Cover story April 2024
SAP Basis with Cloud ALM,
on-prem
and licenses.
Salzburg 2024: Hana and S/4 also need a robust SAP basis. The Customer Competence Center of SAP R/3 and Business Suite 7 is transforming itself with ALM, process mining and enterprise architects. The SAP Competence Center Summit in Salzburg is dedicated to this transformation process.
Cover Story: July/August 2026
Autonomous Illusion
SAP promotes the Autonomous Enterprise as the next step in the evolution of digitalization. But with every decision delegated to AI agents, dependence on the underlying models grows. How autonomous do companies really become as a result, and who controls this autonomy?
Hyperscaler power or European control? German companies want both. According to the Valantic study „Sovereign Hypercloud,“ many companies are focusing on expanding their IT infrastructure in Europe to combine the performance of international hyperscalers with greater sovereignty.
Study: How Can the Gender AI Gap Be Closed?
July 16, 2026
With the rapid spread of artificial intelligence in the workplace, a new gender gap is emerging: the Gender AI Gap. This is shown by a recent study by the IAB in collaboration with Initiative D21, a nonprofit network for the digital society.
AI Agents in SAP, with Risk Check
July 15, 2026
SAP is driving the adoption of AI agents and intelligent automation. However, many companies are unable to implement the necessary system upgrades in the short term. With the right governance and security strategies, AI can still be integrated into existing SAP landscapes.
Multiple Layers of Security: While costs are always a key consideration—they aren't the only factor
July 14, 2026
When it comes to SAP Basis automation, the focus is usually on cost savings. However, this does not provide an adequate assessment of the situation. Security and resilience are just as important—in fact, in two ways.
AI: Without Qualifications, Speed Becomes a Risk
July 13, 2026
Artificial intelligence and agent-driven processes have long since become part of everyday life. But for Copilot and similar tools to deliver useful results, human expertise is essential.
Exit, Exit, Exit
July 10, 2026
The cloud exit problem has not yet been solved, and already the need for another exit strategy for AI is becoming apparent. How will sovereignty ever be achieved?
SAP Maintenance: The New Win-Win Situation
July 16, 2026
With an antitrust ruling, the EU has provisionally brought an end to an anti-competitive chapter in SAP’s history. The global leader in ERP was accused of exploiting its dominant market position in maintenance and support to force customers into an inescapable service straitjacket.
The Cost of AI for an Existing SAP Customer
July 9, 2026
Subscription or consumption? Buy, rent, or pay based on usage? Following the on-premise era, existing SAP customers are facing an almost insurmountable complexity of fees. The Business Data Complexity (SAP BDC) defined by the user association DSAG is just the tip of the iceberg.
First, my colleague Christof Kerkmann reported in the *Handelsblatt* on the restructuring of SAP’s Executive Board: CEO Christian Klein plans to focus on AI technology going forward, as Executive Board member Muhammad Alam (Product and Engineering) will be leaving the company in early 2027. Klein is supported behind the scenes by a strategic advisor.
E3 Roundtable on Generic ERP platforms: Alternative S/4 APIs, AI, and Interfaces
The era of monolithic ERP architectures is ending. SAP customers increasingly reassess cloud-only strategies, clean core requirements, and growing platform dependencies. The E3 Roundtable discusses how composable ERP architectures, independent IT platforms, and hybrid cloud strategies strengthen digital sovereignty and reduce vendor lock-in risks. Using examples such as Boomi, OpenShift, and modern integration platforms, the discussion explores how organizations orchestrate SAP and non-SAP systems while building flexible, future-ready enterprise architectures.
Comments
July 13, 2026
AI: Without Qualifications, Speed Becomes a Risk
Artificial intelligence and agent-driven processes have long since become part of everyday life. But for Copilot and similar tools to deliver useful results, human expertise is essential.
July 10, 2026
Exit, Exit, Exit
The cloud exit problem has not yet been solved, and already the need for another exit strategy for AI is becoming apparent. How will sovereignty ever be achieved?
July 7, 2026
Sovereignty: Integration Without Cloud Mandates
The SAP Integration Suite is moving closer to the shop floor. With the Edge Integration Cell and SUSE Rancher, it bridges the gap between cloud innovation and local control—a must for regulated industries and PI/PO migrants.
The debate on AI in Europe is shifting from pure innovation to issues of sovereignty, infrastructure, and long-term strategic control. How will Europe’s position within the global AI ecosystem become a factor in technological independence and geopolitical influence?
SAP News
Hyperscaler power or European control? German companies want both. According to the Valantic study „Sovereign Hypercloud,“ many companies are focusing on expanding their IT infrastructure in Europe to combine the performance of international hyperscalers with greater sovereignty.
In collaboration with Deloitte, UiPath relied on agentic automation, test automation, and a clear separation between the SAP core and the agent layer, and used its own S/4 migration as a stress test for a new ERP operating model.
June 8, 2026
Data sovereignty may cost something
For the majority of companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, data sovereignty within the EU is a very important issue. More than half would even be prepared to pay more. These are the results of a recent study commissioned by SAP.
June 1, 2026
The new AI world: aspects of LLMs
E3 editor-in-chief Peter Färbinger spoke to the successful and long-standing member of the SAP community Wolfram Jost, CEO Scheer IDS, about the numerous challenges surrounding AI and LLMs in an SAP ERP architecture.
Business Management
July 15, 2026
AI Agents in SAP, with Risk Check
SAP is driving the adoption of AI agents and intelligent automation. However, many companies are unable to implement the necessary system upgrades in the short term. With the right governance and security strategies, AI can still be integrated into existing SAP landscapes.
With its product updates for Q1 2026, SAP is continuing to drive the integration of artificial intelligence into business processes and development environments. The focus is on the Joule AI platform, which is increasingly becoming the central user interface for various solutions.
Many companies do not fully tap into the economic potential of their ERP landscape. Usage and operating costs are rising steadily, while opportunities for optimization often go undiscovered. Why taking a close look at licensing and operating models is crucial.
June 15, 2026
Seamless Planning: Modern SAP Planning in Real Time
Companies need efficient, transparent, and responsive planning processes. Demands for timeliness, granularity, and integration are on the rise, particularly in integrated enterprise management systems. Against this backdrop, Seamless Planning is taking center stage in the SAP portfolio.
IT Management
July 14, 2026
Multiple Layers of Security: While costs are always a key consideration—they aren't the only factor
When it comes to SAP Basis automation, the focus is usually on cost savings. However, this does not provide an adequate assessment of the situation. Security and resilience are just as important—in fact, in two ways.
July 7, 2026
Sovereignty: Integration Without Cloud Mandates
The SAP Integration Suite is moving closer to the shop floor. With the Edge Integration Cell and SUSE Rancher, it bridges the gap between cloud innovation and local control—a must for regulated industries and PI/PO migrants.
SAP Build Apps as a standalone offering is a thing of the past. Why now, of all times, is still the right time to migrate—and which tools are best suited to reliably bring business, IT, and AI together for the long term.
Integrating AI into SAP is operationally necessary. Since many functions are tied to SAP, the side-by-side model offers a flexible alternative: It decouples AI from the core system and enables it to run in a separate architecture.
Economy
Three-quarters of global AI value creation comes from just 20 percent of companies. Germany ranks ahead of the U.S., the U.K., and Japan in the AI Fitness Index, but lags significantly in AI-driven revenue growth.
For most companies in the DACH region, SAP transformation is a reality of business operations. For 70 percent of SAP customers, the S/4 migration is currently underway or has already been completed. This is shown by the latest SAP 2026 study conducted by Valantic in collaboration with the analyst firm Techconsult.
According to a recent study by Fivetran, only 15 percent of companies are fully prepared for the production-level deployment of agent-based AI—even though nearly 60 percent of companies are already investing millions.
June 22, 2026
Strategic Data Sovereignty
Data sovereignty has evolved from a compliance issue to a strategic prerequisite for data- and AI-driven core processes. This is the key finding of the global Barc study „Data Sovereignty 2026: Reality, Relevance, Roadmap,“ for which 320 companies were surveyed.
E3 Book Recommendations
Getting Started with ABAP
Learn ABAP from the ground up! In this book, Felix Roth guides you step by step through the basics of ABAP programming. From installing the development environment and learning the basics of syntax to working with databases and object-oriented concepts, you’ll gain a practical introduction to the language. The examples cover both traditional and modern development approaches and are applicable to both cloud and on-premises systems. The ideal companion for SAP’s Basic ABAP Programming training course (S4D400)!
RETHINKING MARKETING - A Call for a New Mindset and Bold Action
With *Rethinking Marketing*, editors Oliver Klein and Wolfgang Merkle present an anthology that consistently views marketing as a strategic value driver. The contributions from renowned practitioners and experts demonstrate how companies can respond to changing customer expectations, digitalization, and the use of AI. The message is particularly relevant for SAP users: modern technologies only realize their full potential when accompanied by a clear marketing strategy and a consistent focus on the customer. The book combines insightful ideas with practical examples and encourages readers to critically examine established processes. Rather than offering simple, one-size-fits-all solutions, it provides diverse perspectives on the future of marketing. A highly recommended read for executives and decision-makers who want to more closely integrate marketing, data, and technology and position their companies for the future.
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