications | Basic dependency links between applications |
| Link to funding | Initiatives and transformation roadmaps within the architecture model | Capabilities and applications link to the investments and initiatives that change them, with strategy above |
| Starting point | A configurable architecture meta-model with standard fact sheet types | A reference Enterprise Operating Model, shaped to the customer |
The role of AI
Where the AI gets its context.
Both products expose their model to AI assistants. The difference is the context behind the answers: LeanIX AI works over a deep architecture inventory, while Dotwork AI works over a model that also includes cost, funding, strategy and AI governance.
SAP LeanIX
SAP LeanIX offers an EA assistant inside the workspace that answers questions over the architecture inventory, an MCP server that brings fact sheets and reports into tools such as Claude and Microsoft Copilot, and an agent hub for discovering and inventorying AI agents.
Dotwork
Dotwork includes an assistant that answers questions across the whole model and agents that can create and update Dotwork records, with optional human review. An MCP server, enabled per site, makes the same model available to outside AI tools. Because the model spans strategy, cost, architecture and AI, a single question can cross those domains.
A fair comparison
Where SAP LeanIX is strong — and where Dotwork is different.
Where SAP LeanIX is strong
- TIME and 6R assessments, capability maps and obsolescence heatmaps are established, shipped features that architects already know well
- Technology lifecycle and obsolescence tracking is deeper than Dotwork's, backed by reference catalog data
- Interface and data flow mapping between applications is a core strength
- Vendor and contract exposure across the architecture is well developed
- SAP ownership makes it a natural fit for organizations running SAP S/4HANA and SAP BTP programs
Where Dotwork is different
- Prices the application portfolio from allocated cost: each application shows the cost linked to it and how much of that cost is covered
- Connects capabilities and applications to the investments and initiatives that change them, so a capability map opens onto the funded work behind it
- Shows technical debt and the cost reaching non-conformant applications on the same model as the portfolio
- Places AI assets, their owners and their spend beside the applications and capabilities they support
- Starts from a reference Enterprise Operating Model rather than a blank meta-model, then shapes it to the customer
Choosing
Which fits your situation.
Choose SAP LeanIX when
- You run a dedicated EA practice that needs deep inventory, lifecycle and interface data
- Technology obsolescence and end-of-life risk are a primary concern
- You are planning or running an SAP S/4HANA transformation
- Architects need a dedicated workspace for TIME and 6R assessments
Enterprise architecture teams that need a mature, maintained inventory with lifecycle, interface and obsolescence depth, especially in organizations standardizing on SAP.
Choose Dotwork when
- You need to know what each application and capability costs, based on allocated cost
- Architecture decisions must be weighed against funding, strategy and planning
- You want architecture, cost, standards and AI governance on one model
- Your architecture need centers on capability cost rather than detailed inventory management
Organizations where architecture decisions depend on cost and funding, and where CIO, CFO and portfolio leaders need one model that connects applications and capabilities to investments, allocated cost, standards and AI.
The bottom line
Choose Dotwork when you want to connect the enterprise across systems and silos — with a lower total cost of ownership.
One operating model across strategy, capital, work, technology and AI, instead of another tool to integrate, reconcile and maintain alongside SAP LeanIX.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask.
Can SAP LeanIX and Dotwork be used together?+
Yes, and that is the most common setup. LeanIX remains the architecture inventory, and its application and capability data is brought into Dotwork, where it is connected to investments, allocated cost, standards and AI. Organizations whose architecture need is mainly capability cost sometimes use Dotwork on its own.
Does Dotwork have a capability map?+
Yes. Dotwork includes a capability map with heatmaps by any field, and a map that connects applications, capabilities and business units. The same capabilities also carry funded investments and allocated cost.
Does Dotwork track technology obsolescence?+
Yes, at a basic level. SAP LeanIX is deeper on technology lifecycle catalog data and obsolescence risk, so organizations with significant end-of-life exposure often keep LeanIX for that work.
Keep comparing
Buyers also compare Dotwork with
Be Decisive.Build Fast.Connect Everything.
Start ConnectingSolutions
Platform
Resources
© 2025-2026 Dotwork, Inc. All rights reserved.