E3 Category: Editor-in-Chief Blog

The difference between AI for the manufacturing industry and for ERP may be small. But the fact is that the German industrial group Siemens has a strategy under CEO Roland Busch, while SAP boss Christian Klein is lost in numerous AI partnerships. Will Klein be rescued by Hana co-inventor Professor Zeier using ERP AI?

The SAP share price has been on a downward trajectory for around a year, and there is no end in sight. The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board are equally responsible for this development. For months, SAP CEO Christian Klein watched helplessly from the sidelines as the catastrophe approached. What now?

Since SAP's all-time high share price of around 280 EUR on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the price has fallen to around 166 EUR on the day the 2025 annual results were published, resulting in a cumulative loss of 40 percent.

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

At the end of AI development, there will also be a small language model at SAP. SAP is now content with small successes. Based on its own Abap tables, mechanisms such as machine learning are to be used as a supplement to SAP PAL. Uncertain added value?

SAP customers want and need cloud, AI, and IT platforms. SAP has good offerings with Joule, Cloud ERP, BTP, and BDC. However, the licenses and IT conditions do not align with users' ERP reality. SAP does not understand its customers, and vice versa.