SAP CEO Christian Klein kicked off SAP Sapphire this week with an upbeat keynote that highlighted the company’s latest business AI innovations, products, and partnerships, which he said will change how people work.
“This year is a very special Sapphire,” Klein said. “We are entering a new phase of AI, with endless possibilities for us all.”
Klein and Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer Julia White used the keynote to outline how AI will deliver real business benefits for different corporate functions and “Bring Out Your Best,” this year’s event theme.
Delivering on an AI Promise
Klein emphasized how SAP has delivered on its promise to infuse generative AI throughout its business portfolio, has enabled customers to exploit the potential of business AI, and has positioned the Joule copilot as the new front end for SAP applications.
Together, the two also announced the next evolution and new capabilities in both RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP. Since it was launched over three years ago, more than 6,000 customers have selected RISE with SAP. During his keynote, Klein announced that RISE with SAP will now include a dedicated enterprise architect to guide customers through the RISE with SAP Methodology as well as an integrated tool chain to help manage the process, system, and data landscape holistically across the RISE with SAP life cycle.
Meanwhile White, broadcasting live from the central showcase on the SAP Sapphire show floor, announced that cloud ERP offering GROW with SAP will now include SAP Sales Cloud and Concur Expense at no additional charge. Whether its managing your finances or managing your expenses, GROW with SAP has you covered, she said.
AI Momentum
Building on SAP’s business AI momentum, Klein and White also announced a series of expanded partnerships to help companies make the most out of this decisive AI moment. The expanded partnerships include deals with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud. Klein also announced the integration of Microsoft 365 Copilot with Joule, delivering what he described as a “truly differentiated employee experience.”
Together onstage with customers and SAP Chief AI Officer Philipp Herzig, they showcased how SAP is infusing generative AI throughout the application portfolio and enabling customers to thrive in the AI era.
“The business AI innovations we’re announcing will not only change how people work with SAP solutions, but how people work overall,” said Klein ahead of his keynote address.
New Joule Capabilities
Klein announced Joule for consulting capabilities and Joule for ABAP developer capabilities, which will help SAP’s 6-million-strong consultant and developer community to accelerate projects by 30% and implement SAP solutions faster than ever before.
During his keynote he described business AI as being “an inflection point” and added, “Today’s AI announcements and partnerships build on our commitment to deliver revolutionary technology that drives real-world results, helping customers unleash the agility and ingenuity they need to succeed in today’s fast-moving business landscape.”
“SAP is the only tech company who can infuse AI capabilities right into your business processes and workflows,” he said, saluting the achievements of the 40,000 SAP employees in the Product Development organization.
Shout Out to SAP Developers
“No other tech company can offer a more powerful platform to transform enterprises to rewrite how business is run.” SAP developers have transformed SAP’s portfolio “from an ERP system that enabled transactions in real time, to a system with modular applications and embedded AI so that you can run intelligent, connected, and sustainable enterprises.”
“We promised this to you, and we delivered,” Klein told audiences online and the 14,000 customers and partners attending SAP Sapphire in person this week in Orlando. “Now we are using the power of generative AI across our stack to once again revolutionize how businesses run and end users will work in the future.”
After announcing generative AI copilot Joule in September 2023, Klein confirmed that it will become the new front-end and UX for SAP applications and “will turn your words into action.” Joule is ready for prime time, he declared, “and going forward, it will be embedded out of the box for all our cloud customers.”
Joule: Key to Higher Productivity
He predicted that Joule will also become the biggest productivity engine for every SAP end user, and that by the end of the year, 80% of the most used tasks will be managed via Joule and the 300 million end users of SAP products will be 20% more productive.
While AI is a powerful technology facilitating huge opportunities for business and employees, the SAP CEO emphasized that it is also crucial to offer responsible AI. To that end, he announced that SAP is among the first tech companies to adhere to UNESCO’s AI principles.
Klein wrapped up the keynote by emphasizing that SAP does not view AI as an end in itself, but rather as a tool to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. “You have my commitment that we will continue to listen to your needs, we will continue to deliver great innovations and we will continue to deliver great outcomes for your company.”
