Modern, Real-Time SAP Planning: Not the End of an Era

Whether it’s End of Support (EoS) or deprecation (being „retired“): Many SAP users currently find themselves at a dead end in more ways than one—at least as far as the SAP universe is concerned. And this time, it affects not only on-premise customers, but also those who had relied on a product from the brave new world of the cloud: SAP Build Apps.

This means that customers have created applications—or are still in the process of doing so—while SAP abruptly discontinued the offering in March 2026. Although existing projects can still be „developed“ further, there is no direct migration path for existing front-end projects. In other words, switching to the new portfolio generally requires rebuilding the applications from scratch. Future-proofing, stability, and speed look—and feel—different—and at the same time, demand from the business and line-of-business departments continues to rise.

Do soft strategies help?

Of course, the official line is that the SAP Build portfolio is being unified, meaning that low-code, pro-code, and automation capabilities are now coming together under one roof: as a comprehensive platform for development, automation, and extensions featuring no-code, low-code, and pro-code, as well as generative artificial intelligence (AI)—SAP BTP is here! However, as mentioned, essential strategic questions remain unanswered, such as what will happen to existing apps, which applications will need to be migrated or even rebuilt from scratch, how IT can remain capable of delivering despite the transition, how governance and Clean Core requirements will be ensured, and how one is even supposed to meet the growing demand for custom Fiori apps and mobile applications for, among other things, the shop floor, warehouse, or service, as well as modern process interfaces—not to mention the topic of AI, including Agentic AI.

Foundation for App Initiatives

The fact is: SAP customers have long been lacking not just an alternative tool, but rather a platform that finally implements digital transformation in general—and custom app development in particular—in a smart way. Without growing app backlogs and business units that have to wait months for even the simplest applications—further exacerbating the delivery problem.

Many companies, especially small and medium-sized businesses, currently need three things above all else: a pragmatic migration path to ensure existing applications don’t end up in a dead end; faster implementation so that IT can bring new requirements online more quickly; and a platform that brings business and IT together, enabling less complexity with more output while maintaining controlled development. All of this shows that a purely technical replacement is not enough. What is needed is a solution—or a platform—that sustainably resolves operational bottlenecks in custom SAP app development and provides a genuine alternative to SAP Build Apps.

No need to restart from scratch

For SAP Build Apps customers, such platforms are particularly relevant because they address exactly what is currently weighing most heavily on many IT decision-makers. And they don’t require a complete overhaul, but rather build on what already exists: processes, requirements, and app ideas. It offers a realistic way to transform these into a robust platform that, on top of that, integrates Agentic AI directly into applications and workflows.

With Simplifier, companies can develop custom Fiori apps more quickly, migrate existing apps in a structured manner, and simultaneously prepare them for scalable future development. In addition, SAP and non-SAP systems can be flexibly integrated, while business units are more closely involved in app development. At the same time, reusability and governance are strengthened, existing application landscapes are modernized, and the IT department is effectively relieved of the burden as demand grows. Many companies aren’t looking for a generic low-code platform. They’re looking for a solution that works within their SAP environment. That is, in environments where processes, data, authorizations, and existing system landscapes are already complex enough—and where there is currently a growing need to integrate AI directly into applications and workflows. The ultimate goal is to benefit from intelligent, automated business processes—in a controlled, scalable, and governance-compliant manner. This is crucial not only for IT decision-makers. Ultimately, what matters is not how broad a portfolio is, but how quickly an organization can derive concrete and tangible benefits from it—benefits that directly reach employees.

Reevaluating App Strategies

The discontinuation of SAP Build Apps presents a tremendous opportunity to reassess your app strategy. The key questions here are: Which existing apps are business-critical? Which applications require urgent further development? Where is there a risk of renewed dependence on a solution that is being phased out? And which platform actually helps to successfully deploy significantly more custom apps in significantly less time?.

All-in-One Platform

Once the SAP Build Apps issue is resolved, AI-driven process optimization presents the next immediate challenge for IT, because a strategic realignment without AI is anything but advisable. The good news is: With Simplifier, customers not only develop applications faster, but also seamlessly integrate SAP and non-SAP systems and orchestrate processes on top of that with Agentic AI. With Build AI (agents for development) and Business AI (agents for operations), companies can finally integrate AI directly into operational workflows and make it an active part of business processes. From manual workflows to intelligent processes: What’s now possible.

For many years now (even back in the SAP AppGyver era), integrated system landscapes, visual process optimization, UI, workflows, and data within a single platform, as well as the secure and controllable use of AI—and that is exactly what the AI-Agentic platform now delivers: systems and data sources are connected, processes are automatically controlled, user interfaces are provided directly—and AI services, including LLMs, are integrated. In other words: AI is not used in isolation, but is finally integrated into processes and made controllable.

Typical initial applications are found primarily in document processing, where AI extracts data from emails, PDFs, and forms, as well as in process automation, which enables end-to-end automation across system boundaries. In addition, there are assistance systems in the form of AI co-pilots for employees and intelligent data utilization, which makes unstructured data usable for operational processes.

The discontinuation of SAP Build Apps is neither a step backward nor a major loss, but rather a much-needed turning point: a shift away from isolated low-code tools toward intelligent, context-driven platforms. This is exactly where Simplifier comes in—with a new generation of low-code that, powered by Agentic AI, not only creates applications but also actively thinks through processes, supports decision-making, and dynamically adapts to business requirements. For companies, this means less manual development, more true automation, and a significantly faster path from idea to production-ready solution. Anyone who has viewed low-code as merely an efficiency tool should now rethink their approach—toward a strategic platform for intelligent, adaptive business processes.

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