In May 2025, SAP’s Sapphire conference in Orlando (May 19–21) spotlighted massive leaps in enterprise AI, data-driven ERP transformation, and cloud integration. SAP CEO Christian Klein emphasized today’s environment of “economic and geopolitical uncertainty” and introduced a “Business AI flywheel”—combining apps, data, and intelligence—to empower resilience and productivity. Across keynotes, demos, and press releases, SAP unveiled groundbreaking enhancements in Business AI (led by Joule), the Business Data Cloud, RISE offerings, and generative AI agent frameworks.
This blog explores each major update, integrates quotes from SAP leaders and industry analysts, outlines user impact, and offers practical planning tips.
Overview
SAP positioned its generative AI assistant, Joule, as a ubiquitous copilot available across applications and workflows. It now integrates deeper into core processes—from procurement to order management—and interacts proactively via embedded UI layers like WalkMe.
Key Highlights
SAP announced performance gains of up to 30 % from Business AI—driven largely by Joule’s expanded reach and intelligence across the platform. Joule can now surface insights proactively using behavioural patterns (via WalkMe), reducing friction and driving context-aware automation.
Quotes
SAP CEO Christian Klein highlighted SAP’s combined strength: “SAP combines the world’s most powerful suite of business applications with uniquely rich data and the latest AI innovations to create a flywheel of customer value”.
Senior IDG analyst Scott Bickley commented, “Their broader and integrated vision is now coming into focus… Through holistic integration… and the introduction of a well-thought-out AI ecosystem, SAP is delivering on its promise of AI first and AI everywhere”.
Implications for SAP Users
Business users across finance, HR, procurement, order-to-cash, and supply chain will benefit from instant access to personalized, generative AI support. Joule’s proactive recommendations enable faster decisions and reduce transactional overhead. This can accelerate digital transformation and increase end-user adoption of S/4HANA Cloud.
Practical Tips for Preparation
Start pilot programs with Joule in targeted business lines (e.g., purchase order reconciliation or invoice processing). Engage your SAP partners or internal IT to configure WalkMe overlays and customize Joule’s behaviour. Allocate budget and resources for training and change management to ensure maximum AI adoption from day one.
Overview
SAP introduced “AI Foundation”—an AI operating system that includes the gen AI Hub, Joule Studio, and SAP Knowledge Graph. It provides a platform to build, govern, and deploy custom AI agents across SAP landscapes.
Key Highlights
Gen AI Hub (leveraging LeanIX acquisition) supports centralized AI agent governance and mapping to business capabilities. SAP anticipates general availability in Q4 2025. The platform empowers developers and extensibility teams to build domain-specific agents tied into core business functions.
Quotes
Thor Olavsrud of CIO.com noted SAP’s “AI operating system for SAP business AI… and a range of new AI agents including an omnipresent Joule copilot”.
Implications for SAP Users
Enterprise architects and IT teams can leverage AI Foundation to embed custom agents—such as cash flow forecasters, procurement bots, or HR assistants—across their SAP estate. It enables consistency, governance, and lifecycle management of AI capabilities within your SAP program.
Practical Tips for Preparation
Form a cross-functional AI task force: include business process SMEs, architects, data governance, and integration engineers. Identify high-value use cases early, and assess existing data sources in Signavio, Datasphere, or third-party systems. Begin sandboxing in Joule Studio and prepare integration pipelines via SAP BTP.
Overview
SAP’s Business Data Cloud—the harmonized semantic data layer—received new partners and expanded ambition. It now includes integrations with Palantir and Adobe, and deeper alignment with non-SAP data sources.
Key Highlights
Christian Klein described Business Data Cloud as “the crystal ball we need… harmonizing SAP and non‑SAP data”. The Palantir partnership aims to “facilitate joint customers’ cloud migration journey and modernisation programmes,” while Adobe integration blends ERP and Experience Platform data.
Industry analyst commentary noted this creates a potent “business AI flywheel”—tight coupling of applications, data, and intelligence.
Implications for SAP Users
Customers gain access to a unified data model that spans SAP ERP, CRM, third-party systems, and digital experience layers. This facilitates analytics, AI, and governance use cases across finance, supply chains, CX, and beyond. It supports clean-core transformation and reduces BI latency and data friction.
Practical Tips for Preparation
Review your metadata strategy and data maturity. Map existing SAP (ECC or S/4HANA) and non-SAP sources to the Business Data Cloud ontology. Engage with early pilot cohorts like Hershey for best practices. Build internal skills in semantic modelling and data mesh paradigms.
Overview
SAP introduced new industry-tailored bundles within RISE and Grow, aiming to ease migration to S/4HANA Cloud. The objective is to reduce friction and accelerate cloud journeys through pre-packaged business capabilities.
Key Highlights
SAP now offers line-of-business bundles—including finance, supply chain, HR, procurement, and CX—pre-integrated for simpler onboarding. Additionally, updates emphasize “modification-free clean-core” adoption, minimizing custom code and ensuring smoother upgrades.
Implications for SAP Users
Organizations still on ECC or early RISE adopters can now choose vertical-specific packages, reducing implementation complexity and accelerating time to value. The clean-core principle also reduces upgrade costs and simplifies patching.
Practical Tips for Preparation
Reassess your customizations: document existing enhancements and custom code. Apply SAP’s standard process models and lean heavily on RISE Grow bundles. Consider engaging services from SAP partners or contracts advisors to map your current landscape to the clean-core model. Develop a transformation roadmap that phases out legacy modifications and moves to delivered SAP best practices.
Overview
SAP expanded its supply chain and business transformation tools with improved AI-driven planning, enhanced WalkMe integration, and stronger Process Transformation management on SAP BTP.
Key Highlights
New capabilities include AI‑powered demand sensing, inventory optimization, and end-to-end logistics orchestration. WalkMe was integrated to guide real-time BTP-based process improvement and user adoption. Additionally, Signavio enhancements support process automation and orchestration at scale.
Implications for SAP Users
Businesses can implement smarter supply chain execution, respond more rapidly to demand variability, and drive operational automation across procurement, production, and logistics. WalkMe helps onboard business users to new processes and reduce change friction.
Practical Tips for Preparation
Conduct process health checks via Signavio and SAP Signavio Process Intelligence. Prioritize high-impact workflows (e.g. order-to-cash or source-to-pay) for optimization pilots. Apply WalkMe overlays in sandboxes to gather UX feedback. Align your supply chain team on strategy, and budget for change management and adoption.
Overview
SAP announced tiered service plans, licensing updates, and reinforced commitments to reliability and support under the uncertainty narrative with expanded offerings in RISE and Grow.
Key Highlights
New tiered support plans offer flexibility aligned to cloud maturity, from self-service to premium assistance. RISE bundles now feature adjusted commercial terms, including SLAs and outcomes-based pricing.
Implications for SAP Users
Organizations migrating from on-premise ERP can tailor support options based on risk appetite and technical maturity. New SLAs and contractual terms support greater stability and responsiveness post-migration.
Practical Tips for Preparation
Analyze your operational SLA needs and map to the new service tiers. Engage with SAP account teams to negotiate outcome-based terms. Revisit contract roadmaps to align renewal clauses with transformation timelines.
Looking across these announcements, several themes emerge:
SAP Sapphire 2025 has clarified SAP’s roadmap: embed AI deeply across business workflows, unify data for intelligence, and simplify cloud transitions through packaged offerings and one-stop governance. For IT and procurement leaders, this represents both a significant opportunity—and a challenge.
To capitalize, start defining your transformation path today: assess your AI readiness, map data infrastructures, inventory customizations, and build a phased stack aligned with business outcomes. By doing so, your organisation can turn uncertainty into opportunity—and truly make the “flywheel” spin in your favour.
2Data is an independent software licensing advisory specializing in Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Salesforce and IBM optimization. We help companies reduce contract costs, manage risk, and simplify their software licensing.
