SAP hosted its quarterly financial results call last week. The first since the litany of announcements the software company made at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference in May, the event covered SAP's continuing focus on cloud adoption and innovative AI strategies. 

But, in keeping with its most recent messaging, SAP also continued articulating how its software can help organizations deal with current economic headwinds. 

Jim Lichtenwalter, Senior Producer of ASUG Podcasts, is joined by Isaac Feldberg, Senior Editor at ASUG, to discuss the earnings results and what they means for ASUG members. 

Key Insights: 

• SAP's strong financial growth in Q2, despite uncertain economic conditions
• New customers leveraging SAP products
• SAP's new efforts in China 

Related Insights 

• Check out the full ASUG editorial breakdown of the financial results 
• Listen to the last ASUG Talks News Brief, recorded at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference
• Join the ASUG Communities team on July 31 for an "Ask Me Anything" session on demystifying AI 

AI is innovating at a rapid rate. After generative AI took the ERP ecosystem--and the larger tech industry--by storm in recent years, agentic AI is quickly capturing the attention of the community. It makes sense, as the capabilities enabled by agentic AI solutions are staggering. And SAP is introducing agentic-infused solutions, further enabling its customers. 

But what exactly IS agentic AI? What can it accomplish for users? 

In the latest ASUG Talks Roundtable, host Jim Lichtenwalter is rejoined by AI thought leaders, Paul Modderman, Founding AI Engineer at Nova Intelligence; and Anurag Barua, Transformation Leader at SAP. The three build on their previous conversation (focused on generative AI) and dive deep into the development and utility of agentic AI. 

Key Topics

• Practical applications of agentic AI 
• Measures enterprises can take to mitigate data hallucinations 
• The role SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) has in enable agentic AI solutions 

Around the ASUG Ecosystem 

• Register for the ASUG Community Conversation Business Transformation Management: Making the Case for Change—and Proving It on July 24. 

Dive into a recent collaborative research project conducted by ASUG and SAP focused on one of the chief focuses (and challenges) for ASUG Members: integration. 

Members of the ASUG Research Team, Blake Baltazar and Marissa Gilbert, join ASUG Talks host Jim Lichtenwalter to go over the second iteration of this research, specific trends they are seeing, and how ASUG Members are approaching their integration strategies. 

Key Topics: 

• Integration challenges respondents reported
• Changes from last year's research 
• How the 2027 deadline is impacting organizations' integeration efforts

Related content: 

• Join us for an ASUG Community conversation on July 22 focused on the difference between private and public cloud versions of SAP S/4HANA
• Read insights from ASUG's recent conversation with Balaji Balasubramanian, President and Chief Product Officer, SAP CX and Consumer Industries, about the growing impact of AI

Conducting a single SAP S/4HANA digital transformation is complicated enough. In this episode of ASUG Talks, we sat down with Travis Smith, Principal SAP Enterprise Architect at SA Power Networks. The Australian utility company tackled TWO RISE with SAP projects at the same time. Travis walks ASUG Talks through just how.

Key Insights:

• The reasoning for a dual digital transformation and how SA Power Networks managed such a project
• Ways the organization obtained stakeholder buy-in for this digital transformation project
• SA Power Networks’ integration strategy

Related Resources:

• ASUG Fall Conferences are gearing up. Join us for the following events:
  • SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG: Sept. 8-10 in Denver, CO.
  • ASUG Best Practices for Oil, Gas, and Energy: Oct. 6-8 in Houston, TX
  • ASUG Tech Connect: Nov. 4-6 in Louisville, KY
• Listen to ASUG Talks’ interview with the authors of “SAP Business Technology Platform,” a recent SAP Press release

In this latest ASUG Talks roundtable, we dive deep into the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). The solution helps SAP customers tackle a variety of functions. But where should users begin?

We are joined by the authors of the SAP Press publication SAP Business Technology Platform : 

•  Smitha Banda
• Shibaji Chandra
• Chun Aun Gooi

They cover how enterprises can begin successfully leveraging SAP BTP and laid out some of the most interesting use cases featured in the publication. 

 Related Resources

•  Learn how Woodstream Corporation approached its SAP S/4HANA implementation. Read our interview with CIO  Melissa Oldfield.
• Gain insights from SAP President of Cloud ERP, David Robinsion around the evolving SAP cloud ERP stategy. Listen to his thoughts. 

In the final episode recorded live at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, ASUG Talks focuses on SAP cloud offerings. 

David Robinson, President of Cloud ERP at SAP, sat down with Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion for a conversation around SAP's evolving cloud strategy. With over two decades of experience at SAP, Robinson has been crucial in the development of this strategy, along with his role in the RISE with SAP launch.
 
 Key Takeaways

• How RISE with SAP can fits into the SAP Cloud ERP strategy 
• Addressing skepticism about RISE, and how the offering can help customers set a foundation for innovation 
• Insights into SAP's "suite first" mentality

Related Insights

• Read our interview with SAP leaders--Deepti Patil, Senior Product Manager with SAP Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Customer Communication and Relations Team; and Tim Steuer, Vice President of SAP ALM--about the importance of adopting a clean core mentality, especially as you set a foundation to innovate. 
•  Join us on June 26 for a Community Conversation focused on the state of the Public Services industry. 

As SAP customers migrate to the cloud, cybersecurity is a critical component of those transformation projects. Moving your IT ecosystem and sensitive organizational data from bare-metal, on-premises environments into the cloud requires a dedicated security approach, especially as threat actors’ efforts grow more sophisticated.

In this ASUG Talks Roundtable, we dig into how enterprises should approach cybersecurity in the cloud. ASUG Talks host, Jim Lichtenwalter, is joined by the authors of the SAP Press publication Cybersecurity for SAP:  

•  Gaurav Singh
• Juan Perez-Etchegoyen 

Key Takeaways

• Initial steps enterprises should take when securing their cloud migrations
• The importance of adopting a shared responsibility security model
• The cybersecurity benefits of RISE with SAP

Related Insights

• Join the ASUG Communities team on June 17 for a Community Conversation focused on the business transformation management announcements that came out of SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference.
• Learn Zeon Chemicals’ insights from its RISE with SAP project.
• Dive into Stefan Steinle, leader of SAP’s Customer Support & Cloud Lifecycle Management organization, thoughts on how AI is impacting the SAP support strategy.

In the second live episode recorded at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, Marissa Gilbert, ASUG Research Director, moderates a panel featuring several ASUG leaders: 

• Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion 
• Kris Cowles, ASUG Board Member
• Brendan Verni,  ASUG Board Member 

Using recent ASUG research as a foundation for the conversation, the group dives into the main focuses, investments, and hurdles relating to SAP technology and adoption as reported by ASUG members. 

 Key Takeaways

•  How enterprises are keeping abreast of the incredible pace of change and innovation in the SAP ecosystem 
• Making sense of the consumption-based credit system that enables SAP customers to leverage SAP AI solutions 
• The importance of prioritizing data governance as enterprises approach cybersecurity

 Related Insights 

• Join ASUG on June 12 for a Community Conversation focused on the AI announcements and insights from SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference
• Read our recap of the post-keynote Q&A for news outlets and analysts featuring Christian Klein, Muhammad Alum, and Philipp  Herzig 
•  Listen to Philipp Herzig articulate his vision for SAP's AI strategy and roadmap in a recent episode of ASUG Talks

The first in a series of special ASUG Talks episodes recorded in the ASUG booth at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, we turn the mics towards the audience. 

Jon Reed, Co-Founder of diginomica, leads a brief conversation with Geoff Scott, CEO &  Chief Community Champion of ASUG, and Joshua Greenbaum, Principal of Enterprise Applications Consulting, on the event's first keynote. The three discuss their thoughts about the announcements unveiled at the address, before answering questions from the live audience. 

 Key Insights

•  The three thought-leaders' thoughts and reactions to the keynote featuring SAP  executives unveiling new SAP software capabilities 
•  Benefits of the public cloud options for SAP customers 
• How ASUG approaches bringing feedback from its members to SAP

 Related Resources 

•  Read our recap of the day one and two keynotes addresses at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, and how the announcements impact customers
• Listen to the ASUG Editorial team's immediate reactions and responses to the event's keynote addresses 
• Register for a series of ASUG Community Conversations unpacking insights and announcements from SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference

ASUG Talks breaks down the major announcements from SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual conference. 

Jim Lichtenwalter, ASUG Talks Host, is joined by Isaac Feldberg, Senior Content Manager at ASUG, for a special news brief recorded at the conference. Following the second major keynote address delivered by SAP executive leadership, the two dive into the major announcements made at the event and what these updates mean for SAP customers. 

 Key Topics Discussed 

•  SAP's suite approach to applications and expansion of Joule
• The new generative and agentic AI offerings announced 
• How SAP positioned its offerings as a means to combat tariffs 

 Related Resource: 

•  Listen to ASUG's exclusive interview with Philipp  Herzig,  SAP Chief Technology Officer
• Tune into an exclusive discussion with Jeff Suellentrop,  Chief Information & Technology Officer of Phoenix Global, who sat down with ASUG Talks before joining SAP on the keynote stage
• Read ASUG's conversation with Jan Gilg,  Chief Revenue Officer & President for SAP Americas and the SAP Global Business Suite organization
• Dive into our breakdown of the recent SAP Q1 2025 earnings call