Steampunk, the code word for Abap on the SAP Business Technology Platform, and the BTP itself are at the center of a disruptive framework available for selection by existing SAP customers. An adapted programming model and an ERP platform are intended to open up new paths for existing SAP customers and partners and consolidate legacy systems. The functions and applications on the BTP range from security and authorization management to automation and business apps.

Many successful R/3 systems are also based on extensive Abap modifications. The question of total cost of ownership (TCO) in Abap coding rarely arose. With the advent of NetWeaver and new possibilities for system customization, also in the Z namespace, considerations regarding programming costs became more relevant.

The many aspects of new S/4 licenses based on existing SAP systems are a topic for specialists and a challenge for SAP Basis. Knowledge about the appropriate SAP license transformation and conversion is relevant for all basis managers. The S/4 conversion poses major challenges for license management in every respect.

The lack of adequate IT staff will continue to preoccupy the SAP community for some time to come. Many successful SAP partners are currently addressing the issue of automation, monitoring and observability. At the SAP Competence Center Summit on June 1 and 2 in Salzburg, numerous companies will present their solutions for SAP Basis automation.

SAP SolMan has reached its end-of-life. ALM and Cloud ALM is to be the successor. A major challenge for SAP Basis, because Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) has not yet mastered all the tricks of the legendary SolMan.

When "cloud" is thought of fundamentally, hyperscaler and subscription fade into the background. Now it is no longer the location or the licensing model that is important, but only functions that are intended to benefit the user.

Manufacturing for Planning and Scheduling, more precisely Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling (SAP PP/DS) is known to many existing SAP customers from the APO environment (SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer of the R/3 era). The latest evolution is IBP, Integrated Business Planning.

New work in the cloud, in the home office, on the road needs a new people management as a success factor. HR must reinvent itself: In the past, HR was an administrative task of salary payments and vacation entitlements. Modern HR can not only do more, but must also do more in the spirit of New Work.

Every existing R/3 customer knows the CCC: a win-win situation from the on-prem era between existing customers and SAP. It was and is a success story. But what's next? In a live discussion, DSAG board members Thomas Henzler and Walter Schinnerer will present the challenges and future of the CCoE, Customer Center of Expertise.

More than 80 percent of all processes are almost identical at every company. Good standard software efficiently covers these commodity processes, but many companies overdo it with individual adjustments during implementation and use in the years afterwards.

Many companies have heterogeneous system landscapes. This often leads to silo architectures and consequently to fragmented supply chains. In addition, the life cycle of common tools in supply chain management is expected to end in 2025.

The release upgrade to S/4, the Hana database conversion and a possible path to the cloud pose many challenges for existing SAP customers, not only organizationally and technically, but also in terms of licensing law.

End-to-end processes determine the field of activity in IT departments. The SAP world must be connected with the non-SAP world. Only business processes that are free of media discontinuities deliver the necessary added value.

SAP partner Empirius has developed a very lean SAP system management tool in recent months. The offering is called EPOS, which stands for Empirius Planning and Operations Suite. This suite is primarily intended for SAP Basis.