The global and independent platform for the SAP community.

Author: Peter M. Färbinger, E3-Magazin

Peter M. Färbinger, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of E3 Magazine DE, US, ES, and FR (e3mag.com), B4Bmedia.net AG, Freilassing (DE), email: pmf@b4bmedia.net, and phone: +49(0)8654/77130-21
The SAP CEO attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he discussed a paradox he claims to have found in AI. However, neither Klein nor his colleague, Thomas Saueressig, could offer a solution to the AI paradox or explain the disastrous SAP share price.
This number has been disconnected—this is a phenomenon that my colleague Andrea Schramm from Marketing and Sales and I are confronted with more and more often: Is there no longer a culture of conversation?
Although artificial intelligence can deliver added value in the ERP environment, it doesn't have to. This topic will be discussed in an experience workshop by E3 Magazine and Media and SAP Partner Snap. Topics such as observability and resilience will also be discussed. What does SAP have say on the subject? What about AI governance?
After the cloud fashion fiasco, the king has switched to AI. The new clothes don't suit him, and the stock market's response has been lackluster. However, financial analysts still believe in a positive outcome. But can SAP truly master AI?
The end of 2025 has been a difficult time for SAP CEO Christian Klein: SAP system landscapes are predominantly hybrid, and only a third of those surveyed by the user association DSAG are familiar with the new Business Suite. SAP's communication has failed, and public cloud is a marginal phenomenon.
Most of what SAP does is fundamentally correct. The global market leader in ERP cannot be accused of deliberate misconduct. Yet, SAP's share price is falling, and the mood within the SAP community is grim. The world of SAP and the world of ERP users are no longer aligned.
The SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) is entering the AI arena as a key enabler and strategic foundation for innovation and expansion. However, many technical and licensing issues remain unresolved. Will SAP BTP be a game changer for SAP customers?
It's common knowledge that AI feeds off the vastness of the World Wide Web. For AI, texts, photos, videos, and graphics are the source of "knowledge." ChatGPT and similar programs provide the answers. But what if the sources dry up?
Either SAP has misunderstood the word "sovereignty," or the global ERP market leader is selfishly interpreting it to its own advantage. Rather than strengthening and mobilizing its customers to make them more competitive—in other words, to make them sovereign—SAP is merely expanding its vendor lock-in system.
Members of the SAP community from the R/2 and R/3 era have fond memories of the CCC. The Customer Competence Center provided first-level support to existing SAP customers through their own IT departments. Because SAP obviously considers everything that comes from a successful on-premise era to be „the devil's work,“ the CCC became the CCoE, or Customer Center of Expertise. An experiment!
In an interview for the German-language medium Computerwelt.de, SAP Executive Board member Thomas Saueressig defined a Frankenstein ERP architecture, shortly after his Executive Board colleague Muhammad Alam warned of the danger of an ERP patchwork quilt.
SAP's commitment to AI is like a glaze poured over everything and everyone. The main thing is that it tastes like artificial intelligence.

Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

This gives the Competence Center strategic importance for existing SAP customers. Regardless of the S/4 Hana operating model, topics such as Automation, Monitoring, Security, Application Lifecycle Management and Data Management the basis for S/4 operations.

For the fourth time, E3 magazine is organizing a summit for the SAP community in Salzburg to provide comprehensive information on all aspects of S/4 Hana groundwork.

Venue

FourSide Hotel Salzburg,
Trademark Collection by Wyndham
Am Messezentrum 2, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
+43-66-24355460

Event date

Wednesday, June 10, and
Thursday, June 11, 2026

Early Bird Ticket

AI experience workshop only on 11.6.2026 (limited places)
Bonus: Access to all lectures on 11.6.

Regular ticket

Lectures, evening event and, depending on availability, the AI workshop on 11.6.2026
Places at the AI experience workshop are limited and registration is required.

Subscribers to the E3 Magazine Ticket

reduced with promocode CCAbo26

Students*

reduced with promocode CCStud26.
Please send proof of studies by e-mail to office@b4bmedia.net.
*The first 10 tickets are free of charge for students. Try your luck! 🍀
EUR 390 excl. VAT
available until January 31, 2026
EUR 305 excl. VAT.
EUR 590 excl. VAT
EUR 390 excl. VAT
EUR 290 excl. VAT

Venue

Hotel Hilton Heidelberg
Kurfürstenanlage 1
D-69115 Heidelberg

Event date

Wednesday, April 22 and
Thursday, April 23, 2026

Tickets

AI onlyExperience workshop on 23.4.2026 
BonusAccess to all lectures on 23.4.
Regular ticket
Lectures, evening event and AI workshop on 23.4.2026
EUR 305 excl. VAT
EUR 590 excl. VAT
Subscribers to the E3 magazine
reduced with promocode STAbo26
EUR 390 excl. VAT
Students*
reduced with promocode STStud26.
Please send proof of studies by e-mail to office@b4bmedia.net.
EUR 290 excl. VAT
*The first 10 tickets are free of charge for students. Try your luck! 🍀
The event is organized by the E3 magazine of the publishing house B4Bmedia.net AG. The presentations will be accompanied by an exhibition of selected SAP partners. The ticket price includes attendance at all presentations of the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2026, a visit to the exhibition area, participation in the evening event and catering during the official program. The lecture program and the list of exhibitors and sponsors (SAP partners) will be published on this website in due course.