Author: Peter M. Färbinger, E3-Magazin

Since the SAP share's all-time high on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange of around EUR 280, the share price had fallen to around EUR 166 by the day the 2025 annual results were published: a cumulative loss of minus 40 percent!

The age of monolithic ERP, in which SAP controlled processes and data in the customer data center as the sole ruler, is coming to an irrevocable end. It is being replaced by a platform economy based around SAP BTP and Business Data Cloud. Composable ERP is the future.

In a remarkable interview with my colleague, Manfred Bremmer, from the German publication Computerwoche, SAP board member, Thomas Saueressig, warned against a “Frankenstein” architecture when using AI with on-prem resources.

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.