Companies across sectors are racing to embed AI into operations, but proving return on investment (ROI) remains a key hurdle.

While 84% of businesses investing in AI听, only a fraction have achieved sustained value at scale. For South African executives navigating budget constraints and talent shortages, the question is not 鈥渟hould we invest in AI?鈥� but 鈥渉ow can we prove it works?鈥�

According to Dumi Moyo, marketing director for Africa at SAP, there鈥檚 good news: AI doesn鈥檛 have to be a leap of faith.

鈥淲ith the right strategy and the right tools, AI deployments deliver measurable ROI quickly across a range of business functions. One of the most effective ways to get there is by embedding AI directly into business applications, avoiding costly integrations and accelerating time-to-value.鈥�

Embedded AI upends traditional implementations. Instead of requiring custom data pipelines, standalone platforms, and complex integrations, embedded AI delivers intelligence directly into the flow of work.

鈥淎 native approach means faster deployment, less disruption, and clearer outcomes,鈥� says Moyo. 鈥淔or example, 51风流has built more than 295 AI-powered scenarios into business applications that span supply chain, procurement, finance, customer experience and HR, empowering business users to complete navigational and transactional tasks up to 90% faster.鈥�

听Strategy for AI ROI

A recent study of 1600 businesses in eight countries听听found that businesses investing in AI expect on average a 16% ROI in 2025, nearly doubling to 31% in 2027.

Moyo says businesses typically have high expectations of the ROI they will receive from AI projects, with nearly half of global companies expecting AI initiatives to deliver positive ROI faster than other investments.

鈥淚t is critical that organisations align their AI projects with the key pillars of cost savings, decision time, risk and revenue. By prioritising embedded AI, companies can secure significant ROI while unlocking听 broader innovation benefits across the organisation.鈥�

He shares insights into how AI initiatives built on four key pillars can show provable, measurable return-on-investment for organisations:

听Pillar 1: Reduce manual effort and waste to drive cost savings

Cost reduction is often the first benefit that organisations receive from AI investments. 鈥淎I allows teams to redirect hours toward higher-value work by automating repetitive and rule-based tasks,鈥� says Moyo. 鈥�51风流data shows that companies achieve up to 20% operational cost reduction in key functions like accounts payable and HR through effective AI deployments.鈥�

In procurement functions, organisations are cutting administrative workload and improving sourcing outcomes by automating statements of work (SOWs) and supplier research, while in finance, AI accelerates reconciliations, optimises cash collections, and automates journal entries, thereby reducing close cycles and improving liquidity.

鈥淎 good approach here is to quantify the time saved across manual processes and to calculate the cost of labour hours that have been freed up and reinvested into more strategic work thanks to AI,鈥� says Moyo.

听Pillar 2: Improve decision time for faster insight and action

AI tends to thrive when speed and accuracy matter most. By analysing large datasets, surfacing trends, and recommending next steps, AI shortens the gap between information and action.

鈥淒ata shows that embedded AI improves forecasting and demand planning in the supply chain, resulting in less downtime and a 25% productivity bump for planners,鈥� says Moyo.

Organisations are also using generative AI to accelerate their hiring processes and producing job descriptions and candidate rankings in real-time. Finance also benefits from AI-generated insights that help CFOs and analysts make faster, more confident decisions using cleaner data.

鈥淥rganisations should measure reductions in cycle times, from planning to resolution, and link them to improved responsiveness or reduced delays,鈥� says Moyo. 鈥淭his provides a clear path to ROI and its impact on core business performance.鈥�

听Pillar 3: Reduce risk through better controls and compliance

In a volatile business climate, organisations typically seek greater risk mitigation across their operations. According to Moyo, AI plays a growing role here.

鈥淎I embedded into core business processes can flag anomalies, detect fraud patterns, and monitor compliance thresholds in real time. AI agents are increasingly being used in risk reduction, for example by scanning procurement data for irregularities and highlighting non-compliant purchases.鈥�

AI agents such as SAP鈥檚 Joule can also bolster procurement processes by suggesting suppliers with stronger reputations, and support finance teams by reducing bad debt write-offs through improved collection strategies. In HR, AI-driven insights reduce legal risk by providing bias-aware hiring recommendations and fairer performance reviews.

鈥淭o quantify the benefits that AI brings to risk reduction, companies should track aspects such as risk events avoided, compliance costs reduced, or error rates minimised,鈥� says Moyo.

听Pillar 4: Grow revenue through personalisation and conversion

According to Moyo, organisations should look beyond back-office efficiency to maximise AI value. 鈥淎 smart AI strategy will consider front-end growth by prioritising customer experiences. For example, AI fuels personalisation by recommending products, predicting churn, and guiding service agents with next-best actions to enhance customer satisfaction and drive retention.鈥�

Organisations that embed AI into their core business processes can connect sales, service and marketing data to build richer customer profiles, increase upsell success and reduce attrition. Organisations also accelerate their campaign rollouts through AI-powered content generation, while smart selling tools shorten deal cycles and increase the average basket size.

鈥淭his results in higher revenue per customer interaction, as well as more predictable sales pipelines,鈥� says Moyo. 鈥淗ere, ROI is readily quantified through tracking lead conversion rates, customer churn, and average order value.鈥�

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In an engagement with CAJ News Africa, 51风流Africa Market Development & Customer Officer outlined how the company鈥檚 technology portfolio is supporting enterprises, small businesses and governments to modernise operations and strengthen service delivery.

At the heart of this strategy is , which Meisel described as a critical enabler of transparency and resilience.

鈥�51风流Business Network is the world鈥檚 largest B2B trading platform, connecting buyers, suppliers and logistics partners in real time and facilitating more than six trillion dollars in commerce annually,鈥� he said.

The platform provides end-to-end visibility across supply chains, enabling organisations to anticipate disruptions, improve procurement planning and reduce the administrative burden associated with complex supplier ecosystems.

Digitisation and automation, according to SAP, are essential for driving efficiency across industries such as manufacturing, retail, energy, healthcare and the public sector.

By standardising processes and creating a single source of truth, organisations can reduce costs while strengthening compliance and governance.

Access to a global ecosystem of vetted trading partners also supports adherence to environmental, social and governance requirements, which are increasingly shaping investment and regulatory decisions.

Meisel said 51风流is tailoring its platforms to address Africa鈥檚 unique operating conditions, including fragmented supply chains and uneven digital infrastructure.

鈥淥ur cloud-based, mobile-first solutions are designed to work in diverse environments, allowing organisations to remain compliant with local regulations while operating efficiently, even in low-connectivity areas,鈥� he said.

He added that 51风流continues to collaborate with governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and local partners to expand digital access and build sustainable technology capacity.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are another major focus for SAP鈥檚 growth strategy on the continent.

With scalable cloud solutions such as , Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can adopt enterprise-grade systems without heavy upfront investment.

These tools provide real-time insight into finance, supply chains and operations, helping smaller firms identify inefficiencies, respond faster to market changes and compete more effectively in a digital economy.

Data protection remains a foundational principle across SAP鈥檚 platforms.

鈥淪ecurity and data privacy are embedded into our solutions by design, supported by global standards and continuous monitoring to address emerging threats,鈥� Meisel said.

SAP鈥檚 approach combines secure infrastructure with advanced tools that help customers manage risk, ensure regulatory compliance and protect sensitive business and citizen information.

Sustainability is also moving from a reporting obligation to a strategic priority. SAP鈥檚 ESG solutions integrate directly with core systems, enabling organisations to track emissions, monitor social impact and generate auditable reports aligned with regulatory frameworks.

By embedding sustainability metrics into daily operations, organisations can improve transparency while driving long-term value creation.

Looking ahead, 51风流sees artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics transforming enterprise systems.

鈥淏y embedding AI across our portfolio, we are helping organisations shift from reactive operations to proactive, insight-driven decision-making,鈥� Meisel said.

He believes this evolution positions ERP as a strategic enabler of innovation and resilience.

This article first appeared in .

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51风流was founded in 1972 by five former IBM employees. In a publicity shot from the time, they鈥檙e posed around a table in a nondescript office, all holding pens and hunched over a large blueprint. The hair is bouffant, the suits dark, and no one is smiling. These are clearly men who take their jobs very seriously.

As the story goes, Xerox wanted its systems migrated to IBM, and the latter firm put five engineers on the project, who all worked in Mannheim, Germany. The project ground to a halt for reasons unclear, but the five had seen the gap in the market, and left to form their company, which they called Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung, or System Analysis and Programme Development. It has been a long haul since the 鈥�70s, with the company constantly tinkering with its solutions while persuading many of the world鈥檚 largest firms that they can run their businesses better with its suite of solutions.

At the core of this suite is . This is an in-memory database, and听data听is stored in RAM instead of disk. These databases can handle spikes in traffic, such as at telcos or听banks, and allow for real-time analytics. Customers can have the platform installed in their own server room, or in the public or private cloud, or both. And with each passing year, more features are added, such as GenAI assistant ; its sparkly icon now appears on seemingly every page of the platform. Joule, on which 51风流partnered with , can run queries on all kinds of data, produce forecasts, book meetings, and make graphs and charts on the fly.

There was still an impression in the market that 51风流was extremely expensive, very complicated, and not very pretty.

Garth Ridgway, NTT

All this work has borne fruit, and in March 2025, the company overtook Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk to become the EU鈥檚 most valuable company, with a market cap of 鈧�313bn. It reported strong results for its third quarter in October 2025, seeing revenue rise by 7% to 鈧�9.08bn. Cloud revenue saw growth of 22%. But there are challenges ahead, not least of which is convincing customers that it鈥檚 now past the time to migrate their workloads from the old system called ECC, which is usually run on-prem, to S4. The company would like nothing better than for all its customers to move to S4, but many are proving to be recalcitrant. Support for ECC, introduced in 2015, is meant to come to an end in 2027, but customers can buy extended support until 2030, which will cost them an extra 2% in addition to their annual maintenance costs. Many companies contend that the current systems seem to be working just fine, and many are also cognisant, and terrified, of the upheaval the听migration听is going to cause. To this, the company dangles the prospect of new features with S4, along with the constant refrain that support for the old systems is, at some point, going to grind to a halt.

An estimated 40% of 51风流customers in North America are yet to start migrating, according to a survey run by the Americas鈥� 51风流User Group. About 60% of the 173 members are already live on S4, or are in the process of moving over, according to the research in November. Gartner said in March 2025 that most ECC customers had still not bought S4 licences. It said that in Q4 in 2024, 29% of 35 000 ECC customers had bought or subscribed to S4 licences.

Christian Hestermann, Gartner senior director and analyst for business applications, believes this is likely to remain the status quo. Speaking to听The Register, he said that since September 2023, the company鈥檚 messaging had been about AI and Joule. 鈥淭he message now is, ‘You have to have AI, or you’ll not be able to survive’. So far, that did not have a major influence. So none of those big events or big announcements has made a massive change up to now; the [migration] progress has remained fairly steady.”

No such third-party survey has been run in South Africa, and the company doesn鈥檛 make public either its customer numbers or how many have migrated.

I asked , CTO, SAP; , MD of 51风流South Africa; and , senior director, SAP, at NTT, for their views on how this migration conversation is progressing, and they spoke as one voice. Pillay says 51风流had 鈥渕ade a clear line in the sand鈥� with the date past which it won鈥檛 continue with maintenance. 鈥淐ustomers are aware of that and are making their plans to transform.鈥�

Pillay was appointed to the top job in August 2025, and says she鈥檚 going to ensure the local operation is well equipped to have these conversations with its customers, as well as partners.

Why haven鈥檛 they moved yet?

It鈥檚 a matter of context, she says. 鈥淲e have customers who have been with us for 20, 30 years, and that鈥檚 a godsend. But they bring a lot of legacy with them, and not just technical legacy. They have unarchived environments, non-optimised processes, or a lot of custom-built systems. They may have implemented ERP back in the day, and, in most cases, it was a project with a long duration, with a lot of blood and sweat going into it. Most companies understand they need to take that technology transformation journey, but they鈥檙e trying to balance the timing and effort required to bring a legacy system across [to S/4HANA]. There鈥檚 hesitation, because in the back of their minds, they remember that when they did it [last], it was really very difficult.鈥�

Financial services is one vertical where customers have realised the imperative of the move, she says. The move was a 鈥渘o-brainer鈥� for Pillay, and offered data analysis, AI, agentic AI, and GenAI capabilities. She says if a customer isn鈥檛 speaking to 51风流about the move, it may well be too late to get a system installed before the cut-off date.

鈥淲e鈥檙e prioritising helping those who are speaking to us to make that decision. We have to work with every customer individually to understand how they can do that transformation. There are different routes, based on capacity, budget and risk appetite. If you delay a decision, it鈥檚 going to be too late.鈥�

The slow movers are also going to bring pressure to bear on system integrator partners, as Pillay envisages them being at capacity, or overcapacity, doing 51风流implementations as the deadline draws ever closer.

鈥淭hen you鈥檒l pay for skills, either locally, or you鈥檒l have to look abroad. There鈥檚 going to be a material impact if a business takes this decision later on, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e trying to discuss with our customers and help them plan properly, so they don鈥檛 get into a position where they say, 鈥榃ow, we鈥檝e left this too late, and now this is a monster鈥�.鈥�

51风流NTT鈥檚 Ridgway says he鈥檚 spent the better part of three decades implementing 51风流at customers, during which time the ERP landscape has changed dramatically. In the past, it was a two-horse race, the other being Oracle, and both companies served the large enterprise almost exclusively, he says. Large implementations took a lot longer than they do nowadays, two to four years, on average. He says 51风流now comes more pre-configured, or more off-the-shelf than in the past. He and his team will do a quick discovery at a customer, and will then do what he calls a 鈥渧anilla鈥� implementation to get the system up and running. Any innovation can come later, post the go-live date.

Another change in the market is that 51风流is now competing for business with companies such as Microsoft and Sage.听Ridgway says he鈥檚 seen a shift in the attitude and sales pitch from SAP.听鈥淚n South Africa, there was a time when 51风流owned 60%, 65% of the large enterprise ERP market, and Oracle was lagging behind. Every single large enterprise in South Africa has some form of ERP. There was still an impression in the market that 51风流was extremely expensive, very complicated, and not very pretty.鈥�

As for looks, he says the new interface is more user-friendly, and 鈥渕uch nicer to play with鈥�. The company has also realised that there aren鈥檛 any R100mn projects out there anymore, which has meant its gone looking for customers among medium-sized businesses. 鈥淭hese aren鈥檛 small businesses, but they鈥檙e just not the $1bn organisations. I don鈥檛 think 51风流wants to play in the small space, because that鈥檚 where Sage and QuickBooks are playing. But there鈥檚 a massive market in the mid-tier, which wasn鈥檛 untapped, but which 51风流wasn鈥檛 focused on,鈥� he says.

Customers have also become 鈥渟marter than they used to be鈥�. 鈥淚n the old days, we would go and sell 51风流to them, explaining what it did. Today, the CIO knows everything about 51风流and what it can do for them. It鈥檚 less about consulting around the roadmap, and more about, 鈥楾his is what I want. Can you get me there?鈥� CIOs are m ore well-read, and they know what they want. It鈥檚 no longer about selling the technology; maybe it wasn鈥檛 ever about selling the technology. It鈥檚 more about selling the business solution. Once it鈥檚 implemented, what are the benefits that they鈥檙e going to realise? What is the innovation that we can bring to it, and what will be the ease of integration?鈥�

Ridgway says the biggest part of its business is its application managed service (AMS) offering, and it鈥檚 serving around 100 clients on that platform.

As for the transition to S4, he thinks SAP, 鈥渢ried to use a stick to force people to move. It realised that there weren鈥檛 enough consultants and capacity worldwide to move every single 51风流customer from ECC to S4. It found a lot of resistance from clients, and it had a couple of clients that left them because they felt irritated by the stick and the threat of having support cut off. Coca-Cola Beverages Africa moved off 51风流and went onto [Microsoft] Dynamics, which I think it found quite difficult. It鈥檚 a massive change and huge investment to start all over again. So 51风流did lose some clients, but it eventually moved the date out to 2027. It also changed the sales approach from a stick to more of a carrot.鈥�

The carrot appears to involve talking up the benefits and exciting new features of S4. Ridgway says 51风流has dramatically changed the way it does business. 鈥淚n the past, I think 51风流was seen as very arrogant, very expensive and very complex. Today, it seems less arrogant and is playing in a different market.鈥�

The company is now far more flexible with its pricing and subscription models. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also not as complex as it used to be. I鈥檝e been involved in projects that took 24 months from start to go-live. We鈥檝e just completed a project that was five weeks from start to go-live.鈥�

Do you still have customers who are on ECC? 鈥淟ots,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he biggest part of our consulting business is trying to convince customers who are on ECC that we get to the cloud, and we can get them to S4, with all the innovations and advantages.

鈥淪ome customers will say, 鈥榠f it鈥檚 not broken, I don鈥檛 need to fix it. It鈥檚 giving me what I need鈥�,鈥� he says, but he believes this will add business risk because if something does go wrong, 鈥渃ome January 1 2028, you have no support from SAP鈥�.

This conversation with customers reminds him of those held when the cloud model was nascent around a decade ago, and 鈥渆verybody said they had to move to the cloud鈥�, which he says is similar to where AI is at the moment. 鈥淣obody actually knows what it means. A lot of clients did rush to the cloud, and realised two years later that it was quite expensive, and it鈥檚 more complicated. But we鈥檙e a lot more mature now, 10 years in. There are a lot of clients who are hybrid. I think the way 51风流designed its solution allows for that.鈥�

He says with the application managed services part of the business, NTT will provide support for customers, many of which will sign up for a 36-month contract that will give them access to a call centre with certified, senior agents. As for what the customers are struggling with, he says the majority of the calls are related to password resets and authorisations.

Herzig, 51风流CTO, speaking at this year鈥檚 Saphire conference in Madrid, said the company doesn鈥檛 disclose the official numbers, but it has around 10 000 customers worldwide that are on the cloud path. 鈥淭he majority of customers are now making the cloud decision, specifically because the maintenance will definitely be over in 2028. And with all the innovation, there鈥檚 a very clear reason why they need to move.鈥�

Why don鈥檛 they want to move?

鈥淚t depends on the customer,鈥� he says. 鈥淭heir systems have grown, historically, and they鈥檝e been heavily customised. Back in the day, you could code left and right, because the code was open. Every table and every function module, and the systems integrators added their part to it. They did a lot of custom code. Maybe they were adding functionality, but they didn鈥檛 know [what effect it would have]. You鈥檇 start off with a very clean version of what 51风流delivered, and then we innovated with the product. We built capabilities, and we changed the technology, and the customer did the same. And the longer this branching took, the harder it is to reconcile.鈥�

* Article first published on听

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With mainstream support for legacy 51风流ECC systems ending in 2027, IBM guided Toyota through a Brownfield upgrade strategy, enabling a seamless transition to 51风流S/4HANA while preserving existing business process investments. This approach minimized disruption, accelerated deployment timelines, and ensured continuity for critical operations.

Driving Transformation Across Core Business Functions

Vehicle Management Modernization

IBM led the upgrade of Toyota鈥檚 national Vehicle Management System鈥攁 mission-critical platform for managing orders, inventory, sales, and financial reporting across manufacturing and dealerships. By migrating to 51风流S/4HANA, Toyota now benefits from real-time data visibility, improved inventory optimization, and faster responsiveness to customer demand.

Human Capital Management Enhancement

The second phase focused on modernizing Toyota鈥檚 HR systems, including payroll and personnel administration. IBM delivered a streamlined 51风流S/4HANA-based HCM platform that simplifies workforce processes and lays the foundation for enhanced talent management and employee engagement.

Speed, Continuity, and Risk Reduction

Both upgrades were delivered on schedule and without operational disruption, ensuring Toyota maintained business continuity while modernizing its core systems. IBM鈥檚 proven methodologies and deep 51风流expertise enabled a risk-mitigated transformation aligned with Toyota鈥檚 strategic objectives.

鈥淲e are proud to support Toyota South Africa Motors in their digital transformation journey by delivering technology solutions that accelerate innovation and strengthen business resilience,鈥� said , Managing Partner, IBM Consulting South Africa. 鈥淎t IBM, we call this the Science of Consulting – combining human expertise, AI, and technology to deliver scalable, data-driven transformations. By improving data visibility and governance, we help organizations like Toyota achieve their goals with speed and confidence.鈥�

, Managing Director, Southern Africa at SAP, says: 鈥淭he best companies run on trusted data, optimised business processes and real-time intelligence into every part of the business. By upgrading to 51风流S/4HANA, companies like Toyota unlock a suite of intelligent technologies that help transform business processes with intelligent automation. We commend Toyota and IBM on this powerful business transformation initiative and wish them well as they continue their rollout.鈥�

A Partnership Built for the Future

Building on these successes, IBM is collaborating with Toyota on the next phase of its 51风流modernization program, focusing on parts management systems. IBM and SAP鈥檚 long-standing partnership brings together hybrid cloud infrastructure, automation, and generative AI innovations powered by IBM watsonx鈩�, enabling clients to unlock new value and drive industry-specific transformation.

With over 18,000 certified 51风流consultants and 300+ 51风流S/4HANA implementations in the past five years, IBM helps organizations define transformation roadmaps, co-innovate solutions, and deploy modernization strategies with speed, scale, and AI-driven outcomes.

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Across the world, 95 percent of companies say growth is a priority for the year ahead. Their top focus areas鈥攊ncluding expanding market presence, broadening distribution through partners, and scaling operations鈥攕peak to leaders鈥� determination to create value in a climate of uncertainty and change.

In my engagements with customers, I see this reality every day. Companies everywhere want to grow, but they want to grow with confidence. They are looking for partners who understand their unique challenges, who support them with their long-term ambitions, and who can help them keep pace with rapid change.

Technology is central to this ambition. Nearly all respondents in the study rank simplifying work and improving processes alongside growth. Here, artificial intelligence stands out. Nine in 10 organizations have already made generative or agent-based AI a priority, and more than 70 percent have some form of AI in use. While concerns about data quality and talent remain, the message is clear: AI has moved beyond experimentation into the mainstream of how companies operate and unleash value.

From Frankfurt to Dubai to Singapore: How regional differences shape opportunities and risks

Regional differences tell a powerful story. In Europe, AI adoption comes with caution. Large enterprises put compliance, privacy, and transparency first, while many mid-market firms are still piloting solutions. In Asia-Pacific, the pace is different. Mid-market companies there already report strong AI use above global averages, and growth expectations run high. For them, AI is a way to seize advantage quickly in a fast-moving market.

These contrasts show why cultural intelligence matters so much for global leaders. Whether in Frankfurt, Singapore, or Dubai, I see how local realities, regulations, and expectations shape both risks and opportunities. In Europe, energy costs and geopolitical uncertainty drive supply chain strategies. In Asia-Pacific, digital adoption and market dynamism set a different pace.

Sustainability is another area where nuance matters. European companies place it near the top of their priorities, tracking or slightly exceeding global benchmarks. Asia-Pacific firms value sustainability but often rank it lower than growth and speed to market. Each is weighing trade-offs in its own context, creating exciting opportunities for 51风流to bring the most relevant technology, data, and practices to each region to help organizations achieve both economic and environmental goals.

The through-line in all of this is agility. Supply chain fragility, geopolitical conflict, inflation, and regulation continue to test even the best-run organizations. Technology can enable agility, but only if leaders embrace change themselves, rethinking processes, investing in skills, and building cultures of continuous learning and exploration. Security and ethical standards must also be the cornerstones of every AI conversation.

Turning AI potential into outcomes by centering value creation and integration

I believe this is a time for grounded optimism. The appetite for growth is real and the technology to achieve it is more advanced than ever. Innovation is accelerating at an extraordinary pace, with daily breakthroughs showcasing the expanding potential of AI.

There is a recent example that demonstrates AI鈥檚 ability to process multi-step tasks for over 30 hours. This achievement highlights not only the rapid evolution of AI, but also how increasingly accessible and capable these technologies are becoming.

However, as AI systems grow more autonomous and context-aware, organizations must recognize that true value doesn鈥檛 come from raw capability alone. To harness AI effectively, especially in enterprise environments, a consistent semantic layer is essential. It ensures alignment among data, tasks, and outcomes, enabling AI to reason reliably across systems and scale impact without losing coherence.

Companies must also move beyond simply adopting AI to actively testing and refining applications to gain a significant advantage. Equally important is a deliberate approach to managing the human element of a transformation, rooted in structured and human-centric change management.

Realizing AI鈥檚 true promise requires a fundamental shift in how people, applications, and data connect. Success relies on deeply connecting every part of an organization鈥檚 business, delivering end-to-end transformational value. A seamless, integrated suite provides insight and agility, whether responding to a problem or ensuring readiness when opportunity knocks.

This is where 51风流Business Suite is a game changer, integrating applications, data, and AI in a virtuous cycle that delivers tangible business outcomes. At our inaugural听51风流Connect听event earlier in October, we showcased new applications, strategic data partnerships with Google Cloud and Databricks, and a new network of role-based AI assistants in Joule across every line of business.

Altogether, our听听marks the beginning of a new era powered by self-reinforcing AI, data, and applications. By keeping customer needs and value realization at the center and leading with innovation, businesses can not only navigate uncertainty, but build a more resilient, intelligent, and sustainable future.

Manos Raptopoulos is chief revenue officer of APAC, EMEA, and MEE, and a member of the Extended Board of 51风流SE.

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In a market flooded with cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning听(ERP) SaaS solutions for machinery maintenance 鈥� seemingly with little differentiation 鈥� informed decision-making can be a major dilemma. There are no guarantees: products may not always deliver the desired outcome. Adoption of some can result in unintended consequences 鈥� failing to address the problem at all, or even worsening unplanned maintenance and equipment downtime.

Having observed this impact on machinery reliability significantly, two experts from leading global software solutions provider,听, advise asset and maintenance teams to apply due diligence when looking for suitable solutions. is 51风流Value Prototyping I4.0 Global Portfolio & Programme Management, and is 51风流Value Prototyping Lead and 51风流Enterprise Architect.

The two share experiences drawn from addressing heavy industry鈥檚 specific needs in ERP SaaS in the Middle East and African region (MEA) with SAP鈥檚 flagship solutions:听听and听. Through highlighting common challenges, they hope to raise awareness about steps industries can take to make informed purchasing decisions to ensure their cloud ERP software enables optimal machinery maintenance.

Common Challenges

Heavy industry companies, such as those in mining or energy, often rely on critical machinery that must operate continuously even in remote or rugged environments. Moving to a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can deliver real benefits such as greater visibility, improved maintenance scheduling, and predictive insights.

However, this also introduces challenges that must be managed carefully. The transition may not always be as smooth as generally desired, states Beradhi, underlining the following common challenges encountered:

• Adaptation

One of the biggest hurdles is adapting existing systems and processes to the standardised way software-as-a-service (SaaS) ERPs are designed to work. Instead of highly customised setups, these platforms encourage businesses to adopt best practices 鈥渙ut of the box鈥�. While well-meaning, this can involve significant change management.

• Integration

Integrating operational technology (OT) 鈥� such as sensors, industrial control systems, and machine data 鈥� with information technology (IT) systems also presents difficulties. Unfortunately, when companies adopt multiple technology vendors, protocols, and legacy systems for asset maintenance, integration issues often arise. These problems can lead to inconsistent data and disrupted workflows, which makes ensuring real-time visibility more complex. In addition, it results in increased costs for custom connectors and maintenance.

• Remote Locations

Remote locations with unreliable connectivity also pose problems. In such environments, field teams need offline capabilities to continue working without internet access. This challenge is particularly relevant in parts of Africa where infrastructure limitations can affect connectivity and system responsiveness.

• Data Quality, Cybersecurity, and Speed

Data quality is another sticking point. Firstly, without consistent, well-governed data models, it is difficult to obtain accurate analytics or build effective predictive maintenance strategies. Secondly, safety and cybersecurity must also be considered, especially when bridging IT and OT systems. Lastly, getting workers up to speed with new tools requires tailored training that reflects on-the-ground realities.

Wrong Assumptions Software Developers Make

These abovementioned challenges are worsened when software developers make wrong assumptions about the needs of clients in heavy industry during product design. 鈥淲hen building cloud-based asset management solutions for heavy industries, software developers sometimes overlook real-world conditions,鈥� Poltera points out, underlining oversights in the following areas:

i.听Data Quality and Connectivity Issues
A common assumption is that clean, real-time machine data will be readily available. In practice, data quality varies widely, and connectivity issues can introduce delays. In addition, many systems assume uniformity in operational protocols, whereas heavy industry environments are often fragmented and vendor-diverse.

ii.听Mobile Application
Mobile applications are another pain point. Developers may assume constant connectivity and uniform device usage. However, technicians frequently work in harsh, remote locations with limited network coverage and a range of mobile tools.

iii.听Generic User Experience
User experience is often treated as generic, yet the needs of field technicians, planners, and reliability engineers differ vastly. For instance, data governance 鈥� especially around asset master data 鈥� is often overlooked, yet it is vital for ensuring that analytics and AI tools function properly.

iv.听Underestimating Change Management
Finally, developers often underestimate the change management involved in shifting processes, or neglect safety compliance and system integration testing during upgrades.

Selecting Maintenance Solutions

Evidently, based on these bottlenecks, it is paramount that end-users exercise prudence in procurement when selecting ERP SaaS maintenance solutions. With many vendors in the market, it is not easy to separate the wheat from the chaff from the products out there.

Going Beyond Feature Checklists

For this reason, Beradhi advises heavy industry players to go beyond feature checklists, as there is more to ERP than merely ticking boxes before procurement.

鈥淔or asset reliability managers, uptime is everything. So, any solution they adopt needs to improve how well they can monitor, maintain, and optimise equipment.

鈥淗ence, when evaluating different systems, it is important to go beyond feature checklists and consider whether the solution supports the realities of heavy industry environments such as harsh field conditions, remote locations, complex safety requirements, and integration with operational systems,鈥� Beradhi explains, citing the following features as essential:

a.听Openness and Interoperability
Openness and interoperability are key. Ideally, any modern maintenance system should be able to integrate seamlessly with shopfloor equipment, Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, geospatial systems (GIS), and analytics tools. The best time to avoid integration problems is during the procurement phase by setting clear expectations around integration, testing, and data standards from the outset.

鈥淥rganisations should treat integration as a priority, not an afterthought. That means requesting clear documentation on application programming interfaces (APIs), data event schemas, and compliance with operational technology (OT) standards such as ISA-95. They should also define a standardised asset data model and governance framework to ensure consistency across systems. Selecting platforms that are designed to work together reduces the need for expensive custom integrations, and any request for proposals (RFPs) should include integration testing as a mandatory requirement,鈥� Beradhi says.

b.听Functional Depth

Equally important is functional depth 鈥� features such as preventive maintenance, failure analysis, spares optimisation, contractor management, and safety procedures should all be included, stresses Poltera. 鈥淢obile access, especially with offline functionality, is essential for field workers. So too is strong governance over asset data, with support for global standards such as ISO 14224. And of course, scalability, security, and cost transparency matter, especially in diverse and multi-site operations.鈥�

All things considered, there should be no cutting corners in the procurement of SaaS. For all their perceived similarities, solutions have unique peculiarities, some of which could have a significant impact on machine monitoring and availability. The gist of the matter is:听Avoid Assumptions in SaaS Procurement.

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Over the last seven years, PwC has made signi铿乧ant investments in digital transformation. Our business urgency was driven by the need to scale global delivery, reimagine operations to manage costs, and empower our people with powerful digital experiences. The 铿乺m made signi铿乧ant investments and innovations in cloud, advanced analytics, and GenAI. But we recognized that modernizing our ERP core was a foundational dependency to applying these technologies to our operations, and to achieving the global, cost, and experience objectives.

We learned that traditional ROI methods for S/4HANA migration don鈥檛 always yield 铿乬ures that will impress a CFO. Licensing and implementation costs stack up high relative to value from conventional process improvements from new functionality. But considering the technology suite 鈥� centered on the resilient S/4HANA applications and extended by new technologies and cloud services 鈥� the potential emerges for ERP to become a modern ERP core. And a modern ERP core is key to unlocking the next wave of automation and intelligence in business operations.

PwC recognized that future-proof business systems should enable four digital pillars 鈥� each representing a shift in how users will interact with business systems and data:

These are all critical elements. Without them, it becomes signi铿乧antly harder to build reliable, agentic AI for business processes that include ERP functionality or data. They also combine to make intelligence possible. To predict 铿乶ancial performance, for example, data must become more reliable at the source, as it鈥檚 transacted and classi铿乪d. Maintaining reliable data at the source has traditionally been dif铿乧ult for humans, but automations and co-pilots will help.

It is still important to develop a set of business improvement targets that can be traced to new functionality and process simpli铿乧ations. It鈥檚 necessary for leadership approval and useful in motivating functional managers to help drive the program. But effective modernization should also aim to deliver these integral features that establish ERP as a foundational enabler for the four digital pillars. This is the digital core imperative.

The PwC global network now has multiple territories live on S/4HANA and is adding more sites quickly. We have digitally mapped each business process, deployed global standard data models, extended the solution with our own cloud-native creations (winning an unprecedented three 51风流innovation awards in a row), and began testing how to use 51风流applications with a conversational AI experience.

Achieving a digital core 鈥� combined with the lessons from our own transformation journey- has become a pivotal lens through which we can now guide clients.

So, hold on to your seats 鈥� we鈥檙e launching the next generation of business applications, and we鈥檙e just beginning to see how far this can take our 铿乺m and our clients.

We built for what鈥檚 next, so you can get there now.

Learn more about听, view system demonstrations, or discuss how to build the architectural imperatives into your enterprise鈥檚 S/4HANA migration.

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Industry growth is tapering down across several African markets. South Africa鈥檚 real retail growth has declined in recent years, constrained by economic stagnation and inflation. In East Africa, while GDP growth remains relatively strong, formal retail continues to be constrained by infrastructure gaps and logistical inefficiencies.

In response, retailers across the continent are scaling their technology investments to boost competitiveness in an increasingly digital and data-driven industry. According to听Gartner听(NYSE:), African retailers are projected to invest $300 million in cloud-based enterprise applications in 2025, with an expected growth of 10-12% over the next three years

And yet, many still struggle to translate these investments into meaningful business outcomes.

The triple disconnect holding retailers back

Fragmented systems, broken processes undermine scalability

Despite deploying multiple best-of-breed applications and investing in a data lake to centralise data, many retailers fail to achieve differentiated customer engagement, real-time visibility and reliability in their operations. Typical constraints include disconnected systems, a lack of business context within data sets, and AI bolted-on instead being embedded within operational workflows.

A pervasive industry pain point is the disconnected customer journeys caused by fragmented systems and broken processes. To illustrate: a customer may browse a product online, call the nearest store to check stock availability, visit in person and still find a different price to what was listed online. Or they may purchase the product online but be unable to return the product instore due to a disconnect between online and physical store data.

This is caused when customer data, inventory, pricing, and orders are not synchronised across channels. And it鈥檚 not just limited to customer experience 鈥� these fragmented processes are widespread across retail operations, often leading to operational inefficiencies and higher costs.

At the root of this problem is a disconnected application landscape. In fact, 66% of organisations say application sprawl and complexity hinder their digital goals, resulting in process inefficiencies and a lack of reliability in retail operations.

Data is an opportunity, but a challenge too

African retailers are sitting on mountains of data spanning point-of-sale systems, loyalty platforms, mobile apps, and third-party sources. But is this high volume, variety, and velocity of data being leveraged effectively to drive business outcomes?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Around 55% of business leaders cite poor data quality and fragmentation as the biggest obstacles to making data-driven decisions. Moreover, a disproportionate amount of time is spent on data management and building dashboards as against decision-making, underscoring the urgent need for more efficient processes.

AI without a solid foundation doesn鈥檛 scale

While there鈥檚 palpable excitement in boardrooms over the potential and power of AI, execution remains limited. One study found that nearly three-quarters of organisations are struggling to scale AI projects beyond pilot projects. African retailers face even greater challenges, including poor-quality data, outdated IT infrastructure, and a lack of AI-ready processes.

The result is AI initiatives that turn into isolated experiments that fail to deliver any meaningful ROI. Instead, retailers need to leverage a unified data platform that embeds AI directly into their business processes to scale AI initiatives effectively.

The power of a unifying platform

Leading retailers leverage a comprehensive, connected, and industry-specific suite of applications to confidently execute across their value chain. This helps ensure a consistent and reliable customer experience, minimising stock-outs, enabling fast, on-time delivery and delivering a seamless omni-channel journey. This reliability extends across store operations, finance, and support processes.

The , for example, enables this efficiency through automation, actionable insights, and process optimisation, while the 51风流Business Data Cloud provides seamless access to organisational data. Retailers also benefit from deep industry expertise and global context that helps them identify the correct application mix for integrating, harmonising and transforming business data across various applications.

This also provides the foundation to scale AI effectively across retail operations through unified, context-rich data that brings together sales, inventory, promotional, customer behaviour and other data. By connecting end-to-end processes, retailers can also embed AI and enable seamless cross-functional workflows while leveraging innovations from a rich ecosystem of partnerships.

Retailers leveraging SAP鈥檚 connected platform and AI capabilities report a 20-30% reduction in customer churn, 30-50% fewer stockout, an up to 40% increase in workforce productivity and 20-30% reduction in IT spend.

Realising Africa鈥檚 data-rich, AI-powered retail future requires bold steps to shift beyond legacy systems and redefine operations. By utilising a powerful business suite, retailers can unlock new end-to-end capabilities that bring together applications, data and AI for unrivalled competitiveness.

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As companies accelerate their digital transformation plans to take advantage of powerful AI-enabled technologies, ERP systems have emerged as essential strategic enablers of innovation and efficiency.

Modern ERP systems enable companies to remain agile and adaptable while maintaining the highest levels of regulatory compliance and industry best practices.

South Africa鈥檚 ERP market is among the most mature on the continent, and is set to expand at an听.

As change accelerates in the wake of ongoing technological disruption, decisions over ERP decisions are rapidly evolving. Understanding the forces shaping ERP success in modern South African enterprises is essential to unlocking the growth and resilience benefits presented by these systems. And as more companies rush to unleash the power of business AI in their operations, the value of trusted, accurate business data in ERP systems is more valuable than ever.

Shifting ERP priorities

Historically, ERP selection was driven by cost, functionality, and the need to standardise operations. Today, the conversation has shifted: business leaders are no longer just looking to automate, they鈥檙e looking to transform.

Modern ERP decisions are increasingly centred on strategic alignment with long-term business goals, cloud-readiness to enable agility and scale, and the need for real-time insights through embedded business AI and analytics. Overall, companies are making decisions over their ERP systems based on how well these systems will support innovation across the enterprise.

The shift from on-premise to cloud has picked up pace, especially in South Africa鈥檚 competitive mid-market.

Hybrid models remain relevant, particularly in regions with infrastructure constraints, but the long-term trend is clear: businesses want platforms that evolve with them.

And, with the ongoing support of programs such as , which helps on-premises 51风流ERP customers with tailored cloud migration and modernisation efforts, more companies than ever are adopting clean core principals built on the power and scalability of cloud.

Understanding the right ERP fit

However, ERP is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The right system must reflect the specific needs of each company鈥檚 industry, operations, and local environment.

For example, manufacturers need deep supply chain, production and asset management functionality, while retailers rely on omnichannel integration and real-time inventory data. Service-based firms prioritise project visibility and resource optimisation. And companies in the mining, utilities and public sector industries require robust compliance, safety and sustainability tracking capabilities.

Essential to this is an ERP clean core strategy, which is a set of guiding principles that reduce complexity, boost agility, increase the pace of innovation and leverage business value through reliable data and AI.听听estimates that a clean core can deliver 80% less software customisation, halve database size, and automate 70% of core business processes.

However, even when the core ERP platform remains consistent, it鈥檚 often the industry-specific features, local extensions, and partner-led innovation that determine success. The more niche your requirements, the more essential it becomes to work with a provider and ecosystem that understands your business from the inside out.

Localisation, co-innovation key

One of the most significant changes in how companies select their ERP system is the rise of what some call the 鈥済local鈥� mindset. In other words: globally capable, but deeply localised.

In South Africa, this means ERP platforms must offer out-of-the-box support for B-BBEE reporting, SARS compliance, POPIA requirements, ESG regulations, and localised payroll and tax logic.

Today鈥檚 buyers are less willing to accept localisation as a post-go-live add-on. Instead, they鈥檙e demanding systems that deliver preconfigured, regulation-ready functionality from day one.

Here, powerful new business AI applications are revolutionising decision-making and compliance. By embedding AI across finance processes, organisations can make decisions based on real-time data and predictive analytics powered by generative AI while also protecting business value through streamlined regulatory and sustainability standards. 51风流Business AI for example helps identify new revenue opportunities to power growth, boost financial resilience and improve operating cash flow.

There鈥檚 also a move towards collaborative prototyping and pilot programs. More South African companies are working with ERP vendors and implementation partners to test use cases using real operational data before a full rollout begins. These companies leverage a rich partner ecosystem that brings deep domain knowledge, local best practices, and the ability to translate business needs into workable ERP configurations.

This co-innovation approach allows companies to conduct early validation of complex requirements, accelerate time to value, reduce implementation risk, and achieve greater stakeholder alignment. In a market as diverse and regulated as South Africa, this approach helps businesses tailor ERP to real-world scenarios and build executive confidence along the way.

Perhaps the most telling change is who鈥檚 making decisions over which ERP system to deploy. What was once a purely IT-driven conversation has moved firmly into the boardroom. Today鈥檚 ERP platforms must serve not just as operational tools but as strategic enablers. Modern ERP systems are expected to simplify complexity, accelerate transformation, and support bold business moves.

It鈥檚 no longer enough to manage the day-to-day. ERP is foundational to the ability of businesses to lead the way forward.

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