Feb 5, 2025
•4 minute read
Analyst Insights
Analyst Insights are written by SAPinsider’s research team. Based on information gleaned from surveys of the SAPinsider Community, conversations with experts, SAP employees, vendors, and SAPinsiders, Analyst Insights provide a thoughtful analysis of critical topics, technologies, and challenges that SAP customers face today.
Key Technology Investments to Facilitate Indirect Tax: An Expert Interview with AvalaraSAP customers are increasingly investing in tax technology, emphasizing automation and AI to manage complex global regulations, with 63% of tax teams expanding their budgets, as highlighted in recent research indicating the need for seamless integration of tax transformations into ERP projects like SAP S/4HANA.
SAP Announces Leadership Changes Alongside Strong 2024SAP's FY2024 earnings call revealed a strong financial performance alongside significant leadership changes, including the appointment of Sebastian Steinhaeuser as Chief Operating Officer, while also confirming a focus on AI integration and strategies aimed at enhancing cloud growth.
Jan 28, 2025
•7 minute read
Will SAP Offer an Extended Maintenance Alternative?Ever since SAP S/4HANA was announced, SAP ERP customers have faced a deadline. While the deadline was not initially specified, it soon became clear that SAP ECC or SAP Business Suite users had until 2025 to transition to SAP S/4HANA. Although SAP later extended this to the end of 2027, those running SAP ECC 6.0 Enhancement Package 6-8 had the option for customer specific maintenance until the end of 2030.
Data has consistently supported this. SAPinsider research has reflected that the majority of SAP’s existing ERP customers will be unable to complete a move to SAP S/4HANA by the end of 2027 or even 2030. While SAP S/4HANA adoption has been steady, there have been no signs of that adoption accelerating. In addition, Klein has stated that only a quarter of existing ERP customers have licensed SAP S/4HANA to date, which potentially leaves over 30,000 customers without a definitive transition plan.
SAP has looked to address this challenge through RISE with SAP using a carrot and stick approach. The carrot has been that those signing RISE with SAP contracts will be able to access generative AI capabilities in SAP S/4HANA and other solutions, while the stick has been the stance that end of maintenance dates will not be extended. However, RISE with SAP adoption has been sluggish with significant customer reservations about the significant costs involved in using the offering. Although SAP still has no plans to extend the end of maintenance deadline for customers that do not plan to move to RISE with SAP, it now appears that there may be an extended maintenance alternative for those willing to commit to RISE with SAP.
Although not officially announced by SAP, media outlets recently reported that SAP will launch a new RISE with SAP option called “SAP ERP, private edition, transition option”. Customers buying this option will receive an extension of mainstream maintenance to 2033. However, they will have to commit to deploy SAP S/4HANA. This commitment to move to SAP S/4HANA differs little from the one which customers licensing RISE with SAP today must make, which involves financial penalties if the move is not completed by the date specified. The key difference is in the extended maintenance period for customers licensing the offering.
What this means for SAPinsiders
- The end of maintenance date will not change for customers not purchasing this option.
- Understanding ROI for RISE with SAP is vital.
- Dedicate time to finalizing future ERP plans now.
Jan 22, 2025
•4 minute read
Applying Agentic AI in Finance and AccountingTungsten Automation is leveraging AI across its solutions—particularly in finance and accounting—to streamline business processes with advanced features like AI agents, enhancing efficiency and adaptability beyond traditional automation.
Jan 19, 2025
•4 minute read
2025 Plans for SAP Business AI2024 was the year of AI capabilities for SAP. SAP’s business AI-related capabilities accelerated rapidly in the last quarter of 2024 as SAP rolled out final iterations to features announced earlier in the year and also introduced new, expanded functionalities. While much of SAP’s business AI announcements were centered on generative AI copilot Joule—now integrated with more than 80 percent of the most-used tasks across SAP solutions—AI capabilities are now also available through SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and tools like SAP Build and SAP Signavio.
SAP's generative AI assistant, Joule, is now integrated with 13 SAP solutions, including SAP Mobile Start, enabling access on iPhones and iPads via Siri. In addition to generally available features, Joule offers early adopter care and private preview capabilities, such as SAP Consulting Capability, Joule, Analytical Insights, and Joule integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Joule is now generally available in both SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition 2023 FPS02, with new AI-assisted capabilities being added to each version.
SAP BTP now includes Documentation Information Estraction, access to multiple LLMs via Generative AI Hub in SAP AI Core and SAP AI Launchpad. In addition, SAP Build Work Zone and SAP Build Code also include new business AI enhancements, while Joule is now in early adoption for SAP Signavio Business Process Collaboration Hub.
Customers should expect more business AI and AI-related announcements from SAP this year as well. That will start with a data-focused announcement that is likely to be made in the first quarter, with more announcements to follow during the year at Sapphire, TechEd, and during other major events. This is because for SAP, connecting AI directly to business processes is their biggest differentiator.
For SAPinsiders to be successful they should:
- Put in place an enterprise-wide business AI strategy.
- Evaluate generative AI’s value in RISE with SAP.
- Look for ways to leverage AI in the future.
Jan 15, 2025
•4 minute read
Leveraging SAP Datasphere using Intelligent Lookup and SAP AI Fuzzy Search to deliver fast business solutionsExpertise from Arellius Enterprises sheds light into the integration of AI within SAP tools, highlighting the importance of choosing the right AI technology for specific problems, while also addressing generative AI's capabilities, the significance of fuzzy search in data management, and the user-friendly features of SAP Datasphere, emphasizing the necessity for human oversight in AI applications.
Jan 14, 2025
•6 minute read
The Case for Tax Technology Transformation: Insights from SAPinsider’s 2024 StudyAs organizations encounter heightened regulatory complexity and technological advancements, a significant shift towards investing in tax technology is underway, with 63% of companies planning to increase their budgets, driven by the need for efficiency, compliance, and adaptability.
Jan 13, 2025
•3 minute read
Leadership Lessons for 2025In 2024, technology leaders emphasized the need for business process automation, data-driven organizational change, and the exploration of AI as key priorities, while facing challenges such as resistance to change and the necessity for improved data governance, setting a transformative course for 2025.
Jan 9, 2025
•5 minute read
Can Your AI Assistant Help You Close Your Books Faster? Trintech Says YesAs Artificial Intelligence permeates more and more aspects of both life and business, you are seeing the increasing introduction of AI assistants and interfaces being rolled out by SAP and other software partners. In the finance world, more and more customers are looking to practical applications of AI to automate mundane tasks, reconcile data and […]
Jan 8, 2025
•3 minute read
Events
SAPinsider Summit Philadelphia 2026Philadelphia, PA, United States
SAPinsider Summit New Orleans 2026New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
SAPinsider Summit Chicago 2026Chicago, IL
SAPinsider Copenhagen 2026Copenhagen, Denmark
