SAP Sapphire 2025: Breaking Down the Announcements, AI Buzz, and What It Means for Your Business

SAP’s annual Sapphire conference is always a bellwether event in the enterprise technology space—and 2025 was no different. With splashy presentations, keynote speakers, and a slew of new product announcements, SAP used the event to reinforce its future vision and highlight recent investments, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud infrastructure, and platform partnerships.

But if you're like most CIOs and digital transformation leaders, you’re not here for the marketing glitter—you want clarity. What’s real? What’s hype? What requires action, and what can wait? Most importantly, what actually benefits your organization?

Our team at Third Stage Consulting Group helps organizations across industries navigate digital transformations, SAP and ERP implementations, and technology strategy. We are technology-agnostic and vendor-independent, which means we’re not here to sell software—we’re here to help you succeed with whatever tools you choose.

With that in mind, here’s an unfiltered, practical breakdown of the biggest takeaways from SAP Sapphire 2025, along with independent insights into how these announcements should—or shouldn’t—impact your roadmap. Be sure to also check out my video review of the announcements from Sapphire:

SAP's Joule AI Assistant Steps Into the Spotlight

One of the most talked-about features at Sapphire this year was Joule, SAP’s AI-powered assistant. Though Joule has been around for a while, the 2025 update promises deeper integration and a more central role in the user experience.

This year, SAP unveiled the new “action bar,” which enables Joule to proactively assist users by initiating workflows, suggesting actions, and streamlining task completion. It’s intended to serve as a digital co-pilot—shadowing the user’s behavior, understanding patterns, and delivering just-in-time assistance.

In practice, this could mean a procurement manager gets help filling out a purchase order or a financial controller receives predictive input when reconciling transactions. SAP claims these enhancements can lead to productivity gains of up to 30%, thanks to reduced clicks, simplified navigation, and automation of routine steps.

In addition, Joule has been tightly integrated into WalkMe—a tool SAP uses for digital adoption support. This integration allows Joule to prompt users when they seem stuck and to offer contextual help tailored to the task at hand. It’s a thoughtful move that brings AI and change management together, especially for organizations struggling with user adoption.

But let’s temper the excitement with some real-world pragmatism. Joule may be impressive on paper, but to truly unlock its potential, companies will need to invest in training, data governance, and user support. Organizations with poor data hygiene or siloed processes may find that Joule’s suggestions are incomplete or irrelevant. Like any AI tool, Joule is only as good as the foundation it’s built on.

Agentic AI and SAP’s AI Hub Offer a Vision of Hyperautomation

Another major highlight was SAP’s unveiling of its “AI Hub” and expanded Agentic AI capabilities. Agentic AI refers to the concept of intelligent agents that don’t just respond to user input but proactively execute tasks, make decisions, and automate workflows across business functions.

At Sapphire, SAP announced a library of prebuilt AI agents for functions like supply chain management, HR, finance, and quoting. Even more noteworthy was the introduction of the AI Agent Builder—a tool that enables organizations to create their own agents tailored to specific workflows and organizational needs.

This marks a major evolution in how enterprise technology is being positioned. We’re no longer talking about predictive dashboards or robotic process automation in isolation. We’re now seeing a convergence of intelligent automation, machine learning, and agent-based computing—all rolled into one.

SAP’s vision here is clear: a more autonomous, intelligent enterprise where users collaborate with digital agents to get work done faster and smarter. But again, this potential comes with significant challenges.

To fully implement Agentic AI, organizations will need to rethink their internal IT operating models. Traditional ERP skill sets will fall short. You’ll need AI architects, data scientists, integration specialists, and UX designers to make these agents work as intended.

Moreover, deploying AI agents at scale requires high-quality training data, clear process documentation, and robust exception handling mechanisms. Without those pieces, you risk creating more confusion than clarity.

So while Agentic AI is the future, it’s not plug-and-play. It requires a long-term investment in capability building and operating model redesign.

The Rise and Grow Programs Are Helpful, but Still Largely Marketing Hype

SAP also made a point to highlight updates to its Rise and Grow programs—initiatives aimed at supporting companies moving to S/4HANA or scaling their SAP footprint.

The Grow program is tailored to high-growth businesses looking to adopt SAP solutions quickly, while Rise is intended for more established enterprises transitioning from legacy systems to S/4HANA Cloud. SAP touted new support tiers, implementation services, and packaged offerings to help de-risk these migrations.

At first glance, these programs sound promising. Who wouldn’t want extra support and guidance during a major digital transformation?

However, these offerings still come across as more sizzle than steak.

The truth is that no amount of prepackaged support eliminates the complexity of an ERP overhaul. You’ll still need to invest heavily in organizational change management, business process redesign, system integration, and data migration. Those costs don’t magically disappear just because you’re on a branded migration path.

We’ve worked with numerous clients involved in Rise and Grow implementations, and their experiences have been mixed. Some appreciate the structure these programs provide, but most find the real value comes from independent project governance and a strong internal strategy—not from SAP’s preconfigured playbook.

So treat these programs as what they are: toolkits, not silver bullets. You’ll still need to lead the transformation.

SAP Opens the Door to a More Composable Partner Ecosystem

Perhaps the most surprising development at Sapphire 2025 was SAP’s growing willingness to partner with other technology providers—an approach that signals a major strategic shift.

SAP highlighted new and expanded partnerships with cloud infrastructure providers like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). This isn’t shocking, given the push toward cloud-native ERP. But what really stood out was the partnership with Palantir.

Palantir is known for its data integration, analytics, and operational intelligence capabilities. Unlike SAP, it doesn’t provide a traditional ERP system. Instead, Palantir offers a composable platform that pulls data from multiple systems and creates a unified operational interface—powered by AI and designed for decision support.

This move is significant. By embracing Palantir, SAP is effectively acknowledging that monolithic ERP solutions are no longer sufficient for today’s fast-moving, data-driven enterprises.

Customers want flexibility. They want to integrate best-of-breed tools. They want to orchestrate data across platforms without relying on a single vendor’s ecosystem.

This partnership could be a win-win. SAP gets access to Palantir’s cutting-edge data integration and analytics capabilities, while customers benefit from a more modular architecture.

But it also raises competitive questions. If Palantir can sit on top of SAP (or any other ERP) and deliver the business intelligence and automation you need—do you really need to migrate to S/4HANA?

This is exactly the kind of question we encourage our clients to ask. There are many paths to transformation—and not all of them require a rip-and-replace ERP strategy.

The Reality Check of What You Should Actually Do With This Information

With all these announcements in mind, let’s focus on what really matters.

SAP has clearly made big strides in AI, automation, and ecosystem integration. The technology is moving in the right direction—but that doesn’t mean every organization is ready for it. And it certainly doesn’t mean SAP’s vision is the only viable path forward.

Here’s what we recommend based on what we heard at Sapphire 2025:

1. Don’t rush into S/4HANA just for AI. Many of SAP’s new features—especially Joule and Agentic AI—are only available in S/4HANA Cloud. But you can access AI benefits today using third-party tools, often at a fraction of the cost and with faster time-to-value.

2. Invest in digital readiness before technical upgrades. If your business processes, data structures, and organizational mindset aren’t ready for AI and automation, throwing new tools at the problem won’t solve it. Focus on foundational readiness first.

3. Beware of the skills gap. Deploying intelligent agents and building AI-driven workflows isn’t something your legacy SAP Basis team can do alone. Start identifying the new skill sets you’ll need—and figure out whether you’ll build them internally or partner with outside experts.

4. Treat vendor marketing with healthy skepticism. Events like Sapphire are designed to sell software. There’s nothing wrong with that—but don’t confuse marketing language with business strategy. Always align technology decisions with your business goals, not vendor roadmaps.

5. Explore composable architectures. SAP’s partnership with Palantir is a wake-up call: composable ERP is here to stay. You don’t need to go all-in on a single vendor. Instead, look for platforms that let you integrate best-of-breed solutions while maintaining control of your data and processes.

6. Evaluate the true cost and benefit of Rise and Grow. While these programs can help structure your migration, they don’t eliminate the hard work. Don’t assume they’ll reduce cost or complexity without digging into the fine print.

Don’t Let Hype Drive Your Roadmap

SAP Sapphire 2025 was a compelling showcase of innovation. There’s no denying that SAP is investing heavily in AI, user experience, and ecosystem partnerships—and much of it looks genuinely useful.

But here’s the catch: just because SAP is innovating doesn’t mean your organization is ready to adopt everything they offer. The best digital strategies aren’t reactive—they’re intentional.

If you’re considering S/4HANA, AI agents, or any other technology showcased at Sapphire, take a step back. Start with a clear business case. Assess your readiness. Understand your current architecture. Then determine whether a full SAP migration—or a more modular, incremental approach—will get you to your goals more effectively.

You don’t have to follow SAP’s roadmap to the letter. You have options. And sometimes, the best strategy is to wait, watch, and invest more strategically elsewhere.

If you’re navigating these decisions and want a truly independent view, download our Guide to Successful S/4HANA Implementations and the 2025 Digital Transformation Report. These resources offer unbiased insights and practical frameworks to help you lead your transformation with confidence—regardless of what the software vendors say.

And if you attended Sapphire 2025 or have thoughts on these announcements, I’d love to hear them. What excites you? What concerns you? Drop a comment and let’s compare notes.