E3 Category: Coverstories

The year 2026 marks a historic and critical turning point for the SAP community, where the glossy visions of the Walldorf-based software group SAP meet the pragmatic reality of existing customers with full force. The deadline for the end of maintenance of the old ERP system in 2027 is approaching, increasing the pressure on S/4 migrations and having a noticeable and lasting impact on the service provider market.

The podcast for the E3 cover story is a supplement and continuation of the online texts from the E3 print magazine. A dialog between two AI avatars with knowledge from the German-speaking E3 editorial team provides an insight into the processes surrounding SAP and the SAP community. Translations into English, Spanish and French are provided by DeepL and Google.

The podcast for the E3 cover story is a supplement and continuation of the online texts from the E3 print magazine. A dialog between two AI avatars with knowledge from the German-speaking E3 editorial team provides an insight into the processes surrounding SAP and the SAP community. Translations into English, Spanish and French are provided by DeepL and Google.

Data twilight in the ERP universe: The current geopolitical situation, the rocky road to S/4 transformation and the possible rescue through intelligent data management are making digital sovereignty increasingly explosive and relevant. Data sovereignty is key: only those who determine where data is stored and processed at all times can avoid vendor and legal lock-in.

It is not only the geopolitical situation that makes data sovereignty a must. Rather, the increasing spread of AI jeopardizes the protection of sensitive data if the data pool cannot be protected against unauthorized or malicious access.

S/4 migration, data protection, legacy decommissioning, skills shortages and data quality: transformation projects combine technical, regulatory and organizational challenges. With AI-supported functions, JiVS wants to turn this into a controllable modernization step.

Robotics is reaching a new dimension: machines that can move like humans, react to their environment and work together with people are no longer dreams of the future, but reality.

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.

The podcast for the E3 cover story is a supplement and continuation of the online texts from the E3 print magazine. A dialog between two AI avatars with knowledge from the German-speaking E3 editorial team provides an insight into the processes surrounding SAP and the SAP community. Translations into English, Spanish and French are provided by DeepL and Google.

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!

The SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) is considered the standard for side-by-side development. However, alternatives such as the low-code platform Simplifier offer medium-sized SAP and Rise with SAP users flexible, cost-effective options.

For anyone involved in SAP projects, software testing—or „quality engineering“—is often a misunderstood area. Let's be honest: few people enjoy testing unless they have to.