The first touchpoint with SAP for many people is its applications, such as SAP Cloud ERP, SAP Ariba, SAP Customer Experience, or SAP SuccessFactors.
Each SAP software solution delivers strong value, helping teams excel in their specific domain. Yet the true strength of SAP emerges when these applications operate across the enterprise; when finance decisions are informed by procurement data in real time or when workforce insights from HR directly shape supply chain planning.
That is why SAP Business Suite exists: a portfolio of applications, data, and AI working together to cover the full spectrum of business operations. At the heart of SAP Business Suite is SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), the technology platform that connects it all.
SAP BTP is a platform engineered to integrate, automate, extend, and build AI-powered business applications and processes across your enterprise.
SAP BTP is also how we supercharge AI. On its own, AI can generate outputs that look impressive, but without business context, they often lack real-world relevance. SAP BTP solves this by bringing together systems, ensuring consistent data, and automating processes across the enterprise. This means AI doesn’t operate in isolation; it understands the relationships between finance, supply chain, HR, procurement, and more.
That connection is what turns AI from theory into practice. When AI is trained on accurate, well-structured data and tied directly to business processes, it can deliver recommendations that people trust and use to make smarter decisions. The result is an innovation flywheel, where teams and AI continually become smarter, faster, and more impactful across the enterprise.
New SAP applications built on SAP BTP
This week at SAP Connect, we talked about the ways in which SAP BTP enables our customers and partners to tap into the innovation flywheel. We also demonstrated how SAP is using SAP BTP as its core application development platform with the release of three new high scale enterprise applications powered by SAP BTP (SAP Build).
- SAP rolled out the next generation of SAP Ariba solutions for source-to-pay. New capabilities will help procurement professionals improve cost savings, ensure compliance, and build supply chain resilience by automating and supporting key processes such as buying, sourcing, supplier management, contracts, and invoicing. SAP Ariba solutions are now built on SAP BTP, making it easier to integrate them with SAP Business Suite, the SAP ERP application, and third-party ERP systems using open APIs.
- SAP introduced SAP Supply Chain Orchestration. Built on SAP BTP, SAP Supply Chain Orchestration can leverage data from SAP Business Network and the SAP Business Data Cloud solution, expanding insights across every tier of the supply chain. SAP Supply Chain Orchestration is designed to empower customers with one synchronized supply chain system that will help enhance risk detection, deliver actionable insights, and enable coordinated responses across supply chains. An intelligent impact analysis capability will help manage upstream supply chain risks and disruptions, and both external and internal supply chain signals will be contextualized into prioritized actions. The solution will also provide multi-tier supply chain insights that extend beyond traditional boundaries.
- SAP Business Network now runs on SAP BTP, giving customers a technical foundation that enables faster speeds, easier integration, collaboration at scale, and continuous innovation. This will enhance customers’ existing investment in SAP Business Network, adding value without disruption.
Lowering barriers with simplified licensing and packaging
SAP is committed to making it easier than ever for customers to adopt, experiment, and scale new innovation. We’re continuously simplifying access to SAP BTP and SAP Business Suite, ensuring that every organization, no matter its size or technical maturity, can take advantage of the latest advances in AI, automation, and data connectivity.
Earlier this year, we simplified SAP Build pricing model and included its capabilities in all SAP Business Suite packages, giving customers a frictionless way to jumpstart their development without needing to purchase additional licenses. Then we introduced a free SAP Build license for partners, allowing solutions to be tested, demoed, developed, and then sold on the SAP Store. Most recently, we unified the SAP Build licensing model, which now includes Joule for Developers and Joule Studio, and made it available to all existing SAP BTP Enterprise Agreement customers.
From streamlined commercial offerings and consumption models to guided innovation paths through RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP, our goal is clear: lower the barrier to innovation so every customer can turn great ideas into business outcomes faster.
Real-world results: Customers delivering value with SAP BTP
To get inspired, here are just a few examples of SAP BTP in action with customers:
- 57,000 hours saved annually: Accenture developed an intelligent virtual assistant for financial leaders by combining human expertise, SAP solutions, and AI technologies. This AI assistant, built on SAP BTP, streamlines the creation of financial narratives and provides live alerts on key financial metrics, augmenting decision-making in real time. The result is 57,000 hours saved of what was manual work.
- 100,000 applications processed: City of Hamburg launched a financial aid application platform in just two weeks using SAP BTP, SAP AI Services, and other solutions. This generative AI-enabled platform efficiently processed nearly 100,000 subsidy applications during an energy crisis, showcasing agile innovation with SAP’s AI and platform tools.
- 95% improvement in search results: Uniper built a “Perfect Purchase Requisition” app, and extended SAP Ariba, using SAP Build Work Zone and SAP BTP’s generative AI capabilities with SAP HANA Cloud vector engine. This AI-powered app automatically validates and corrects purchase requisitions, speeding up procurement cycles and improving data quality before orders go out. The application has significantly reduced the time and effort buyers spend finding the correct products, with 95 percent of searches successful on the first attempt.
- 10,000 orders analyzed annually: AMD built a “GenAI Supply Chain Troubleshooter” on SAP BTP to simplify complex supply chain interactions. This AI assistant reduced issue resolution time and costs by 90 percent, saving 3,120 hours of staff effort annually, and demonstrates how generative AI can dramatically streamline supply chain management.
- AU$1+ million saved annually: SA Power Networks revolutionized its operations with generative AI and SAP BTP. Custom apps have delivered rapid insights to field crews, while Joule’s natural language interaction with SAP SuccessFactors has saved 75 hours on average. Leveraging 50 years of asset history, they ensure safe operations, saving over AU$1 million annually and achieving a 99 percent success rate in identifying poles unlikely to corrode.
Ready to start? Explore SAP BTP resources
Thanks to everyone who attended SAP Connect virtually and in-person in Las Vegas! For those who couldn’t attend live, I recommend reading the Innovation Guide, checking out the full list of on-demand sessions, and watching the executive keynote delivered by Muhammad Alam.
To get started today, visit sap.com/btp to start a free trial and explore use cases.
Bharat Sandhu is chief marketing officer for SAP Business Technology Platform.
