I simply returned from SAP Sapphire 2025 in Orlando, and whereas SAP painted a compelling imaginative and prescient of an AI-powered future, I couldn’t assist however take into consideration the hole between their shiny new bulletins and the place most SAP clients truly are immediately. Let me reduce by the advertising hype and provide the analyst perspective on what actually issues.
The Cloud Migration Elephant within the Room
SAP’s greatest problem isn’t constructing cool AI options – it’s that the overwhelming majority of their buyer base continues to be working on-premise ERP methods. Whereas SAP was busy showcasing their AI Basis and enhanced Joule capabilities, I saved fascinated about the 1000’s of firms nonetheless on SAP ECC 6.0 or older variations, a few of which haven’t been up to date in years.
Right here’s the truth verify: practically each thrilling AI announcement at Sapphire requires SAP’s cloud options. The AI Basis? Cloud-based. Enhanced Joule with proactive capabilities? Wants cloud infrastructure. The brand new Enterprise Knowledge Cloud intelligence choices? You guessed it – cloud solely.
For the typical SAP store working on-premise methods, these bulletins may as effectively be science fiction. They’re coping with fundamental integration challenges, battling outdated consumer interfaces, and combating to get dependable experiences out of their present methods. The concept of AI brokers autonomously managing their provide chain appears laughably distant.
AI: Helpful Device, Not Magic Wand
Don’t get me incorrect – the AI capabilities SAP demonstrated are genuinely spectacular. The power for Joule to anticipate consumer wants and supply contextual insights may certainly enhance productiveness. However let’s pump the brakes on SAP’s declare of “as much as 30% productiveness positive factors.”
I’ve been analyzing enterprise software program implementations for years, and productiveness positive factors of that magnitude sometimes come from course of enhancements and workflow optimization, not simply from including AI on prime of present inefficiencies. In case your procurement course of is damaged, an AI agent received’t repair it – it’ll simply automate the damaged course of quicker.
The extra reasonable wins will come from:
- Lowering time spent trying to find info throughout a number of methods
- Automating routine information evaluation and report technology
- Offering higher resolution help by predictive analytics
- Streamlining repetitive duties in finance, HR, and provide chain operations
These are useful enhancements, however they’re evolutionary, not revolutionary.
The Partnership Technique: Hedging Their Bets
SAP’s partnerships inform an attention-grabbing story. The Accenture ADVANCE program acknowledges that many mid-market firms want important hand-holding to modernize their SAP environments. The Palantir integration suggests SAP acknowledges they will’t be all the things to everybody within the information analytics house. The Perplexity collaboration admits that their AI wants exterior information sources to be really helpful.
These partnerships are good enterprise strikes, however additionally they spotlight SAP’s dependencies. If you happen to’re planning an SAP transformation, you’re not simply shopping for SAP – you’re shopping for into an ecosystem of companions and integrations that provides complexity and value.
What This Means for Your SAP Technique
If you happen to’re at present working SAP on-premise, Sapphire 2025 ought to reinforce one key message: the innovation practice is leaving the station, and it’s heading to the cloud. However earlier than you panic about lacking out on AI capabilities, take into account these pragmatic steps:
For On-Premise SAP Clients:
- Audit your present state first. Most firms I work with aren’t maximizing their present SAP capabilities, not to mention prepared for AI enhancements.
- Plan your cloud migration timeline. SAP’s 2030 end-of-support deadline for older methods isn’t going away. Use that as your forcing perform.
- Give attention to information high quality. AI is just nearly as good as the information it really works with. In case your grasp information is a large number, AI received’t assist.
- Begin small with cloud integration. Think about hybrid approaches that join your on-premise core with cloud-based analytics and AI instruments.
For Corporations Already in SAP Cloud:
- Consider which AI options truly clear up enterprise issues you’ve immediately, not theoretical future use instances.
- Pilot earlier than you scale. The productiveness claims sound nice, however check them in your surroundings together with your information.
- Spend money on change administration. The most important barrier to AI adoption isn’t technical – it’s getting folks to alter how they work.
The Backside Line: Evolution, Not Revolution
SAP Sapphire 2025 showcased legit improvements that can enhance how companies function, however let’s maintain expectations reasonable. The businesses that can profit most from these AI capabilities are those who have already modernized their SAP infrastructure and cleaned up their enterprise processes.
For almost all of SAP clients nonetheless on legacy methods, the actual query isn’t whether or not AI will rework their enterprise – it’s whether or not they can execute a profitable modernization program that positions them to finally make the most of these capabilities.
Your Subsequent Steps
Right here’s what I like to recommend you do that week:
- Assess the place you stand in your SAP modernization journey. Are you cloud-ready, or do you’ve years of technical debt to handle first?
- Map your online business instances for the AI capabilities that caught your consideration. Are you able to quantify the worth they’d ship in your particular surroundings?
- Construct a practical roadmap that acknowledges each the thrilling prospects and the sensible constraints of your present SAP panorama.
- Begin the dialog together with your management about long-term SAP technique. The choices you make within the subsequent two years will decide whether or not you’re positioned to learn from the AI revolution or left behind with legacy methods.
The AI future SAP is promising will arrive finally, however for many firms, the trail there runs by cloud migration, information governance, and course of optimization. Give attention to constructing that basis first, and the AI capabilities will observe once you’re truly prepared to make use of them successfully.
