SAP’s New Integration Rules Draw a Line in the Sand for Certifications

The latest announcement from SAP’s Integration Certification Center (ICC) serves as a wake-up call for those who have been tracking Clean Core news coming out of Walldorf over the past two years. As of January 2026, SAP has officially overhauled its Integration Certification Program for partner-built solutions. This is a structural redesign of how third-party software is allowed to play in the SAP sandbox.

Karl Fahrbach, Chief Partner Officer at SAP SE, noted in a January 19 blog that this shift is deliberate and strategic. “As SAP accelerates our strategy around applications, data, and AI, these certification enhancements will help ensure our growing ecosystem is aligned—both technically and directionally—with our clean core, cloud-forward, and AI-ready approach,” he wrote. ​

Two Lanes on the Highway

The new framework, set to launch in Q3 2026, bifurcates the SAP Certified path into two distinct tiers.

First, there is the Integration Certification. This is the premium tier, reserved for use cases that actively drive SAP’s current strategy—specifically SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and the Clean Core. Fahrbach emphasizes that this framework is designed to help partners validate their solutions while maintaining SAP’s high standards, ensuring they are future-ready and upgradable.

Second, SAP has introduced an Interoperability Review. This is the inclusive, open lane designed for ISV solutions that are technically sound but might not fit the strict strategic criteria of the top tier. “We are especially excited to introduce the interoperability review,” Fahrbach notes, adding that it “reflects our commitment to listen to the SAP ecosystem and enable more partners and ISVs to participate, fostering innovation across our platform”. ​

The timing of this announcement is significant. SAP organizations are moving into an era in which AI readiness is an architectural requirement. Organizations cannot run advanced AI agents on a messy, heavily customized core. By splitting the certification, SAP is essentially separating the modernizers from the maintainers.

Fahrbach frames this as a benefit for the customer, noting that the new model empowers them to leverage “data-driven business and enterprise AI—securely and at scale”. Thus, it’s no longer enough to say, “Our tool connects to SAP.” The question is now, “Does your tool keep the core clean?”

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Audit your add-on architecture immediately. SAP customers or partners need to categorize their current third-party landscape. Tools built on SAP BTP and adhering to Clean Core principles are candidates for the Premium Integration Certification path. If organizations rely on legacy solutions that technically work but don’t align with SAP’s cloud-forward strategy, they should prepare for them to be moved into the Interoperability Review bucket. SAPinsiders should use this distinction to prioritize their technical debt reduction, knowing that solutions in the review lane may not get the same long-term investment or roadmap alignment from SAP as Certified ones. ​

Leverage the interoperability status for niche wins. SAPinsiders should view the Interoperability Review as a risk mitigator. For years, niche ISVs struggled to justify the ROI of full certification for small, specific use cases. This new path creates a verified safe list. Moreover, Solution Architects can use the SAP Notes listing from this program to quickly vet smaller vendors. It allows them to integrate necessary niche functionality with the assurance of technical compliance, without waiting for a complete strategic partnership agreement.

Align your skills with the strategic tier. For individual consultants and developers, the most valuable skills are those that support the Integration Certification criteria. SAPinsiders should stop focusing solely on ABAP customization and double down on SAP BTP, SAP Build, and AI integration patterns. The market is signaling that strategic alignment (Clean Core and AI) is where the budget and premium rates will be. If an SAP professional’s skillset is stuck in the interoperability lane of legacy integration, their career growth may stall along with it.