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ASUG recently collaborated with Intel and Microsoft to examine two of the hottest topics in the SAP ecosystem: cloud migration and AI adoption. As SAP continues spurring its customer base to embrace the cloud, citing next-generation AI solutions as a critical benefit to this shift, this research sheds light into how the cloud environments ASUG members are choosing, and what processes they are using AI solutions to improve. 

Blake Baltazar, ASUG Senior Project & Research Analyst, and Marissa Gilbert, ASUG Research Director, join ASUG Talks this week to break down this research and its key findings. 

Key Insights

• What factors drive cloud adoption 
• The cost ASUG members reported paying for their cloud services 
• What AI solutions respondents are leveraging

Related Resources 

• Read ASUG's SAP S/4HANA focused research and listen to a recent podcast with the ASUG research team on the key findings. 
• Read how Carhartt leveraged SAP Commerce Cloud to modernize its global commerce infrastructure. 
• Join ASUG on Aug. 20 for an Ask Me Anything Community Conversation on SAP Process Integration & Orchestration (PI/PO). 

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• Subscribe the weekly First Five newsletter
• Find your local ASUG Chapter 
• Register for ASUG Tech Connect

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In North America, the utilities industry is contending with shifting customer expectations, growing power demands, and changing technology infrastructure. With the growing importance of AI and cloud solutions, the role of enterprise architects is altering in utility companies.

Ahead of their session focused on EAs in utilities at SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG, Marc Rosson, EA at Snohomish County PUD, and Martin Mysyk, Senior EA at SAP Canada, join ASUG Talks for a conversation about this changing job. We dive into how SAP is supporting EAs in the utilities space, along with ways organizations to empower and train the next generation of EAs.

Key Topics

• Major challenges faced by EAs in utilities
• How the industry's changes are impact the role
• The importance of upskilling and reskilling EAs to meet demand.

Related Insights and Resources

• Check out the ASUG Content Collection "SAP Enterprise Architecture Fundamentals" for resources aimed at EAs. 
• Learn how Gina Vargiu-Breuer, Chief People Officer and Labor Director at SAP, approaches SAP's growth strategy.
• Join the ASUG Communities team on Aug. 14 for a deep dive session focused on Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP) on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP).
• Register to recieve the monthly The Topic:  Utilities newsletter from ASUG. 

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• Subscribe the weekly First Five newsletter
• Find your local ASUG Chapter 
• Register for ASUG Tech Connect

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SAP S/4HANA officially released 10 years ago. In that decade, SAP has not only encouraged its customer base to embrace the next-generation ERP platform, but it also spurred widespread cloud migration. 

The ASUG research team has monitored the adoption of both S/4HANA and cloud environments for several years. In this year's research, sponsored by BearingPoint, they found continued adoption of both S/4HANA and cloud environments among the ASUG membership. 

Marissa Gilbert, ASUG Research Director, and Blake Baltazar, Senior Project & Research Analyst, join ASUG Talks to discuss the research and the trends they are seeing. 

Key Insights

• Year-over-year S/4HANA adoption trends observed by ASUG research 
• Insights into cloud environment adoption 
• RISE and GROW with SAP adoption rates, and factors spurring organizations to leverage these offerings. 

Related Content

• Read more about SAP's recent acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a human resources solution, as a way to bolster SAP SuccessFactors HCM functions.
• Tune into an ASUG Community Conversation on Aug. 5 focused on demystifying SAP's integration landscape.  

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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 

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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. 

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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

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• Find your local ASUG Chapter 
• Register for ASUG Tech Connect

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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

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• Subscribe the weekly First Five newsletter
• Find your local ASUG Chapter 
• Register for ASUG Tech Connect

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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. 

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• Find your local ASUG Chapter 
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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. 

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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.

More from ASUG 

• Subscribe the weekly First Five newsletter
• Find your local ASUG Chapter 
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