Autonomous Illusion

SAP promotes the Autonomous Enterprise as the next step in the evolution of digitalization. But with every decision delegated to AI agents, dependence on the underlying models grows. How autonomous do companies really become as a result, and who controls this autonomy?

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.

Sapphire 2026 marks a strategic turning point. Instead of cloud migration, process harmonization, and S/4 HANA transformation, this year’s focus was on the „Autonomous Enterprise“—and thus on the question of how ERP landscapes will become smarter and more autonomous in the future.

„Cloud first“ is becoming „AI first“: SAP is evolving from an ERP system into a platform for AI-driven business processes. Many companies are still a long way from this. Bridge technologies already enable AI applications in on-premises SAP systems and pave the way to the cloud.

Why the future of AI in the SAP environment isn't just in the cloud—but right where people work today.