With the����1H 2026 release,��we’re��deepening those connections across the HR lifecycle. This release focuses on��four��core priorities:��connected,��suite-wide��AI; unified experiences that adapt to how organizations work;��processes designed for clarity, accuracy, and compliance; and stronger foundations for skills and long-term growth.��Together, these innovations help organizations��anticipate��needs earlier, reduce friction in daily work, and move forward with greater confidence.��

Connected AI that works across HCM

AI in HR delivers the greatest impact when it works continuously across the entire workforce lifecycle—not as isolated features, but as connected capabilities that share context and insight.

The 1H 2026 release expands��suite-wide��agentic AI��across 51����SuccessFactors solutions, helping��employees��get clearer answers, act sooner, and keep��work moving��across roles and responsibilities.��A connected network of����now supports areas such as recruiting, workforce administration, payroll, learning, performance, and talent development—working together behind the scenes to help��anticipate��next steps and surface relevant guidance.

This release also introduces a growing��workforce knowledge network, bringing trusted external expertise and research directly into the flow of work through Joule.��Teams can now access expert-backed global employment guidance and��research-driven��insights without leaving their workflows—supporting��faster, more��confident decisions.

To��further��support learning in the flow of work,��intelligent Q&A in����now helps employees find information more easily. AI��can deliver instant,��context-aware��responses drawn directly from an organization’s learning content,��along with relevant links and resources,��so employees can get answers quickly without searching through courses or documentation.��

Unified experiences that adapt to how work gets done��

As HR��tasks��become more embedded in��day-to-day work, experiences need to feel intuitive, connected, and responsive��wherever work happens. In the 1H 2026 release,��51����SuccessFactors solutions continue to unify experiences across the suite, giving employees, managers, and HR teams what they need��in��the moment.��

• Connected recruiting and onboarding:��Native integration between�� solutions, , and����can bring AI-enabled��recruiting, core HR, and onboarding together into a single, continuous experience, helping hiring teams move faster while��maintaining��consistency from candidate through new hire.��

• Tailored experiences,��built faster:��The new��extensibility wizard��can provide guided, step-by-step support for creating custom extensions on����(51����BTP) directly within��SAP��SuccessFactors solutions, making it easier to adapt experiences to unique business needs while preserving governance.��
• Simpler, clearer employee moments:��A redesigned, configurable 401(k) experience��in����for U.S.��employees helps simplify enrollment and management by clearly explaining employer contributions and guiding deferrals and beneficiary setup, helping employees make informed decisions with confidence.��

Processes designed for clarity, accuracy, and compliance��

In the 1H 2026 release, 51����SuccessFactors introduces new capabilities that help organizations bring greater clarity and rigor to pay practices.

With��pay��transparency insights��in the , organizations can analyze compensation patterns and potential pay gaps, supporting transparent, data-driven pay practices in-line with evolving regulatory expectations,��including in the EU.��

Skills governance��for sustainable growth��

Preparing for��what’s��next requires trusted, consistent skills data that organizations can rely on across HR, talent, and workforce planning.

In the 1H 2026 release,��we are��strengthening��the����with enhanced��skills governance, providing a centralized interface to help manage skills, apply governance standards, and ensure alignment across 51����SuccessFactors solutions and partner applications. This helps organizations improve��skills��data quality, maintain consistency at scale, and make more confident,��skills-based��decisions.��

A connected foundation for the future 

This��release��reinforces��SAP’s continued focus on an intelligent, connected HCM��foundation—one designed to evolve with your organization and support confident decisions at every stage of work. By bringing together data, AI, and experiences across the HR lifecycle, these��enhancements help organizations reduce friction today while��laying��the groundwork for��tomorrow.

To explore what’s included in this release, check out the or watch the overview .

Bianka Woelke is group vice president and head of Application Product Management for 51����SuccessFactors.

But new research from 51����and Wakefield* suggests a different reality is emerging. AI isn’t making early talent irrelevant. Instead, it’s accelerating how quickly they become productive, reshaping the earliest stages of work, and raising expectations far earlier in the employee lifecycle.

According to the findings, 88% of CHROs say AI is making early-career talent role-ready faster. This acceleration raises the stakes on both sides. While organizations benefit from faster productivity and earlier impact, early‑career employees are entering roles with heightened expectations and fewer traditional learning buffers—forcing leaders to rethink how success is defined and supported from day one.

AI as an accelerator of readiness

Entry-level roles have long relied on repetitive, lower-stakes tasks that helped new employees learn how work gets done. Today, AI automates much of that foundational execution.

This shift is increasingly common: 79% of surveyed CHROs report that their early-career talent receives enterprise AI tools within their first month on the job. Additionally, 87% expect new hires to be comfortable with AI on day one or learn the tools immediately after joining.

With AI absorbing traditional tasks, early-career talent is stepping into meaningful work sooner—and CHROs are already seeing the impact, with 56% reporting improved confidence and 55% citing increased productivity among those using AI.

This acceleration reflects themes we first explored in the 2025 51����SuccessFactors Future of Work Predictions , where we examined how AI might reshape entry‑level roles. As foundational tasks continue to be absorbed by AI, the question becomes not whether early‑career roles will exist, but how organizations can redesign them to build capability in new ways.

When productivity accelerates, expectations follow

As early talent ramps faster, the expectations placed on them are rising just as quickly. Several structural factors are contributing to this shift: organizations are hiring fewer early-career talent, and those who do join are expected to take on more complex work earlier in their tenure. Our upcoming research from our makes this clear, as one research participant summarized, “Entry level roles used to be focused on mundane tasks—what should they do now? They bring an incredibly unique perspective; we want to hire early talent to challenge our norms and help us find better ways of working.”

But with AI removing the mundane work, it may also remove many of the gradual, hands-on learning moments that once helped new hires build experience over time.

With these rising expectations, it’s easy to see how the cognitive load of entry level roles could increase substantially. CHROs report heightened performance pressure and increased mental effort as new hires try to keep pace with AI-accelerated work. Some researchers refer to this dynamic as “,” the cognitive strain that comes from managing rapid, AI-driven workflow.

Together, these shifts create several risks for both employees and organizations:

• Shadow AI use rises: 56%of CHROs say early-career talent turns to unsanctioned AI tools when formal guidance is unclear. This behavior may reflect entry-level hires trying to keep pace rather than intentionally breaking policy.
• Inconsistent enablement creates talent risk: 44% of CHROs say uneven access to AI tools increases attrition risk, especially for early talent who may feel unable to live up to new performance expectations without tools to automate routine tasks.
• Foundational skills may erode: Even as AI boosts productivity, 38%of leaders worry early-career talent are not building long-term skills like communication, critical thinking, judgment, and collaboration. That concern is echoed in qualitative feedback from HR leaders as well. As one noted, “We’ve observed gaps in professionalism in business settings for entry‑level talent, from collaboration and stakeholder management [to] ownership and accountability.”

Rethinking the first step into work

As traditional early‑career learning pathways narrow, organizations must now redesign how those learning moments happen. Our research points to several areas where HR leaders can intentionally strengthen the early-career ramp:

1. Build foundational skill development intentionally.

As repetitive tasks disappear, organizations have the opportunity to deliberately create new ways for early talent to build communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. This can include structured, project-based experiences, clearer decision-making frameworks, and more frequent coaching that focuses on judgement and prioritization, not just task completion.

2. Design entry-level roles around higher-value work.

Early-career employees are capable of contributing more strategically when roles are designed with the right balance of scope and support. Redesigning entry‑level positions to include clear ownership—supported by explicit expectations, mentoring, and well‑defined guidance for decisions and escalation—helps early‑career talent build confidence while managing risk.

3. Establish AI governance from day one.

Without clear guidance, early talent may struggle to understand how to use AI responsibly. Introducing AI expectations during onboarding, reinforcing role-specific best practices, and normalizing manager-led conversations about AI use can reduce shadow AI and build trust in new technologies early on.

4. Ensure equitable AI access across teams and managers.

As expectations rise, uneven access to AI tools can quietly increase workload pressure and stress for early-career employees. Providing consistent access, training, and enablement helps ensure new hires are equipped to meet accelerated demands without increasing burnout or attrition.

The bottom line

AI isn’t eliminating early-career talent from the workforce; it’s reshaping the path they take to become effective and increasing the value of the work they contribute. While entry-level roles may be fewer, expectations for impact are higher, placing greater importance on pairing AI fluency with strong human skills. For new graduates, developing both will not only help them land a job but also enable them to contribute quickly and build lasting capabilities.

When early‑career talent becomes productive sooner, companies can move faster, innovate earlier, and operate more efficiently, but only if that speed is matched with structure, coaching, and intentional development. Organizations that navigate this transition successfully will ensure early talent doesn’t just ramp up faster, but also builds the judgment, collaboration, and critical‑thinking skills that AI can’t replace.

To stay on top of more upcoming research on the impact of AI on entry-level roles, visit our .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

*The 51����AI Talent Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 100 US CHROs (or CPO equivalent) at organizations with a minimum annual revenue of $500m where employees are using AI-enabled tools in their day-to-day responsibilities, between February 19th and March 2nd, 2026, using an email invitation and an online survey.

“When we give, we gain” is this year’s , and in the workplace, giving can take many forms: mentoring, advocacy, visibility, resources, and transparency.

For organizations, pay transparency is one of the most tangible ways to “give” in service of gender equality. When employees better understand their compensation, historically underrepresented groups gain clarity and fairness. And when organizations commit to equitable practices, the benefits ripple across the business—from greater trust and engagement to stronger talent outcomes and overall performance.

Transparency starts with accountability

Many organizations are still early��in��their pay transparency journey.��At SAP,��this has been a��multi-year��effort��grounded in data, accountability, and action.��Each year, we conduct global internal pay equity analyses��comparing��employees in comparable roles, levels, and��geographies��to ensure compensation is fair, market-aligned, and internally��consistent. When outliers are��identified, centrally funded adjustments bring��pay��in-line.

This reflects SAP’s fair pay philosophy: equitable compensation that is transparent and free from bias, forming the foundation for performance-based differentiation.

Technology is central to this approach. 51����operationalizes fair pay through����and��, embedding��pay analysis, job architecture, and range guidance, so managers can consistently apply structured, explainable decisions during hiring and annual cycles.

Today,��over 99% of 51����employees worldwide have transparency into their pay��range through��a compensation assistant��tool built on (51����BTP). This tool��integrates 51����SuccessFactors data to display salary ranges across career levels, which��can replace��guesswork with confidence and can give employees clear insight into their value, career progression, and how pay decisions are made.

From compliance to strategic intelligence: the EU Pay Transparency Directive

The shift from voluntary transparency to regulatory mandate is already underway. For European Union member states, the EU Pay Transparency Directive is driving change by requiring salary range disclosures in advance of the first interview, employee access to pay information, and gender pay gap reporting, with corrective action mandated when unexplained gaps exceed 5%. As implementation timelines approach, HR, legal, and finance teams across the EU are racing to operationalize new transparency requirements, making pay governance a board-level issue for many organizations.

“One of the most meaningful shifts introduced by the EU Pay Transparency Directive is giving employees clearer tools to understand their own compensation. With capabilities like individual pay transparency reports generated through 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central, employees now have a self-service way to see how their pay compares within their role and organization. That level of visibility is a major step forward for pay equity because it brings clarity to something that historically has been difficult for employees to question or address.”

Anita Lettink, Future of Work and Pay Expert

Compliance is just the starting point. Organizations that embed transparency into everyday HR processes ensure pay decisions are consistent, equitable, and aligned with skills, performance, and business priorities. 51����is already preparing customers for this shift, with tools designed to help meet these new requirements confidently.

With EU Pay Transparency Insights, a new capability within the , organizations can:

• Identify structural pay gaps and outliers before they become systemic issues.
• Connect compensation data to job architecture, skills, and performance to inform decisions and governance.
• Generate directive-aligned, ready-to-use reports without heavy manual effort.
• Turn transparency into action, guiding adjustments, equitable promotions, and workforce planning at scale.

These insights complement established fair pay practices—such as structured job architecture, peer-based analysis, and centrally funded adjustments—enabling customers to implement transparent, equitable pay practices while meeting regulatory requirements.

Giving to gain: the leadership opportunity

This International Women’s Day, transparency should be treated as a strategic priority, not a compliance task. Clear, consistent pay practices help employees understand their value and help leaders make smarter, data-driven workforce decisions.

Pay transparency is accelerating, and organizations that act now will be the ones that lead. Don’t miss our upcoming webinar, EU Pay Transparency: Turning Fair and Equitable Pay into Your Strategic Advantage, where Future of Work and Pay expert Anita Lettink will break down the latest regulatory expectations and share best practices for building fair, equitable, and motivating compensation structures. .

Maryann Abbajay is chief revenue officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

Today, we’re announcing that is now integrated with , working to deliver a unified experience, connected data, and integration with AI companion and to embed intelligent assistance directly into hiring workflows to help teams move faster, make better decisions, and deliver better candidate experiences. This integration, following SAP’s acquisition of SmartRecruiters in September 2025, establishes the foundation for a fully connected talent architecture, where hiring decisions, skills intelligence, and workforce planning can operate as one system.

Advancing intelligent hiring with SmartRecruiters for 51����SuccessFactors

The solution can deliver a consistent, end-to-end hiring experience designed to meet the scale, speed, and intelligence requirements of modern organizations. By combining intuitive workflows with embedded AI, recruiters can eliminate repetitive administrative tasks and focus on higher value interactions, while candidates move through a streamlined, personalized journey from first touch to offer.

The integration with 51����SuccessFactors HCM builds on these capabilities by connecting hiring processes to the full employee lifecycle and the broader business, helping to ensure that every hiring decision is grounded in real-time data and organizational context. Designed for scale, SmartRecruiters for 51����SuccessFactors helps set the foundation for a complete intelligence layer across hiring and HR, with people, job, and organizational data flowing seamlessly between 51����and SmartRecruiters.

Organizations can gain a more predictable hiring process with streamlined workflows, consistent tools, and shared real-time data across each hiring stage. They can expect:

• Single login: one entry point into 51����SuccessFactors and SmartRecruiters for recruiters, hiring managers, and approvers
• Unified navigation: a seamless experience across 51����SuccessFactors and SmartRecruiters to help reduce complexity and speed up adoption
• Aligned data: synchronized people, job, and organizational data that flows between systems, helping to ensure accuracy and consistency end to end

In practice, core organizational data like job families, cost centers, and locations can flow automatically from 51����SuccessFactors into SmartRecruiters, helping to eliminate manual entry and inconsistencies. New roles open with these attributes already applied, and user management is just as smooth: recruiters, hiring managers, and approvers created in 51����SuccessFactors appear in SmartRecruiters with the right permissions, helping to reduce errors and keep approval flows and reporting clean. As integration deepens, hiring becomes fully connected to core HR and workforce systems, creating a unified, trusted foundation for talent decisions across the enterprise.

With the enhanced benefits of SmartRecruiters for 51����SuccessFactors, simple and flexible integration paths are now available for customers currently using the 51����SuccessFactors Recruiting solution. 51����will continue to honor all contracts, and customers will not be required to migrate.

Integration that activates enterprise‑ready AI

With SAP’s continued investment, SmartRecruiters for 51����SuccessFactors is evolving quickly, bringing AI-driven innovation to every part of the hiring experience. High-volume hiring can become high-quality hiring through AI-assisted workflows, including intuitive applications, automated scheduling, intelligent matching, and streamlined interview feedback.

Beginning in 2026, Winston and SAP’s generative AI solution will work together as connected agents. Additionally, new protections such as fraud detection, enhanced consent management, and applicant data transferability will help embed trust in the hiring cycle, strengthening both system integrity and candidate confidence.

From talent acquisition to talent readiness

As organizations look beyond filling roles to building future-proof capabilities, intelligent hiring becomes just one part of a broader talent strategy. The power of integration delivered by SmartRecruiters for 51����SuccessFactors extends beyond hiring, creating a connected, AI-enabled talent experience across the entire 51����SuccessFactors HCM suite and, ultimately, . This is how organizations become skills-ready: hiring decisions tied to outcomes, and employees supported with clear paths to grow and contribute.

See SmartRecruiters for 51����SuccessFactors in action:��Catch the����of our March 5 webinar – “The Future of Intelligent Hiring” – to explore how 51����is redefining hiring, talent orchestration, and long-term workforce strategy.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer, 51����SuccessFactors.
Rebecca Carr is CEO of SmartRecruiters, an 51����company.

To date, many employers have approached pay equity at their own pace, but a new era is beginning, one that will redefine pay practices and workplace culture for organizations across the European Union (EU). Set to take effect across EU Member States in 2026, the (EU Directive 2023/970) strengthens the principle of “equal pay for equal work or work of equal value” as enshrined in EU law, requiring employers to adopt transparent pay practices and close gender pay gaps or face potential legal and financial consequences.

can provide a single source of truth for the critical data-driven insights needed to help organizations meet EU pay transparency requirements. Today, 51����is announcing new capabilities that can make it even easier for organizations to meet their requirements across EU countries.

Launching in 1H 2026, EU Pay Transparency Insights is a new capability within the , an intelligent, AI-powered application that can deliver ready-to-use, actionable insights to help leaders make more informed decisions. EU Pay Transparency Insights enables organizations to analyze compensation, identify outliers, and address pay gaps, helping them meet reporting requirements while unlocking the workforce and business performance benefits of achieving true pay equity.

Three requirements every employer must meet—and how 51����SuccessFactors HCM supports them

The EU Pay Transparency Directive represents one of the most sweeping changes to workplace compensation in decades. To meet its requirements, organizations will need to reassess their current HR data management capabilities and processes and begin planning now. As countries move toward putting the directive into law by June 2026, some obligations may already apply, with others set to take effect as soon as national laws are enacted. And because pay gap reporting deadlines vary by organization size—starting in 2027 for employers with 150 or more employees and based on 2026 workforce data—organizations must act now to be ready.��

51����SuccessFactors HCM is uniquely positioned to support organizations in addressing the three key requirements outlined in the directive—gender pay gap reporting, employee pay transparency, and candidate pay transparency—with several capabilities already available today and advanced analytics for gender pay gap reporting delivered through EU Pay Transparency Insights in 1H 2026.

1. Gender pay gap reporting

Once national laws are in place, employers will be required to disclose their gender pay gaps on a predefined schedule, and any gap of 5% or more must be explained or mitigated with a joint pay assessment. With EU Pay Transparency Insights within , organizations will be able to access rich workforce insights to analyze compensation and identify drivers behind pay gaps, giving them the information they need to generate actionable reports with a complete view of workforce equity in a single place.

2. Employee pay transparency

In accordance with the directive, employees have the right to request information on average pay levels by gender for comparable roles. By leveraging the powerful document generation capabilities in 51����SuccessFactors HCM, employers can provide employees with a self-service experience to display individual pay transparency statements directly from the People Profile in . These statements can give clear insight into the employee’s annual pay and the average pay of the same worker category broken down by gender.

3. Candidate pay transparency

Employers will be required to disclose pay ranges in job advertisements or before interviews. They will also be prohibited from asking applicants about salary history. 51����SuccessFactors solutions help enhance pay transparency by enabling employers to display pay ranges directly within job postings published through SAP’s recruiting solutions, including 51����SuccessFactors Recruiting and .

In addition to these 51����SuccessFactors capabilities, 51����continues to work with our vast partner ecosystem to support pay parity and pay transparency efforts.

An opportunity to lead with accountability

The EU Pay Transparency Directive sets a new baseline for accountability in how organizations manage and disclose pay. By preparing early and partnering with SAP, organizations can deliver transparent compensation insights, empowering employees with a clear view of their total rewards and career journey and supporting HR professionals in making consistent and measurable decisions with confidence. With continuous innovation and trusted localized expertise, 51����helps organizations stay on top of changes and build a sustainable, employee-centered approach to pay equity across the EU.

Learn more about how 51����SuccessFactors HCM can help your organization stay compliant with the EU Pay Transparency Directive in the

Dan Beck is general manager and chief product officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

The IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Talent Intelligence evaluates vendors using the IDC MarketScape model, which incorporates quantitative and qualitative factors to assess vendors’ current capabilities and future road maps for delivering value to customers seeking talent intelligence. According to the report, 51����was recognized for strengths in “unified and integrated skills framework, embedded AI and analytics, and an open data ecosystem.”

Chasing innovation: powering the skills-based enterprise

At SAP, we have made consistent and strategic investments in skills, talent intelligence, and AI-driven workforce planning.

The talent intelligence hub is a unified skills framework embedded across the entire . It empowers HR with an AI-driven, consistent skills foundation to help optimize talent processes, enrich personalized employee learning experiences, and accelerate skills development—enabling organizations to build an agile, future-ready workforce.

Building on this foundation, skills and intelligence capabilities can be leveraged across multiple product areas. helps transform career growth, internal mobility, and success into a single, AI-powered, skills-based solution, helping to give leaders clear visibility into workforce capabilities while guiding employees to personalized opportunities, so you can build, retain, and deploy the talent your strategy needs to win. (generally available in 1H 2026) can enable optimized shift planning in manufacturing and production by helping to ensure the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time to help prevent the costly impacts of understaffing or overstaffing.  And the can bring together people, skills, and business data, from 51����SuccessFactors solutions and beyond, into actionable insights that help leaders make more informed people and business decisions.

We are also accelerating innovation with new Joule Agents to help automate repetitive tasks, guide employees with real-time, context-aware support, and enable accuracy across core HR processes, so that HR can focus on strategic people initiatives. The , now generally available, and the upcoming Career and Talent Development and People Intelligence Agents (both planned for 1H 2026) will deliver AI capabilities to help manage performance reviews, compensation planning, skills distribution, retention, personalized development, and succession. And with SAP’s acquisition of SmartRecruiters, we are strengthening our talent acquisition capabilities to deliver an even more unified, intelligence-driven hiring experience.

These innovations help organizations close skills gaps and empower employees with meaningful, data-driven growth opportunities, helping them thrive in an ever-changing workplace.

Customer insights: real outcomes from skills transformation

Our customers say it best when it comes to the impact of our skills-based innovations.

• , a global business and technology partner, is building a skills engine to support the employee lifecycle. “Skills are at the core of our company, as they support both clients and employees. Our promise to ‘get the future you want’ means thinking about future client needs and employee skills and career development. 51����SuccessFactors HCM is key in our skills-first approach to our people experience transformation,” Jihane Baciocchini, vice president and head of Talent Acquisition, Capgemini, said.
• , one of the world’s leading pump and water solutions companies, is utilizing the talent intelligence hub functionality of 51����SuccessFactors solutions to create a single source of skills information, enabling it to connect people and business needs in new ways. “There’s a consensus that what got us here won’t get us there: we need new skills and capabilities. And that’s where the talent intelligence hub in 51����SuccessFactors solutions comes in. It’s helping us build one skills foundation that feeds into critical decisions on talent—and transform skills into something we live and breathe every day,” Mads Kidmose, head of HR Technology and Data Foundation, Grundfos Holding A/S, said.

What’s next

This is a critical moment for HR leaders, as talent intelligence platforms are transforming how organizations hire, develop, and retain their workforce. Looking ahead to 2026, our focus remains on expanding skills-based capabilities and delivering AI solutions that can empower every organization to grow with confidence and thrive.

Read����report.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

is a next-generation HR help desk and ticketing system, purpose-built for HR. It helps organizations break through those barriers by connecting AI, trusted data, and intuitive experiences to help transform HR service delivery from reactive support to proactive, human-centered impact.

From HR help desk to human impact

51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management gives HR teams a unified HR service delivery platform to help manage service requests, automate workflows, and deliver consistent, guided interactions that can build trust and compliance. By moving beyond a reactive “ticketing” mindset, HR can anticipate employee needs, operating with speed, transparency, and insight, which enables the entire organization to work more efficiently.

Unlike IT-centric tools that treat employees as tickets, 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management brings together context, compliance, and connection—enabling HR to create experiences that feel personal, intelligent, and effortless.

AI for HR: delivering context-driven automation

Automation is only as effective as the context behind it. Unlike standalone AI add-ons, Joule, SAP’s AI copilot, can make every interaction faster, smarter, and more human. Employees can ask questions in everyday language and receive contextual answers grounded in verified HR data and policies.

HR teams benefit from AI-generated case summaries, pre-built templates, personalized e-mail drafts, intelligent case recommendations, and intelligent ticket deflection to help reduce manual effort and speed resolution. With agentic AI, the system continuously learns from every interaction, automatically surfacing insights, suggesting next best actions, and driving service accuracy. HR teams don’t just automate tasks; they deliver smarter, compliant, and more personalized support all within a single, secure HR system.

Connected data that powers intelligent decisions

Unlike many platforms that rely on integrations or duplicated data to connect with HR systems, the 51����SuccessFactors portfolio is connected by design. Deeply integrated with , 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management can connect every transaction, service case, and policy into a single source of truth for HR. Combined with and , this foundation can turn data into actionable intelligence: surfacing trends, predicting service demand, and improving quality with each interaction. Pre-configured HR scenarios accelerate implementation and reduce time-to-value by providing best-practice case and form definitions that can be tailored to unique organizational processes. Standard integration flows enable HR teams to update employee data directly from within the case, making it easier to get up and running quickly without starting from scratch.

Experience that feels effortless

A great HR service experience isn’t just fast—it feels easy. serves as the digital front door for 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management, 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central, and Joule.

Employees can find answers, submit requests, and collaborate in the flow of work:

• Submit requests and find answers through guided experiences.
• Initiate AI-powered knowledge searches to reduce overall case volume.
• Extend workflows quickly with seamless integration with .

Customer impact in action

Across industries, 51����customers are replacing fragmented, IT-led tools with a purpose-built HR service platform, creating measurable gains in employee satisfaction and HR efficiency.

• “By moving to next-generation service requests with [51����SuccessFactors] Enterprise Service Management, we’ve streamlined complex processes like 401(k) transfers and dramatically improved speed, compliance, and employee confidence.”  – 51����customer, Technology
• “Employees start in [51����SuccessFactors] Work Zone with Joule, search knowledge first, and only create a case when needed. That reduces case volume and service rep workload.” – 51����customer, Consumer Goods
• “We’re designing for consistency—using targeted forms aligned to service categories. Data duplication is minimized while the People Profile serves as the single source of truth.” – 51����customer, Manufacturing
• “Our front door is multi-channel—e-mail, phone, and Teams chat—all anchored in the HR knowledge base with smart routing to the right teams.” – 51����customer, Aviation
• “One feature that truly stood out for us was the timeline. Finding information in our old system used to be a challenge, but with [51����SuccessFactors] Enterprise Service Management, the timeline view has been a game changer. It gives our teams instant visibility into every interaction and drives new levels of efficiency and clarity. – 51����customer, Banking
• “The guided steps for HR service representatives have transformed how our team works. Instead of navigating complex processes, they now follow clear, intuitive paths that ensure every case is handled consistently and efficiently. It’s like having an intelligent assistant built right into the workflow.” – 51����customer, Telecommunications
• “The [51����SuccessFactors] Employee Central data mashup within case management has been an absolute game changer. Having real-time employee data visible directly in each case means no more switching between systems. Our HR team can make faster, more informed decisions with complete context at their fingertips.” – 51����customer, Manufacturing

From service efficiency to experience intelligence

By uniting AI, data, and experience within the 51����ecosystem, 51����SuccessFactors solutions can turn HR service delivery into a strategic engine that drives business results.

Organizations can achieve:

• Faster resolution for service issues
• Personalized experiences at scale for every employee
• Actionable insights that improve both HR efficiency and employee engagement

In a world where agility and trust define competitive advantage, HR is no longer a back-office function—it’s a driver of workforce productivity, organizational resilience, and enterprise-wide success.

Learn more about .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

This distinction reflects the voice of customers that consistently highlight the value, innovation, and measurable results delivered by 51����SuccessFactors solutions. Solutions that qualify for the Buyer’s Choice award are based on verified reviews received between January 1 and October 17, 2025.

“51����SuccessFactors continues to set the bar for helping organizations build stronger, more connected workforces,” said Allyson Havener, CMO, TrustRadius. “Winning the 2026 TrustRadius Buyer’s Choice award reflects the trust customers have in 51����to empower people, foster growth, and create meaningful employee experiences. It’s a well-deserved recognition for a platform that truly puts people at the heart of business success.”

What our customers are saying

On TrustRadius, 51����SuccessFactors customers consistently highlight the ability to simplify HR processes, empower employees, and deliver meaningful impact.

• “51����SuccessFactors HCM stands out among other human capital management solutions due to its comprehensive suite of cloud-based tools, strong global compliance capabilities, and seamless integration with other 51����systems. Compared to competitors, it offers a more unified experience across core HR, talent management, and workforce analytics, which is essential for organizations looking to scale and adapt quickly.” –
• “With the aid of AI, we have been able to streamline our operations using 51����SuccessFactors HCM. Therefore, AI has been so helpful when it comes to improving the management of our workforce when using 51����SuccessFactors HCM.” –
• “The greatest benefit of 51����SuccessFactors HCM is how it seamlessly integrates across all areas of HR, and even sales/supply chain/finance. That integration across the different areas of the business creates efficiencies that other providers do not offer. I have also been thoroughly impressed by the People Intelligence capabilities that have been offered. The sophisticated reporting fills the need for visualization software like tableau/looker.” –

51����SuccessFactors: powering modern people strategies

51����SuccessFactors solutions bring together every element of a modern people strategy, from core HR and payroll to talent acquisition, talent management, people analytics, and more. With embedded across 51����SuccessFactors solutions and (51����BTP) enabling flexible extensions and integrations, customers can tailor their solutions to meet their unique needs.

To help our customers stay ahead in a rapidly evolving work landscape, we continuously invest in the 51����SuccessFactors portfolio, using market insights to deliver the tools and innovations they need to succeed. Last month at Success Connect at 51����Connect in Las Vegas, we unveiled the latest advancements designed to optimize operations, deliver actionable workforce insights, and elevate the employee experience. In September, 51����acquired SmartRecruiters to help enhance our talent acquisition capabilities, empowering our customers to attract, engage, and hire the right people faster and more intelligently.

Looking ahead, our focus remains on helping our customers harness the power of AI, data, and experience to build more agile, resilient, and people-centric organizations. As workforce expectations continue to evolve, we’re committed to delivering innovations that not only meet the needs of today but anticipate tomorrow’s opportunities—enabling customers to future-proof their people strategies and unlock the full potential of their workforce.

Learn more about and read more For more information about these recognitions, visit the .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

Bekaert aspires to become a people- and data-driven company. This requires a thorough strategic and cultural transformation, in which artificial intelligence plays a crucial role. To get started, the company set priorities, leveraging the already available in its existing HR solutions such as 51����SuccessFactors solutions. By focusing on a few embedded AI use cases and creating a stand-alone AI tool on top of that, it started exploring and seeing the AI benefits.

“AI is a means to achieve our goals, a logical extension of our HR strategy,” says Jorn Waterschoot, global head of HR Technology at Bekaert. “AI’s growing capabilities, cost-effectiveness, and versatility are transforming businesses by enhancing user experiences, enabling experimentation, and encouraging adoption. At Bekaert, these strengths are leveraged in HR while carefully managing hidden costs and focusing on end-to-end implementation to maximize AI’s potential. At Bekaert, the goal is to make AI feel like a candy store: once employees experience its versatility, they are encouraged to explore it further.”

First use case: the AI Master Data Assistant

Together with its long-standing partner and , Bekaert worked along a human-centered approach to innovation to identify opportunities and use cases. One of these identified use cases was a stand-alone AI tool that Bekaert used for HR data improvement. This tool was not integrated in the existing software landscape and required of users to extract and import data. 

To improve this laborious process, Flexso helped design and build a custom AI solution, called AI Master Data Assistant, with the help of 51����AI Core in 51����Business Technology Platform. This new solution has been fully integrated with 51����SuccessFactors solutions, using 51����Integration Suite. Currently, the solution uses a specific AI model from generative AI hub in 51����AI Core. However, the flexibility with various models offered through the generative AI hub capability would allow the partner to use another AI model for this solution in the future.

Who benefits from AI in HR at Bekaert?

The AI Master Data Assistant allows the Bekaert HR teams to enhance data quality by automatically identifying, correcting, and preventing errors in employee records. The assistant can detect inconsistencies, duplicates, and missing information, ensuring that all data is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. In practice, it means that users can enter natural language prompts to get proposals for improvement. Via chat-like conversations, they can standardize formats, correct errors, and validate entries in real time.

For innovation projects, Bekaert usually rolls out new solutions gradually first through a number of role-specific use cases, then deploy them indiscriminately across the organization. For the new AI Master Data Assistant, the HR business partners and HR admin roles benefitted first.

Flexibility for the future

As part of the global 51����AppHaus Network, Flexso always strives for a human-centered and sustainable co-innovation approach with its customers. It is about bringing innovation into the hands of people. David Pierre, AI practice lead at Flexso explains: “The AI world is developing so fast. So, the principle in our solution is that we are AI model agnostic. Today, we are using model GPT to support our use case. But if we have a better model in the future, then we can also switch to other models as they are all supported by 51����BTP.”

Imke Vierjahn is 51����AppHaus communications lead.

The impact of getting people analytics right is undeniable. According to , organizations that prioritize insights models and performance processes rooted in people data are more likely to see meaningful gains across the board: 98% continuously realize stronger employee satisfaction, 90% experience a boost in workforce performance toward strategic goals, and 87% see improved employee retention.  

Yet for many organizations, the challenge isn’t recognizing the value of people data—it’s unlocking it. Data lives in silos, systems don’t connect, and insights that could drive strategy often stay buried in spreadsheets or dashboards. And let’s face it—the power of AI rests on data. Without harmonized data in one place, organizations can’t fully tap into AI’s potential to deliver proactive insights, predictive intelligence, and personalized recommendations that drive better business decisions.  

That’s why 51����announced , now generally available, earlier this year. Built on , People Intelligence is an AI-driven application that can bring together people, skills, and business data—from 51����SuccessFactors solutions and beyond—into actionable insights that help leaders make more informed people and business decisions.  

At Success Connect at 51����Connect earlier this month, we announced in People Intelligence for recruiting, learning, succession, career development planning, and performance and goals management—helping to make it even easier for organizations to translate workforce data into measurable impact. 

Turning data into decisions 

People Intelligence combines unified data from across the enterprise with AI-driven predictions to help forecast workforce needs, anticipate labor costs and risks, and strengthen workforce planning. And with , SAP’s AI copilot, HR teams can instantly get contextual, actionable answers to critical business questions such as:  

• What’s the total count of our workforce?  
• Are employees being compensated equitably across similar roles and demographics? 
• What are the key skills gaps within my workforce, and what teams are most affected?  
• What’s the most effective way to acquire high-demand skills?  

Too often, workforce data exists in isolation from finance, supply chain, and operational metrics, which makes it nearly impossible to see how people decisions impact business results. People Intelligence can change that. By linking workforce insights to core business data in 51����Business Data Cloud, leaders can understand how talent strategies affect productivity, compliance, profitability, and agility, and they can act in real time. 

Building a future-ready workforce 

The future of work will be defined by rapid change: accelerating AI adoption, shifting skills requirements, and evolving employee expectations. Organizations that are hamstrung by siloed data or manual analysis will always be a step behind. 

People Intelligence helps provide the foundation and insights to move forward with confidence. By harnessing people data with the same rigor as financial or customer data, organizations gain clarity on how skills, roles, and costs are evolving—and the foresight to stay ahead of what’s next. 

to learn how data-driven insights can fuel your workforce strategy.  

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at 51����SuccessFactors.

With artificial intelligence and digital technologies massively transforming today’s workplace, a crucial question comes to the fore: how can companies maintain focus on the human aspect? Personal contact is indispensable, particularly when it comes to support on people matters. That’s why 51����is deliberately pursuing a balanced approach to providing HR support to its employees: modern technologies and AI provide efficient and smart solutions, but personal consulting remains essential to offering employees worldwide the best possible support.

“The world of work around us is changing at breathtaking speed,” says Dr. Christian Schmeichel, global head of People & Culture Services at SAP. “Currently, we have four generations in our workforce, and naturally this changes the requirements and expectations for HR. The P&C Lounge is designed to address complex questions and issues raised by employees that are better resolved through personal conversations than through the HR ticketing system.”

Comprehensive HR support approach based on multi-tier model

51����pursues a differentiated approach to employee support, which Schmeichel describes as a “multi-tier model.” Employees can find general HR information comprehensively covered on SAP’s internal portal, while standard requests—such as vacation requests, payroll statements, or certificates—are efficiently handled through self-services and the company’s Shared Service Center. The new P&C Lounge complements these offerings as a new service channel that provides the option for individual conversations when needed. This strategically brings the human factor back to the foreground: “From my perspective, this more personalized consulting approach for complex issues on a company-wide basis was missing. This is the blank spot that we are now strategically filling in our HR service portfolio,” Schmeichel says.

Previously, personal HR consulting was primarily available to managers through business partners or advisors. With the P&C Lounge, all employees now have access to individual consulting for more complex questions, from personal team issues to challenging payroll questions to career development.

The process is straightforward: employees can schedule appointments through a booking tool and are matched with the expert most appropriate for their query. The system displays which HR specialist will conduct the meeting and in which languages they provide consultation. “Whenever possible, the conversation takes place in the local language; otherwise in English,” Schmeichel explains. For payroll questions, a payroll expert is automatically assigned; for career topics, a corresponding specialist. Intelligent matching will occur with AI support.

“The HR employees who serve as experts in the P&C Lounge have been thoroughly familiarized with the new approach beforehand,” Schmeichel says. Personal affinity is also important: employees must have genuine interest in this type of work and are specifically prepared for the expected topics.

Optimization in HR through AI

Surprisingly, it was the increasing use of AI that paved the way for this new format. “This works because we have developed a very smart resource allocation concept, combined with modern technology that ensures the right expert is selected for each topic,” Schmeichel explains.

However, AI will do more than just help find the right expertise for each inquiry; it increasingly supports routine tasks in HR, creating more time to invest in personal care and dialogue. The use of Joule, SAP’s AI copilot, provides employees with a central point of contact and helps enable significantly faster and more intuitive navigation through the diverse digital HR services, relieving the burden on both employees and HR teams in daily operations.

Precisely because technologies like Joule increasingly resolve standard inquiries efficiently, personal conversation in complex situations gains additional importance. Schmeichel also emphasizes this development: “In the past, there were already pilot projects designed to enable this direct contact with the HR department. But only now do we have the technical capabilities for smart resource allocation and the corresponding capacity through the strategic further development of our HR business model.”

People centricity as integral pillar of our people agenda

The rollout of the P&C Lounge began in late 2024 with pilot projects in Italy and Japan. “We deliberately chose two culturally very different countries to see how the offering would be adapted in each,” Schmeichel explains. “While in Italy practically all appointments were booked immediately, Japan’s response was initially reserved for the first two weeks. But then the offering was well-received.”

Following the recent rollout in Germany and the United States, the P&C Lounge is now available to all 110,000 51����employees in over 70 countries. 51����adapts the offering to local conditions. For example, in the United States, due to vast geographical distances, there will be a stronger virtual component, while in other regions primarily in-person meetings are offered.

With the P&C Lounge, 51����positions itself as a pioneer for an HR strategy that places people at the center in the AI age. “In the current transformation- and technology-driven changes to the world of work, we at 51����can position ourselves as an attractive employer—with the human component being put at the center,” Schmeichel explains.

Customer interest is significant: “We currently see great interest in customer conversations to learn more about how 51����deliberately emphasizes and supports the human factor in times of artificial intelligence.”

The P&C Lounge is a perfect example of this approach of meaningfully combining technology and human interaction. “Our ambition with the P&C Lounge is to set new standards for what is possible in global HR support,” Schmeichel concludes. “It’s about the optimal combination of people-centricity and modern technology in a new world of work.”

Before diving into the heart of the keynote, Steinhaeuser invited 51����solution area CMOs to deliver lightning-fast recaps of news from the various 51����Connect event tracks. In just under two minutes each, they covered finance, procurement, supply chain, HR, and customer experience. From autonomous accounting and next-gen procurement to AI-driven talent acquisition and smarter customer loyalty, the message was clear: across every business function.

The real challenge: connecting priorities

As Steinhaeuser pointed out, “The reality is each business area has its own unique priorities and, of course, all-important urgent matters.” The real challenge is not just launching new features; it’s aligning processes, data, and teams to conquer uncertainty and achieve true customer focus. “Simply putting an [AI] agent on top of a broken process will solve nothing,” he said.

The flywheel: AI, data, and apps in motion at SAP

So, how does it all work together? Enter the “flywheel” model: the dynamic cycle of AI, data, and applications that drives synergy across the enterprise. This is not just a theoretical approach. Steinhaeuser showed how “51����runs SAP” using the flywheel model.

First, he said, 51����uses “role-based AI assistants, powered by specialized agents, [to] support team members across all areas of SAP.”

Next comes data. Earlier this year, 51����became “customer zero” for (51����BDC), connecting all enterprise data in a single layer to generate faster and better insights across financial, workforce, and sales planning. “We’re excited to go live with the first set of intelligent apps, starting with People Intelligence,” he added.

Finally, the app layer: 51����has moved from 51����ERP Central Component (51����ECC) to and , through RISE with SAP. “The 51����Business Suite is where data is created and where AI delivers impact,” Steinhaeuser said.

But processes continuously evolve with AI, he said, noting that business transformation management, powered by solutions like and , helps 51����and its customers continually improve processes and architecture, with AI embedded everywhere. The company also uses to ensure employees stay informed and engaged at every step.

“Driving SAP’s own transformation, I understand the challenges you face,” Steinhaeuser said. “I am convinced leveraging the flywheel of AI, data, and apps across the entire 51����Business Suite is how we win together.”

Embedded AI: tangible value, secure, and seamless

Brenda Bown, chief marketing officer of Business AI at SAP, took the stage to highlight how business AI is showing up in day-to-day work. “I’ve heard three consistent themes in conversations [with customers]: first, you want AI that can provide tangible value; second, that is secure and properly governed; and third, that works seamlessly across your teams and business. We’re here to deliver just that,” she said.

Joule is now embedded in use cases in trusted 51����applications and is making work faster and easier across the enterprise. “By the end of this year, we will have more than 400 of these AI use cases,” Bown said. Joule Agents automate tasks across departments, and the new agent builder in (generally available in December) helps customers extend, build, or customize their own agents. 51����LeanIX AI Agent Hub and agent mining capabilities in 51����Signavio provide governance and transparency for AI agents.

Bown noted that customers like Matur Fompack are using Joule in 51����SuccessFactors to hire faster and improve career development. “The results are phenomenal: a 48 percent reduction in HR process execution time and 40 percent faster employee development and career planning, and, most importantly, a better employee and candidate experience,” she said.

For processes that require multi-step workflows and nuanced decisions, 51����introduced a new generation of role-based AI assistants. “They know your role in the organization, because they are role and context aware,” Bown said. These assistants tap into the right agents for the job, removing any guesswork and helping humans unlock new levels of insight and productivity.

She also showcased how agents collaborate across departments, automate workflows, and even extend SAP’s business logic to autonomous devices like robots. Early pilots with partners like NEURA Robotics are already showing Joule Agents planning and executing real work in the real world.

Data and intelligent applications: unified and actionable

Data is only valuable when it is actionable. Irfan Khan, president and chief product officer for 51����Data and Analytics, highlighted 51����BDC, which unifies enterprise data and powers intelligent applications. “51����BDC offers the most powerful foundation for connecting your existing data, building next-generation applications, and the ability to foster and deploy reliable AI,” he said. And the new 51����Business Data Cloud Connect solution enables secure, bi-directional data sharing with partners like Databricks and Google Cloud.

Intelligent applications bridge the gap between people and AI. They support smarter decisions and collaboration. “These applications learn from your data and include business simulations to support every business leader with smarter decisions,” Khan explained. “If we don’t have a reliable data foundation built around trust, having reliable and resilient data, it becomes very debatable whether or not AI will succeed.”

From insight to action: transformation in practice

How do organizations turn strategy into action? Michael Ameling, president of 51����Business Technology Platform (51����BTP), demonstrated how 51����Business Suite helps drive innovation by uniting core applications, data, and AI, all powered by 51����BTP and Business Transformation Management solutions. “Let’s say you want to understand and improve a business process,” he said. “51����Signavio lets you dive deep and understand every detail, and can suggest concrete actions. Then, use those insights to improve the process in 51����Build by automating processes and building your own agents.”

He demonstrated how 51����BTP and the Business Transformation Management portfolio can help organizations connect systems, gain visibility, and automate processes. Tools including 51����Signavio, 51����Build, and 51����Integration Suite are helping customers like Blue Diamond Growers streamline operations and accelerate transformation.

Services and support: accelerating innovation and realizing value

SAP’s Anja Schneider, SVP and global head of Premium Engagement and Advisory, wrapped up this segment of the keynote by focusing on how the company’s services and support teams help customers realize the full value of their 51����investments.

“We’re with you every step, like a personal trainer,” she said, highlighting how SAP’s suite methodology, integrated tools like WalkMe and 51����Cloud ALM, and expert guidance help customers realize the full value of their 51����investments. She pointed to IBM’s transformation project as proof: working with 51����MaxAttention teams and a clean core approach, upgrades went smoothly with low incidents for more than 150,000 users across 175 geographies.

Customer perspective: Southern California Edison’s journey

Real-world impact matters. Southern California Edison (SCE) SVP and CIO Todd Inlander shared how the utility company’s transformation journey with 51����is helping modernize its foundational systems and optimize back-office processes. Facing unprecedented demand and environmental challenges, the company is leveraging 51����solutions, including 51����Business AI capabilities, to transform its operations.

“We need to adhere to our mission: to deploy safe, reliable, affordable power,” he said. “We can’t do that by doing things the way we’ve always done. We have to incorporate SAP. We’re using it to transform the way we work in our environment. We need to leverage AI because we don’t have enough humans to do all the work. We have to scale.”

As SCE deploys 51����Business Suite over the next year, it’s focusing on keeping a clean core and reducing customizations. “When we implemented ECC 15 years ago, about 66 percent of our enhancements were never used. We’re learning from that experience,” Inlander said. He went on to note that SCE will use the 51����deployment time to continue to transform its back-office operations. “We’ll be integrating Joule and other AI solutions because doing things the way we’ve always done them and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity.”

Steinhaeuser closed the keynote with a look to the future: “We’ve made great progress across all lines of business to deliver a unique experience for you—with AI becoming your personal assistant, powered by data that defies boundaries and applications that take insight to action. The cross-capabilities you just saw now make the flywheel spin.”

The future is here, and is powered by the synergy of AI, data, and applications. Every business can turn innovation into impact.

gives organizations the tools to lead with confidence. Part of the , 51����SuccessFactors brings together global core HR, AI-driven insights, and a unified skills foundation to connect people and processes, close skills gaps, simplify compliance, and build a workforce ready for what’s next.

With the second half 2025 (2H 2025) product release, we’re excited to introduce hundreds of new features and enhancements in 51����SuccessFactors, many enabled by AI. Together, these innovations help HR teams, business leaders, and employees work smarter, move faster, and stay future-ready.

Drive better people and business decisions

Data about people, skills, performance, and business outcomes exists everywhere, but without a clear view, it’s difficult to act. , now generally available, is designed to help organizations make better workforce decisions by unifying 51����and third-party data. Through intuitive dashboards, AI-assisted insights powered by Joule, and hundreds of HR metrics, leaders can now move from insights to action with unprecedented speed.

With pre-built use cases spanning critical areas like skills, compensation, recruiting, learning, performance, and succession, People Intelligence makes it easier to uncover trends, identify opportunities, and take action. By bringing together clean, centralized HR data and powerful AI, it equips HR and business leaders with the intelligence they need to drive meaningful workforce transformation.

Build a future-ready workforce

To stay competitive, organizations must continuously evolve alongside their people. This release introduces new innovations that align skills, performance, and development with future business needs.

We are excited that the in 51����SuccessFactors is now available. This agent empowers managers to lead consistent, high-impact performance conversations by analyzing employee data, such as performance goals, activities and achievements, and continuous feedback, to create tailored conversation prompts for each employee. Using Joule, managers receive AI-guided insights like goal progress summaries, key accomplishments, growth focus areas, and development recommendations. Users can ask follow-up questions to dive deeper into any of these areas. 

Additionally, business rules integration in performance management support consistent and transparent performance reviews by automating feedback prompts and actions based on predefined conditions, such as dynamically exposing a comment field only when a rating condition is met.

Succession planning is also getting a boost with skills-based successor recommendations in , which analyzes skills, proficiency levels, and internal work experiences captured in employee growth portfolios to recommend potential successors who might have been overlooked using traditional metrics. And with the new person-based model for talent management, organizations can drive smarter talent decisions, faster reskilling, and greater workforce agility by unifying learning and talent data in a person-based view that follows employees across changing roles, teams, and assignments. 

Enable agile and compliant HR 

As regulations evolve and business needs shift, HR must stay both agile and compliant. This release introduces new capabilities to help teams adapt quickly while ensuring accuracy and trust.

The new solution,available to early adopters in January 2026, supports optimized shift planning in manufacturing and other production industries by aligning workforce skills and staffing levels with operational demand. Geofencing in 51����SuccessFactors Time Tracking helps prevent fraud and ensure compliance by defining work site locations and ranges to govern where employees can clock in and out. 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central simplifies U.S. leave management by connecting with FMLA service providers to automate leave deductions and improve tracking accuracy.

Across the suite, our updated home page delivers a more intuitive and personalized experience for users with streamlined navigation, targeted communications, and real-time insights across desktop and mobile.

Extend applications to easily adapt

As workforce expectations and business priorities evolve, flexibility is key. This release delivers new capabilities to help seamlessly connect and optimize HR processes, maximizing investments while supporting the changing needs of people and the organization.

is now enhanced by Joule and generative AI to deliver faster access to information, improved self-service, and more informed decision-making. Joule streamlines tasks with role-based self-service, workflow automation, and real-time insights, while generative AI simplifies feedback, coaching, and goal updates with context-aware insights. Employees can also quickly find company-specific knowledge through Joule for accurate, relevant information when they need it.

Lead the future of HR

With the 2H 2025 release, 51����SuccessFactors HCM helps HR leaders navigate complexity with ease. By uniting global HR, AI-driven insights, and a unified skills foundation, organizations can make smarter decisions, develop future-ready talent, and stay agile in a rapidly changing world.

To learn about our latest innovations and enhancements, check out the or . ��

Bianka Woelke is group vice president and head of Application Product Management for 51����SuccessFactors.

Against the backdrop of the event theme—”Connect Everything, Achieve Anything: Agents, Data, and the Business Suite”—they set out SAP’s vision for how 51����Business Suite, which combines AI, data, and applications, can transform enterprises and deliver unprecedented business value to customers despite global macroeconomic uncertainties. 

Unique times

“We are living in very unique times,” Alam said at the start of the keynote. “Unique in terms of the unpredictability we face from a geopolitical and macroeconomic perspective, and also unique in terms of the advancement in AI and the potential that carries for all of us.”  

He added, “Even the most significant challenges can be responded to, navigated, and—when approached the right way—turned into opportunities. And that’s exactly where 51����comes in. Because the best way to face uncertainty is with confidence that you can see what’s happening across your business and your network.” 

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The CFO perspective 

His comments were echoed by CFO and Executive Board Member Dominik Asam in an onstage discussion with economist and Berkeley professor Ulrike Malmendier, during which they likened the role of the CFO in navigating today’s business uncertainties to that of co-piloting a modern jet. 

“AI is the next supercycle and has what it takes to create an effective cockpit for the CFO, including recommendations about real actionable options all the way to autopilot for less critical tasks,” Asam said. He also warned that standing on the sidelines of technological progress is “a sure recipe for falling behind in competition.”  

“As in prior tech supercycles, the entire competitive playing field is being completely reshuffled,” he said.

New products

Building on this theme, Alam noted that while uncertainty is real and isn’t going away, it can be successfully navigated and turned into opportunities. To help customers achieve this, he announced several new and enhanced 51����products. 

Among them, 51����Supply Chain Orchestration is an AI-native application that uses a network knowledge graph to analyze real-time signals across a company’s multi-tier supply chain to detect risks and issues, such as extreme weather or tariffs. It then helps customers minimize disruptions by assessing the impact of these risks and suggesting alternatives to help minimize disruptions.   “Think of it like a GPS in your car which selects an alternative route to avoid traffic or tolls,” Alam explained. In addition, he announced a major update to the 51����Ariba solutions for source-to-pay suite, positioning 51����Ariba as the most modern platform in the industry and the only truly AI-native source-to-pay solution—all built on 51����Business Technology Platform.

The human-AI partnership opportunity 

Turning to uncertainties over the future of work itself, 51����Chief People Officer and Executive Board Member Gina Vargiu-Breuer, who is leading SAP’s own workforce transformation, was joined on stage by Ian Beacraft, founder and chief futurist of Signal and Cipher. 

“At SAP, we know firsthand that AI is everywhere, shattering norms and transforming the workforce,” Vargiu-Breuer said. “And we as 51����are boldly steering this shift, as requirements for our workforce are simply changing really fast.”  

Vargiu-Breuer emphasized that a successful business AI strategy also depends on leveraging AI alongside human expertise and fostering what she described as “a collaborative human + AI approach, rather than just automation.”  “By integrating AI’s capabilities with human creativity, empathy, and judgment, we move beyond simple automation into real human-AI power couples,” she said. “Ultimately, the future will favor those who embrace orchestration, delegation, and creative problem-solving.”

Role-based AI assistants

Echoing this human-centric approach, Alam noted, “Everyone is talking about agents—billions of agents—and agents taking over everything. We want to talk about people, the roles they play, and the tried-and-tested organizational constructs in place today that are running complex businesses across industries.” 

Reflecting this, he said 51����is making Joule deeply aware of the workstyle of the person it partners with, their role, and the business process context in which they operate. “Today, we are introducing AI assistants, including a receivables assistant for your accounts receivable colleagues, a controlling assistant for your controlling colleagues, a demand Planning assistant for your demand planning colleagues, and an AI assistant for every role.”   Each assistant has agents and AI tools at their disposal to help make the person it partners with smarter and more efficient, Alam explained.

Taking the receivables assistant as an example, he said it can handle collections and dispute resolution today and will soon also be able to help with fraud detection, invoice processing, and payment scheduling. “Over time, we will continue to make this assistant even smarter by adding more agents and capabilities—all designed to make the person in this role more effective.”

Deep research and new intelligent applications

“While efficiency and automation carry potential for great value for the organization, AI’s greatest strength is in unlocking insights and recommendations based on its ability to do deep research across vast amounts of internal and external data, which is hard for people to do,” said Alam. To address this challenge, 51����is introducing deep research in Joule, a capability that can research and analyze complex problems and deliver findings quickly and efficiently. 

Following additional announcements, including an expanded set of 51����Business Data Cloud Intelligent Applications and an enterprise wide, multi-stakeholder engagement orchestration solution in 51����Engagement Cloud, Alam closed out the keynote by reminding his audience: “To create exponential value and to reach the global maxima for your enterprise, the whole matters.  And that’s what we are focused on: providing you with best-in-class applications, seamlessly and natively integrated across the breadth of finance, spend, supply chain, HCM, and customer experience.” 

51����Business Suite delivers unprecedented value

The unmatched value of 51����Business Suite is that it brings together the power of best-in-class applications with a semantically rich harmonized data layer to power high-value AI in a singular seamless experience. It helps you manage uncertainty, evolve your workforce, and break down silos to create amazing customer value.

According to new research from SAP, employees using AI are saving 75 minutes a day — time that’s being reinvested into innovation, connection, and impact. 

But with economic volatility, shifting regulations, and a global skills crunch, organizations face a critical challenge: how to connect their people and their business in ways that drive agility, resilience, and growth. This isn’t just a moment of change; it’s a moment of unprecedented possibilities.

Unlocking new possibilities with 51����SuccessFactors

is powering that transformation with trusted intelligence, operational strength, and innovations that turn disruption into advantage.��With over 10,000 customers worldwide, we are privileged to work with the world’s leading brands and help them guide their people and their organizations through change.��

The 51����SuccessFactors HCM suite is a robust offering that connects all the pieces for an organization’s people strategy — from core HR and payroll, to talent acquisition and talent management, to people analytics, and beyond. 51����Business AI is infused across our HCM suite, and 51����Business Technology Platform (51����BTP) enables our customers to expand and extend to meet their needs.��

We are constantly investing in our solutions based on market signals, ensuring our customers have the tools they need to stay at the forefront of innovation. 

Today at Success Connect at 51����Connect in Las Vegas, designed to elevate the employee experience, optimize operations, and deliver actionable workforce insights. 

Elevating the employee experience  

New Joule Agents  

Agentic AI is redefining the employee experience and transforming the way work gets done by automating routine tasks, accelerating decision-making, and unlocking new levels of productivity. Joule, SAP’s AI copilot, is embedded into enterprise-wide applications to deliver real-time intelligence and automation through a simple conversational interface.  

Joule currently supports 80 percent of the most-used tasks in 51����systems, and we are continuously expanding its capabilities. Joule is available in 11 languages, and next month the first HR-focused Joule Agent — the Performance and Goals Agent — will be generally available, with many more to follow. This agent is designed to empower managers to lead high-impact performance conversations by providing tailored insights, goal progress updates, and personalized talking points.

We’ll continue to release new agents that will continue to work behind the scenes to make managers, employees, and HR teams more efficient. Today, we announced the next four��agents, available in 51����SuccessFactors in the first half of 2026:��

• The Career and Talent Development Agent, which automates succession planning and helps managers identify and develop future leaders
• The HR Service Agent, which serves as a direct point of contact for employees and reduces the amount of time HR staff spend answering routine questions
• The Payroll Agent, which helps employees better understand their pay by combining paycheck details with time data, enabling intelligent “explain pay” scenarios such as highlighting unexpected overtime and suggesting follow-up actions
• The People Intelligence Agent, which connects the People Intelligence Insight application in 51����Business Data Cloud with Joule and 51����SuccessFactors, allowing managers and HR teams to ask questions in their own words and receive intuitive, accessible workforce analytics

Introducing the workforce knowledge network

Building on these new capabilities, we are also introducing a workforce knowledge network, a first-of-its-kind integration that brings third-party content from industry experts directly into Joule, delivering enhanced insights for employees.  This is a major step forward in enabling agent-to-agent interaction in order to deliver the most relevant information in one seamless experience.

Content from leading HCM industry experts from G-P (Globalization Partners) and The Josh Bersin Company will flow directly into Joule. These integrations allow Joule to ingest third-party content and interact with various agents so employees can receive guidance that is grounded in real-world insights and trusted research.

For example, HR leaders can access G-P Gia, an HR agent developed by G-P, directly within Joule, providing access to expert global employment guidance. Additionally, they can ask Joule, “What are best practices for hiring engineers in a high-cost location?” and Joule can respond with research-backed insights and recommendations provided by Galileo, a trained AI agent developed by The Josh Bersin Company, with over 6,000 users across more than 800 companies.

“Joule offers a revolutionary technology to speed and simplify the lives of every business person,” said Josh Bersin, CEO of The Josh Bersin Company. “We are very excited to connect Galileo, a leading AI agent for HR, to all 51����users and give them deep insights into all their human capital decisions.” 

Optimizing Operations

Innovations in Core HR

Operational strength is the backbone of every great employee experience; it enables scale, consistency, and confidence, especially in times of change. That is why we continue to invest deeply in core HR.

With localization support across 104 countries and usage in 179, remains the industry’s most trusted foundation for global HR operations. And today we have announced that it’s getting even stronger:

• New
  Early adopter January 2026
  This new solution enables shift planners and supervisors in manufacturing and production to create smarter schedules aligned with real-time business demand and required skills, reducing administrative burden, helping to prevent costly overstaffing and understaffing, and maintaining compliance.
• New enhanced time-off capabilities in 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central
  Generally available next month
  This enhancement allows our customers to meet country-specific and complex leave regulations in markets including but not limited to Australia, Germany, and the U.S., helping them stay compliant while simplifying processes for managers and employees.
• 
  Generally available now
  Announced earlier this year, our new HR service delivery solution extends the power of core HR by automating workflows, streamlining service requests, and freeing HR teams to focus on high-value, strategic work.

Delivering best-in-class insights

People Intelligence

Operational excellence lays the groundwork, but true transformation happens when data becomes insight. That is where comes in. in People Intelligence announced at 51����Sapphire in 2025 are now generally available. People Intelligence transforms people, skills, and business data into actionable, AI-driven insights that help HR and leaders make better, more strategic decisions for the business and its people. ��

At Success Connect, we unveiled additional prebuilt insights for recruiting, learning, succession, career development planning, and performance and goals management. People Intelligence continues to expand, with more prebuilt insights for rewards and recognition, benefits, time management, and onboarding planned for May 2026. 

SmartRecruiters

51����is also advancing the way organizations attract, recruit, and hire top talent. Last month, we acquired SmartRecruiters to build the future of AI-driven talent acquisition. At Success Connect, we showcased how this move strengthens our vision. By combining the scale of 51����SuccessFactors, the power of 51����Business AI, and the expertise of SmartRecruiters, we’re delivering an intelligent, end-to-end global hiring solution that simplifies recruiting and ensures every hire is aligned to business and workforce goals.

Where innovation meets impact 

Innovation in HR has entered a new era that is defined by connection. By uniting people, processes, and intelligence, organizations can move beyond incremental change to unlock unprecedented possibilities for impact, agility, and growth. With continuous advancements in AI, a trusted global foundation, and intelligence-driven insights, 51����SuccessFactors is helping organizations meet today’s challenges head-on and shape the future of work with confidence.

To catch our Success Connect keynote replay and learn more about the latest innovations in 51����SuccessFactors, .

Dan Beck is general manager and chief product officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

51����reimagines enterprise AI with role-based assistants in
Joule that coordinate agents across lines of business

LAS VEGAS — At its inaugural 51����Connect event, (NYSE: SAP) showcases how the integration of AI, data and applications creates unparalleled business value.

These breakthroughs – including a new network of role-based assistants in Joule that partner with humans to elevate performance, an expanding data ecosystem that drives deeper insights and supply chain software that anticipates disruptions – once again revolutionize how business gets done.��

“To thrive when volatility is the new normal, businesses need more than a patchwork of disparate best-of-breed applications,” said Muhammad Alam, member of the Executive Board of 51����SE, 51����Product & Engineering. “Our announcements today demonstrate the power of 51����Business Suite, where AI, data and applications come together in an experience to propel smarter decisions, faster execution and scalable transformation.”

AI that Partners with People

51����unveils Joule’s next stage as the AI force at the center of 51����Business Suite’s value creation. Drawing on the applications and data from across 51����Business Suite, 51����is introducing a new generation of role-aware assistants in Joule. Each assistant is designed to partner with a human being in their specific business role. Assistants in Joule tap into the right agents for the job, configuring, orchestrating and managing them so humans can focus on unlocking new levels of insight and productivity.

Supporting the assistants in Joule is a , designed to help execute complex workflows within a specific function. For instance, a People Manager Assistant coordinates a team of specialized agents — including the new People Intelligence Agent, which helps spot and resolve issues like compensation anomalies — to support managers as they drive performance. A new Financial Planning Assistant will be aided by a group of expert agents — including the new Cash Management Agent, which optimizes cash flow and improves interest yields — to help finance professionals drive efficiencies. This new roster of role-aware AI assistants not only partner with people to elevate performance in their lines of business but also work together across business functions to solve complex enterprise-wide problems.

Data that Defies Boundaries

Data fuels AI’s transformative power but it’s often siloed in different systems. At 51����Connect, we are removing those barriers with 51����Business Data Cloud Connect. 51����BDC Connect securely links 51����BDC with partner platforms to enable a bidirectional flow of business-ready data products across organizational and technological boundaries.

With zero-copy sharing, data stays securely in 51����systems yet remains instantly accessible in customers’ existing data platforms, preserving business context without costly copies. The result: fewer silos, simpler pipelines, no duplication — just trusted data products where and when they’re needed.

51����also announced that Databricks and Google Cloud are the first partners enabled for 51����BDC Connect, with more to follow. As announced in February 2025, 51����Databricks remains a data service within 51����Business Data Cloud, and 51����BDC Connect extends its benefits across an open data ecosystem. These partnerships give customers faster access to data products for analytics and AI, helping teams move from raw data to real-time business outcomes with greater speed and simplicity.

Applications that Turn Data into Action

At the heart of SAP’s unique value proposition are enterprise applications where data is created and AI-driven insights are experienced. 51����Supply Chain Orchestration is a new AI-native solution that combines the power of Joule with a live knowledge graph to detect real-time risks several suppliers deep and orchestrate a coordinated response, helping customers cut costs and keep supply chains moving. 51����Engagement Cloud, a new customer experience solution, uses business-critical context to personalize interactions across customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. And our next-generation 51����Ariba procurement suite stands out as an AI-native solution, bringing intelligence to every stage of spend management, from sourcing through supplier engagement.

Altogether, these 51����Business Suite innovations mark the beginning of a new era powered by self-reinforcing AI, data and applications that drive intelligence, speed and resilience.

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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To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit . On this platform, you can find high resolution material for your media channels.

For customers interested in learning more about 51����products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-151����(1-800-872-1727)

For more information, press only:
Joellen Perry, +1 (626) 265-0370, joellen.perry@sap.com, PT
Marcus Winkler, +49 6227 7-67497, marcus.winkler@sap.com, CEST
51����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’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2025 51����SE. All rights reserved.
51����and other 51����products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51����SE in Germany and other countries. Please see  for additional trademark information and notices.
Please consider our . If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact press@sap.com and write Unsubscribe in the subject line. 

The key to navigating this complexity and building a resilient, future-proof organization lies not in guesswork but in harnessing an organization’s most valuable and often underutilized asset: its people data. By adopting a , HR can evolve from a reactive administrative function into a proactive, strategic driver of business success.

A unified view of your workforce

The first and most significant hurdle for many organizations is the prevalence of data silos. When critical workforce information is scattered across disconnected HR, finance, and operational systems, it is impossible to get a clear, holistic view of the organization. This fragmentation is a major barrier to progress, leading to inefficiencies and compromised decision-making and preventing leaders from seeing the critical connections between their people and business outcomes.

Establishing a HR analytics dashboard as single source of truth for all people-related data is the foundational step. By harmonizing data from across the enterprise, leaders can gain real-time visibility into workforce composition, compensation equity, and internal mobility. This unified view fosters a culture of transparency and provides the clarity needed to make confident, data-backed decisions about organizational structure and .

Turning data into insight with AI

Simply collecting vast amounts of data is not enough. The true power is unlocked when that data is transformed into actionable, forward-looking intelligence. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) and people analytics become essential. The adoption of these technologies is accelerating as well. According to IDC’s Human Capital Management Survey, 59% of HR talent teams and people leaders are strategizing around new use cases for AI-backed workforce analytics.^*

AI-powered applications can analyze complex data sets to identify patterns, trends, and provide tailored recommendations. This allows HR leaders to forecast talent upskilling and reskilling needs, identify employees at risk of attrition, and understand the drivers of engagement so they can proactively address issues before they impact the bottom line.

Driving strategic results across HR

When a foundation of unified data is combined with the power of , the strategic impact can become tangible across all HR functions, driving better employee experiences.

First, consider employee engagement and retention. Disengagement is a critical issue, with companies facing a 92% likelihood of performance-related revenue losses when employees are disengaged.^** A data-driven approach helps uncover the root causes of turnover by analyzing feedback, performance, and compensation data. This allows organizations to address issues related to skills, workforce composition, or compensation, improving retention and building a more engaged workforce.

Second, in the face of a growing skills gap, data is indispensable. The World Economic Forum predicts that 59% of the global workforce will require reskilling by 2030 to meet changing demands.^*** The allows organizations to map the skills their workforce has against the skills they will need, identifying critical gaps with precision. AI-enabled intelligence applications can then help create for employees, ensuring that training investments are targeted, effective, and directly aligned with future business needs.

Finally, a data-driven strategy revolutionizes the hiring process. By analyzing metrics like time-to-fill, quality of hire, and source effectiveness, organizations can streamline recruiting, reduce bias, and make stronger hiring decisions. This not only enhances the quality of hires but also creates significant efficiencies and time savings, freeing up teams to focus on building relationships with top candidates.

The path to building a resilient and competitive organization is paved with data. By breaking down silos, leveraging the power of AI, and applying insights across the employee lifecycle, businesses can transform their people strategy. This evolution elevates HR into a critical strategic partner, capable of guiding the organization with clarity and confidence. In today’s landscape, a data-driven people strategy is no longer a future aspiration but a present-day necessity for success.

Interested in learning more about how People Intelligence can transform your HR strategy? on the latest trends shaping the future of talent and learn more about the latest AI and data-driven innovations in 51����SuccessFactors solutions.

Ponti Manolides is a growth priority marketing lead for Learning & Talent at 51����SuccessFactors.

*IDC, “Spotlight: Optimize Engagement and Business Impact to Maximize the Potential of Your Talent Practice” August 2025.
**IDC, “,” 2025.
***World Economic Forum, “,” January 7, 2025.

This collaboration marks the next milestone in the longstanding partnership between ADP and 51����and illustrates a shared commitment to help enterprises transform their payroll operations.

Working in close partnership with the professional services team from SAP, ADP has seamlessly upgraded the first wave of 50 global payroll clients to 51����Cloud ERP.

“This achievement is a testament to the power of collaboration and the shared vision between ADP and SAP,” said Frank Smits, senior vice president of ADP Global Payroll. “Together, we are setting a new standard for global payroll, empowering organizations to focus on supporting their people and driving growth.”

Maryann Abbajay, chief revenue officer of 51����SuccessFactors said, “Every business depends on flawless payroll to run smoothly. The 51����and ADP partnership delivers cloud innovation to transform how organizations manage their most valuable resource: their people.”

Through the partnership, clients can benefit from:

• Global reach: Payroll solutions supporting millions of employees through ADP Global Payroll in over 140 countries
• Trusted expertise: Combining ADP and SAP’s leadership in payroll and enterprise cloud technology
• Future-ready payroll: Providing security and scalability for global enterprises
• Accelerated cloud migration: Successfully partnered to migrate first wave of clients in less than 12 months

The partnership offers ADP a reliable and scalable technological foundation for its global payroll solutions to meet the specific client needs in each country. This includes ADP localized templates and expertise, managed services and additional HR offerings. As part of ADP’s continued investment in the global payroll experience it provides clients, the partnership leverages ADP’s well-established expertise in payroll implementation, managed services and compliance, laying the groundwork for integrated AI assistance to boost productivity.

To learn more, visit .

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

About ADP (NASDAQ: ADP)

ADP has been shaping the world of work with innovation and expertise for more than 75 years. As a global leader in HR and payroll solutions, ADP continuously works to solve business challenges for our clients and their workers, from simple, easy-to-use tools for small businesses to fully integrated platforms for global enterprises—and everything in between. Always Designing for People means we’re focused on just that—people. We use our unmatched AI-driven insights and proven expertise to design innovative solutions that help people achieve greater success at work. More than 1.1 million clients across 140+ countries rely on ADP’s exceptional service to support their people and drive their business forward. HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits, Compliance, and Payroll. Learn more at .

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��.

Note to editors:
To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit . On this platform, you can find high resolution material for your media channels.

For customers interested in learning more about 51����products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-151����(1-800-872-1727)

For more information, press only:
SAP: Scott Malinowski, +1 (781) 852 3822, scott.malinowski@sap.com
51����Press Room; press@sap.com
ADP: Nicolas Swiatek, +33 1 55 63 59 38, nicolas.swiatek@adp.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’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
ADP, the ADP logo, and Always Designing for People, are trademarks of ADP, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
© 2025 51����SE. All rights reserved.
51����and other 51����products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51����SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.
Please consider our . If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact press@sap.com and write Unsubscribe in the subject line.

According to Fosway, vendors recognized as Strategic Leaders provide a rich suite of capability across a broad scope of features and have the sophistication to meet the needs of complex enterprise-scale customers. Strategic Leaders also have strong market performance and customer advocacy.

“The Cloud HR market remains fiercely contested and continually innovative,” said Dr. Sven Elbert, head of Analyst Services at Fosway Group. “The solution providers that thrive in this environment are the ones that maintain their momentum, expand their scope and sophistication, and leverage AI to gain competitive edge, as 51����has done and continues to do. 51����SuccessFactors is again named a Strategic Leader in 2025.”

Innovation that delivers impact 

This recognition underscores SAP’s commitment to innovation for its community of over 10,000 51����SuccessFactors customers worldwide. Over the past year, 51����has delivered significant advancements across 51����SuccessFactors HCM, many supported by AI, designed to help customers close skills gaps, boost productivity, and support their people at every stage of the employee journey.

The 51����SuccessFactors first half 2025 product release introduced over 250 new capabilities designed to increase efficiency, elevate the employee experience, and drive business impact.

At 51����Sapphire Orlando in May, 51����unveiled several new solutions and product enhancements, including:

• The can harmonize customers’ people, skills, finance, and business data into AI-driven workforce insights, enabling HR and business leaders to make smarter, more proactive decisions.
• The , our first HR Agent, equips managers with critical insights to help foster more productive conversations with employees.
• , our new HR service delivery solution, can accelerate ticket case resolutions with AI, allowing employees to quickly get answers to their questions reducing the administrative burden on HR teams.
• helps accelerate adoption of 51����SuccessFactors solutions by offering users in-app, contextual guidance while also giving HR teams the insights they need to continuously optimize workflows.

Building on this momentum, last week 51����completed its acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a leading talent acquisition software provider. This move further strengthens SAP’s ability to help customers attract and retain top talent in today’s highly competitive market.

Delivering value for customers worldwide

Organizations of all sizes are rethinking how they manage their people—balancing efficiency with innovation, global consistency with local needs, and business growth with employee experience. In Europe, 51����is a trusted partner in this journey, helping companies tackle complex workforce challenges and prepare for the future of work.

Frit Ravich

Family-run snacks company transformed its HR operations and reinforced its company culture, built on innovation and belonging, by choosing 51����SuccessFactors solutions. Now, with plans to become a skills-driven organization and double its sales, Frit Ravich is adopting AI in conjunction with 51����SuccessFactors solutions to expand career development opportunities and improve the employee experience.

“The Joule copilot will change the way we interact with our people on a daily basis. This does not mean that we’ll lose out on direct contact with them, but rather it will make HR interactions faster, more accessible, and more convenient, with 24×7 access,” said Rebeca Montilla, talent manager, Frit Ravich S.L.

Menzies Aviation 

As a global leader in aviation services “working above and below the wing,” Menzies provides a myriad of services, including ground services, fueling, air cargo handling, and executive services, together with comfortable lounges at more than 295 airports in 65 countries.

By choosing 51����SuccessFactors solutions, Menzies now has a unified platform to help it attain data-driven insights for business agility and provide a modern employee experience with opportunities for learning and career development.

Today, Menzies no longer needs to estimate how many employees it has at any given time. Having a single source of data means that it can pull up this information at the push of a button for the present as well as the historical past for comparison. “We can start to see trends, so we can start to understand what our future models would look like as well,” said Sarah Mackinlay, senior vice president of People Projects & Integrations at Menzies Aviation. “Being able to have business insight and business data to make decisions has been really important on our continued journey with 51����SuccessFactors and supporting our global strategy.”

“For us, this journey is about having a single source of truth with global consistency, data insight, and visibility yet maintaining local data ownership. Data security and integrity are at the very core,” she added.

Powering workforces for the future

As organizations face growing skills gaps, heightened employee expectations, and pressure to do more with limited resources, 51����continues to introduce new solutions to help customers tackle their most pressing business and workforce challenges. at 51����Connect, October 6-8 in Las Vegas—or virtually on October 9—to explore how our latest advancements can drive real impact across your organization.

.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at 51����SuccessFactors.

About the Fosway 9-Grid™ 
Fosway Group is Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst. The Fosway 9-Grid™ provides a unique assessment of the leading learning and talent solutions available to organizations in EMEA. The analysis is based on extensive independent research and insights from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 250 organizations, including BP, HSBC, PwC, RBS, Sanofi, Shell, and Vodafone.
Visit the Fosway website at www.fosway.com for more information on Fosway Group’s research and services. 

51����was once again recognized for its ability to execute and completeness of vision. Gartner defines cloud HCM suites for 1,000+ employee enterprises as cloud application suites that deliver functionality for attracting, developing, engaging, retaining, and managing employees.

provides global HR cloud software to over 10,000 customers worldwide, from startups and mid-sized companies to large enterprises. With a strong global core, embedded AI capabilities, and a robust partner ecosystem, 51����SuccessFactors empowers organizations with the technology to help unlock their workforce potential. By combining skills intelligence and flexible HCM solutions, our solutions can enable organizations to stay future-ready and continuously adapt in an ever-changing world.

Shaping the future of work

At 51����Sapphire in May, we announced several exciting innovations and new product offerings designed to transform how HR and business leaders manage, empower, and support their people, including:

• , our first HR agent, equips managers with critical insights to help foster more meaningful and productive conversations with employees.
• can accelerate adoption of 51����SuccessFactors solutions by offering users contextual guidance while also giving HR teams insights into where there may be gaps.
• helps unify customers’ people, skills, finance, and business data into AI-driven workforce insights—enabling HR and business leaders to make smarter, more proactive decisions that drive measurable outcomes.
• , our new HR service delivery solution, can accelerate ticket case resolutions with AI, giving employees self-service tools to quickly get answers while freeing up HR teams from time-consuming tasks.

Our first half 2025 release also brought over 250 new innovations designed to address any business need and help organizations stay ahead of the curve, including Joule on mobile, redesigned candidate and alumni journeys in recruiting and onboarding, an enhanced user experience in 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central, and more.

As organizations continue to face growing skills gaps, 51����is committed to helping its customers attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive landscape. On September 11, 51����completed its acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a leading talent acquisition software provider, further strengthening the ability to support customers across the entire hire-to-retire journey.

Driving impact across industries

Customers across industries and sizes are unlocking measurable value from the 51����SuccessFactors HCM portfolio.

• , a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Ltd., is powering EV innovation with a skills-based talent strategy. “The business AI capabilities in 51����SuccessFactors solutions empower us to be a better company, automotive producer, and mobility leader. These tools will give our associates the flexibility to gain efficiencies and the opportunity to upskill and reskill as needed, creating an interconnected environment where they can perform at their best,” said Tim Grimminger, HR Data and Technology manager, American Honda Motor Company Inc.
• , a leading bank in Argentina, is transforming its HR operations with 51����SuccessFactors solutions. “Incorporating AI technology greatly simplified the hiring experience for both the candidates and the recruiters who perform these tasks,” said Florencia Varise, Analytic Hub and IT Ecosystem lead, Galicia.
• , a global business and technology partner, is building a skills engine to support the employee lifecycle. “Skills are at the core of our company, as they support both clients and employees. Our promise to ‘get the future you want’ means thinking about future client needs and employee skills and career development. 51����SuccessFactors HCM is key in our skills-first approach to our people experience transformation,” said Jihane Baciocchini, vice president and head of Talent Acquisition, Capgemini.

Unlocking workforce potential

Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue delivering innovations that help our customers increase organizational agility and productivity, accelerate growth, and make every employee a success story.

, October 6-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada, or virtually on October 9, to learn about our latest innovations and how to build a workforce that’s ready for what’s next.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at 51����SuccessFactors.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from SAP.

Attracting and hiring the best talent is more important and more competitive than ever before. According to the , 70% of organizations plan to hire new staff with emerging in-demand skills by 2030. Yet, more than three-quarters of board members and C-suite executives regard skills and talent availability as a for their organizations.

The message is clear: hiring isn’t just an HR challenge. It’s a business imperative.��

With SAP’s recent acquisition of SmartRecruiters, we are thrilled about the opportunity to help our customers face this challenge head-on. As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we’ve been at the forefront of innovation in the HCM market, and we recognize that we are at a pivotal moment that demands more than incremental improvements. Together, we’re excited to deliver bold innovation and flexibility to help our customers not only attract and hire top talent, but to continuously nurture that talent to learn, grow, and push the boundaries of what is possible.��

Uniting talent acquisition and HCM leadership

51����SuccessFactors HCM is an AI-enabled global suite of HR solutions, expanding across core HR and payroll, talent management, employee experience, analytics, and more. SmartRecruiters is a leading recruiting AI company with the mission of making hiring easy and deep expertise in high-volume recruiting, recruitment automation, and AI-enabled candidate sourcing, experience, and engagement.

Individually, we have led the way in building robust talent acquisition software to empower thousands of organizations to attract, engage, and hire the best talent. United, we are amplifying our impact.

Combining the scale of 51����SuccessFactors, the depth of 51����Business AI, and the expertise of SmartRecruiters will result in robust benefits for our customers.

• User-friendly interfaces and seamless workflows will provide improved decision-making, reduced time-to hire, and better experiences for candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters.
• Enhanced AI-enabled recruiting and hiring capabilities will deliver faster, smarter, and more equitable recruiting experiences — all with the relevant, reliable, and responsible approach of 51����Business AI. We will be able to enhance our ability to deliver intelligent candidate recommendations, predictive hiring insights, and personalized candidate experiences.
• The benefits of bringing our products together extend beyond the hiring process. A single system of record and harmonized data across SmartRecruiters and 51����SuccessFactors will provide rich insights into talent pools, hiring bottlenecks, and workforce planning — because talent acquisition is only the start of an employee’s journey with an organization.��

Talent acquisition is no longer just about filling roles. Together, 51����and SmartRecruiters will help organizations build smarter, more resilient workforces that are agile, skills-driven, and ready to meet the future head-on.

Dan Beck is general manager and chief product officer for 51����SuccessFactors.
Rebecca Carr is CEO of SmartRecruiters, an 51����company.

The SmartRecruiters platform, known for its intuitive user experience and seamless workflows, will now be integrated with the 51����SuccessFactors Human Capital Management (HCM) suite. This addition to the 51����SuccessFactors portfolio will make it easier for enterprises to manage the entire hiring lifecycle, from sourcing to onboarding, with enhanced AI-enabled recruiting capabilities that result in faster time-to-hire, improved candidate experiences and deeper analytics for workforce planning. SmartRecruiters customers will maintain the flexibility to continue using SmartRecruiters solutions with 51����or other HCM solutions.

Visit the . Get 51����news via  and .

About SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters is the Recruiting AI Company that transforms hiring for the world’s leading enterprises. Built for global scale, SmartRecruiters delivers an AI-powered hiring platform that automates and optimizes the entire talent acquisition process, ensuring faster and smarter hiring decisions. More than 4,000 organizations, including Amazon, Visa, and McDonald’s, rely on SmartRecruiters to build winning teams. For more information, visit��.

Media contacts:
Joellen Perry, +1 (626) 265-0370,��joellen.perry@sap.com, PT
Benjamin Nickel, +49 306341070266, benjamin.nickel@sap.com, CEST
Ilaina Jonas, +1 (646) 495-6643,��ilaina.jonas@sap.com, ET
51����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’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2025 51����SE. All rights reserved.
51����and other 51����products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51����SE in Germany and other countries. Please see  for additional trademark information and notices.

SmartRecruiters’ deep expertise in high-volume recruiting, recruitment automation and AI-enabled candidate experience and engagement are considered an ideal addition to the 51����SuccessFactors human capital management (HCM) suite. The planned acquisition will strengthen SAP’s all-in-one HCM suite, so customers have the tools they need to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive landscape.

SmartRecruiters’ powerful, user-friendly interfaces and seamless workflows will complement SAP’s robust HR tools – improving decision-making, reducing time-to-hire and providing a better experience for candidates. Embedded analytics and AI-driven recommendations from both companies will provide rich insights into talent pools, hiring bottlenecks and workforce planning.

“Hiring the right people is not just an HR priority – it’s a business priority. With this planned acquisition, we will help our customers attract and hire the best talent so they can advance their talent acquisition agendas with speed and agility, while lowering their total cost of ownership,” said Muhammad Alam, member of the Executive Board of 51����SE, 51����Product & Engineering. “Customers will be able to manage the entire candidate lifecycle — from sourcing and interviewing to onboarding and beyond — all in a single system to streamline the experience for recruiters, hiring managers and, in particular, candidates.”

Customers can expect enhanced and AI-enabled recruiting and hiring capabilities, making applicant tracking and candidate screening more efficient. Data-driven hiring and recruitment analytics will flow directly into SAP’s existing HCM tools, providing a single system of record and harmonized data for compliant, seamless operations. The SmartRecruiters portfolio will also continue to be available standalone for the foreseeable future.

SmartRecruiters’ Software-as-a-Service solutions and platform enable more than 4,000 organizations globally to efficiently manage their hiring workflows end-to-end, offering a compelling experience to recruiters, hiring managers and candidates.

SmartRecruiters CEO Rebecca Carr said, “SmartRecruiters’ mission has always been to make hiring easy. Joining forces with 51����presents a tremendous opportunity for enterprises worldwide to benefit from our industry-leading approach to talent acquisition. I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity this planned acquisition presents for our customers, partners and employees as we build the future of hiring together.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. J.P. Morgan served as exclusive financial advisor to SmartRecruiters.

Visit the . Get 51����news via  and .

About SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters is the Recruiting AI Company that transforms hiring for the world’s leading enterprises. Built for global scale, SmartRecruiters delivers an AI-powered hiring platform that automates and optimizes the entire talent acquisition process, ensuring faster and smarter hiring decisions. More than 4,000 organizations, including Amazon, Visa, and McDonald’s, rely on SmartRecruiters to build winning teams. For more information, visit .

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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For customers interested in learning more about 51����products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-151����(1-800-872-1727)

For more information, press only:
Joellen Perry, +1 (626) 265-0370, joellen.perry@sap.com, PT
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51����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’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2025 51����SE. All rights reserved.
51����and other 51����products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51����SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.
Please consider our . If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact press@sap.com and write Unsubscribe in the subject line. 

51����Sapphire saw further cement itself as our new UI in the age of AI, as it continues to redefine the end-user experience. Customers are asking questions in natural language, and Joule is working hard behind the scenes to find answers.

More than 40 Joule Agents were announced at 51����Sapphire, and the first set of Joule Agents is now available to customers. These agents work across business functions to help customers resolve dispute cases, maintain strong customer relationships, complete follow-up tasks, and more. , the AI operating system for all 51����Business AI solutions, simplifies AI development by centralizing all the tools to build, extend, and run custom AI solutions and agents at scale.

And those are just a few announcements from 51����Sapphire! Check out the or this overview for more announcements and the full picture. As we close the second quarter of 2025, we have a ton of 51����Business AI updates to share.

In the second quarter of 2025, we continued accelerating the delivery of high-impact innovations to customers with enhancements to Joule, Joule Agents, and additional AI scenarios embedded across the portfolio. These features are all built with AI Foundation on  and add to over 240 existing AI scenarios and 1,600 Joule skills. We are working hard and are fully on track to have over 400 AI scenarios by the end of 2025 that will deliver unparalleled business value to customers.

Here are some of the highlights from Q2 2025:

• Joule continues to redefine the way people interact with SAP. As is now generally available, consultants can rapidly grasp ABAP code and best practices for faster project execution, less rework, and time savings. The phased integration of Joule with Microsoft 365 Copilot offers a unified experience across 51����and Microsoft environments for seamless task completion. Joule’s analytical insights feature is generally available, delivering tailored, on-demand decision support through natural language.
• Joule Agents and AI Agents: For example, in supply chain management, agents can already do so much, from autonomously scheduling and optimizing service orders to continuously analyzing real-time data to suggest maintenance schedule adjustments, help reprioritize tasks, and improve asset health. In human capital management, the Performance and Goals Agent provides managers with data-driven insights before one-to-one employee meetings. In 51����CX AI Toolkit, the Shopping Agent and CX Agents Builder are now generally available, with the opportunity to build custom agents for customer experience scenarios, such as quote creation, Q&A, or service classification.
• is working to minimize disruptions and simplify planning. 51����Digital Manufacturing gets error analysis, and Joule’s general availability provides instant access to critical information through natural language. There’s an add-in for Microsoft Excel and 51����Integrated Business Planning (51����IBP) to generate IBP formulas using natural language. These are just some of the supply chain updates. Explore more below.
• : It’s all about efficiency when it comes to and spend. Joule partners with 51����Document and Reporting Compliance to translate complex e-invoicing errors into natural language. This way, error misunderstandings are a thing of the past. Joule enhancements in 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition increase efficiency with proactive sales order fulfillment monitoring, direct fixed asset master data creation, and price adjustment suggestions. For 51����S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, Joule helps users with field logistics, cash management, contract analysis, and streamlines convergent invoicing processes. The first Joule agents are now available in spend management. The Concur Travel Meeting Location Planner Agent simplifies off-site planning by automating information gathering and coordination. The Concur Expense Report Validation Agent can proactively flag issues and guide users through corrections, reducing report preparation time dramatically. Learn more below.
• 51����Business AI for procurement sees Joule join 51����Fieldglass and boosts Contingent Workforce Management with AI-assisted skill-based job postings, which reduce time defining and matching skills and lower worker ramp-up time. Plus, the AI summarizer in 51����Ariba slashes document review times by 50%, and the Sourcing Agent, available in beta, speeds up the sourcing event creation process. Dive in below.
• shows the power of AI and 51����SuccessFactors. New language features streamline translation, interview feedback improves candidate evaluations, and “Explain Pay” in Joule reduces payroll help desk tickets and raises employee satisfaction. Explore more below.
• puts the power of Joule in developers’ hands. Generative AI hub in AI Foundation gets the latest and greatest models, including Google Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash, OpenAI GPT, o3, o4-mini, 4.1, 4.1-mini, 4.1-nano, and Mistral Small 3.1, Anthropic Claude Opus 4, Sonnet 4, and NVIDIA Llama 3.2 nv embedqa 1b. The . It automates prompt optimization across AI models, eliminating vendor lock-in and expediting model adoption. 51����Document AI now includes file filtering, for example, allowing AI agents to process only relevant document pages for more efficient processing and more flexibility for task-specific document handling. Learn more below.

We will deliver more use cases across our entire solution range in the second half of 2025. Customers can stay updated with .

Joule

51����Joule for Consultants
Generally available

Consultants navigating complex innovation and transformation projects require access to reliable and efficient information. assists consultants in rapidly understanding ABAP code purpose, business logic, and structure through a model trained on 300 million lines of ABAP and 30 million lines of CDS code. This access to SAP’s exclusive content, coupled with over 200,000 pages of 51����documentation, over 50 51����Certifications, and more than two terabytes of curated 51����Community content, allows consultants to make informed decisions and align projects with best practices.

The resulting business value includes up to a 14 percent acceleration in project execution, a 50 percent reduction in design iterations and rework, and an estimated 1.5 hours saved per consultant per day due to much faster knowledge access and improved code interpretation.*

This capability was recently included in the which shows how AI can be applied in real-world scenarios to solve complex global challenges responsibly.

Discover how KPMG is revolutionizing 51����transformations with 51����Joule for Consultants and 51����Business Data Cloud:

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Joule in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams
Generally available

Modern enterprises rely on interoperability between critical business systems. Joule is now generally available within Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams, including Microsoft Teams Mobile. This integration enables users to access information and complete tasks while leveraging the strengths of both ecosystems.

Customers can now chat directly with Joule in Microsoft Teams, use Joule in Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Mobile as an app, and ask Joule questions directly in Microsoft 365 Copilot. The integration of Joule and Microsoft 365 Copilot provides a unified AI experience across 51����and Microsoft environments. The integration will increase employee productivity, reduce information silos, and streamline workflows, ultimately leading to improved operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making across the organization. Later this year, we’ll launch the second half of the integration, bringing Microsoft 365 Copilot capabilities into Joule and 51����applications. Business users will be able to access data from Microsoft Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint — all from within Joule.

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Analytical insights feature
Generally available

Joule’s analytical insights feature delivers tailored, on-demand decision support directly within any 51����business application workflow. Business users can ask Joule natural language questions such as “Who were the top three sales managers last month?” or “What is the amount of sales commission this month?” and get immediate, context-rich insights, enabling them to make more informed decisions faster without needing to access 51����Analytics Cloud dashboards directly. This results in an 80 percent reduction in steps to get analytical insights and a seamless user experience.*

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51����Business AI for supply chain

Joule with 51����Digital Manufacturing
Generally available

Production engineers face a common challenge: the need for instant access to key information without navigating through lengthy help content or documentation. Joule with 51����Digital Manufacturing addresses this directly by providing an intuitive, natural language conversational search. It interprets queries and instantly retrieves relevant, summarized information from the application’s help content.

This streamlined access to critical knowledge translates to a significant business value, including a 30 percent reduction in the time required to gain insights in digital manufacturing, boosting productivity.*

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51����Digital Manufacturing, AI-assisted production engineering
Beta release

51����Digital Manufacturing offers an AI-powered production engineering feature tailored to product engineers who need to manage production processes efficiently. This feature empowers users to analyze error logs with AI assistance, automatically identifying root causes and generating resolution instructions. Furthermore, it allows engineers to extend processes through script tasks created from natural language input.

By streamlining error analysis and script creation, this feature delivers up to a 25 percent reduction in error analysis time for production process errors and a one percent reduction in non-productive time.*

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51����Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel, AI-assisted planning
51����Early Adopter Care release

Supply chain planners can now significantly enhance workflow efficiency with the 51����Integrated Business Planning (51����IBP) add-in for Microsoft Excel. Utilizing AI-assisted planning, users can generate 51����IBP formulas through natural language input, eliminating the need for in-depth technical knowledge of functions and parameters. This intuitive functionality allows for the seamless integration of custom calculations within planning views.

The resulting business value is a demonstrable 10 percent improvement in supply chain planner productivity when updating key figures and attributes via the Excel add-in.*

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Field Service Dispatcher Agent
Beta release

The new Field Service Dispatcher Agent enables dispatchers to efficiently plan and optimize service orders by leveraging real-time data, technician availability, and intelligent recommendations. It proposes the right technician for the right job at the optimal time and location, reducing manual effort and decision fatigue. Each proposal is verified by a dispatcher, maintaining human oversight while streamlining operations. This “human-in-the-loop” approach helps ensure both precision and trust.

This agent boosts dispatcher productivity by reducing manual tasks, minimizing errors, and enabling faster, more efficient decision-making. It also optimizes resource allocation by analyzing real-time data, reducing misallocations, and ensuring the right resources are assigned to the right jobs.

Dispatchers can expect to increase their productivity by up to 50 percent and reduce erroneous technician assignments by up to eight percent.*

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Maintenance Planner Agent
Beta release

Maintenance planners can efficiently manage and prioritize a growing list of maintenance tasks while ensuring equipment reliability and minimizing downtime. Collaborating with the maintenance planner, the Maintenance Planner Agent continuously analyzes real-time data and suggests maintenance schedule adjustments, reprioritizing tasks and improving asset health.

It helps maintenance planners create and streamline maintenance event backlogs faster and more efficiently, reducing downtime by quickly identifying and addressing maintenance issues.

Maintenance planners can expect to increase their productivity by up to 40 percent* and reduce unplanned downtime by up to one percent.*

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51����Business AI for finance and spend

51����Document and Reporting Compliance, AI-assisted electronic document error handling
Generally available

Tax accountants encountering challenges with the growing complexities of e-invoicing can benefit from Joule with 51����Document and Reporting Compliance. This solution translates intricate electronic document errors into easily understandable natural language, eliminating the need to navigate technical jargon. This allows for quick identification and efficient resolution of underlying issues, minimizing disruptions and potential penalties.

The demonstrated business value is an up to 80 percent reduction in the time spent on understanding error specifics and determining the root cause, driving significant gains in efficiency and compliance.*

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Joule with 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition product enhancements
Generally available

Joule is now more powerful than ever in 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, providing greater efficiency and control over key business processes. In addition to viewing business data for Work Centers and Resources, business users can now monitor sales order fulfillment proactively. By flagging potential issues and providing remediation suggestions, Joule helps users keep orders on track.

Furthermore, Joule allows users to create fixed asset master data directly within the 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, reducing time for large-scale training and supporting greater accuracy and better data governance.

Additionally, Joule can help pricing specialists better handle expiring prices by suggesting new adjusted prices, reducing the time and cost of expiring price detection and new price creation by up to 90 percent.*

For detailed information on the latest enhancements, .

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Joule with 51����S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition product enhancements
Generally available

Joule with 51����S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition is getting new capabilities across several business functions. Field logistics users can now directly fetch quantities for non-stock items. Furthermore, Joule now unlocks comprehensive cash management capabilities, including monitoring bank statements and initiating transfers. Users working on convergent invoicing can now manage key processes directly, including assigning processors to clarification cases and controlling print locks on invoicing documents.

Joule also enables shipping specialists to fetch details of outbound deliveries and show detailed information, such as picking statuses or ship-to parties for outbound deliveries and sales orders, without the need to find and open the relevant apps. For example, Joule can show all outbound deliveries with goods not yet fully picked or all sales orders due to be delivered, enabling faster issue resolution and improved fulfillment tracking.

And that’s not all. With the help of Joule, sales representatives can now efficiently extract key contract details, track historical changes, analyze critical KPIs, and rectify errors. This enables deep analysis and swift resolution of sales negotiations, enhancing renewal and upsell opportunities. Additionally, Joule simplifies contract inquiries, boosting customer satisfaction. Sales representatives can expect to reduce the time spent summarizing subscription contract data by up to 80 percent.*

For additional information on these enhancements,

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Accounts Receivable Agent
Beta release

Accounts receivable accountants now have support for processing data related to overdue receivables. The Accounts Receivable Agent can find overdue receivables from different applications and perform appropriate follow-up tasks with customers based on their profiles and payment histories.

Using this Joule Agent, customers can expect to reduce the days sales outstanding (DSO) by up to one percent, the uncollectible write-offs by up to two percent, and the effort analyzing and reconciling open accounts receivable (AR) items by up to 75 percent.*

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Meeting Location Planner Agent
Beta release

Meeting planners can simplify and accelerate off-site event planning with Meeting Location Planner Agent. It suggests locations that minimize travel time for attendees, recommends an event location based on a company’s office, suggests suitable hotels, offers a comprehensive overview of the total pricing for the offsite, and provides an email template with a deep link for attendees to book their trip. Ultimately, this enables users to plan within their budget.

Automating information gathering and coordination streamlines planning and boosts productivity. It empowers more informed choices to control expenses while meeting event goals and improves the attendee experience with seamless communication and clear booking instructions.

This yields up to a 10 percent cost avoidance for planned meetings and a 15 percent reduction in the time required to plan offsites, improving the process of sharing information with all attendees.*

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Expense Report Validation Agent
51����Early Adopter Care release

Expense managers can streamline the expense reporting process with Expense Report Validation Agent. It proactively flags issues and guides users through corrections to minimize delays caused by rejected or returned reports. It improves the user experience by assisting in completing and submitting expense reports, reducing errors, and ensuring all necessary details are included by prompting users for needed information.

This leads to a 30 percent reduction in the time spent preparing and submitting expense reports and a 24 percent increase in first-pass expense reports, improving the overall user experience.*

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51����Business AI for human resources

51����SuccessFactors solutions, AI-assisted bulk translation
Generally available

System administrators seeking to enhance employee engagement and support compliance can utilize bulk translation within 51����SuccessFactors solutions. This tool instantly translates preset page content into multiple languages and features an intuitive edit UI for reviewing translations. The resulting benefits include a simplified translation process, which saves time and costs compared to manual methods, improved translation quality and consistency, and enhanced employee engagement through localized content.

System administrators can reduce the cost of translating customer-specific objects​ during system localization by up to 90 percent.*

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51����SuccessFactors Learning, AI-assisted image generation for learning
Generally available

Learning administrators using 51����SuccessFactors Learning can now benefit from AI-assisted image generation to create more engaging content without relying on external image sourcing. This tool allows for the quick and easy generation of images for custom cards, banners, items, programs, and curricula by simply entering a description. The key benefits are significantly reducing time spent searching for images, enabling faster content creation, and ultimately enhancing the overall learning experience for administrators and users.

Learning designers can expect to reduce their time spent on generating learning images by up to 70 percent, and learning administrators can reduce external spend on stock imagery by up to 90 percent.*

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51����SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, AI-assisted sentiment analysis in 360 reviews
Generally available

HR professionals and managers can now utilize sentiment analysis in 360 reviews to gain deeper insights into employee performance with 51����SuccessFactors Performance & Goals. This feature analyzes the sentiment behind rater feedback on 360 review forms, providing a clear understanding of an employee’s attitude towards skills and competencies.

The resulting benefits are time savings through a quicker grasp of performance narratives, data-driven decision-making to improve employee performance, and an intuitive way to identify employee strengths and growth opportunities.

This feature is expected to reduce by up to 30 percent the proportion of voluntary turnover that can be attributed to unclear sentiments behind 360° feedback.*

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51����SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, AI-assisted team goals
Generally available

Team leaders and managers using 51����SuccessFactors Performance & Goals can now leverage AI to efficiently build meaningful and inspiring team goals. The system generates well-structured goals that align with organizational standards by describing desired team achievements. Users can review, edit, and regenerate content as needed.

The feature creates high-quality, aligned team goals and shifts focus from ideation and drafting to achieving results.

Managers can reduce the time allocated to creating team goals by up to 65 percent.*

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51����SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, AI-assisted performance insights
Generally available

Managers can now utilize performance insights to comprehensively understand employee performance based on feedback received from 51����SuccessFactors Performance & Goals. This feature generates a summary and synthesis of qualitative feedback from a given performance year, allowing managers to visualize and understand employee performance more effectively.

The benefits are improved efficiency in completing performance forms and preparing for one-on-one meetings, connecting qualitative feedback and achievement data with quantitative ratings, and expanded information for leading performance management within the team.

Managers can reduce by up to 70 percent the time spent preparing their direct reports’ performance histories for respective review discussions.*

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51����SuccessFactors Succession & Development, AI-assisted successor insights
Generally available

Succession planners and people managers using 51����SuccessFactors Succession & Development can now leverage successor insights to streamline and enhance succession planning. Users gain valuable insights into potential successors directly from the position card, including role alignment, performance, key achievements, strengths, and development areas.

The benefits are readily available and relevant insights to guide succession planning decisions, a shift in focus from data digging to strategic workforce management, and the ability to define targeted career growth and skill development to build a broader bench of qualified candidates for key positions.

Both successor planners and managers can expect to reduce the time spent on succession planning by up to 20 percent through automated insights into candidate profiles and succession data management.*

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51����SuccessFactors Recruiting, AI-assisted interview feedback insights
Generally available

Recruiters and hiring managers can now leverage AI-powered interview feedback insights to streamline candidate evaluation. The system provides a comprehensive evaluation of candidates by incorporating assessments of skills and competencies, overall comments, notes, skill-specific feedback, and the final recommendation, all generated from interviewer feedback. Recruiters can generate, view, and regenerate these insights as needed, ensuring the latest feedback is reflected.

This improves efficiency in reviewing candidate feedback, eliminates the manual effort of creating summaries, facilitates the easy identification of consensus or concerns across the interview team, and allows for the regeneration of summaries as additional feedback becomes available.

Recruiters can reduce by up to 70 percent the time spent on summarizing interviewer feedback per interviewed candidate.*

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51����SuccessFactors solutions, AI-assisted extended AI locales
Generally available

HR leaders aiming to support a global workforce can leverage extended AI locales within 51����SuccessFactors solutions to expand language coverage. Managed by system administrators, this feature enables the creation, review, and management of AI-translated locales through a UI and built-in workflow, ensuring human-reviewed and customized translations.

System administrators can reduce up to 90 percent the cost of managing AI-translated locales for customer-specific objects during system localization, while reducing compliance risk.*

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Joule with 51����SuccessFactors Mobile
Generally available

51����SuccessFactors users can now use Joule with 51����SuccessFactors Mobile apps to manage daily tasks more intuitively and efficiently. Joule allows employees to independently resolve issues and reduces the time spent searching for information. It empowers managers to make data-driven decisions, supporting better team performance and growth.

On iPhones and iPads, users can ask Siri to open Joule and use it to answer their questions. For example, mobile users can say, “Hey Siri, ask Joule with 51����SuccessFactors” to start the interaction with Joule via Siri.

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51����SuccessFactors Employee Central, AI-assisted explain pay
Generally available

51����SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll lets employees utilize the “explain pay” feature with the help of Joule to instantly answer their questions about pay changes and details. This AI-driven functionality provides immediate explanations, significantly reducing payroll help desk tickets and boosting employee satisfaction.

HR departments can expect a 50 percent reduction in pay statement-related HR tickets, and employees can benefit from zero lead time for getting a qualified answer.*

and watch it in action in the 51����SuccessFactors H1 2025 release highlights video:

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Performance and Goals Agent
Beta release

The new Performance and Goals Agent in 51����SuccessFactors automates data collection, generates personalized talking points for managers, and suggests actionable next steps like producing meeting notes in continuous performance management, scheduling 1:1s, requesting feedback, and more.​ It ensures managers are equipped with relevant insights and reduces time spent on manual prep work.

For instance, the agent can alert managers that they have a performance review with one of their employees coming up, but do not have any peer feedback. The agent can work on their behalf to collect feedback from their employees’ peers, summarize that feedback, and prepare them before the conversation.

The Performance and Goals Agent simplifies complex HR processes such as performance reviews and compensation planning, reduces the administrative burden, and creates and executes actionable plans with the correct information and data.

It reduces by up to 50 percent​ the manager’s time in preparation for performance discussions, by up to 80 percent​ the manager’s time on following up on performance discussions, and by up to 30 percent​ the voluntary turnover that can be attributed to poor performance discussions.*

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51����Business AI for customer experience

51����Service Cloud Version 2, AI-assisted entity extraction​
Generally available

Contact center agents frequently face the challenge of manually sifting through unstructured text in emails and documents to extract vital information. The new entity extraction feature in 51����Service Cloud Version 2 automatically identifies and extracts relevant ID patterns, such as product IDs and serial numbers, converting unstructured text into structured data.

This reduces manual effort, enabling faster case processing and resolution. This leads to a 50 percent increase in service staff productivity and a 30 percent reduction in repeat cases, ultimately improving customer satisfaction.*

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51����Service Cloud Version 2, AI-assisted registered product summary
Generally available

Customer service representatives often spend excessive time gathering information about registered products when handling support cases. With 51����Service Cloud Version 2, we introduce a new AI feature that generates comprehensive summaries for registered products, including an “about registered product” section and a summary of related cases.

This functionality significantly reduces the time spent on information gathering, enabling faster issue resolution and ultimately improving the overall customer experience. Service staff productivity is expected to improve by up to 25 percent, and the first-call resolution rate is expected to increase by up to 15 percent.*

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51����Sales Cloud Version 2, AI-assisted sales order summary
Generally available

Sales managers can now quickly understand all key aspects of a sales order with the AI-assisted sales order summary. They gain immediate insights into pricing fluctuations such as increases or decreases with percentage changes, on-time delivery status, the quantity of free products offered, and instances of product substitution.

This automation eliminates manual data analysis, leading to a saving of 90 percent of the time spent on pricing simulation assessments, and empowering faster, more effective decision-making.*

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51����CX AI Toolkit
Shopping Agent
Generally available

Digital operation managers and e-commerce platforms require intelligent tools to enhance customer engagement. The Shopping Agent, a key component of the 51����CX AI Toolkit, leverages cutting-edge AI to transform online interactions into natural, conversational experiences. It allows customers to articulate their needs and receive personalized product recommendations. The agent facilitates informed purchasing decisions by understanding context and accessing real-time product information.

The agent increases operational efficiency, improves customer service, and provides a scalable solution for enhancing the shopping experience across diverse product catalogs, driving long-term growth and customer satisfaction.

Digital operation managers can expect an increase in online conversion rate by up to 10 percent, an increase in average order value by up to 10 percent, and an increase in repeat purchases by up to five percent.*

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51����CX AI Toolkit
Custom AI agents
Generally available

Customer-facing teams can enhance their efficiency with custom AI agents. These customizable agents empower businesses to configure and deploy specialized AI agents within 51����Sales and Service Cloud, automating complex tasks without custom coding. The agents streamline workflows by intelligently classifying cases, proactively capturing knowledge from resolved cases, and providing quick access to comprehensive organizational knowledge.

Customers can access the Quote Creation Agent, Q&A Agent, Classification Agent, Knowledge Base Article Agent, and Digital Service Agent, which are all generally available.

Organizations can experience up to a 50 percent increase in productivity for tasks managed by AI agents within sales and service functions, resulting in improved operational performance.*

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Joule with 51����Enterprise Service Management and 51����Service Cloud Version 2
51����Early Adopter Care release

Service agents can now leverage Joule with 51����Service Cloud Version 2 and 51����Enterprise Service Management to get customer, supplier, and employee information at their fingertips.

Service agents can ask Joule to create tickets, access cases created, view case details, update case priority and status, and much more.

This integration helps increase productivity by allowing users to access and navigate directly to needed information. It also improves the overall customer experience by responding to queries more quickly.

Register for and .

51����Emarsys, AI-assisted product finder
Beta release

Marketers often struggle to incorporate the right products into e-mail campaigns quickly. 51����Emarsys, AI-assisted product finder, streamlines this process by enabling intuitive keyword and natural language search. This helps marketers instantly locate relevant products within their catalog. The feature further automates the mapping of product fields to email content blocks, eliminating manual setup.

This empowers marketers to boost campaign speed and flexibility and focus on creating engaging content, improving efficiency, and potentially increasing sales conversion rates.

Marketing managers are expected to see a reduction in time spent manually inserting products into email by up to 60 percent and an increase in campaign speed from template creation to launch by up to 30 percent.*

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51����Business AI for procurement

Joule with 51����Fieldglass solutions
Generally available

Managers can leverage Joule with 51����Fieldglass solutions to effortlessly manage key tasks such as viewing, navigating, searching, approving, and organizing activities. These capabilities are included in timesheets, work orders, and job postings — all within a unified experience.

Joule helps managers find the right templates quickly, such as hiring or services procurement templates, improving efficiency in their document creation. Users get insights into company data by finding applicable reports and seeing valuable KPI trends more easily. Alternatively, they can simply ask questions about a feature. Joule will search 51����Help Portal documentation to retrieve the correct information without the user needing to navigate away from the current task.

Managers can expect an improved employee productivity through task completion by up to 50 to 70 percent, with less time spent on finding and editing the right hiring templates, statement of work (SOW) description, shorter interview time, and an easier way to access, create, and modify reports.*

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51����Fieldglass Contingent Workforce Management, AI-assisted skill-based job posting
Generally available

Hiring managers can spend a lot of time crafting detailed job descriptions to find the right workers. Now, AI-assisted skill-based job postings in 51����Fieldglass Contingent Workforce Management allow managers to focus on key skills rather than full role descriptions. The feature suggests relevant skills from a custom library, facilitating faster and smarter talent matching.

This results in a 50 percent reduction in the time required to define and match skills for a job posting, a 15 to 25 percent increase in productivity, and a 40 percent reduction in worker ramp-up time, ultimately leading to more efficient and effective contingent workforce management.*

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51����Ariba Category Management, AI-assisted strategy summarizer
Generally available

Category managers can use the AI-assisted strategy summarizer within 51����Ariba to generate concise summaries of category strategy documents, quickly understanding key insights without extensive manual review. The refined summaries can then be sent for approval and regenerated when needed, reducing the time required to review and approve completed category strategy documents by 50 percent*.

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Sourcing Agent
Beta release

Sourcing managers can now automate sourcing events and make real-time updates to match the speed of business. The Sourcing Agent can reason through sourcing event requests, past event data, and supplier information to create tailored events autonomously. Sourcing managers can now create and adapt events in real time and automate smart updates, enabling faster, better-informed purchasing decisions and more agile responses to supply chain disruptions and shifting business conditions.

The Sourcing Agent streamlines procurement by automating RFP creation, ensuring consistency, and reducing manual effort. Sourcing managers gain intelligent recommendations for event duration, questions, items, and suppliers – and can reduce the time to create an RFP by up to 70 percent.*

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51����Business AI for IT and developers

Joule Studio in 51����Build
Skill builder
Generally available

Organizations aiming to optimize automation and efficiency across 51����and non-51����systems can use Joule Studio, a capability within 51����Build, to create and deploy Joule skills tailored to their specific business needs. Developers can now build Joule skills for rule-based tasks.

Key benefits include deep grounding in business-specific data and processes for reliable outcomes, an open and extensible framework for seamless connectivity, and built-in security and compliance for centralized management and data privacy.

With skill builder, business users experience a reduction of the time spent on frequent business tasks by up to 25 percent. Developers can reduce the time spent to deploy custom Joule skills by up to 10 percent.*

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Generative AI hub prompt optimizer
Preview

51����is paving the way for a multi-model AI future by introducing prompt optimizer, a capability of generative AI hub in AI Foundation. This groundbreaking technology eliminates vendor lock-in by automating prompt optimization when switching between AI models. Automatically converting existing prompts into optimized prompts for various models using public benchmarks drastically reduces the time required to migrate use cases from days to minutes. Organizations can now seamlessly adopt new, more cost-effective, geographically available models without lengthy and expensive re-engineering.

, with general availability expected later this year. This offers greater flexibility in building AI solutions.

Generative AI hub product enhancements
Generally available

The generative AI hub now offers access to , enabling application developers to explore which model works best for their custom AI use case.

Application developers can also easily manage the life cycle of their prompts from design to runtime using , reducing the complexity of dealing with prompt templates and leveraging integration capabilities.

In addition, new models are available as part of the generative AI hub, including Google Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash, OpenAI GPT, o3, o4-mini, 4.1, 4.1-mini, 4.1-nano, and Mistral Small 3.1, Anthropic Claude Opus 4, and Sonnet 4, and NVIDIA Llama 3.2 nv embedqa 1b.

Finally, a translation module has been added to the orchestration feature, improving answer quality when the configured model performs better when input is provided in a specific language. It can be configured for and text.

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51����Document AI product enhancements
Generally available

51����Document AI, formerly Document Information Extraction, seamlessly processes, extracts, and understands structured and unstructured data from business documents while automating document processing. It significantly reduces manual efforts and minimizes errors.

The service is now available in new regions across major cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Google Cloud Platform (Mumbai, India), and Microsoft Azure (Singapore). This expansion aims to provide lower latency, better scalability, and enhanced global reach for businesses utilizing the service. The goal is to improve user experience and satisfaction by offering faster and more reliable AI-powered document processing.

Moreover, the premium edition of 51����Document AI now supports a greatly expanded list of languages, including various dialects and regional languages, such as Ido, Ladino, Fijian, Wu Chinese, and many more. This enhanced language support enables businesses to broaden their global reach, improve inclusivity, and increase the efficiency and accuracy of their document processing workflows across diverse linguistic landscapes.

Finally, file filtering capabilities in 51����Document AI are now available, allowing AI agents to process only relevant document pages, for example. This feature streamlines processing, saves time by reducing the scope of analysis, and adds flexibility for task-specific document handling, which is especially beneficial for long or complex documents.

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and start with to access cutting-edge generative AI features in 51����Document AI, such as instant learning.

51����HANA Cloud product enhancements
Generally available

Developers building custom AI applications on 51����Business Technology Platform (51����BTP) can now benefit from new capabilities that are included in the latest release of the 51����HANA Cloud: 

• Leveraging improved vector similarity search scenarios, based on the new in-database text embedding model version, covering more languages and short-text embedding scenarios
• Getting insights from text data stored in 51����HANA Cloud via text embedding features as input to Predictive Analysis Library (PAL), AutoML classification and regression models, and k-nearest neighbors’ models
• Explaining tabular data outliers using enhanced isolation forest outlier detection and SHapley exPlanations, for example, applied to financial accounting data in the universal journal
• Managing machine learning model development, documentation, and reproducibility, using new experiment tracking and task scheduling capabilities for PAL models
• Detecting data drift using the new Automated Predictive Library (APL) functions to detect unexpected, suspicious, or fraudulent transactions, and simply trigger the required retraining of machine learning models

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The complete enhancements are available on the and . Check out how enterprises need to rethink their database for AI workloads, and how 51����HANA Cloud is leading that shift, here.

51����Build Code
51����HANA Cloud text to SQL generation
Generally available

The AI-assisted database application development SQL console has been updated to support the generation of standard SQL statements for public monitoring views and custom data models from a customer 51����HANA Cloud instance.

During SQL statement generation, the prompt and suitable additional information from the database object metadata and 51����HANA Cloud documentation are sent to the large language model (LLM). With this context, the LLM can generate syntactically valid SQL statements that can be executed on 51����HANA Cloud. This enhancement personalizes query generation, improves flexibility, and increases efficiency.

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51����Build Code
51����HANA application migration assistant
Generally available

The new extension, 51����HANA application migration assistant is based on Joule and is now available in 51����Build Code. This enhanced tool extends the capabilities of the existing database migration assistant by automating the conversion of the service layer that includes XSJSLIB, XSODATA, and XSJS artifacts from or into modern CAP-based services, aligning with .

Using generative AI, it simplifies service layer migration when customers choose “XS Classic to CAP” or “XS Advanced to CAP” templates. This feature eases migration of applications from 51����HANA extended application services to CAP.

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Joule with 51����Business Accelerator Hub
Generally available

With 51����Business Accelerator Hub, developers can explore, discover, and consume APIs, pre-packaged integrations, business services, and sample apps.

In Q2, we released Joule with 51����Business Accelerator Hub to help them discover pre-built business accelerators using natural language. With Joule, they can expect to reduce the time needed to access the 51����Business Accelerator Hub content by up to 40 percent.*

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Joule with 51����Datasphere
51����Early Adopter Care release

Data architects and data engineers can leverage Joule with 51����Datasphere to quickly learn how to use specific 51����Datasphere functionalities and receive answers with references to product documentation. They can also ask Joule for specific information about their 51����Datasphere instance or delegate tasks like switching to the system language.

This integration reduces reliance on internal IT for product-related questions and enables faster navigation within 51����Datasphere.

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51����Business AI for industries

51����Cell and Gene Therapy Orchestration, AI-assisted exception management
Beta release

Cell and gene therapy supply chain managers will get unparalleled visibility and control with 51����Cell and Gene Therapy Orchestration, enhanced with AI-assisted exception management. When unexpected delays or disruptions occur during the patient-specific manufacturing and delivery process, the AI-powered control tower detects these anomalies and proactively alerts the appropriate personnel.

This feature helps supply chain managers identify exceptions and support resolution and rescheduling to maximize patient access and minimize costs. It optimizes manufacturing for optimal capacity utilization, higher revenue, reduced material waste, and improved user experience to benefit patients and healthcare providers.

Supply chain managers can expect to increase their productivity by up to 60 percent* by handling exceptions.

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Philipp Herzig is CTO, chief AI officer, and a member of the Extended Board of 51����SE.

*Disclaimer: This article provides estimated benefits. All calculations are estimates based on 51����customer case studies, 51����benchmarks, and other research. Actual benefits may vary and may be affected by additional factors not considered by this article. The information is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied, and in no event shall 51����be liable for any damages whatsoever in relation with the use of this article. See Legal Notice on for use terms, disclaimers, disclosures, or restrictions related to this material.

With AI-powered innovation and a unified approach to HR service delivery, organizations can create the seamless, connected experiences employees expect while unlocking new levels of efficiency and strategic impact for HR. That’s exactly what 51����is enabling with the 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management solution, recently delivered in the 1H 2025 release and now available.

Leading companies like , a global producer of natural ingredients for the food and beverage industry, are already seeing the impact, with benefits such as:

• 33% reduction in case resolution times
• 4X productivity increase
• 80% reduction in e-mail writing time using generative AI

Paul Wittig, head of HR Operations & Services, Döhler, said, “Enterprise service management for HR is a huge step towards a more digital and, therefore, more transparent and structured way of work.”

The future of HR service delivery is now

The employee experience is shaped not just by big career moments, but by everyday opportunities, interactions, and the ability to get support when it’s needed. That’s why one of the most critical HR touchpoints in any organization is the HR help desk—and it’s also one of the most overburdened.

HR service reps at large enterprises often work in shared business centers and are responsible for managing high case volumes and diverse requests, ensuring accuracy and compliance. They may process hundreds of service requests in a month, each taking 1-3 days to resolve depending on the complexity of the issue, leaving employees waiting for the answers they need and HR teams overwhelmed by volume.

But this model is evolving—advancements in technology solutions are fundamentally reshaping how this work gets done. It’s no longer just about processing more cases, faster. It’s about preventing many of those cases from being raised in the first place. Intelligent, AI-powered tools enable employees to find answers independently, reducing case volumes and allowing HR teams to focus on more complex issues that require human expertise.

According to Gartner*, “By 2025, 70% of organizations with more than 2,500 employees will have invested in an HR service management solution.”

The momentum is clear, and organizations taking action are already seeing the benefits: reduced case volumes, faster resolution times, and a more seamless experience for both employees and HR teams.

The potential of AI to transform service delivery is also reflected in recent 51����SuccessFactors research. In one survey, 89% of employees said their workplace experience would improve if they could use AI to get answers to HR questions. In a related survey, HR leaders identified self-service and other AI-enabled administrative tasks as the most valuable use cases for their teams—freeing them from repetitive requests and creating space for more meaningful conversations with employees, from career development to conflict resolution.

The question is: what does HR service really look like in an era where embedded AI has the potential to transform not just the speed, but the entire nature of support?

The benefits of a single cloud platform, powered by AI

51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management enables organizations to completely reimagine HR service delivery with a unified cloud platform powered by AI.

Enhancing the employee experience is among the top benefits of 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management. Delivering added value to HR, the solution can harness the power of AI to help search, analyze, and update the underlying knowledge base and policy data, enabling it to better address employees’ questions in the future before cases are generated. can give employees instant access to the answers and support they need through collaboration tools, a rich knowledge base, and omnichannel self-service experiences.

For example, imagine an employee with questions about parental leave. Instead of submitting a case and waiting for an HR response, the employee can simply ask Joule the question from directly within the platform. Joule can provide accurate, personalized guidance based on company policies and the employee’s specific eligibility, helping to instantly resolve the inquiry without any manual intervention. If the question is more complex or requires documentation, the technology helps seamlessly create and route the case to an HR service rep, along with all relevant details, working to ensure fast, informed support. The best part: Joule can be accessed from anywhere across 51����and is not just contained within HR.

The solution also benefits HR teams by helping to simplify daily operations and significantly scale efficiency. 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management can enhance HR service delivery behind the scenes with AI-driven case management, automated document handling, and intelligent knowledge updates, working to reduce manual effort for service reps and improve compliance. AI at work is central to this process, enabling auto-classification of service requests, content summarization to give agents a concise, contextual view of each case, and next-best action recommendations to help resolve issues quickly and effectively. The solution can continuously learn from past interactions, helping to make classification and resolution processes smarter and more accurate over time. Generative AI can further elevate efficiency by automatically generating clear interaction summaries, consistent resolution recaps, and professional, personalized e-mail drafts—helping to accelerate case handling, enhance communication quality, and ensure a more seamless, consistent service experience for both employees and HR teams.

With embedded 51����Analytics Cloud, HR teams can gain real-time visibility into service performance, enabling data-driven decisions to further optimize operations and elevate the employee experience.

A win for the business, employees, and HR

51����customers that already use 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central for core HR are well positioned to quickly implement and reap the benefits of 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management. Together, these solutions can create a unified, AI-powered foundation that can deliver personalized, compliant HR support at every touchpoint.

Real-time, trusted core HR data from 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central helps ensure employees receive accurate, context-aware support, while quick actions embedded in the solution can make it easy to complete common HR tasks with just a few clicks—all within the flow of work. Within 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management’s case management experience, HR service reps can also benefit from direct access to the 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central people profile, available as a mash-up, helping to provide immediate, secure visibility into relevant employee information without the need to switch systems. The solution can extend core 51����SuccessFactors HCM investments with a secure, compliant service layer to help maintain centralized data governance, streamline service processes, and reduce manual effort—working to ensure a seamless, intuitive experience for employees and HR teams alike.

We all know that HR is not just a back-office function. It is central to shaping employee experience and driving business outcomes. With 51����SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management, powered by 51����Business AI, organizations can deliver the support employees expect while reducing HR workloads and improving efficiency. The result? A triple win for the business, employees, and HR.

Learn more about .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at 51����SuccessFactors.

*Source: Gartner: Market Guide for Integrated HR Service Management solutions, May 2024

TrustRadius is a leading B2B software review platform, and its Top Rated awards recognize vendors with high customer satisfaction, based on verified customer reviews.

“Our Top Rated awards are based entirely on authentic customer feedback, and 51����has clearly earned the trust of its users. 51����SuccessFactors HCM stands out for its comprehensive approach to talent management, employee experience, and core HR functions,” said Allyson Havener, CMO at TrustRadius.

This year, 51����SuccessFactors earned 12 Top Rated honors across a range of categories, reflecting the breadth and depth of our HCM suite:

• Applicant Tracking
• Compensation Management
• Talent Management
• Workforce Analytics
• Sales Incentive Compensation Management
• HR Management
• Workforce Management
• Employee Performance Management
• Sales Performance Management
• Corporate Learning Management
• Succession Planning
• International Payroll

More than 10,000 customers across the globe trust 51����SuccessFactors solutions to help them unlock the full potential of their people. Together, we’re reshaping workforces to be more adaptive, intelligent, and aligned with business goals—guided by real-time insights, assisted by AI, and connected across every corner of the enterprise.

In the past year, 51����has delivered powerful innovations that are redefining the HR experience. The 51����SuccessFactors first-half 2025 release introduced more than 250 innovative features and enhancements designed to help organizations address any business need and stay ahead of the curve.

Last month at 51����Sapphire, 51����announced new innovations to help HR leaders navigate rapid change and address skills gaps, including the first of our and three new solutions: the , , and .  

Together, these innovations can enable our customers to navigate today’s business demands while building a foundation for the future.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s a look at what our customers are saying:

• “51����SuccessFactors HCM is considered a ‘best of breed’ for a reason. The fact that it does allow for in-depth customization, and its ability to be tailored not only to individual business needs, but also it allows for best practice follow-up while ensuring organizations remain compliant with several legal requirements.” –
• “Effectiveness of the software in payroll figures and tax management. The software is easy to set up and implement even by unskilled persons. The pricing of the product is favorable for beginners and small organizations. The availability of unlimited customizable templates and dashboards makes the platform reliable and eloquent. Customer support services providers are available 24/7 and ready to help in real time.” –
• “Day-to-day HR tasks are automated, which relieves the company from repeated manual tasks. The process of recruitment and performance management has improved. The operation cost of HR operations has been reduced. Talent and compensation management have improved. Human resource planning has become more efficient with data-driven decision-making. The onboarding process has been enhanced, cutting the company’s time and effort.” –

Learn more about and read our customer reviews on .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

TUI implemented eight years ago, and now the company’s over 41,000 employees use various 51����SuccessFactors solutions for performance management, talent management, learning, HR data management, and more. “With so many capabilities and so many employees, as you can imagine, it’s a steep learning curve for our employees,” Dean said. This is where TUI turned to to help standardize and automate its HR processes for an improved employee experience and increased efficiency.

Benefits for the business and employees

TUI faced three main challenges when it came to HR processes, Dean explained: employees struggled to learn new systems, legacy training approaches were expensive and difficult to maintain, and time-consuming HR tasks were impacting overall business operations. “We needed something that was going to bring us into the future but that could support the organization as well,” Dean said. The solution also needed to be available 24/7 and in multiple languages to effectively support TUI’s global employee base, which includes flight attendants, pilots, travel agents, and other seasonal roles.

TUI implemented WalkMe to help employees navigate the company’s HR processes more easily and efficiently as well as aid HR staff members. With WalkMe analytics, TUI can identify where users have challenges in existing processes and then build WalkMe solutions to create personalized and automated experiences to help mitigate those challenges. For employees, this can mean the software feels easier to use; for HR staff and the business, it can lead to fewer employee and manager errors and faster time-to-value for 51����SuccessFactors solutions.

Dean described how WalkMe automation helped simplify TUI’s onboarding processes for new employees by automatically assigning e-mail addresses in the 51����SuccessFactors system during the hiring process to reduce login issues on an employee’s first day. This not only improved the new hire experience, it also saved HR teams time and proactively addressed any errors.      

TUI also simplified the time-off request process for HR staff and employees.    

“We set up a process whereby if somebody is booking sick leave and they have annual leave at the same time, WalkMe will intercept them. It will say ‘You’ve actually got holiday at the same time so we need you to cancel that holiday and put it through as sick time,’” Dean said. “What that means then for us is that we’ve got less questions going to HR, less tickets being raised, and more people following the actual process for their region.”

The data speaks volumes

WalkMe analytics can offer visibility into what software is being used and how. With this insight, companies can identify opportunities for improved efficiency and deploy in-app guidance and automations to address specific points in processes. “One of the real benefits of WalkMe is how the data that is available helps us make decisions around how we support employees and how we build digital adoption solutions for our employees,” Dean said. “We’ve focused a lot on the data that’s within the annual employee process and how our users are actually using their system currently.”

Analyzing aggregated annual employee form process data collected by WalkMe over 90 days, Dean saw that HR completed the process with no errors 70% of the time, completed the process with some errors 5% of the time, and did not complete the process 23% of the time. Even more, Dean could see where the errors were occurring and where users who didn’t complete the form were getting stuck. Based on this data, Dean used WalkMe to highlight the most-missed fields on the form, reminding users to complete them before moving on. “If 5% of the time they don’t know that information, I need to do something when they get here to say, ‘Please make sure you have this information before you carry on.’ So, I’m telling them in advance they need to have that, which I can do with WalkMe,” she said.

When asked how easy the analytics dashboards are to build, Dean explained that WalkMe gathers all the forms automatically so there’s no need to build anything additional. With WalkMe flow analytics, you set up the process step-by-step and then the report collects data over time. “It’s super quick and easy. With UI intelligence you get an out-of-the-box set of insights that shows usage of forms in the system. It shows me where people stop and start processing and points of friction,” she said.

Self-service employees

TUI’s brand purpose to “create the moments that make life richer” not only applies to its customers, but extends to its employee base as well. With the help of WalkMe and 51����SuccessFactors solutions, TUI has certainly succeeded in enriching and empowering HR and end users.

“What we’ve been able to see is 80% higher employee self-efficiency,” Dean said. “So the good news is they don’t need to contact their local support team because actually what they can do is go into our WalkMe menu and search for any of the content, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across six different languages.” TUI has also experienced 70% less time spent on training, a 40% increase in task completion, and 50% fewer support calls with the help of WalkMe.

For Dean herself, WalkMe has enhanced her role as a trainer: “It actually supports me to do that change management piece within my organization. It supports me to educate and enable our end users without me having to be available and fly all around the world.”

Discover how  can help drive adoption and streamline HR processes.

Gillian Hixson is an integrated communications specialist at SAP.

It is happening right now, and employees are feeling the impact. They are being asked to learn new skills and work differently, all while managing return to office and intensified geopolitics.��

HR is at the center of it all – from responding to changing regulations in order to maintain compliance, to forecasting workforce needs and new skills gaps, to helping employees learn how to integrate AI into their roles. The reality is that HR is being asked to make informed and strategic decisions quickly and all employees are expected to work smarter and faster.��

At 51����Sapphire, we announced several new 51����SuccessFactors innovations to support organizations in navigating this rapid change. These innovations leverage the power of 51����Business Suite – including our unmatched business data and AI – to further strengthen our global reach and connection across the enterprise that only 51����can provide.��

Unrivaled AI to boost employee productivity and engagement 

51����is leading the market with groundbreaking advances, helping organizations accelerate business outcomes and deliver best-in-class employee experiences. Within , AI is embedded across every product. Additionally, SAP’s AI copilot Joule is available on mobile and Joule understands more than 10 languages. Customers are already seeing incredible results.��

At 51����Sapphire, we introduced the first of our HR agents, the Performance and Goals Agent, to give managers critical insights and drive more productive conversations with their employees. To put this into perspective, imagine you are a people manager. The Performance Agent, via Joule, can alert you that you have a performance review with one of your employees coming up but that they do not have any peer feedback. The agent can work on your behalf to collect feedback from your employee’s peers, summarize that feedback, and prepare you before your conversation.

With many more agents coming, these will collectively work together to reason and execute cross-functional, end-to-end processes.��

Unmatched data to take the doubt out of decision-making 

Geopolitical instability is making workforce planning more challenging and unpredictable. Whether it’s in response to tariffs, regulations, or shifting business priorities, HR leaders need the ability to quickly access data and insights to make strategic recommendations. 

People Intelligence in 51����Business Data Cloud is a that transforms people, skills, finance, and other business data into readily available, AI-driven workforce insights. For example, HR and business leaders can ask questions like “Do we have the right mix of employees and contractors?” or “Which skills will be in high demand based on upcoming business initiatives?” With these insights, they can make proactive, informed decisions to take more strategic actions, drive higher employee engagement, and ensure compliance.����

More efficient workflows to drive employee productivity 

If the demand from employees and leaders alike is to facilitate ways for employees to work smarter and faster, automation and built-in guidance is key to helping them adopt new tools. 

With , we are helping organizations speed up adoption of 51����SuccessFactors solutions. Employees can receive contextual guidance and automation for critical HR workflows. At the same time, HR leaders can access insights on how employees are using these tools to understand where there may be gaps or challenges. No-code content creation tools make it easy to customize in-app guidance and optimize workflows, helping employees quickly adapt. This means more productivity, reduced training costs, and maximized investments – all in the flow of work.��

We have also introduced a new HR service delivery solution, , to accelerate ticket case resolutions. Employees can access more self-service tools to quickly get answers and resolutions. AI-driven case management tools, powered by core HR data, enable service reps to work faster and smarter — guiding them through complex scenarios with automation, dynamic forms, AI-generated case summaries, and email drafts — boosting efficiency, compliance, and resolution speed.

Helping HR lead through change

These new innovations are strengthening the entire 51����SuccessFactors HCM portfolio. AI is embedded, ubiquitous, and in almost all cases, accessible via Joule.

By combining business, HR, and skills data with unrivaled AI and fully integrated analytics, 51����is giving our customers the tools they need to keep up with the rapid pace of change. The impact? Employees and leaders can be more productive, make more informed decisions, and deliver more value.

Dan Beck is president and chief product officer for 51����SuccessFactors.

In today’s fast-changing world of work, hiring the right talent has never been more critical—or complex. HR and talent acquisition leaders are under growing pressure to deliver fast results, navigate rising uncertainty, and keep up with rapidly evolving skills needs in their business.

According to the World Economic Forum’s , 63% of employers cite skills gaps in the labor market as the primary barrier to business transformation, while 86% expect AI to significantly transform their business over the next five years. The study also reports that talent availability is declining, making it harder for organizations to find the right talent with the right capabilities needed for the future. At the same time, organizations are rethinking their approaches to hiring, embracing AI and moving toward more agile, skills-based strategies to compete for talent in a dynamic and evolving job market. 

That’s why selecting the right technology partner matters now more than ever. Organizations need a solution that can help them stay ahead of change, drive smarter hiring, and fuel growth and long-term business success. “Talent acquisition priorities are changing, leading to evolving concentrations and points of entry in an increasingly diversifying vendor space in the market,” says Zachary Chertok, senior research manager, Employee Experience at IDC. “Increased pressures to reduce the time to place qualified talent in roles that fill persistent and evolving skills gaps are leading talent acquisition buyers to rethink their approaches to hiring and the tools that support them.”

51����SuccessFactors is proud to be named a Leader in the . 51����SuccessFactors solutions can empower organizations of all sizes to address the ever-changing challenges of hiring in today’s complex, skills-driven world of work.

The report analyzes the expansive talent acquisition ecosystem, evaluating 22 vendors for user experience, native solution capabilities, future development pipelines, and company criteria, including size, scope, geographic reach, and future growth targets. We believe 51����SuccessFactors’ position as a Leader reflects visionary product strategy, continuous innovation, comprehensive solution functionality, and demonstrated customer value and satisfaction. The IDC MarketScape states, “51����SuccessFactors Recruiting is part of the 51����SuccessFactors HCM suite and provides AI-enabled tools, resources, and services to support recruiters and talent teams to source and align talent to their best-fit connection points within the organization.” Highlighting 51����SuccessFactors’ strengths, the report mentions, “51����SuccessFactors customers find that the solution provides them with deep insights drawn from across the existing and modeled workforce. 51����SuccessFactors’ AI and analytical capabilities support clients to tie candidate-centric hiring practices into the evolving and modeled skilling and position needs of the organization.”

Helping companies hire smarter and faster

Hiring today isn’t just about filling open roles. It’s about building strong talent pipelines, finding people with the right skills and potential, creating exceptional candidate experiences, and aligning every hire to overall HR and business goals. and offer comprehensive, AI-enabled solutions that can simplify global hiring to help organizations attract, engage, and hire top talent with the right skills needed today and in the future.

The IDC MarketScape notes, “51����SuccessFactors Recruiting helps recruiters maintain fluid and flexible organizational talent pipelines that retain and progressively match high-performing talent to where they are best fit within the evolving organization.” The report continues, “Overall, recruiters and talent acquisition teams find that 51����SuccessFactors’ recruiting and talent acquisition capabilities are feature rich, support dynamic and evolving compliance and sourcing needs, and support custom and AI-informed workflows and candidate progression.” 51����SuccessFactors solutions can enable organizations to accelerate hiring with AI-enabled talent acquisition capabilities, including AI-enhanced job descriptions, AI-assisted applicant screening, AI-recommended interview questions, AI-driven skills-based job recommendations, AI-assisted onboarding and offboarding, AI-assisted writing, and AI-driven interview summarization.

Adopting the right AI-enabled talent acquisition strategy is what puts innovative businesses ahead. , a large and diversified holding company in Brunei turned to 51����SuccessFactors solutions to transform HR’s impact on its business, increasing productivity and efficiency to over 30 subsidiaries across 14 industries. “With 51����Business AI technology embedded in 51����SuccessFactors solutions, we’ve seen significant benefits such as reducing our overall recruitment time from months to weeks. The AI features have streamlined processes for generating and updating job descriptions and creating competency-based interview questions, making our recruitment process more efficient and standardized,” shares Salehin Basir, human capital development manager at Darussalam Assets. The company has seen significant benefits, such as four-times more efficient hiring processes, a 75% reduction in recruitment time, and deeper insights into important HR metrics that improve data-driven decision-making and reduce bottlenecks.

Powering a skills-based, AI-driven talent strategy

With a talent landscape defined by continuous change, the future of hiring relies on taking a skills-based approach to identifying, securing, and growing the right talent. The reports that 70% of organizations plan to hire for emerging, in-demand skills, while 51% intend to reskill or upskill existing employees to fill growing skills needs. Whether an organization is focused on developing talent from within or bringing in new capabilities to keep their business ahead, 51����SuccessFactors solutions can help talent teams stay agile, efficient, and aligned to business needs.

According to trusted HCM Industry Analyst Josh Bersin’s , talent acquisition leaders state a growing priority to implement skills throughout their talent functions and strategies—for both hiring and internal mobility. The factbook shares, “AI plays a key role in deploying skills in a scalable and sustainable way, particularly as in-demand and job-specific skills are constantly changing. It can help match skills to jobs, identify skill adjacencies, pinpoint where talent with specific skills is located, uncover learning opportunities, and more.”

Our latest finds growing workforce confidence around the potential value of AI, with 70% of managers agreeing that using AI technology for skills-based decision-making would be somewhat or very valuable, and an overwhelming majority of employees () feeling positively about skills-based decision-making. The IDC MarketScape highlights how 51����SuccessFactors users can quickly see value from implementing skills-based hiring strategies, noting: “Simplified application processes help candidates apply from any device and leverage AI to parse skills from their resumes to match those with the company’s evolving skills architecture and talent intelligence.”

Bringing these insights to life, is a powerful example of how leading organizations are building skills-based talent strategies ready for the future. Capgemini, a global business and technology partner with 340,000 employees across more than 50 countries turned to 51����SuccessFactors solutions when looking for an HR infrastructure that would allow it to attract, retain, and grow market-leading skills. Capgemini built a skills engine to support the moments that matter across the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, talent management, compensation and rewards, learning, and succession management. The company is implementing 51����SuccessFactors HCM to enable skills-based people management and deliver a highly engaging people experience.

Going beyond talent acquisition, 51����SuccessFactors solutions help align hiring to overall HR strategies, with connected, unified ; a single skills foundation; AI-enabled talent intelligence; and advanced, cross-suite capabilities. The IDC MarketScape notes, “51����SuccessFactors Recruiting is a natural extension of the 51����SuccessFactors environment that gives companies a fully integrated platform for insights-driven, end-to-end candidate and employee lifecycle management.” The assessment further notes, “Talent acquisition teams can benefit from deep continuous workforce planning insights that guide for and optimize the balance between internal mobility and external hiring for a higher efficacy in talent placement.”

As we look toward the future, organizations that embrace skills-based talent strategies and AI-driven talent acquisition will be best positioned to adapt, grow, and lead in an ever-changing world of work. Learn more about why we were named a Leader in the and discover more about and .

As organizations adapt to these changes, HR teams must lead the way in building a future-ready workforce that can meet the business demands of today while preparing for those of tomorrow.

With strong global core HR, embedded AI capabilities, and a unified skills foundation, connects HR across the organization, unearths key workforce insights, and provides the flexibility organizations need to succeed in a world that never stands still. 

In the first half 2025 (1H 2025) product release, we’re excited to introduce more than 250 innovative features and enhancements, many assisted by AI, that are designed to help organizations address any business need and stay ahead of the curve.

51����Business AI

51����continues to be at the forefront of business AI with new capabilities to help drive organizational efficiencies.

With this latest release, we are announcing Joule on 51����SuccessFactors mobile. , the AI copilot from SAP, helps employees and managers to quickly find information, complete tasks, and gain valuable insights — all through a self-service interface they can use at the office or on the go. In the new release, Joule helps employees easily understand their pay statement and create and update time-off requests, while managers can gain quick access to status of required learning for their teams and more.

In addition to English, Joule is now available in 10 new languages, including Chinese, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Recruiting and onboarding

With this release also comes a redesigned application experience in . A guided, modernized user interface helps applicants dynamically enter their information while simplifying and accelerating the application process, reducing application drop-offs. The new experience gives candidates access to a refreshed applications dashboard, enabling them to view their submissions, complete post-application actions, and easily access, navigate, and update their information.

As part of the offboarding capabilities in , alumni can now manage personal information and gain access to support, documents, and resources, even after termination. Additionally, AI-assisted offboarding through Joule helps enable task completion and provides departing employees with a well-structured offboarding experience.

Performance and goals

We are excited to unveil the new performance form experience in , now with a dynamic, intuitive design for a more engaging user experience. The new interface enhances performance tasks by providing contextual information and optimizing screen space, minimizing cognitive load and scrolling to boost focus and efficiency.

To further enhance the experience, we are introducing new AI-assisted features, including:

• Comment suggestions based on the skill and rating selected, helping evaluators provide constructive, growth-centric feedback
• Performance insights for managers, which analyzes talent data and summarizes employee’s strengths, achievements, and areas for improvement
• Sentiment analysis for 360-degree reviews to help employees quickly identify negative or mixed feedback, highlighting areas that need improvement and enabling focused professional development.

Learning

As organizations face growing skill gaps, continuous learning remains critical for employees to stay competitive and adapt to evolving challenges.

New skills-focused learning offers a curated list of learning opportunities to improve key skills and competencies. Users can discover filtered learning options tailored to their upskilling needs, supporting organizational transformation.

Core HR and payroll

51����provides industry-leading solutions spanning core HR, payroll, and time that give organizations the flexibility to meet any business challenge.

Building on the successful launch of our updated people profile in , we’ve continued to enhance the user experience by bringing in additional content from across 51����SuccessFactors solutions, including benefits, payroll, and learning.

To further support the unique requirements of public sector organizations, we are introducing a new portlet that displays the financing status of an employee.

With this release, we are also introducing the integration of the position budgeting control workbench with , previously announced at SuccessConnect. Along with existing integrations with 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central and 51����S/4HANA Cloud, this provides payroll administrators with real-time insights into position budget utilization and costs. The wider visibility enables better management of allocated funds and grants, offering a comprehensive view of salary costs, committed budget, and available funds for personnel expenses.

Additionally, we are enhancing our payroll control center, delivering a comprehensive, end-to-end view of the entire payroll process. With this enhancement, payroll administrators can optimize operations with a flowchart of tasks and their sequence in each payroll cycle. This improved experience provides real-time insights from pre-payroll activities to post-payroll processing.

We are also releasing a new local payroll version for Bulgaria, bringing the total number of natively supported locales to 53, with more supported by partners.

Learn more

These are just a few highlights from the 1H 2025 release. To learn about all of the more than 250 innovations and enhancements designed to give organizations the flexibility to address any business need, check out the or .

Bianka Woelke is group vice president and head of Application Product Management for 51����SuccessFactors.