SAP Sapphire 2025 – Gigaom

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 really are immediately. Let me lower by the advertising and marketing hype and provide the analyst perspective on what actually issues.

The Cloud Migration Elephant within the Room

SAP’s largest problem isn’t constructing cool AI options – it’s that the overwhelming majority of their buyer base continues to be working on-premise ERP programs. Whereas SAP was busy showcasing their AI Basis and enhanced Joule capabilities, I stored fascinated about the hundreds 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: almost 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 Information Cloud intelligence choices? You guessed it – cloud solely.

For the typical SAP store working on-premise programs, these bulletins may as effectively be science fiction. They’re coping with primary integration challenges, combating outdated person interfaces, and preventing to get dependable stories out of their present programs. The concept of AI brokers autonomously managing their provide chain appears laughably distant.

AI: Helpful Software, Not Magic Wand

Don’t get me improper – the AI capabilities SAP demonstrated are genuinely spectacular. The power for Joule to anticipate person wants and supply contextual insights might certainly enhance productiveness. However let’s pump the brakes on SAP’s declare of “as much as 30% productiveness features.”

I’ve been analyzing enterprise software program implementations for years, and productiveness features 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 sensible wins will come from:

• Decreasing time spent looking for data throughout a number of programs
• Automating routine knowledge evaluation and report era
• Offering higher choice assist by predictive analytics
• Streamlining repetitive duties in finance, HR, and provide chain operations

These are beneficial enhancements, however they’re evolutionary, not revolutionary.

The Partnership Technique: Hedging Their Bets

SAP’s partnerships inform an fascinating 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’ll’t be every part to everybody within the knowledge analytics area. The Perplexity collaboration admits that their AI wants exterior knowledge sources to be really helpful.

These partnerships are good enterprise strikes, however in addition they spotlight SAP’s dependencies. In the event you’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

In the event you’re at present working SAP on-premise, Sapphire 2025 ought to reinforce one key message: the innovation prepare 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 programs isn’t going away. Use that as your forcing operate.
• Deal with knowledge high quality. AI is barely nearly as good as the info it really works with. In case your grasp knowledge is a multitude, AI received’t assist.
• Begin small with cloud integration. Contemplate hybrid approaches that join your on-premise core with cloud-based analytics and AI instruments.

For Firms Already in SAP Cloud:

• Consider which AI options really clear up enterprise issues you could have immediately, not theoretical future use circumstances.
• Pilot earlier than you scale. The productiveness claims sound nice, however take a look at them in your atmosphere along with your knowledge.
• Spend money on change administration. The most important barrier to AI adoption isn’t technical – it’s getting folks to vary how they work.

The Backside Line: Evolution, Not Revolution

SAP Sapphire 2025 showcased reliable improvements that may enhance how companies function, however let’s hold expectations sensible. The businesses that may profit most from these AI capabilities are people who have already modernized their SAP infrastructure and cleaned up their enterprise processes.

For almost all of SAP clients nonetheless on legacy programs, the true query isn’t whether or not AI will remodel their enterprise – it’s whether or not they can execute a profitable modernization program that positions them to ultimately benefit from 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 could have years of technical debt to handle first?
• Map your corporation circumstances for the AI capabilities that caught your consideration. Are you able to quantify the worth they’d ship in your particular atmosphere?
• Construct a practical roadmap that acknowledges each the thrilling prospects and the sensible constraints of your present SAP panorama.
• Begin the dialog along with your management about long-term SAP technique. The selections 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 programs.

The AI future SAP is promising will arrive ultimately, however for many firms, the trail there runs by cloud migration, knowledge governance, and course of optimization. Deal with constructing that basis first, and the AI capabilities will comply with while you’re really prepared to make use of them successfully.