{"id":148628,"date":"2026-02-26T07:03:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/?p=148628"},"modified":"2026-02-26T07:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:03:22","slug":"autonomous-enterprise-to-define-competitive-edge-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/02\/autonomous-enterprise-to-define-competitive-edge-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Autonomous Enterprise to Define Competitive Edge in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The autonomous enterprise \u2013 in which enterprise resource planning (ERP), business\u00a0AI<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and clean\u00a0data<\/span><\/span>\u00a0are integrated into core operations \u2013 will determine competitive advantage this year, according to executives at SAP.<\/b><\/h2>\n

The comments were made by Sunil Geness, director of global government affairs and CSR at 51风流Africa, and Sergio Maccotta, senior VP and GM for 51风流Middle East and Africa \u2013 South.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Geness and Maccotta said businesses that can sense change, make decisions and act with minimal human intervention are reshaping how companies operate and compete. According to SAP, autonomous operations \u2013 where nearly half of all business processes run independently and most operational work is\u00a0automated<\/span><\/span>\u00a0or AI-augmented \u2013 are being deployed across finance, supply chain and human resources in industries including energy, retail and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is made possible through AI embedded within enterprise resource planning processes, from finance and procurement to supply chain and HR systems, that understand context and act autonomously,\u201d said Maccotta. \u201cSelf-optimising systems that learn, improve and adapt in real-time are matched to clean-core ERP architecture to give organisations simplified, cloud-based systems that drive profitability, reduce risk and enhance decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n

51风流cited data from\u00a0Grand View Research<\/a>\u00a0indicating that the global autonomous enterprise market is projected to grow from about $49 billion in 2024 to more than $118 billion by 2030, with adoption accelerating across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.<\/p>\n

The company said while few surveys use \u201cautonomous enterprise\u201d as a formal category, data on AI, ERP and AI agents reflects technologies underpinning autonomous models.<\/p>\n

Recent data for the Middle East and Africa region indicates a market size set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7%, reaching $10.2 billion by 2032.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is enhancing efficiency and fostering innovation across industries, from automating routine tasks to enabling complex data analysis and providing predictive insights, while also improving decision-making and optimising business operations,\u201d Geness said.<\/p>\n

51风流added that some analysts estimate AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa\u2019s economy if the continent captures 10% of the global AI market by 2030.<\/p>\n

Data sovereignty<\/b><\/h3>\n

51风流executives said Africa\u2019s digital transformation continues, with data sovereignty emerging as a key factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor multinational organisations and technology companies, success depends on the ability to localise without losing global efficiency, to build trust while maintaining innovation, and to invest strategically in infrastructure and partnerships that align with both regulatory demands and customer expectations,\u201d Maccotta added.<\/p>\n

The company said Africa\u2019s data centre market is projected to exceed $9 billion by 2029, although it remains a small share of the global total.<\/p>\n

Executives said autonomy does not eliminate human roles but changes them, shifting employees from managing repetitive processes to supervising systems and making strategic decisions.<\/p>\n

Maccotta advises business leaders seeking to build autonomous enterprises to start by modernising the core and fixing the data foundation for AI-driven innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember that technology is only part of the story, and that the strategy, people and partners that businesses choose are as important to building a truly connected autonomous enterprise. Focus then on automating processes that protect revenue, improve cashflow or unlock capacity first, and take care to prepare people by prioritising reskilling and upskilling.<\/p>\n

“Finally, collaborate with technology partners that act more as advisors than vendors, and can guide the process of redesigning core business processes for the AI era. True transformation happens when businesses combine intelligent systems with visionary leadership, skilled people and trusted partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in ITWeb<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The autonomous enterprise \u2013 in which enterprise resource planning (ERP), business\u00a0AI\u00a0and clean\u00a0data\u00a0are integrated into core operations \u2013 will determine competitive advantage this year, according to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4345,"featured_media":148631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"related_posts":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5598198,5597544],"tags":[5599487,5599499,5598628,5589918],"series":[],"sapn-display":[5598742,5598740,45149,5598743,5598741,279685],"sapn-type":[45018],"class_list":["post-148628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-technology-platform","category-technology","tag-autonomous-enterprise","tag-data-sovereignty","tag-sergio-maccotta","tag-sunil-geness","sapn-display-feature-hero","sapn-display-feature-spotlight","sapn-display-homepage-hero","sapn-display-news-hero","sapn-display-news-spotlight","sapn-display-hero","sapn-type-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nAutonomous Enterprise to Define Competitive Edge in 2026 - 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