A look into the future

Companies will continue to drive their transformation towards a networked intelligent enterprise with more efficient processes based on S/4 Hana. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), digital twins, data lakes and automation through robotic process automation (RPA) will play a key role in this. The cloud will continue to establish itself as the standard in industrial SMEs and increasingly replace on-premises systems in many areas. The cloud-first strategy advocated by SAP and the focus on cloud-native products are accelerating this development and forcing IT managers in manufacturing companies to rethink their approach.

Thanks to the strategic development partnerships and the company-wide use of the Azure Cloud, it will be easier for workers and maintenance staff to control SAP processes via familiar Microsoft user interfaces in future. Interactions will then take place via Office 365 apps such as Teams. SAP will also become an even stronger basis for service-based and therefore future-oriented business models. Today's customers increasingly want to buy services rather than products - such as the uninterrupted running time of a machine. Billing is then flexible and individual via a subscription model. Cloud-based business platforms will therefore become even more important in the SAP environment.