Avantra 26 Brings AI-Driven Incident Response to SAP’s Autonomous Operations Layer

Avantra’s 2026 release arrives as SAP launches its autonomous enterprise vision. For the teams tasked with enabling this transformation, it marks a fundamental shift in requirements for business IT operations. Detecting issues is no longer enough as hybrid SAP landscapes expand across RISE with SAP, BTP, Cloud ALM, and traditional environments faster than operations teams can scale.

Avantra 26 brings SAP Cloud ALM integration, expanded BTP observability and FinOps controls, enhanced SecOps for SAP, and a modernized workflow execution experience to existing Observability and Enterprise customers as part of their license. Alongside the release, the Avantra AIR Root Cause Analyzer, an AI-powered incident analysis capability, is also generally available as an add-on.

In a conversation with SAPinsider at SAP Sapphire Orlando, Avantra Chief Product Officer Brenton O’Callaghan positioned the release around operational readiness and value rather than AI positioning alone. “SAP’s autonomous enterprise vision only works if the operations layer underneath it can keep up,” he said. “Operational readiness becomes part of AI readiness.”

According to Avantra, early AIR customers reported up to a 60% reduction in mean time to insight and resolution, a two- to three-fold increase in automated tasks, and 10 to 20 hours in monthly time savings per senior engineer.

AI Moves Root Cause Analysis Closer to the Alert

The Avantra AIR Root Cause Analyzer has moved from beta into general availability. The tool generates AI-assisted incident reports with root cause analysis and remediation recommendations and can be embedded directly into workflows so diagnosis becomes part of automated response rather than a separate manual investigation process.

O’Callaghan described the product as addressing a common operational bottleneck: engineers receiving alerts without enough context to determine business impact, ownership, or next steps. “AIR is designed to put the problem, context, and next best actions in front of the responder when the alert is opened,” he said.

The operational value of that approach is reflected in feedback from early users. Martin Gillon, Head of Technical Operations at Howdens, said the tool reduced the amount of manual interpretation required during incidents. “We can review, validate, and act straight away,” he said, which allows teams to determine quickly whether issues can be resolved internally or escalated elsewhere.

Cloud ALM and BTP Visibility Reach One Operations View

Avantra 26 also brings its SAP Cloud ALM integration to customers, who can connect Avantra to a Cloud ALM tenant, synchronize monitoring and alert information, and manage Cloud ALM-monitored systems directly through Avantra.

O’Callaghan described the integration as a “better together” approach that has been recognized by SAP with a Silver partnership extension designation, in which SAP Cloud ALM remains the system of record while Avantra acts as the execution and automation layer. Observations from Cloud ALM can trigger automated workflows in Avantra, while operational statistics and system context flow between both platforms.

The release also expands BTP-related visibility. BTP-managed systems are consolidated into one system type, and customers can onboard a BTP Global Account so Avantra can automatically identify subaccounts systems and services.

These updates address a growing visibility challenge in SAP operations. As organizations move away from SAP Solution Manager and SAP Landscape Management while adopting RISE with SAP, BTP, and cloud-first monitoring models, operations teams increasingly require synchronized alerts, automation, and operational context across distributed environments.

Security and Automation Converge in SAP Operations

Avantra 26 also introduces a SecOps capability for SAP landscapes, bringing SAP HotNews feeds and internal security observability into the same operational view.

The release reflects a broader shift occurring in SAP operations environments. As AI-driven workflows and automations gain the ability to execute actions across SAP systems, operational monitoring and security posture management are becoming more tightly connected disciplines rather than separate toolsets.

Further, Avantra 26 expands workflow execution and monitoring through a redesigned Automation Runner experience. Teams can monitor active workflows, review execution histories, manage exceptions, and oversee complex SAP operational tasks such as system refreshes from a centralized interface.

The goal is to allow business users and L1 support teams to execute repeatable SAP operations tasks without requiring specialist Basis expertise, while still maintaining workflow visibility, permissions, and auditability. Workflow authoring remains in the Classic UI for now, but execution management has shifted into the newer interface.

Many SAP teams remain constrained by where expertise sits operationally. If repeatable administration tasks depend entirely on scarce senior Basis resources, automation becomes difficult to scale. Expanding controlled execution to broader support tiers can reduce bottlenecks if governance and operational controls mature alongside automation adoption.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Operational readiness is now part of AI readiness. SAP’s message at Sapphire was that lacking context is the number one reason enterprise AI projects fail. Operational data, process telemetry, and the live state of the landscape are a critical part of that context. SAP teams should evaluate whether their operations model can support AI-enabled business processes without leaving incident response and remediation dependent on manual triage.

Cloud ALM and specialist platforms will need to coexist. Avantra’s Cloud ALM integration shows that customers are unlikely to manage hybrid SAP operations through a single native tool. As RISE with SAP, BTP, Cloud ALM, and legacy systems operate side by side, SAP teams should prioritize architectures that synchronize alerts, system context, and automation actions across platforms rather than adding more disconnected consoles.

The operations layer should plug into the business AI platform. As Joule, agentic workflows, and the broader business AI platform move from announcement to deployment, the operations layer cannot remain separate. SAP teams should look for operations platforms with a clear roadmap to expand workflow execution beyond specialist teams while preserving permissions, auditability, and operational controls as automation adoption scales.