For much of the past decade, AI has lived in labs, pilots and PowerPoint decks. The next phase is different. AI is moving into the operational core of organisations, reshaping how decisions are made, work is executed and value is created.

AI is becoming the most significant technology shift enterprise leaders will face in this generation. Not because the algorithms are new, but because the operating model required to make AI work at scale is fundamentally different.

One of the clearest changes heading into 2026 is the move from AI that assists humans, to AI that acts on their behalf.

Early enterprise AI tools functioned as copilots: surfacing information, generating insights or suggesting next steps. Increasingly, organisations are deploying autonomous AI agents that recommend actions – and take them – executing multi-step business processes within defined roles and controls.

This transition matters because it forces leaders to confront new questions of trust, accountability and governance. Autonomous AI can deliver significant productivity gains, but only if organisations are prepared to define where machines can act independently, where human approval is required, and how exceptions are handled.

In practice, this means treating AI agents less like software features and more like a digital workforce: assigned roles, clear permissions, monitored performance and escalation paths when things go wrong. Without this discipline, autonomy becomes risk rather than advantage.

Intelligence must be built in, not bolted on

Another defining trend is the move toward AI-native systems. Many organisations still treat AI as an add-on: a layer of intelligence bolted onto processes designed decades ago. That approach is reaching its limits.

AI-native architecture embeds intelligence directly into core workflows, allowing systems to understand intent rather than simply execute transactions. Instead of navigating complex menus and dashboards, users express what they want to achieve, and systems orchestrate the necessary steps across functions.

For leadership teams, this is not a user-interface upgrade, but a shift in how work gets done. Ideally, decision-making accelerates, organisational friction reduces, and the boundary between analysis and execution begins to disappear.

However, this only works when underlying systems are clean, standardised and integrated. Which leads to a harder truth many organisations are discovering.

Data quality is the real AI constraint

The biggest barrier to AI success is not model sophistication, but data reality. AI systems amplify whatever foundations they are given. Clean, consistent data produces reliable outcomes, while fragmented, poorly governed data produces confident nonsense.

This is why data has become the strategic nervous system of the modern enterprise. AI depends on shared definitions of customers, products, suppliers and processes. It requires transactional integrity, accessible historical context and the ability to combine internal and external information in real time.

Organisations that have postponed data discipline are finding that AI exposes weaknesses instantly, often in ways that affect customers, regulators or financial performance. In the year ahead, leaders will increasingly be judged on whether they treated data as a strategic asset early enough, rather than as an IT hygiene issue.

Closely linked to data readiness is a simple but central principle: keeping core enterprise systems clean.

Years of excessive customisation have left many organisations with fragile ERP environments that are difficult to upgrade and harder to integrate with modern AI capabilities.

The shift toward standardised cores with extensions built outside the core system creates an environment where innovation doesn’t break operations.

For boards and executive teams, this requires a mindset shift. Standardisation is not a loss of competitive differentiation, but the price of adaptability. The differentiation moves to how organisations use data, design experiences and make decisions, not how many lines of custom code they maintain.

Technology alone will not deliver results

Perhaps the most underestimated factor in AI success is change management, which consistently accounts for a larger share of AI outcomes than technology itself.

AI changes roles, not just tools. Finance teams move from processing transactions to managing exceptions. HR shifts from administrative workflows to skills intelligence.

Operations leaders rely more on forecasts and simulations than static reports. These changes demand new skills, new incentives, and new ways of measuring performance.

This year, leaders must invest in adoption with the same commitment and focus as they invest in new capabilities. AI literacy should be a core leadership competency not just a specialist function.

As AI initiatives multiply, so does the risk of fragmentation. Different business units experimenting independently can create inconsistent standards, duplicated effort and unmanaged risk.

This is why many organisations are establishing AI centres of excellence that coordinate AI innovation. Effective governance frameworks address five questions: how AI systems are approved and retired, how decisions are logged and audited, how policies are enforced, where human oversight is required, and how performance is measured.

In 2026, AI governance will be viewed much like financial governance: a prerequisite for trust, not a brake on progress.

From pilots to production or paralysis

A final challenge looms large: scaling. Many organisations are stuck in what has become known as “pilot purgatory”, where successful experiments never reach enterprise impact.

The reasons are consistent: poor integration with core systems, unclear ownership, lack of user trust, weak data foundations and vague ROI metrics. Moving from pilot to production requires deliberate planning, phased rollout and visible executive sponsorship.

Leaders who expect AI to scale itself will be disappointed, while those who design for scale from day one will pull ahead quickly.

As we accelerate into 2026, AI is an operational reality. The real strategic question for leaders is whether their organisations are structurally ready for AI, with clean systems, trusted data, skilled people and disciplined governance. With these foundations, AI becomes a durable source of advantage.

In a volatile global environment, leadership is increasingly defined by the ability to move forward without perfect certainty. Business AI, deployed responsibly and at scale, is becoming one of the most powerful tools leaders have to do precisely that.

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From managing customer support workflows to orchestrating complex supply chains, agentic AI is redefining how businesses operate, respond, and grow. These intelligent digital co-workers act with autonomy, context, and speed, with growing capabilities for reasoning, making decisions, and working alongside humans to execute multi-step processes across departments.

��, agent-driven applications are rapidly becoming the standard for enterprise management. Global estimates suggest AI agents could contribute trillions to the world economy by 2030 through productivity gains, faster decisions, and cost reductions.

Transformative impact

Despite pervasive AI skills shortages, South African companies are moving quickly from experimentation to execution. Financial institutions are embedding AI agents into ERP systems to reroute inventory and manage disputes. Healthcare providers use AI meeting agents to generate follow-ups and automate patient admin. Legal firms use AI to prepare case files and speed up settlements.

This shift is being driven by a combination of pressure and potential. Faced with economic headwinds, skills shortages, and rising customer expectations, South African companies are looking to AI agents to unlock productivity, streamline operations, and free up human talent for higher-value work.

But deploying AI agents effectively requires more than buying the latest tool. The success of AI agents depends on deep integration of data, processes, and applications through a suite-first approach.

Leading with a suite

According to an IDC Spotlight Report, companies that adopt AI-powered suites like SAP’s see measurable gains:

• 37%��report improved process productivity
• 39%��achieve greater cost efficiency
• 36%��boost workforce productivity
• 35%��accelerate speed to market

By leveraging an AI-powered suite integrated to a core business technology platform, companies can empower their AI agents to act with full business context. Unlike siloed tools, a suite-first approach supports real-time collaboration between agents, humans, and systems, making AI agents not just smarter, but more impactful on the overall performance of the business.

SAP’s Joule, an AI agent framework embedded into the 51����Business Suite, offers companies a system of intelligent agents that collaborate across business functions, from finance and procurement to HR and supply chain, to execute complex workflows and drive better decisions at scale.

These agents leverage knowledge centres and data cloud to ground actions in real-time, contextual business data. Working alongside teams, the agents augment human decision-making, accelerate task completion and minimise manual errors. In finance functions, agents can optimise working capital by accelerating accounts receivable matching, while in procurement they can surface the most relevant suppliers based on business rules and past performance.

AI agent readiness check

Before companies deploy AI agents like Joule, they need the right digital foundation. 51����recommends a four-part readiness framework:

1 Data quality and accessibility –��Agents are only as good as the data they use. Clean, structured, and real-time data from across the enterprise is critical for effective agent decision-making. Silos, outdated data, or missing context will slow adoption and risk poor outcomes.

2 Process maturity –��AI agents thrive on well-defined workflows. Before automation, companies must ensure their business processes are standardised, documented, and ready for orchestration. Automating chaos just creates faster chaos.

3 Organisational clarity –��Who will use these agents? For what tasks? How will they hand off to human employees? Clear role definitions and communication are essential for adoption and trust.

4 Governance and guardrails –��Just like human employees, AI agents need rules. Define permissions, escalation paths, ethical boundaries, and auditing practices. Agents should act autonomously but within the boundaries of the businesses in which they operate.

AI agents are more than just another layer of automation. They represent a new model of work, one that is collaborative, contextual, and continuous. The true value of AI agents is unlocked only when companies are ready. And the companies that unlock the greatest value the quickest are those deploying their AI agents through an AI-powered suite integrated to a core business technology platform.

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Foundational capabilities such as cloud, business AI, and ERP running on clean-core data strategies will be measured not only by their adoption and use within the business, but how quickly and effectively they can be unleashed across the SME’s operations.

This vital sector accounts for nearly 95% of registered businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and generate roughly half of the region’s GDP, yet many remain under-digitised. A World Bank report found that����that have adopted digital technologies make intensive use of them to improve the running of their businesses.

The B20 South Africa 2025 Digital Transformation Task Force listed SME digitalisation and AI literacy as��. A separate report projected that��, creating 300��000 jobs and expanding access to essential services to millions.

However, this digitalisation is also introducing greater cyber risk.����revealed a continent-wide escalation of cybercrime,��with about one in 15 organisations in Africa facing a ransomware attempt each week – significantly higher than the global average.

SMEs seeking to scale their digital capabilities for greater efficiency, innovation and growth this year must take heed of the trends and forces shaping Africa’s digital economy, including:

Trend 1: Cloud as the default operating model

Cloud computing has crossed a tipping point among African businesses, with adoption growing across the continent. For SMEs, the attraction is straightforward. Cloud replaces large upfront capital costs with predictable subscriptions, supports hybrid and mobile work, and allows businesses to scale systems as they grow. Just as importantly, it reduces the operational burden of maintaining infrastructure, patching systems and managing uptime.

Simplified cloud adoption through offerings such as GROW with 51����for new ERP customers and RISE with 51����for those moving from on-premise systems to the cloud ease the path to adoption. The emphasis is not on infrastructure alone, but on packaged best practices, faster implementations and built-in compliance and security.

With hybrid and remote work now an established reality for SMEs, demand for cloud-based human capital management systems is surging. These systems��integrate payroll, performance, learning and workforce analytics, equipping even smaller firms with digital payslips, employee self-service, compliant payroll processing and basic people analytics.

Trend 2: Business AI moves from hype to habit

The most important AI trend for African SMEs is not experimentation with standalone tools, but the quiet embedding of AI into everyday business workflows. Finance, HR, supply chain and customer operations are increasingly augmented by AI that automates routine tasks, highlights risks, and supports better decisions.

The expected gains are practical rather than futuristic: faster invoice processing, improved cash-flow forecasting, better demand planning and more efficient HR administration. For example, SAP’s Joule AI copilot is being embedded across core business applications, enabling natural-language interaction with trusted enterprise data. Instead of building AI capabilities from scratch, SMEs consume intelligence directly through their ERP, HR and planning systems.

This matters in African contexts, where skills and budgets are constrained and trust in data is critical.����found that nine in ten African organisations were suffering from negative impacts due to a lack of AI-related skills, including delays in implementations, failed innovation initiatives and loss of clients.

Trend 3: ERP is the digital nerve centre

This year,��cloud ERP will be less about “modernisation” and more about survival. SMEs that remain on fragmented, on-premise systems will find it harder to compete on cost, speed and trust.

Once seen as too complex or expensive for smaller firms, modern ERP is increasingly modular, cloud-native, mobile-friendly and AI-enabled. It integrates finance, operations, people and partners into a single source of truth. For SMEs, ERP is no longer just a back-office system but a digital nerve centre that enables AI, supports compliance, strengthens security and connects businesses to wider ecosystems.

In 2026, African SMEs��that build capability stacks around cloud ERP, embedded AI, secure platforms and digital skills will be able to compete with far larger organisations. Those that delay risk being locked out of supply chains, talent pools and digital markets.

Trend 4: Cybersecurity becomes existential

Ransomware, business email compromise and data breaches are no longer rare events, and the financial impact can be devastating.����found that the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.4m in 2025. For many SMEs, such a breach represents an existential threat.

The volatile cyber threat landscape is shaping technology decisions. Cloud platforms can help reduce overall risk by consolidating��security, patching and monitoring into professionally managed environments. For example, SAP’s cloud ERP strategy emphasises secure-by-design architectures and shared responsibility models that reduce the burden on small IT teams.

This year,��cybersecurity will be firmly established as a board-level issue for African SMEs, on par with cash flow and regulatory compliance.

Enterprise technology is heading toward cloud, business AI and end-to-end solutions that improve planning, efficiency, execution and innovation capabilities. For African SMEs, the opportunity lies in adopting these capabilities pragmatically and early, turning global platforms into local competitive advantage.

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Many companies sit with years of technical debt, complex hybrid environments, disconnected��systems��and inconsistent metadata that make it difficult to build a reliable view of the��business. Businesses still grapple with ageing applications that cannot integrate with cloud platforms, while siloed departmental��systems��prevent teams from accessing the full picture needed for AI-driven decision-making.

The result is predictable: stalled AI��projects, unreliable outputs, and limited return on investment.

The need for a unified data foundation

The typical South African enterprise runs a mix of cloud��services, on-premises applications and bespoke��systems��that were built years ago to solve specific operational needs. While these��systems��may still work, they often lack the interoperability required to support modern AI initiatives. Data is stored in inconsistent formats, lack proper metadata, and often depend on manual extraction processes that strip away the��business��logic that AI models need to understand the context of the data and what it really represents.

This fragmentation affects everything from��financial��reporting to customer experience. Without a single, trusted view of data, predictive models become unreliable, automated processes fail, and teams lose confidence in machine-generated insights. For AI to scale, data must be complete, consistent, governed and accessible across the organisation.

An IDC report commissioned by Seagate previously found that��up to 68% of available enterprise data goes unused.

Modern data platforms address this by connecting all enterprise��systems, preserving��business��context, enabling real-time data access and allowing organisations to integrate with other providers. The outcome is a unified data fabric that supports analytics, applications and AI at scale.

Preparing��business��data for AI

Building��an AI-ready data foundation doesn’t happen by accident. It requires a deliberate, structured approach, following these five steps:

1 Assess the current data landscape

The first step is understanding what exists today. This means cataloguing data sources, identifying owners, documenting quality issues, and assessing integration gaps. It also involves mapping AI use cases to data requirements so that data preparation can be prioritised and aligned to real��business��needs.

For South African organisations with complex legacy environments, this assessment is essential to uncover hidden dependencies and address high-risk limitations early in the process.

2 Establish clear data governance and quality standards

Reliable data requires strong governance. Organisations should define roles, responsibilities and policies governing data access,��security, metadata and quality. This includes setting measurable standards for completeness, accuracy and consistency, supported by automated profiling tools. Metadata management is particularly critical: without clear definitions and lineage, teams cannot trust or effectively use the data.

Governance should also reflect South��Africa’s regulatory��environment, including POPIA requirements around privacy and��security.

3 Integrate and unify disconnected data sources

The next step is breaking down silos. Modern integration tools such as those built into SAP��Business��Data Cloud allow organisations to connect 51����and non-SAP��systems, unify data across cloud and on-premises environments, and maintain the��business��meaning of data as it moves.

This unified layer eliminates duplication, reduces manual extraction processes, and ensures teams work from a consistent, shared version of the truth. Real-time integration capabilities are especially important for AI models that need up-to-date information to make accurate predictions.

4 Clean, enrich and transform data

Raw data is rarely ready for AI. It must be cleaned, enriched and transformed, including correcting errors, removing duplicates, filling missing values and standardising formats. Organisations should also create new features that allow AI models to identify patterns more effectively and incorporate additional context from internal or external sources.

South African businesses with extensive unstructured data, such as PDF reports, invoices or call centre notes, should prioritise converting this content into structured formats for easy ingestion into AI models.

5 Validate, monitor and maintain data��pipelines

Even the cleanest dataset will deteriorate if not continuously monitored. Organisations should validate data before it feeds AI models, track data quality in real time, and monitor for drift or anomalies that can degrade model performance.

Automated governance tools help maintain data integrity, while clear documentation ensures teams understand how data is sourced, processed and used. Regular monitoring is essential in environments where��systems, processes and regulations frequently change.

Getting the data foundation right is a technical requirement and a strategic imperative. The organisations that prioritise data quality, integration and governance today will be the ones that scale AI confidently tomorrow, reducing risk, improving performance and unlocking new opportunities for��innovation��in an increasingly competitive market.

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BERLIN��— At 51����TechEd in 2025,�� (NYSE: SAP) brings AI deep into the development process to level up how developers build.

New AI-driven capabilities in the 51����Build solution, an expanding data ecosystem and powerful Joule Agents empower developers to move from idea to impact with unprecedented speed and confidence. As AI transforms the nature of professional work, 51����also pledges to equip 12 million people worldwide with AI-ready skills by 2030.

“SAP’s announcements today give developers the tools they need to deliver at the speed of AI,” said Muhammad Alam, member of the Executive Board of 51����SE. “Innovations across SAP’s unique flywheel of applications, data and AI put developers in the driver’s seat — where they belong.”

Opening the Developer Ecosystem

51����Build, the company’s flagship solution for enterprise application development and automation, now gives developers more freedom to build, extend and automate using the tools they love most.

For instance, developers who prefer agentic development solutions like Cursor, Claude Code, Cline and Windsurf can now use 51����development frameworks with new 51����Build local Model Context Protocol Servers. Visual Studio Code users will be able to access 51����Build capabilities directly in their development environment with a new 51����Build extension. This extension will also be made available later on Open VSX Registry for other development environments. 51����and n8n also announced plans for an integration so Joule Studio agents and n8n agents can work together.

And with new agent building capabilities in Joule Studio, developers have the tools they need to extend SAP’s ready-to-use agents and build new agents grounded in 51����business data and context that can act autonomously based on changing business conditions.

Putting Data to Work

Every intelligent application starts with trusted data. 51����is giving developers more ways to put that data to work through 51����Business Data Cloud.

The solution now connects with more of the data and AI platforms developers use every day. A new 51����Snowflake solution extension for 51����Business Data Cloud brings Snowflake’s fully managed data and AI capabilities directly to 51����customers, giving them the flexibility to choose the right compute and storage for each data and AI workload, while maintaining governance, interoperability and business context. 51����also announced a new 51����Business Data Cloud Connect partnership with Snowflake. This complements existing integrations with Databricks and Google Cloud, giving developers more freedom to choose how they work with 51����data.

With a new data product studio capability in 51����Business Data Cloud, developers can turn raw data into ready-to-use assets known as data products that support analytics, AI and application development.

An expanded capability in the 51����HANA Cloud knowledge graph engine can automatically generate knowledge graphs. This capability maps relationships across 51����database tables, columns and data models, revealing how data fits together and why it matters. Developers will be able to see how their data connects across systems and uncover underlying business insights.

Bringing AI Autonomy to Life

51����is evolving its AI portfolio to give developers the intelligence and orchestration power they need to take��AI from insight to action.

51����introduced its first enterprise relational foundation model, a new class of AI that predicts business outcomes rather than the next word in a sentence. SAP-RPT-1, or the first-generation Relational Pre-trained Transformer, can make fast and accurate predictions for common business scenarios like delivery delays, payment risk or sales order completion. 51����launched a free playground environment for developers today.

New AI assistants in Joule coordinate multiple agents across workflows, departments and applications, bringing automation and autonomy to life. These assistants plan, initiate and complete complex tasks spanning finance, supply chain, HR and beyond. Today, 51����introduces new agents built for technical users. For example, an agent for business process analysis will help teams understand how processes run, identify inefficiencies and uncover opportunities to optimize workflows and drive measurable improvements.

Lastly, as AI changes the nature of work for everyone, 51����is pledging to equip 12 million people worldwide with AI-ready skills by 2030. 51����will expand hands-on training and certification programs that integrate practical AI-ready tools, including through its partnership with online learning platform Coursera.

Visit the��. Get 51����news via����and��.

About SAP

As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 51����(NYSE:SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted 51����to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit .

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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East African business leaders, technology partners and 51����experts met in Nairobi this week to discuss the growing impact of business AI and cloud technologies in the region.

, Managing Director: Emerging Africa at SAP, said: “Organisations throughout East Africa are accelerating their business transformation and innovation efforts by leveraging the latest data and cloud capabilities to unlock the power of business AI in every line of business. With the recent expansion of AI assistant, organisations can now unleash unprecedented efficiency across their systems and processes to drive productivity gains of as much as 30%.”

The comments were made at 51����Innovation Day Kenya, part of a global series of events aimed at showcasing how technology can power growth, innovation and sustainability and support organisations as they meet emerging challenges.

The exclusive event also served as an introduction to how and help organisations unlock significant business value as part of the broader . Experts also provided behind-the-scenes insights into the power of business AI and cloud to future-proof companies’ enterprise application strategies and leverage data to enhance business insights and improve decision-making.

Research recently conducted by 51����found a near-universal demand for AI skills among African organisations. The SAP����report noted that nine in ten companies in Africa already experience negative impacts due to a lack of AI skills, including failed innovation initiatives, an inability to take on new work, and loss of clients. Forty-three percent of Kenyan organisations that took part in the study expected a ‘significant’ increase in demand for AI skills this year.

“The rapid changes in workplace dynamics are transforming how companies develop, upskill and reskill their workforce to meet the long-term need for AI-related skills,” said Khota. “In the short term, organisations should seek ways to augment their skills base, for example by partnering with our rich ecosystem of implementation specialists that power business transformation in the region.”

51����Innovation Day Kenya also included presentations by regional business leaders who have successfully leveraged 51����technologies to accelerate growth and unlock new capabilities.

Long-standing 51����customer provided insight into its latest transformation initiative that is taking its legacy enterprise systems into the cloud and deploying AI across its business processes. Bidco Africa is a leading FMCG manufacturer that produces more than 800 SKU’s in multiple brands and products at eight factories in East Africa. The company has been using 51����ECC since 2010, until a recent decision sparked a migration to .

, Chairman of Bidco Africa, said the shift to cloud underscores his company’s position as a regional innovation leader. “We see incredible potential for AI to transform our business and deliver greater agility, innovation and customer experiences. Our skilled team will also benefit from AI’s power to enhance product development, allowing us to consolidate our market leadership well into the future.”

The company plans further deployments in a second phase of the implementation, including procurement and manufacturing.

Khota added: “Companies that adopt a clean core strategy accelerate the pace of innovation and can more easily leverage business value through reliable data and AI innovations. As we enter a new era of AI-enabled innovation, organisations must ensure that business-critical systems remain agile, cost-effective, and ready to adopt innovation.”

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Sapphire is SAP’s top customer annual customer event, bringing together customers, partners and business leaders to discover the latest 51����innovations. This year’s event unveiled several innovations that put the power of Business AI in every user’s hands, revolutionising the way work gets done.

Nazia Pillay, Interim Managing Director for South Africa at SAP, says: “Organisations are leveraging powerful new technologies and integrated business applications to drive innovation-fuelled growth across the enterprise. The growing power of Business AI applications that draw on trusted business data is already proving to be a transformative force for companies seeking enhanced decision-making and greater efficiency.”

Unleashing power of Business AI

��Several brands unveiled successful Business AI initiatives built on 51����technologies. Global brewer Heineken was looking to streamline data access so business users could quickly find and analyse data in their preferred language. The company developed Hoppy, an AI-driven chatbot that runs on 51����Business Technology Platform (51����BTP), representing a significant leap forward in Heineken’s commitment to streamline internal processes and empower its workforce.

Since Hoppy was introduced within the company’s collaboration platforms, Heineken has seen the time knowledge workers need to retrieve information fall to 1 minute from 15 minutes. With 51����Business AI capabilities at Hoppy’s core, Heineken also is exploring automating repetitive tasks to enhance business processes and streamline communications and decision-making. And with a unified view across its data, Hoppy can now flag missing cost centre information in purchase orders to improve efficiency and accuracy.

Competitive gaming organisation Team Liquid is using SAP’s Joule agents to provide instant access to game statistics, player performance trends and strategic comparisons using natural language. Team Liquid runs its data analysis through its Next Level Esports Centre dashboard, built entirely on 51����BTP.

The team’s analysts rely on the dashboard to equip coaches and players with insights about upcoming opponents, managing high-pressure situations under short turnaround times and frequent data requests between games.

Victor Goossens, co-CEO and founder of Team Liquid, says: “This partnership is changing the way we utilise our extensive database, proving that AI and data integration are becoming a vital part of our game preparation and success in esports.”

Scaling new heights with cloud

Moving from a heavily customised on-premises landscape to a standardised one in the cloud, CAF, a global leader in urban rail and bus systems, has successfully migrated to 51����S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. CAF has smoothly integrated 51����solutions into core business functions including master data management, record to report, source to pay, and sales and transport.

“CAF is now set for future success, as our new technology landscape allows us to better comply with business requirements in a complex and fast-changing market,” said Guillermo Apellániz, CAF’s digital transformation director.

Companies RISE to business transformation challenges

For companies still operating with on-premise solutions, RISE with 51����offers the optimal path to a cloud ERP landscape. RISE with 51����helps companies confidently transform their business, enable continuous innovation, and realise value faster.

Global medical technology company Siemens Healthineers selected RISE with 51����to support its digital transformation journey.

Stefan Henkel, Chief Information Officer at Siemens Healthineers, says: “By embracing 51����technology, we will be able to reduce complexity and highly standardise our processes while delivering on our promise to pioneer breakthroughs in healthcare.”

Xerox also chose RISE with 51����to move to the cloud and embark on the clean core approach to streamline operations across markets and business processes. The company expects to reduce IT costs and enable the delivery of new business models in line with the changing demands of the industry.

Louie Pastor, Executive Vice President, Chief Transformation and Administrative Officer at Xerox, says: “51����is a strategic partner helping us meet the evolving needs of our clients and partners as we increase our speed, agility and cost-effectiveness while providing the entire enterprise with modern tools and improved support. “

For more information about the innovations revealed at 51����Sapphire 2025, please visit

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Speaking at the event, Eskom chairman said: “South Africa is slowly but surely experiencing an economic uptick, with improvements in both political and infrastructural stability. This has the potential to increase foreign direct investment and boost local economic confidence, providing the private sector, and technology leaders in particular, the opportunity to focus on transformation and development within their organisations. Now is the time to look at where your businesses need to be three to five years down the line.”

51����Now is a global series of events that brings together some of the most innovative minds and technologies shaping the future of business. The African edition, held at The Forum in Johannesburg, saw 300 business leaders and experts from Africa and Europe converge to share insights and best practices for leveraging technology to drive growth and innovation on the continent.

Addressing the macroeconomic outlook for Africa, Chief Economist at Development Bank of Southern Africa said: “Infrastructure deficit developments provide an opportunity for economic development in Africa.�� Additionally, Public Private Partnerships are critical for economic growth on the continent.�� Private entities such as 51����with its network partners have huge responsibilities to facilitate connectivity solutions that will drive the Africa of the future.”

Impact of business AI growing

, Chief Business Officer for MEA South 51����and Managing Director for Emerging Africa at SAP, said: “Business leaders face growing complexity and increasing pressure to stay ahead of stakeholder expectations, driving demand for deeper insights into various aspects of the organisation’s performance. The power of technologies such as AI integrated to core business processes and built on trusted data is enabling greater efficiency and improved innovation capacity. Technology is transforming the way business leaders make decisions, enabling them to lead with greater foresight, precision and resilience.”

found that 96% of companies have an executive mandate to explore or implement AI technology. Of the respondents, 40% are implementing AI for specific use cases, 38% are exploring potential use cases, and 17% have a mandate to implement AI strategically across the organisation.

AI was also revealed to be the primary differentiator among customers who are evaluating systems integrators.

51����recently announced a slew of new innovations, including an expanded set of use cases for its Joule AI copilot.

“ for Edition enables 95% faster informational searches and 90% faster execution of navigation and transaction tasks, speeding up internal decision-making,” says Dressler. “51����Business AI for field service agents also increases dispatcher productivity by 12.5% and reduces errors by 5%, driving improved customer satisfaction, while generative AI in 51����Product Innovation Management reduces the total cost of campaign creation by 50% and improves the quality of idea and campaign descriptions. As African organisations continue to build out their AI strategies, we expect to see immense productivity and innovation gains realised by the effective integration of data and AI into core business processes.”

Thriving partner ecosystem unlocking AI benefits

51����NOW was held in collaboration with the and 51����ecosystem partners, with – one of SAP’s longest-standing partners – playing a key role at the event.

, Managing Director for Southern Africa at SAP, said: “The growing adoption of AI among African enterprises and SMEs is enabling faster work, smarter insights, and better business outcomes across industries. African organisations are now laying the groundwork for a new era of human-AI collaboration that will bring unprecedented productivity and unlock new revenue streams. We look forward to working with our incredible partner ecosystem to support African organisations in their efforts at unlocking the benefits of technology for sustained innovation and growth.”

, Chief Technology & Solutions Officer for Africa at Microsoft, noted the power of co-operation and partnership in supporting the AI and digital transformation ambitions of African enterprises. “Our organisations have enjoyed 30 years of successful, value-driven�� collaboration. Our joint capabilities empower organisations to run intelligent and frictionless enterprises powered by scalable cloud solutions and the growing impact of AI. Together, we hope to continue delivering an accelerated path to growth and innovation for all our customers on the African continent.”

ENDS

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About SAP
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 51����(NYSE:SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit .

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The post African Business Leaders Upbeat About Technology’s Growing Impact on Continent appeared first on 51����Africa News Center.

DUBAI, UAE — November 4, 2024 —��A new survey of UAE companies across all industries commissioned by global technology giant����has found a surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) expertise, which the global technology company is helping to address through its training programs aimed at university students and Emirati graduates.

With the rapid proliferation of AI applications across business areas, UAE companies are looking to move quickly to leverage the technology’s benefits. However, the 51����YouGov survey found 43% of IT decision makers identified a lack of skilled employees as a key challenge to implementing AI. In addition, a staggering 84% of UAE companies said they are planning to hire specialized AI staff within the next 15 months.

In addition to hiring new talent, UAE companies are boosting training for existing staff. While 57% of companies surveyed had already implemented some form of AI training, a further 35% plan to do so in the next 15 months.

“Large-scale digital transformation, the rapid evolution of AI, and the need for a highly skilled UAE workforce to sustain a diversified, digital economy are all contributing to a surge in demand for employees with advanced technology skills, particularly AI expertise, and 51����is addressing this challenge head on,” says 51����UAE Managing Director Marwan Zeineddine.

“In addition to our own Emiratization and skills-development programs, 51����invests significantly in external technology training in the UAE to develop a highly-skilled, sustainable�� workforce,” Zeineddine adds. “Many initiatives are aimed at young people, for example, we collaborate with UAE universities to deliver the 51����Dual Study Program, which enables students to gain technology experience that complements their academic studies, so they enter industries equipped with essential hands-on knowledge. We also help to shape future leaders in the public and private sectors by identifying top Emirati talents to receive high-value technology training through our Young Professionals Program.”

High-value training

51����has provided high-value training to multiple cohorts of top Emirati candidates as part of the Young Professionals Program for over a decade. The program also encourages more women to join technology fields, with more than 80% of recent graduates being Emirati women.

Working with employers in the private and government sectors, 51����designs YPP courses that are increasingly focused on Business AI as the technology company continues to embed AI capabilities across its portfolio of products. The comprehensive courses include 51����Analytics Cloud and 51����S/4HANA Cloud, SAP’s enterprise resource planning solution, and aim to provide a solid foundation of excellence backed by certification to launch the attendees’ careers. Participants graduate from the program as 51����Associate Consultants, enabling immediate employment by 51����customers and partners, with the course achieving a 95% placement rate globally for graduates.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) is one of the UAE private institutions participating in YPP programs. Jawaher Alhosani, Product Owner of ADCB Technology Services and Tech Academy, comments, “The Young Professionals Program empowers ADCB employees with advanced digital skills necessary to drive innovation in an evolving AI-driven landscape. By investing in their development, we elevate our standards and ensure that our workforce remains prepared to support sustainable growth and high-performance outcomes. We recently onboarded new UAE nationals to join the program, further strengthening our commitment to building a future-ready, highly skilled workforce. I anticipate that the Young Professionals Program will significantly enhance our employees’ professional development, confidence, and contribution to the team. The networking opportunities offered will foster greater collaboration and innovation, ultimately benefiting our organization.”

Bridging university-industry gaps

51����supports UAE universities and students through two main initiatives. First, the 51����University Alliances program enables universities to collaborate on research projects, gain access to 51����software, teaching materials and related support. The aim is to educate the next generation in advanced technology solutions and the experience economy, while providing students with the opportunity to engage at 51����events, build industry partnerships, and prepare for the 51����ecosystem.

In 2025, 51����University Alliances is launching a learning tour, which will see students from top UAE universities, including Zayed University, spend an immersive week at 51����Headquarters in Walldorf. The program will include interactive workshops covering 51����key focus areas and technologies, from AI to sustainability, and visits to 51����partners and local universities in Germany.

The second initiative, SAP’s Dual Study Program (DSP) has enabled more than 800 students at participating UAE universities to gain hands-on technology experience to complement their academic studies, ensuring they hit the ground running once employed. The Dual Study Program is run by SAP’s Digital Skills Center and includes AI, business processes integration and certifications in analytics, material management, financial, and control functions. Students also learn soft skills such as presentation and communication skills, project management, negotiation and conflict management, and design thinking.

Dr. Zied Bahroun, Professor in Industrial Engineering at American University of Sharjah, which is part of SAP’s University Alliances and implements the DSP, says, “This partnership aligns with our student-centric approach by giving our students a competitive edge in the workforce with firsthand practical experience of SAP’s industry-leading technology solutions to support their solid academic knowledge. The partnership also enhances the university’s offerings as students benefit from SAP-delivered training in the latest technological applications, while our faculty members are free to focus on sharing their vast theoretical and industry knowledge. The result is a pool of well-rounded graduates who can immediately support the growth of the UAE’s thriving digital economy.”

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“Organisations are leveraging powerful business AI capabilities to achieve greater efficiency, improve decision-making, support innovation and unlock new market opportunities. By building AI into their core business processes, from finance to supply chain, HR and procurement, African enterprises can increase their performance across a range of activities and unleash a new wave of innovation potential.”

Analysts estimate��that GenAI could add between $2.6-trillion and $4.4-trillion in productivity gains annually. A separate study predicts AI will contribute up to $15.7-trillion to the global economy��by the end of the decade.

, Deputy Group CEO, , says the time for AI-powered innovation is now as Africa is reshaped by rapid technological advances. “Eleven of the twenty fastest-growing economies in 2024 are in Africa, spurred on by innovation across a range of industries and use cases. The continent also boasts a vibrant startup ecosystem with a growing list of innovative companies addressing issues ranging from clean energy, e-commerce, health and financial services. The entry of business AI solutions will likely accelerate these innovation efforts and speed up time to market for a growing list of new solutions.”

Strong business case for AI in Africa

Karageorgiades believes there is a strong business case for AI within African enterprises, most notably as a tool for accelerated decision-making. “Enterprises that leverage business AI to enhance decision-making gain greater competitiveness, increased operational efficiency, and more powerful innovation capabilities. Provided there is a strong alignment with broader business objectives, organisations can confidently make use of AI as a key business driver.”

Gumede also notes the opportunity for African enterprises to leverage broader digital transformation as a growth driver.

“Improved internet penetration thanks largely to the proliferation of mobile technologies is connecting African companies to more customers than ever before. By developing mobile apps, e-commerce platforms and digital services tailored to the unique needs of local businesses and consumers, enterprises can unlock new market opportunities while enhancing their customer engagement efforts.”

In addition, Gumede believes business AI solutions will enable new productivity gains, empowering employees with capabilities that can make their job functions more efficient and effective.

“Considering our continent’s unique landscape, organisations must localise emerging technologies such as AI to ensure they meet the needs of local companies and customers. Care should also be taken to ensure organisations have the necessary technology infrastructure in place to truly unlock the full value from their AI investments.”

Unleashing business AI potential

Despite interest in AI reaching unprecedented levels over the past two years, some questions still remain over its enterprise readiness. Karageorgiades explains that poorly trained AI solutions could become a liability to the business, instead of an asset.

“The tendency of AI solutions to hallucinate – where the algorithm produces false information in response to user prompts – poses a direct risk to enterprises that business leaders cannot ignore. An AI solution is only a good as the data it is trained on, making a strong case for companies to invest in comprehensive data setup, data strategy, and governance capabilities.”

Gumede adds that organisations that focus on quality data will achieve more effective decision-making capabilities. “The hype around AI is settled; now it’s about the practical implementation. African enterprises are currently exploring the role that AI could play in supporting their sustainability efforts, bringing greater stability to their supply chains, and improving the business’ ability to sense, recognise and respond to disruptions or opportunities in novel ways.”

Enterprise-grade business AI solutions such as SAP’s , which draws on the trusted data of enterprise resource planning platform, are more suited to powering the innovation and efficiency gains that African enterprises seek. According to Karageorgiades, businesses also benefit from higher levels of collaboration when users trust the output of their AI-powered applications.

“Business AI solutions that draw on trusted, accurate and real-time information about the business deliver actionable insights that support business users in fulfilling essential work tasks faster and with fewer errors. While we are still in the early days of understanding the true potential of AI in modern enterprises, any business that seeks to benefit from this emerging technology must take care to train their AI solutions only on trusted business data.”

The post Unlocking the Potential of Business AI to Power Growth and Innovation appeared first on 51����Africa News Center.