Benchmarking the Capabilities that Define SAP Leaders

ERP / Platform / Cybersecurity / CIO

SAP ERP Migration and Transformation

March 2026

With 2027 less than two years away, organizations are either moving to SAP S/4HANA or are unlikely to complete a transition. These mindsets are reflected in deployment options and decisions that will move to SAP S/4HANA as quickly as possible while aligning with an eventual move to SAP Cloud ERP. This year’s report will explore SAP S/4HANA adoption trends, the impact of SAP Cloud ERP, challenges and roadblocks, and the proportion likely to move to extended maintenance.

SAP ERP Deployment

March 2026

Organizations are accelerating plans for SAP S/4HANA. This is reflected in an increasing number planning system conversions, and a focus on moving to SAP S/4HANA quickly rather than as part of broader transformation. More are also planning for SAP S/4HANA Cloud. This year’s report will track the deployment and infrastructure plans for those moving to SAP S/4HANA, the impact of SAP Cloud ERP, and the factors impacting the timelines for deployments.

Technology Leader’s Strategic Agenda

March 2026

Technology leaders in the SAP customer ecosystem are facing an increasing set of priorities to manage, SAP technology leaders are facing an increasing set of complex priorities including providing the foundation to drive business outcomes such as greater efficiency, new product development, and higher profits. Top projects include SAP S/4HANA transition, AI adoption, data cleansing, and process automation. SAPinsider will examine business priorities, technology investments, and skillsets targeted by leaders in 2026, and the business outcomes resulting from these strategies.

Cybersecurity Threats to SAP Systems

June 2026

While cyber-attacks targeting SAP customers continue to rise, challenges faced securing those systems have remained consistent. This includes patches and updates where understanding and remediating vulnerabilities is crucial in a layered cybersecurity strategy. This year’s research will explore how cybersecurity maturity impacts strategies for protecting their SAP systems, where they are seeing the biggest impacts, and the challenge that they face in meeting these threats.

Cloud-Native and Multi-Cloud Cloud Architecture

June 2026

Adoption of cloud-based solutions and infrastructure continues to accelerate for SAP and non-SAP workloads. This must be done while enhancing security and compliance, expanding cloud-native SAPinsider Research Services | 6 footprints, and reducing technical debt. Companies are also deploying multi-cloud operating models for SAP and related services. This report explores the changing priorities for SAP workloads, what is planned for 2026, and the impact AI has on the adoption of cloud environments.

SAP Cloud ERP

November 2026

SAP Cloud ERP, formerly RISE with SAP or GROW with SAP, is the central focus of SAP’s plans for the eventual move to SAP Business Suite. While the name change may be confusing, what is included in the bundles has not altered significantly. This research explores how organizations look at SAP Cloud ERP, whether they plan to use private or public cloud, likely hosting partners, and challenges experiencing with the eventual move to a flavor of SAP Cloud ERP.

Technology Leader’s Transformation Scorecard

November 2026

Ongoing transformation is the most important strategic priority for technology leaders. Organizations must support these transformation projects, delivering sustainable and scalable change through automation, standardization, and overhauling essential workflows while providing a platform for innovation. This report reflects on 2026, how leaders are undertaking digital transformation initiatives, delving into challenges, goals, and what was successful during the year.

 

Finance / GRC / Performance Management

Finance Excellence in the Age of AI

March 2026

Comprehensive, survey-based benchmark of finance transformation across the record to report, plan to analyze, and procure to pay lifecycle for SAP based organizations. Explores how leading finance teams deploy AI, automation, and SAP plus partner solutions to modernize closing, FP&A, treasury, AP/AR, reporting, data platforms, and shared services. Establishes KPI benchmarks and identifies architectures, operating models, and talent strategies that turn finance into a strategic business partner.

GRC & Risk Intelligence for S/4HANA Enterprises

June 2026

State of the practice benchmark for governance, risk, controls, and compliance in S/4HANA and BTP environments. Covers access governance and SoD, continuous control monitoring, process intelligence, ERP testing and change assurance, and automation governance. Benchmarks GRC maturity, tool adoption, and control effectiveness, and shows how leading organizations embed GRC into cloud ERP and AI programs while balancing risk, agility, and audit expectations.

Tax Excellence & Compliance in Global SAP Enterprises

June 2026

End to end benchmark of tax transformation and compliance for global SAP enterprises. Examines indirect and corporate tax engines, global e invoicing and CTC, trade and customs, tax data governance, and analytics. Benchmarks accuracy, e invoicing success, penalty avoidance, and cost per transaction, and documents architectures that combine S/4HANA with certified tax, e invoicing, and trade solutions to manage regulatory complexity and support strategic decision making.

The Modern Office of the SAP CFO: Finance Excellence in the Age of Autonomous Operations

November 2026

Focuses on how SAP-centric finance organizations design the Office of the CFO, use SAP S/4HANA Finance, SAP Analytics Cloud, and related ISV solutions to deliver real-time insight, control, and strategic value. Benchmarks how SAP finance leaders structure the Office of the CFO and orchestrate SAP S/4HANA Finance, SAP Analytics Cloud, and ecosystem ISVs and third-party software solutions to modernize planning, close, working capital, and GRC while supporting data-driven decision making across the business.

Data & Data Management

SAP Business Data Cloud Use Cases and Adoption

March 2026

SAP announced SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) in early 2025, a SaaS-based offerings that aims to unify and govern SAP data and connect to non-SAP data. In this research report, SAPinsider will examine the level of BDC Cloud adoption in the SAP customer ecosystem, as well as the top use cases being targeted for BDC, the data and analytics maturity of the organizations using or not using BDC, and the top drivers and business outcomes fueling BDC projects.

Enterprise Integration for SAP 2026

October 2026

Cloud technology and AI have contributed more SAP customers connecting their systems with non-SAP systems, leading to an integration landscape where contextual data, real-time connectivity and security have all become critically important. This report will examine the integration challenges that organizations face today, the types of integration they are adopting, the requirements for success, and which tools are in use to meet their integration needs.

AI & Intelligent Process Automation

Automating SAP Processes in the Era of AI

June 2026

In the era of AI, companies are looking for process automation to go even further by assisting with more complicated tasks and even augmenting and expediting decision-making. In this research report, SAPinsider will examine what’s driving companies to automate their SAP processes, how the level and maturity of automation at organizations impacts KPIs and business outcomes, and the technologies and actions companies are deploying to achieve their automation goals.

The State of AI in the SAP Ecosystem

November 2026

AI transformation has become synonymous with digital transformation. It brings the promise of efficiency and process improvement that tech leaders seek. AI is a constantly evolving sector, with Agentic AI bringing the opportunity for more complex process automations. This research looks at how organizations are approaching AI and spans maturity, technologies, use cases, governance, and the business impact that AI is having.

 

Shining a Light on Insights that Matter

Security & Cybersecurity

Securing SAP Cloud ERP

Redefining Identity and Access with Zero Trust for SAP

Threat Detection and Response for SAP

Using DevSecOps to Secure SAP Data and Customizations

Data Protection and Privacy for SAP

Navigating SAP Security in Cloud, Hybrid, and Multi Cloud Landscapes

AI and Automation in SAP Security Operations

Operational Resilience and Cyber Recovery for SAP

Securing SAP BTP and Extensibility

Monitoring, Threat Detection, and SOC in SAP Landscapes

Evolving SAP Security Operating Models

Security, Compliance, and Governance for SAP in the Cloud

 

ERP

Decision Frameworks for SAP Cloud ERP Private and Public

Clean Core in Practice: Are SAP Customers Really Keeping Clean?

Evaluating SAP S/4HANA Implementation Approaches

The Role of SAP BTP in ERP Transformation

Designing Cloud ERP Landscapes: Single Instance, Multi-Instance, or 2 Tier Strategies

Data Migration and Quality in SAP S/4HANA and Cloud Transitions

Managing Cost and TCO in Cloud ERP

Multi-Tier Architecture Strategies in ERP Transformation

Transformation Management and Continuous Innovation for SAP ERP

How SAP Customers Use Process Mining and Observability to Steer ERP Transformation

Testing and Automation Strategies Across the SAP ERP Lifecycle

Continuous Improvement After Go-Live: How SAP Customers Sustain ERP Value

Partner Ecosystems for SAP ERP: How Customers Choose and Govern ISVs and Integrators

Cloud

Measuring Cloud Deployment Outcomes in SAP Landscapes

Modernizing SAP Cloud Provider Selection

Day 2 Operations for SAP in the Cloud

Observability and Monitoring with SAP Cloud ALM and Hyperscaler Tools

Evolving SAP Cloud Support and Shared Responsibility Models

Managing Cloud Upgrade Cadence for SAP Landscapes

SAP BTP Adoption and Enterprise Use Cases

Extending SAP with BTP Services and ISV Solutions

Cloud Economics and Future SAP Cloud Strategies

Finance / GRC / Performance Management

AI First Finance – Autonomous Close & Real Time Reporting on S/4HANA + SAP BTP

Gold Standard Close – End to End Record to Report with SAP + Close Orchestration Platforms

FP&A Next – Integrated Planning & Performance on SAP + Partner CPM

Treasury Cloud & Enterprise Liquidity on SAP

Global E Invoicing & Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) in SAP Landscapes

Tax Modernization – Indirect & Corporate Tax for Intelligent Enterprises

Global Trade & Supply Chain Compliance on SAP

Controls & Assurance – SoD, Access Governance & Continuous Control Monitoring for SAP

Process Intelligence for Clean Core – SAP Signavio, Celonis & Automation

Modern AP & Intelligent Spend – AP/AR Automation & P2P on SAP

Board Ready Reporting & Integrated Disclosure

Data to Decision – Finance & Tax Data Products on SAP Datasphere / Data Cloud

Change Intelligence – ERP Testing & Risk Mitigation for S/4HANA

Automation at Scale – Agentic Automation Across SAP & Non SAP

Shared Service Centers 2.0 – AI Powered Finance Operations for Global Scale

Supply Chain Orchestration – AI Driven Resilience and Multi Tier Visibility

Data Driven Enterprise – SAP Datasphere and Business Data Cloud Strategy

Next Generation Procurement – SAP Ariba’s AI Native Transformation

Sustainability and ESG Integration – From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

Composable ERP & Best of Breed Integration – Beyond Monolithic Systems

Data & Data Management – Enterprise Data Strategy & Architecture

Modern Data Architectures in SAP Landscapes (Datasphere, BTP, And Beyond)

Unifying SAP and Non-SAP Data for Analytics

Data Management in the Era Of AI-Driven SAP Landscapes

Cloud Data Warehousing and Hybrid Analytics for SAP Customers

Data & Data Management – Analytics, AI & Intelligent Applications

Enterprise Data and Analytics in the Era Of AI

SAP Analytics Cloud as a Unified Planning and Analytics Hub

Real-Time Analytics and Big Data with SAP and External Platforms

Data & Data Management – Governance, Culture & Operating Model

Data Governance and Compliance For SAP-Centric Enterprises

Data Culture, Literacy, and Self-Service Analytics

Operating Models for Data and Analytics in SAP Ecosystems

People Intelligence and Workforce Analytics on SAP Platforms

Change Management for Analytics and AI Programs

AI & Intelligent Process Automation – AI Platforms, Architecture, & Data Foundations

Enterprise AI Architecture for SAP-Centric Landscapes

Operationalizing AI with SAP AI Core and External Platforms

Data Readiness for AI and Intelligent Automation in SAP

Real-Time and Event-Driven AI on SAP Data

AI-Optimized Integration Patterns Between SAP and Non-SAP Systems

AI & Intelligent Process Automation – Intelligent Process Automation & Use Cases

End-To-End Intelligent Automation for SAP Processes

Task Automation and RPA For SAP User Interactions

Process Mining and Task Mining to Discover Automation Opportunities

AI-Driven Decision Automation in SAP Workflows

Industry-Specific AI and Automation Scenarios on SAP

AI & Intelligent Process Automation – Governance, Risk, & Responsible AI

AI Governance and Policy Frameworks for SAP Customers

Risk, Compliance, and Controls for AI and Automation In SAP

Data Privacy, Security, and Ethics for AI Use Cases

Change Management, Workforce Impact, and Skills for AI and Automation

Transparency, Explainability, and Trust In AI-Augmented SAP Processes

Supply Chain Management – Supply Chain Data, Platforms, & Architecture

Unified Supply Chain Data Platforms for SAP Landscapes

Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility and Control Towers

Integrating SAP Supply Chain with External Data Lakes afornd Warehouses

Master Data and Product Data Management for Global Supply Chains

Architecture Patterns for Integrating SAP with Logistics and Manufacturing Systems

Supply Chain Management – Planning, Fulfillment, & Inventory Optimization

Integrated Business Planning with SAP IBP and SAP S/4HANA

Demand Forecasting and Demand Sensing on SAP Data

Inventory Optimization and Multi-Echelon Strategies

Order Fulfillment Excellence with SAP S/4HANA and Advanced ATP

Warehouse, Transportation, and Network Optimization

Supply Chain Management – Supply Chain Resilience, Risk, & Sustainability

Supply Chain Risk Management and Multi-Sourcing Strategies

Supplier Collaboration and Performance Management on SAP Platforms

Sustainable Supply Chains and Scope 3 Emissions Management

Process Mining for Supply Chain Resilience and Compliance

Scenario Planning and Stress Testing for Supply Chain Shocks

Supply Chain Management – Execution, Customer Service, & Cross-Functional Outcomes

End-To-End Order-To-Cash Performance On SAP

Customer Service Levels, Fill Rate, And On-Time-In-Full (OTIF) Analytics

Logistics Execution and Last-Mile Optimization

Cross-Functional Supply Chain and Finance Alignment

Customer-Centric Supply Chains and Differentiated Service Models

 

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About the SAPinsider DART Methodology

SAPinsider has rewritten the rules of research to provide demonstrable insights from its fact-based approach. The DART methodology serves as the very foundation on which SAPinsider educates end users to act, creates market awareness, drives demand, empowers sales forces, and validates return on investments. It’s no wonder that organizations worldwide turn to SAPinsider for research with results. The DART methodology provides actionable insights including:

• Drivers – These are macro level events that are impacting an organization. They can be both external and internal and require the implementation of strategic plans, people, processes and systems.
• Actions – These are strategies that companies can implement to address the drivers impact on the business. These are the integration of people, process and technology. These should be business first but fully leverage technology enabled solutions to be relevant for our focus.
• Requirements – These are business and process level requirements to support the strategies. These tend to be end-to-end for a business process.
• Technology – There are technology and systems related requirements that enable the business requirements and support the overall strategies that the company is taking, they must consider the current technology architecture and provide for the adoption of new and innovative technology enabled capabilities

How SAPinsiders Participate in the Research

The SAPinsider research process is an invitation-only quantitative survey and a qualitative interview-based methodology that is focused on the voice of ~2M global SAPinsider community members. During the course of a year, we survey and interview several thousand SAPinsiders and synthesize their insights. This peer best practices-led benchmarking research process extracts intricate knowledge of SAP and related ecosystem solutions, migration paths, roadmap and other insights in relation to the business drivers, strategic actions and requirements of end users. The ultimate objective of our research is to enable SAP users adopt and upgrade technology efficiently, based on sound decisions, performance parameters and business value.