Our short answer

For most 10.x estates in the Gulf, two questions settle the bulk of the choice. How much of XP’s marketing stack (xDB, Marketing Automation, EXM) runs in production today? And must your personal data be hosted in the Kingdom before Sitecore’s Saudi delivery of SitecoreAI is confirmed live?

Get those two answers and most of the rest follows. The guide sets out three paths, all supported by Sitecore: upgrade XP and stay, move XP as it is to a managed cloud, or rebuild on SitecoreAI.

• 31 Dec 2026Extended support ends for XP 10.0 and 10.1. All support ends for 9.1
• 1 Jun 2026Incident help and security updates left the standard extended-support entitlement
• 31 Dec 2029Mainstream support ends for XP 10.5, the longest runway XP offers today
• 371% to 110%Return in the Forrester study Sitecore commissioned, with modelled revenue uplift taken out

What each chapter concludes

1. 01

   The support calendar

   Since June 2026 your support phase decides what help you get. Your version number only tells you which phase you are in.

   If you only read one thingOn 10.0 or 10.1, the KB lists security updates for your version as not available from 1 January 2027.

2. 02

   Three paths

   Sitecore supports all three. What separates them is the bill, paid in money, time, features or control.

   If you only read one thingManaged cloud changes who runs the servers. Your Sitecore version and its support phase stay exactly where they were.

3. 03

   What stays behind

   Sitecore is direct about what does not carry over to SitecoreAI. Hold every migration proposal up against its list.

   If you only read one thing“SitecoreAI does not include XP, xConnect or xDB functionality, and existing personalization rules do not carry over.” Sitecore,

4. 04

   The money

   No public price exists for SitecoreAI, Sitecore Managed Cloud, XP licence renewals or the options behind extended support. Every business case starts from someone’s assumption. Know whose.

   If you only read one thingTake the modelled revenue uplift out of the study and its own numbers fall from a 371% return to roughly 110%.

5. 05

   Hosting, law and language

   For a ministry, a bank or a national company in Riyadh, the platform question arrives with another one attached. Where does the data sit, and where is it processed?

   If you only read one thingIn-country hosting does not settle where AI features process your inputs. Sitecore’s Gen AI terms allow processing outside the selected data centre location.

6. 06

   Deciding and the first 90 days

   The scoring sheet shows where marketing, digital and IT disagree. Settling that disagreement is the decision.

   If you only read one thingIf marketing and IT score different winners, that disagreement is the finding.

Summarized from The XP Decision, an Arcsen guide, 37 pages, November 2026. Every figure in the full guide has a numbered source, checked on 4 November 2026.

Questions this guide answers