SAP-Solution: Clean Core

The major misconception within the SAP service partner ecosystem right now is this: as long as there is high demand for S/4 migrations, business can simply continue as usual. That’s convenient, but risky for several reasons.

The SAP Clean Core doctrine has sparked a veritable gold rush for consultants and deep despair among IT managers in the SAP community. Faced with this organizational and architectural dilemma, SAP has released a tool whose name borders on real-life satire: Project Kernseife.

Increasing demands for data quality and AI are bringing about lasting changes to SAP architectures. Torsten Ammon, who has served as Chief Product and Technology Officer at SAP partner Implico since July, understands the role that Clean Core, agent-based solutions, and process expertise play in this context.

A roundtable discussion hosted by E3 Magazine—streamed on YouTube—featuring licensing experts Myrja Schumacher of DLC, Andreas Knab of Soterion, and Lorenz Müller of HiSolutions reveals many pitfalls and areas in need of improvement in the SAP ERP universe.

The integrated toolchain is a component of the Rise methodology designed to support migration to the cloud. What it can do, how artificial intelligence can reduce effort, and how agents can be coordinated securely.

SUSE is much more than just an SAP operating system provider: The company serves as a strategic anchor for Europe’s digital sovereignty. Faced with the pressure of SAP’s end-of-maintenance, forced migration to the cloud, and monopolization in the AI market, SUSE offers a reliable, technically mature solution.

The post-VMware era in the SAP landscape relies on KVM and can be combined with a robust private AI strategy platform. The Broadcom shock has had a profound impact. Virtualization is becoming a top-management issue.

Those who decouple their data architecture can implement AI innovations more flexibly and at a fraction of the cost through external specialized providers, without falling into the next licensing trap set by Rise and BTP. The future does not belong to SAP’s closed monopoly, but to a composable ERP model.

With the announcement of the Autonomous Enterprise, SAP CEO Christian Klein has made a big promise to existing customers, as there is a lack of IT tools, ERP architectures, and B2B methods. Startups like Nova and Conduct are very cleverly filling the gaps in SAP's offerings.

SAP has tightened its API requirements in order to better secure the rapidly increasing use by non-SAP systems as well as new cloud and AI scenarios. According to DSAG, however, the rules could jeopardize customers' planning security and innovative strength.

SAP custom code has become a cost driver and obstacle to innovation for many companies. Having grown over the years, it now blocks standardization and speed. In the course of the S/4 Hana transformation, there is now an opportunity to redefine the degree of customization.

SAP's clean-core strategy and exponentially growing AI capabilities are accelerating the pace of digital transformation. Some basic thoughts on how the accelerated change can succeed.