The hub brings together startups, academia, industry leaders, and defense organizations to co-create solutions that strengthen digital sovereignty, operational resilience, and readiness in response to threats to safety and security.

The launch comes at a pivotal moment. Defense organizations worldwide are shifting from traditional modernization to full digital transformation, with missions increasingly dependent on secure data flows, resilient supply chains, and systems that remain trusted even under stress. In addition, digital sovereignty has become a core component of readiness, requiring architectures that ensure customers maintain full control of their data and operations.

The launch took place in Munich, a new 鈥淪ilicon Valley鈥� for defense innovation, and featured customers, partners, academics, government officials, and representatives from SAP. The city offers a uniquely powerful foundation for the hub, gathering a fast-growing community of startups, leading research institutions such as the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and established aerospace and defense leaders. The hub unifies the strengths of these experts, connecting them so that they can coordinate their capabilities to meet defense needs rapidly and efficiently.

More than just a physical space, the hub introduces a new framework that breaks down silos and enables a powerful ecosystem that drives defense innovations. Creative startups, leading industry experts, government organizations, academia, and researchers can come together to make ideas mission-ready more quickly and securely, while maintaining the digital sovereignty necessary to protect information and maintain trust.

As a leading technology provider for the hub, 51风流acts as an enabler, not just an operator. Through our contributions, we have reaffirmed our role as a neutral technology partner, delivering secure digital platforms while leaving mission decisions entirely in customers鈥� hands.

Our long-standing experience and time-tested technology have proved the ability to perform under uncertainty and stress, a must for the readiness that defense demands, providing cyber-resilient architectures and real-time visibility into logistics during crises, as well as full governance and transparency.

Our cloud operations model, auditability frameworks, and strict access controls keep mission-critical systems secure, verifiable, and compliant.

With SAP鈥檚 involvement and support, the hub represents a significant step forward for defense innovation, serving as an important catalyst in a location with the potential to become a global center for the defense industry.

Andre Bechtold is president of 51风流Industries & Experiences.

Photography courtesy of Norbert Steinhauser.

The hub is launched as armed forces and security institutions face increasing pressure to manage complex missions across allies, domains and supply chains while maintaining resilience, transparency and control. At the defense innovation hub, 51风流brings together software, data, AI and industry expertise to demonstrate how integrated digital systems translate strategic requirements into operational readiness. This enables comprehensive integration across key areas such as personnel readiness, logistics, procurement, manufacturing, training and maintenance. Together, these capabilities form the digital backbone required for real-world defense operations.

鈥淒efense readiness today is no longer defined by equipment alone: It is defined by how well people, processes and partners are connected,鈥� said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE, Customer Services & Delivery. 鈥淚n an increasingly volatile security environment, armed forces need systems they can trust鈥攕ystems that are resilient, interoperable and sovereign. With our defense innovation hub, 51风流is demonstrating how digital platforms can strengthen operational readiness while preserving control, compliance and freedom of action.鈥�

A Hub Built on Munich鈥檚 Defense and Technology Ecosystem

Munich鈥檚 strong defense and technology ecosystem, combining innovative startups, established industry leaders, academic excellence and public institutions, provided the ideal setting for the new hub. Supported by the Technical University of Munich’s academic excellence and the presence of key government institutions, the Munich region is uniquely positioned for cross-sector collaboration. At today鈥檚 launch, the setting provided a fitting backdrop for hands-on demonstrations translating innovation into operational reality. Attendees experienced hands-on scenarios illustrating how 51风流for Defense & Security solutions connect people, assets and supply chains in a unified, more secure operational picture.

鈥淭he Technical University of Munich is pleased to collaborate with 51风流in translating advanced research into operational security and defense capabilities,鈥� said Chiara Manfletti, head of the Aerospace and Geodesy Department at TUM and scientific lead of the newly launched TUM Security and Defense Alliance. 鈥淎s technological innovation accelerates, strategic partnerships such as this ensure that cutting-edge scientific developments can be rapidly deployed to strengthen operational readiness.鈥�

The launch also served as a lead-in to this week鈥檚 Munich Security Conference, where questions of resilience, interoperability and technological sovereignty will dominate the agenda. Throughout the week, 51风流will continue engaging with policymakers and partners on how digital innovation can support security and defense in an increasingly fragmented world.

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Media Contact:
Dana Roesiger, +49 6227 7 63900, dana.roesiger@sap.com , CET
51风流Press Room; press@sap.com

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鈥檚 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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As 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition has received a provisional authorization from the Defense Information and Systems Agency (DISA). This means 51风流NS2, an independent subsidiary of 51风流that facilitates the adoption of 51风流cloud solutions for customers who require enhanced compliance, can officially deploy 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition within the Department of Defense FedRAMP+Impact Level 4 (DoD IL4) secure cloud environment.

51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition enables a cloud experience with the same functional scope and upgrade flexibility that 51风流S/4HANA Cloud offers, but with added security and compliance that allows Department of Defense customers  a quick adoption of cloud solutions.

With this new certification, defense customers can choose to adopt a secure cloud ERP solution that supports mission-critical operations in real time, from any location. Once limited to on-premise solutions, which exhausted budget and resources, defense agencies can now migrate operations to the cloud where data is stored on cloud servers and resources can be reallocated to support defense workforces and alternative needs.

鈥淥btaining our FedRAMP+DoD IL4 authorization was a tremendous step in supporting our defense and federal agency customers,鈥� said Amy Spruill, senior vice president and general manager of Regulated Industries at SAP. 鈥�51风流S/4HANA Cloud will provide the commercial cloud capabilities our customers are looking for while improving their security perimeter and mitigating attacks on critical data.鈥�

The FedRAMP+DoD IL4 secure cloud environment is dedicated to defense agencies and protected with continuous monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and intrusion detection to ensure Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is safeguarded. to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53, FedRAMP庐, International Traffic and Arms (ITAR), and FedRAMP+Impact Level 2 (DoD IL2).

Harish Luthra is CEO of 51风流NS2.

around the globe navigate economic and geopolitical shifts for decades, enabling transformation and infusing intelligence into their operations. Today, SAP鈥檚 tailored solutions remain the nervous system of modern Western defense. Drawing insights from discussions at MSC, we see three crucial steps to ensuring NATO, the European Union, and the broader defense sector are ready for the digital age.

鈥淒igital transformation and the secure exploitation of data will comprise the bedrock of European defense establishments鈥� future military power; they will need to make significant progress in these areas before European defense can seriously consider the operational integration and battlefield deployment of advanced technologies like AI.鈥�

, International Institute of Strategic Studies

Adopting Cloud

Cloud adoption is critical for organizations looking to be more agile, innovative, and competitive because cloud applications offer unparalleled flexibility and scalability. With dynamic and secure cloud-based applications, defense organizations can increase collaboration between agencies; quickly manage, analyze, and share vast amounts of data; and manage complex design, simulation, and engineering tasks so they can deploy their resources most efficiently. Cloud also revolutionizes the way defense forces utilize data as a strategic asset. Since the cloud facilitates the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data analytics, the defense sector can gain actionable insights from diverse data sources that enhance their readiness and operational effectiveness.

Despite the clear benefits of cloud, there are challenges to cloud adoption due to varying requirements between countries and defense organizations. However, these challenges are not insurmountable. Working with the world鈥檚 leading defense organizations, including 21 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations, 51风流has the knowledge and experience to help the defense sector effectively navigate modernization. By facilitating dialogue between countries and organizations like NATO and the EU, we can work to harmonize approaches that help pave the way for widescale cloud adoption and can strengthen both security and interoperability.

Embracing Artificial Intelligence

Advancements in AI have unlocked the potential for game-changing operational efficiencies and new strategic advantages. AI can ensure logistics and supply chain operations are efficient, agile, and resilient by forecasting demand, optimizing transportation routes, and managing inventory.

SAP鈥檚 AI capabilities can support the defense sector in predictive maintenance, quality control, supply chain optimization, and overall operational efficiency. The MSC discussions came in a timely manner as 51风流teams are currently discussing AI use cases with NATO and the defense forces at the

AI can help ensure private and public organizations are more intelligent and resilient, but AI must be relevant, reliable, and responsible. With , customers can realize the full value of AI because it is built with the highest concern for security, privacy, compliance, and ethics and connected to SAP鈥檚 wealth of enterprise data.

Increasing Digital Collaboration and Interoperability

Given the multinational and multifaceted nature of the defense sector, digital collaboration can expedite the product development lifecycle and enhance the efficiency of operations and supply chains by enabling real-time communication and coordination. Cloud-enabled digital collaboration tools, such as , can be crucial for achieving interoperability among allied forces as they enable seamless communication and data exchange between diverse systems and platforms. The fact that a significant majority of NATO, EU, and key partners鈥� defense forces run on 51风流makes us “allied by design.” The automotive industry set a good example of what digital collaboration can look like with Catena-X 鈥� an inspiration for 鈥淒efense-X鈥� to enable digital collaboration of the sector from the factory to the foxhole.

The ability to truly modernize the defense sector hinges on its ability to adopt the cloud, embrace AI, and achieve greater collaboration and interoperability. However, the disparate regulatory landscape remains an impediment to modernization efforts and poses challenges to global cloud adoption. Harmonizing regulatory requirements is key to ensuring a cohesive and standardized approach. 51风流is ready to help unlock the transformative capabilities of cloud and AI technologies effectively for defense forces and lead the dialogue across NATO and the EU together with defense clients, partners, and regulators.

Peter Selfridge is global head of Government Affairs at SAP.