AI is reshaping enterprise support and changing how solution providers think and operate, says Stefan Steinle, executive VP and head of globalĚýcustomerĚýsupport at SAP, who adds that support has evolved into a strategic driver of business value.

Support in this context refers to services, management and resource allocation used to troubleshoot, address issues and optimise infrastructure within an organisation.

“The focus is on value generation and customer health,” says Steinle. “Support is central to driving business outcomes with AI-integrated platforms. Support teams are becoming more embedded in business strategy. They provide visibility into system performance, user behaviour and operational trends.”

According to Steinle, AI-assisted toolchains and intelligent automation allow organisations to anticipate issues before they arise, streamline performance and improve long-term agility and resilience.

This is an entirely different approach to traditional support execution and application.

“Traditionally, support operated on a break-fix model – issues were addressed when disruption occurred. AI changes this dynamic entirely. Through machine learning, pattern recognition and real-time data analysis, AI can continuously monitor systems, detect anomalies and predict potential failures before they impact operations. This enables preventive intervention rather than reactive troubleshooting.”

AI is also improving decision-making, adds Steinle. “It surfaces insights from vast datasets, identifies optimisation opportunities and recommends actions that improve performance, reduce costs and enhance user experience. In this way, enterprise support evolves from a technical necessity into a value-generating function that actively contributes to business strategy.”

Shift from break-fix significant

AI expert and founder of AIforBusiness.net Johan Steyn says the shift from break-fix to strategic value driver is one of the most significant – and under-appreciated – transformations AI has enabled in organisations.

“For years, IT support was seen as a cost centre: reactive, ticket-driven and measured by how quickly problems were resolved. AI has fundamentally changed that equation. Predictive diagnostics, intelligent triage and automated resolution are not just making support faster – they are making it anticipatory. The best organisations are no longer waiting for things to break; they are using AI to understand system behaviour patterns and intervene before users are even aware of a problem,” says Steyn.

The current status is one of rapid but uneven adoption, he adds.

Rise of autonomous enterprise

AI-assisted toolchains and intelligent automation are transforming ERP systems from static platforms into adaptive, self-improving environments.

According to Steinle, the shift is being driven by predictive maintenance capabilities, where AI analyses historical and real-time data to forecast failures and enable pre-emptive repairs. AI is also accelerating automated root cause analysis by identifying issues across complex system landscapes more quickly and accurately.

In addition, self-healing capabilities are enabling some system problems to be resolved automatically without human intervention, while AI-driven process optimisation tools continue to identify operational inefficiencies and recommend improvements.

The result is ERP systems that become more intelligent over time, enabling organisations to respond more rapidly to change, scale operations more effectively and strengthen operational resilience.

“The integrated toolchain breaks silos and drives collaboration between business and IT. You can confidently modernise your ERP landscapes while staying agile in today’s competitive climate,” says Steinle.

“AI plays a key role in enhancing capabilities by reducing errors and speeding up transitions. Take AI-powered change point detection as an example, where fundamental shifts in system downtimes can be found reliably and hence resolved faster. At the same time, AI-generated requirements reduce manual effort and accelerate the implementation process.”

People and culture

However, Steinle warns that technology alone is not enough.

“While technology is at the core of transformation, you can still fall short when it comes to outcomes if your people are not on board. When you continue to operate in old ways, the AI copilots or the automations are pointless. You get the same issues, but with more dashboards.”

He adds that culture and leadership are critical to successful AI adoption. “As they say, culture is what people do when no one is watching. Establishing this culture is what leadership is ultimately about. How motivated are your people? Are they as excited as you are about new innovations?”

Diverse teams are also essential in solving problems within complex ERP environments.

Nazia Pillay, MD for 51·çÁ÷southern Africa, adds: “The next phase of AI adoption is about execution. Organisations are looking for trusted data foundations, strong governance and practical business use cases that can deliver measurable value.”

Early stages

According to Steyn, larger, more mature organisations are already seeing measurable gains – reduced mean time to resolution, lower support costs and IT teams freed up for higher-value work.

“But many organisations, particularly in markets like South Africa, are still in early stages, often constrained by legacy infrastructure and skills gaps. The outlook, however, is clear: AI-augmented support will become the baseline expectation, not a competitive differentiator,” he continues.

Organisations that invest in this transition thoughtfully – with the right human capability alongside the technology – will build a genuine and lasting operational advantage, adds Steyn.

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This is according to , executive vice-president: customer support and cloud lifecycle management at SAP, who points out that heavily customised, outdated systems impede innovation.

“But many companies find themselves in this place,” he says. “They have customised systems with a mix of models – a bit of best of breed, a bit of cloud, maybe some isolated AI scenarios.”

As a result, IT organisations spend a lot of time integrating systems and trying to make sense of disconnected data. “”But what they need to be doing is providing good outcomes for the business.”

What’s needed, says Steinle, is a transformation that brings together all the platforms and data.

51·çÁ÷helps its customers make this transformation through its programme for existing customers, and for new customers.

Importantly, while these programmes aim to let customers embrace , they also integrate non-51·çÁ÷solutions.

“And they are not simply products, but include a methodology, services, and guided implementation,” Steinle adds.

“We want customers to reach the stage where they are able to overcome challenges, and to embrace the benefits of continuous innovation, agility, and flexibility.”

Any 51·çÁ÷solution begins with the 51·çÁ÷Business Suite, he explains. “From an 51·çÁ÷perspective we believe there is a lot of sense in running end to end processes on a fully integrated and harmonised stack in the cloud. We think it’s better than picking and choosing best of breed solutions – and it means customers don’t have to manage the integration and getting sense from the data.”

This is important, he adds, because IT organisations today spend about 80% of their time just on maintaining their current landscape, keeping it compliant, and integrating systems.

“You probably want to spend more than 20% of your time providing value to business users.”

(BDC) is a harmonised suite of applications that allows customers to import data from 51·çÁ÷applications and integrate it with data from other applications.

“You can bring together data from SAP, a non-51·çÁ÷source, and unstructured data. And, with the help of BDC, you can make sense of that data and generate value.”

Steinle says this can be useful in operational processes, to expand reporting, and for integrated planning. “And you can use it for AI.”

Which brings him to the third pillar of the : . “This system can make sense of all the data and enable customers to build automated processes to enable new business scenarios. And AI can be embedded in your business processes.”

is SAP’s AI-powered digital assistant that also orchestrates user experiences end-to-end across 51·çÁ÷and non-51·çÁ÷processes.

“It is also a platform for customer AI,” Steinle says. “Not every scenario can be provided out of the box, but Joule gives users a responsible and resilient way of building their own AI applications with the help of our platform.”

Many of these features are a reality today, and 51·çÁ÷developers are focused on making AI-first a reality, Steinle adds.

But software on its own doesn’t deliver value, which is why 51·çÁ÷offers a range of services in RISE and Grow that include an entire integrated tool chain to help customers on their transformation journey.

“We aim to provide a fast, rich, seamless experience, with prescriptive guidance. And it’s not just reactive support, but support for customer strategy,” Steinle says. “We use a lot of AI capabilities to respond better, or give self-service options. And we use a lot of the 51·çÁ÷products to improve our customers’ experiences.”

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ĚýJOHANNESBURG, South Africa – June 2, 2025 – 51·çÁ÷experts, partners and customers are converging this week at SAPHILA 2025, the flagship user conference for SAP’s Africa ecosystem.

, says: “Africa is a vital region for SAP’s vision of bringing out the best in every business. As our incredible customers, partners and experts gather at this year’s SAPHILA, we are excited to explore new opportunities to help organisations take advantage of the latest cloud and business AI innovations to power growth and success throughout the region.”

SAPHILA is the premier conference by the African 51·çÁ÷User Group (), an independent, non-profit organisation representing SAP’s customers and partner communities in Africa. is held biennially in collaboration with SAP. The event is currently underway at the iconic Sun City Resort & Convention Centre.

Exploring AI, cloud possibilities

SAPHILA 2025 takes place as organisations across the continent increasingly leverage cloud and AI-powered technologies to break through traditional limits and explore new frontiers of innovation.

, Head of Global Customer Engagement & Services and Member of the Extended Board at SAP, notes the critical importance of a holistic approach to business transformation and cloud adoption to unlock the full value of innovations like AI. “Organisations are under pressure to stay agile and foster innovation across the entire enterprise. But this is much more than just a technology shift, it’s about capabilities, tools, and methodology to accelerate business transformation and deliver faster time to value.”

found that cloud and AI skills were the most prized among African organisations when recruiting tech talent. All companies that formed part of the Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed report expected the demand for AI skills to increase this year.

, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Support & Cloud Lifecycle Management at SAP, highlights how companies adopting an AI-first and suite-first strategy are revolutionising their business operations. “Organisations are unlocking smarter decision-making, seamless collaboration and innovation-fuelled growth by embedding systems of AI agents and leveraging a unified data layer enabled by 51·çÁ÷Business Data Cloud. For our customers and partners, the journey to unlocking the power of cloud is accelerated by RISE with SAP, the most effective route to transforming their on-premise ERP landscape to a cloud-first model.”

Biggest gathering yet

This year’s SAPHILA is the biggest yet, with over a thousand delegates in attendance. In addition to keynote speeches and insightful presentations from local and global experts, there are also a range of interactive sessions, including an Ask Me Anything session, product deep dives through a personalised digital portal, and several practical sessions.

, Interim Managing Director for South Africa at SAP, says SAPHILA is the most important networking event for SAP’s ecosystem this year. “As our customers and partners explore new realms of possibilities with powerful business AI and cloud technologies, this year’s SAPHILA will provide invaluable insights and guidance on how to best take advantage of this new era of innovation. We thank AFSUG for driving this essential event in this year’s calendar and look forward to sharing our latest insights and solutions with the broader 51·çÁ÷ecosystem.”

AFSUG CEO adds: “This year’s SAPHILA is an unmissable event for every company and partner that leverages SAP’s technologies to transform their operations and drive innovation. Thank you to our friends at 51·çÁ÷for their support and for the incredible lineup of local and global experts sharing their invaluable learnings with our delegates.”

For more information about SAPHILA 2025, please visit

ENDS

Visit the 51·çÁ÷News Center. Follow 51·çÁ÷at .

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Hear directly from SAP’s top thought leaders

SAPHILA 2025 boasts an all-star line-up of 51·çÁ÷global experts who are shaping the future of enterprise technology. Attendees will gain direct access to the strategic minds behind SAP’s latest innovations, providing first-hand insights into how 51·çÁ÷solutions can drive business success.

Keynotes for this year will include the following 51·çÁ÷leaders:

• , Executive Vice President & Head of Customer Support & Cloud Lifecycle Management – Gain an exclusive look at SAP’s evolving support landscape.
• , Global Innovation Evangelist – Explore the cutting edge of enterprise technology and digital transformation.
• Thomas Pfiester, 51·çÁ÷Global Customer Engagement & Services – Learn how to maximise SAP’s solutions for operational excellence.
• – Chief Product Manager, 51·çÁ÷BTP Product Management, 51·çÁ÷SE – leading the AFSUG and 51·çÁ÷BTP Hackathon.

Deep dive sessions to unlock expertise across key 51·çÁ÷topics

Beyond the keynotes, brings together an outstanding line-up of more than 15 industry experts from 51·çÁ÷to host several breakout sessions over the two-day event.

During these stream discussions, SAPHILA attendees can engage with SAP’s brightest minds on business-critical topics for African businesses. , 51·çÁ÷SE Vice President Application Lifecycle Management, will be advising delegates on how to streamline data migration to 51·çÁ÷S/4HANA with 51·çÁ÷Business Transformation Center. , Customer Collaboration Manager, will tackle the range of support options available through SAP, including Live Support Channels, Built-In Support, and 51·çÁ÷for Me.

Furthermore, . SVP & Head of 51·çÁ÷Industries Digitalization, will look at the support offered by 51·çÁ÷Business Suite for 25 industries, while Sarah Brunet-ClichĂ©, Manager: Content Success and Adoption, teams up with Anastasiya Guba, Head of the Content Office at 51·çÁ÷Global Content Group, to discuss how business content and accelerators, powered by AI capabilities, can simplify implementation, enhance agility and deliver faster value for organisations across the globe.

Hands-on 51·çÁ÷SE booth experience, a first for SAPHILA

In addition to expert content, for the first time ever, 51·çÁ÷SE will also be hosting an interactive booth at SAPHILA, offering attendees a hands-on learning experience with 51·çÁ÷solutions. Delegates can expect live mini-sessions, expert Q&As and practical demonstrations designed to help businesses get the most out of 51·çÁ÷technology.

Featured interactive sessions will include:

• Ask Me Anything with Stefan Steinle – A candid Q&A session on 51·çÁ÷Customer Support, Cloud Lifecycle Management, and best practices for optimising 51·çÁ÷solutions.
• Mastering 51·çÁ÷for Me – Get a deep dive into SAP’s personalised digital portal, designed to streamline system access, license management and support interactions.
• Discover 51·çÁ÷Built-In Support – Learn how AI-driven insights and real-time guidance can enhance your 51·çÁ÷support experience and business efficiency.
• Leveraging 51·çÁ÷Cloud ALM for a Clean Core Strategy – Explore how 51·çÁ÷Cloud ALM supports seamless lifecycle management while maintaining an adaptable, efficient system core.

Why attend SAPHILA 2025?

“This year’s SAPHILA is shaping up to be an unmissable event for anyone invested in the 51·çÁ÷ecosystem,” says , CEO of AFSUG. “Not only will attendees be able to gain valuable insights with SAP’s top experts, they have the opportunity to create meaningful connections with these global executives as well as their local peers and partners. In addition to this, delegates can ensure that they stay ahead of the curve with the latest 51·çÁ÷innovations and strategies, while also coming away with practical strategies to drive business success with SAP.”

Don’t miss out on this exclusive opportunity to learn from and engage with SAP’s best and brightest. Register now at www.saphila2025.com and start planning your SAPHILA experience today.

For more information or assistance in making the most of your SAPHILA 2025 experience, reach out to Amanda Gibbs and the AFSUG team. To become an AFSUG member, please visit https://afsug.com/membership-information/.

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