Rimini Street looks forward to competing with Spinnaker but has the clear edge, said Dave Rowe, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, in a statement.

The company "has spent many millions of dollars building out its SAP offering, and today serves over 60 SAP clients operating in 70 countries," Rowe said. "The scope and complexity of SAP products and implementations far exceeds the JD Edwards World products that form the predominant client base at Spinnaker."

There's plenty of room for both companies to thrive, according to analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research.

"With almost 40 percent of SAP's market share still on older releases, this is a huge opportunity that will be serviced by more than one player," Wang said via email. The question is when and if large systems integrators will "wake up" and go after the market, he added.

That may have to wait until the outcome of the Rimini Street suit, which is expected to lay clearer ground rules for third-party support providers.