How SAP and NVIDIA Advance AI for Enterprise Transformation

Every day, companies around the world rely on SAP applications to run the operations that keep their businesses moving.  In fact, 84% of global commerce touches an SAP application.

Explore the world of enterprise agents with SAP at NVIDIA GTC

Over decades, our customers have built powerful digital foundations on SAP to run end-to-end business processes across their enterprises—often extending and customizing these systems to support their unique business needs. Now, many are entering the next phase of transformation: modernizing their SAP landscapes to unlock the full potential of AI.

As companies move to cloud-based SAP environments and clean-core architectures, they are preparing to embed intelligence directly into business processes. This enables new forms of automation, with AI agents that operate across enterprise systems and execute increasingly complex tasks.

Modernizing these systems while introducing AI at scale is a significant undertaking. It requires technologies that integrate with existing applications, operate reliably within mission-critical workflows, and meet the governance standards enterprises demand.

That’s why, over the past few years, we have partnered with NVIDIA to combine advanced AI technology with deep business context. Our goal is to help organizations accelerate modernization and apply AI across the applications and processes key to their success. This collaboration will be showcased at NVIDIA GTC.

Building the foundation for enterprise-grade AI

Through our collaboration with NVIDIA, we are accelerating the entire life cycle of enterprise AI—from model development to high-performance runtime execution—and powering AI scenarios across our portfolio. NVIDIA NeMo™,  which consists of open libraries such as NeMo Gym and NeMo RL, helps accelerate large-scale model training across distributed RL environments. It enables teams to build and refine enterprise-grade AI models faster.

Models are hosted through SAP AI Core and generative AI hub, where our customers and partners leverage those best suited to their use cases. NVIDIA NIM microservices optimize inference performance, and we have observed up to a 20% improvement compared to another popular open source serving engine. Enabled by NVIDIA GPUs and NVIDIA NIM, the increased performance allows organizations to combine advanced AI models with trusted SAP business data and processes to ensure that AI operates within the workflows that drive business operations.

Modernizing the business logic that runs the enterprise

AI models trained on SAP knowledge and accelerated using NVIDIA technologies are already helping customers tackle some of their most pressing modernization challenges. For example, evolving business logic embedded in the SAP systems that run their operations.

For decades, organizations have extended SAP applications with custom ABAP code that reflects how their businesses operate. That logic captures years of operational knowledge across finance, supply chain, service processes, and more. But modernizing these environments for the cloud and preparing them for the next generation of AI-driven innovation can be complex.

To help accelerate this journey, SAP developed SAP-ABAP-1. a foundation model trained exclusively on real-world ABAP code and the business logic used across SAP environments. The solution incorporates specialized models for code-related tasks, including StarCoder2 for code completion, and Codestral for deeper code understanding and explanations. These models are served through NVIDIA NIM microservices to deliver high-performance inference.

SAP Joule for Developers brings these capabilities into the developer experience, helping teams analyze existing ABAP code, understand how customizations interact with core business processes, and generate new code when needed. By making decades of embedded business logic easier to interpret and update, we help organizations accelerate modernization and preserves the knowledge that makes their operations unique.

Connecting AI to business operations

The collaboration between SAP and NVIDIA also explores how AI can operate within enterprise workflows to help organizations apply intelligence across both physical operations and complex planning environments. One emerging area is embodied AI, in which intelligence extends beyond software systems into the physical world. By combining AI reasoning with sensors, robotics, and enterprise data, organizations can connect real-world observations directly with digital business processes.

For example, predictive maintenance alerts from SAP Asset Performance Management can trigger robotic inspections that analyze equipment using thermal, visual, and acoustic signals. These signals are evaluated alongside asset histories and maintenance records to identify potential issues. Joule then orchestrates follow-up actions through SAP Field Service Management, prioritizing work orders and guiding technicians with the right operational context. By linking physical-world insights with enterprise workflows, organizations can turn physical-world signals into coordinated enterprise actions.

The same principle applies to complex planning environments. Supply chains today must manage a constantly shifting web of constraints, from supplier availability and transportation disruptions to evolving customer demands. With NVIDIA, we are exploring technologies, such as NVIDIA Metropolis and NVIDIA Cosmos, to bring the latest AI advancements into warehouse management, safety, and asset inspection.

Together, we are also bringing new capabilities to SAP Integrated Business Planning that combine agent-based reasoning with the NVIDIA cuOpt GPU-accelerated optimization engine. This enables planners to simulate complex supply chain scenarios and evaluate alternatives with more speed and accuracy. By integrating advanced optimization with SAP’s supply chain planning capabilities, organizations can dynamically model constraints, adapt plans as conditions change, and make more confident decisions in increasingly complex environments.

Collaboration with large-scale SAP customers helps identify real operational bottlenecks, paving the way for AI-driven solutions. At NVIDIA GTC, SAP has unveiled a collaboration with Foxconn. The Taiwan-based global electronics manufacturer and manufacturing solutions provider will work with SAP to develop AI-powered innovations for manufacturing and supply chain operations.

By combining SAP’s enterprise applications and business context and Foxconn’s manufacturing expertise, organizations can enhance operational efficiency, increase resilience, and advance decision-making across complex production and supply networks.

Experience agentic AI at NVIDIA GTC

SAP is enabling Joule Agents across its application portfolio, helping organizations automate tasks and coordinate complex workflows within business processes. At NVIDIA GTC, visitors will see how these capabilities are extended using Joule Studio on SAP Business Technology Platform to build agents tailored to specific enterprise scenarios.

And because SAP’s AI architecture is model-agnostic, organizations can bring their own models into these workflows, in addition to those deployed through SAP AI Core. The hands-on experience at NVIDIA GTC will demonstrate how organizations can build AI-driven workflows that operate directly within the enterprise systems that run their business.

It all happens at NVIDIA GTC, taking place March 16-19, 2026. Join us to see how SAP and NVIDIA are helping organizations modernize enterprise systems, accelerate AI adoption, and move toward the AI-native enterprise:

Learn more about SAP at NVIDIA GTC.


Brenda Bown is chief marketing officer for SAP Business AI.

SAP Business AI: Achieve company-wide ROI and transform how work gets done with agents grounded in your business data

Supply Chain Management in SAP Cloud ERP 2602 | Release Highlights

See what’s new in Supply Chain Management for SAP Cloud ERP 2602, with four highlights that bring AI-assisted warehouse execution, tighter subcontracting integration, faster physical inventory handling, and clearer supply checks for sales.

In this video, Greg Hutcheon’s digital twin walks through new capabilities that help logistics and supply chain teams streamline operations, improve transparency, and keep goods moving smoothly, from warehouse tasks and transportation planning through inventory control and order promising.

🤖 Joule for Warehouse Management (outbound delivery orders + warehouse tasks) — Use natural-language queries to find key warehouse objects fast, act from an actionable worklist, and jump into SAP apps (or continue in Joule). Next-best-action buttons speed common steps, with confirmations to stay in control.

🔗 Subcontracting integration with WM and TM (BMW – Subcontracting scope) — A connected process links subcontracting POs to TM and outbound WM—from delivery creation through freight planning and warehouse execution—improving visibility and supporting consistent freight cost handling.

📦 New SAP Fiori app: Manage Physical Inventory Item List — A single workspace for physical inventory: filter by status and differences, then review results, post items, trigger recounts, and navigate to documents. Bulk actions and reason codes make exceptions faster and auditable.

✅ Order Promising: Supply Protection indicator — A new icon in Display Product Availability shows when supply protection affects available quantity, reducing manual checks and helping sales reps make faster availability decisions.

Chapters:
00:09 Welcome and introduction
00:25 Joule for outbound delivery orders and warehouse tasks
01:44 Subcontracting integration with WM and TM
03:29 New SAP Fiori app: ‘Manage Physical Inventory Item List’
04:32 Order promising – Supply protection indicator
05:24 Wrap-up and outro

• Read more about the latest Supply Chain Management innovations in SAP Cloud ERP 2602: https://sap.to/6059B6JN4F

• Check out the SAP Cloud ERP Community: https://sap.to/6055CIrvT
• Explore SAP Cloud ERP innovations: https://sap.to/6056CIrvp

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About SAP:
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 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: https://sap.to/6056B6JN4C

Joule Agents: Cash Management Agent | Demo

Discover how cash managers can get clear daily cash visibility, identify risks early, and act on shortages and surpluses with AI-assisted guidance.

Understand how cash managers can start everyday with a perfectly prepared, precise view of their cash position.

The Cash Management Agent reasons and acts autonomously to bring everyone together, identifying risks early, and guides next steps in line with the treasury policy.

Discover Joule Agents: https://www.sap.com/products/artificial-intelligence/ai-agents.html

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About SAP:
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 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: https://www.sap.com/index.html

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SAP Design: Built to Bring Out Your Best

The secret behind SAP’s elevated experiences and expansive insights? A global network of thinkers, analysts, researchers, developers, and designers dedicated to building better experiences.

Together, thousands of creative minds learn, experiment, and refine every process and pattern, helping you make smarter choices with greater ease and in less time.

Learn more about SAP Design 👉 https://sap.to/6055h5GSB

Turning Data Into Action: SAP’s Journey Toward Enhanced Sustainability Impacts

Imagine setting out to hike a vast mountain range. Your goal is clear: reach the summit. But without a map, you risk taking wrong turns and missing the best route. The same principle applies to corporate sustainability.

SAP’s goal is equally clear: enhancing our sustainability impact to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. The question is how do we navigate this complex terrain without losing our way?

Build a more compliant, sustainable, and resilient business and put sustainability at the core of your business with AI-driven solutions

The challenge: from sustainability metrics to actionable insights

Corporate sustainability reporting has evolved significantly in recent years. However, many organizations still face the fundamental challenge of translating complex environmental and social data into insights that drive strategic change.

Sustainability metrics such as “0.15 micrograms of fine dust per cubic meter” or “five liters of water consumed” are scientifically accurate but difficult to interpret, especially for decision-makers without deep sustainability expertise. Just as hikers need a reliable navigation system, businesses need a common language to translate diverse sustainability indicators into comparable, actionable insights.

This is where impact measurement and valuation (IMV) comes into play.

The approach: how IMV translates complexity into business-relevant insights

SAP’s IMV approach encompasses three steps.

Step one: A language everyone understandstranslating societal impacts into monetary units

The IMV framework quantifies the costs and benefits of corporate activities to society and the environment. It builds on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data that many companies already report and translates these into a single monetary metric, for example, Euros or U.S. dollars.

This is like moving from vague trail descriptions to precise GPS coordinates that everyone can understand. When sustainability indicators are expressed in a common unit, companies can clearly see where they stand, evaluate trade-offs between different sustainability dimensions, and compare them alongside financial impacts.

As a tangible example, the environmental impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be monetized by multiplying a company’s reported emissions by the social cost of carbon, $244 per metric ton of CO₂e in 2025. This converts abstract data into a clear, actionable signal, allowing companies to compare impacts across different ESG and financial indicators. With this clarity, businesses can focus on the most impactful sustainability initiatives—those that deliver the greatest contribution to GHG reduction goals while evaluating both financial and sustainability return on investment.

Step two: Determining relative position—comparing performance to peers

Once you know your exact position, you need a reference point to understand how well you’re performing. It’s like trail runners who want not only to reach the summit, but also to understand their performance along the way. Your GPS shows you where you are, but to improve, you need to compare your data against other runners.

Impact benchmarks complement IMV by providing reference values that show how a company’s sustainability performance compares to industry peers. These benchmarks act like performance markers, helping businesses identify where they are ahead, behind, or on par—guiding decisions to improve toward maximum positive impact.

Step three: Identifying hotspots—focusing on maximum impact

The global sustainability agenda demands urgent, focused action. IMV and impact benchmarks together provide data-driven insights that pinpoint where a business has the greatest leverage to amplify positive and reduce negative impacts.

For example, in SAP’s human rights risk assessment and double materiality analysis, these insights helped narrow down the most material sustainability topics, critical value chain stages, and high-risk countries or industries. This approach uncovers opportunities where improved sustainability performance drives long-term competitive advantage and highlights risks such as supply chain vulnerabilities and regulatory exposure.

Navigating together: collaboration for sustainable impact

SAP has adopted this methodology as a founding member of the Value Balancing Alliance (VBA), a nonprofit coalition of multinational companies dedicated to establishing a globally accepted sustainability management accounting and steering system. In collaboration with the WifOR institute, a scientific research organization specializing in impact valuation, SAP has analyzed its societal impacts (step one), applied industry benchmarks to contextualize performance (step two), and integrated these insights into core reporting and steering processes (step three). 

This collaborative approach ensures that the data guiding SAP’s sustainability strategy is independent, credible, and scientifically validated, enhancing both internal decision-making and transparency for investors and external stakeholders.

“Impact measurement and valuation provides the scientific foundation for sustainability steering, allowing organizations like SAP to understand their impacts holistically and prioritize decisions based on statistical evidence.”

Dr. Richard Scholz, Head of Impact Analysis at WifOR

The results: what SAP’s analysis reveals and how it drives strategic decision-making

The graphic below illustrates SAP’s sustainability performance compared to industry benchmarks, the result of step two. The analysis covers SAP’s entire supply chain from direct suppliers to sub-suppliers as well as SAP’s own operations. A methodology for quantifying downstream impacts, such as the effects of software in use, is currently under development.

The analysis identifies both positive and negative impacts. Areas where SAP shows a higher negative impact than the industry average are highlighted in red, indicating priority areas for mitigation. In contrast, smaller negative or larger positive impacts indicate stronger ESG performance.

Key findings

  • Social performance: Supply chain data reveal mixed results regarding living wages. While most supply chain workers earn above living wage thresholds, reflecting positive impacts, the analysis also identified risk hotspots, enabling SAP to take targeted action. In response, the Human Rights team at SAP partnered with procurement, suppliers, and multi-stakeholder initiatives to develop and implement risk mitigation strategies. IMV data allowed these efforts to focus on the countries, industries, and vendors with the highest risk, ensuring that improvements are driven where they matter most.
  • Environmental performance: GHG emissions results reflect strong progress toward SAP’s net-zero goal, with positive results across both direct operations and upstream activities. While water consumption is not considered material for SAP at the group level, we address identified local hotspots through local environmental management programs, including site-specific water management measures to ensure responsible resource use.

Leading by example

As a global technology company supporting the majority of the world’s business transactions, next to enabling our customers on their positive impact journey through our solutions, we want to lead by example.

Our corporate sustainability approach creates positive economic, social, and environmental impact while respecting planetary boundaries and human rights.

To achieve these goals, SAP relies on tools such as IMV that help us assess and prioritize the measures with the greatest leverage—maximizing positive impacts and minimizing negative ones.

“Sustainable transformation is only possible when we base our decisions on reliable data. With IMV, we make sustainability measurable, comparable, and actionable. This enables us to create transparency, set clear priorities, and take responsibility. By focusing on areas where we can achieve the greatest positive business and sustainability impact, we ensure that our actions are both meaningful and effective.”

Matthias Medert, Global Head of Sustainability at SAP

The journey ahead

The climb toward impact-based decision-making continues. Just as hikers rely on navigation tools to traverse challenging terrain, we use IMV as our guide to ensure every step brings us closer to our sustainability goals.

Looking ahead, we aim to expand the methodology, contribute to cross-industry standardization, and foster multi-stakeholder collaboration to accelerate the adoption of impact-based decision-making across global value chains. Through SAP cloud solutions for sustainable enterprises, we support our customers in their own impact management journeys.

Our climb is guided by more than metrics; it’s driven by purpose. Clear insights from IMV keep us on the right path toward a future where sustainability and business success go hand in hand.


Iris Konrad is a senior sustainability specialist at SAP.

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AI That Acts, Not Just Chats: The Integration Advantage | feat. Craig Stasila

Niklas Siemer is joined by Craig Stasila, Senior Director of Product Marketing at SAP, to unpack how integration is the missing link powering the next generation of agentic AI.

From the rise of autonomous agents to real-world enterprise applications, they explore why AI cannot deliver meaningful business value without strong integration foundations. You’ll hear how SAP Integration Suite, APIs, and event-driven architectures are evolving to make AI agents smarter, safer, and more connected than ever before.

They also dive into the newly announced support for MCP in SAP Integration Suite, how it standardizes communication between AI agents and business systems, and what this means for developers and architects working to operationalize AI across the enterprise.

Also in this episode:
– What “agentic AI” really is—and how it differs from chatbots or RPA.
– Why integration is the backbone of every AI system, connecting agents to real-world business data and actions through APIs.
– How SAP Integration Suite and event-driven architecture enable real-time data exchange, reliability, and secure AI access.
– How the Model Context Protocol (MCP) will shape the next generation of API and AI agent interoperability.
– Governance and safety frameworks ensuring humans stay in control as AI agents scale across business processes.
– Real-world use cases showing how integration and AI agents can optimize procurement, supply chains, and decision-making.
– Best practices and architectural patterns for balancing real-time responsiveness with data reliability.

Plus, hear Craig’s take on ska music, mixology, and how the DIY mindset of punk rock mirrors today’s rapid experimentation in AI and integration innovation.

Don’t miss this deep dive into how SAP BTP and Integration Suite are helping enterprises move from hype to hands-on success in the era of agentic AI.

Listen on Spotify: https://sap.to/605078AAM
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://sap.to/605178AA3
Listen on SAP Podcasts: https://sap.to/605278AAO

Learn more about SAP Integration Suite: https://www.sap.com/products/technology-platform/integration-suite.html

00:00 – Why LLMs need integration to act
01:36 – Welcome & episode setup (Unlocking SAP BTP)
03:55 – The “SAP-to-toaster” integration story
07:47 – Agentic vs. non-agentic workflows
12:16 – Where iPaaS fits for AI agents
19:17 – Real-time data & vector planning
32:41 – Governance, guardrails & human-in-the-loop
38:34 – Day-in-the-life: procurement/Joule use cases
42:26 – SAP TechEd: MCP server in Integration Suite + Graph
58:28 – Thanks & goodbye

#SAPBusinessAI #AIAgents #IntegrationSuite

What Extending SAP Looks Like in Finance and HR with SAP Build

See how SAP Build empowers finance and HR teams to personalize, automate, and extend SAP—no coding required.

Innovation doesn’t need to be complicated. With SAP Build, teams across finance and HR can extend SAP applications, automate processes, and design personalized experiences—all through a simple drag-and-drop interface.

This video shows what extending SAP looks like in real life—turning everyday challenges into opportunities for smarter, faster work:
– Finance: Replace manual fixed-asset approvals with automated, trackable workflows that speed up decision-making and reduce errors.
– HR: Create intuitive apps that extend SAP SuccessFactors, helping global HR teams simplify routine tasks, connect data, and enhance employee experience.

With pre-built templates, AI-enabled guidance, and seamless connectivity across the SAP ecosystem, SAP Build helps business users innovate without relying on heavy development resources. It’s designed to help you scale ideas into impact—while staying secure, compliant, and connected to your SAP landscape.

From process automation to app creation, SAP Build gives every team the power to deliver what matters most: better decisions, faster workflows, and more meaningful employee experiences.

00:00 – Introduction
00:22 – Extending SAP in Finance
01:05 – Automating Fixed Asset Approvals
01:45 – Extending SAP SuccessFactors in HR
02:30 – Custom Apps for Global Teams
03:15 – Personalization and Connectivity
03:50 – Innovation Made Simple with SAP Build
04:15 – Closing and Call to Action

Discover how SAP Build helps your teams extend and innovate faster: https://sap.to/6057AAPJH

#SAP #SAPBuild #BusinessAI

Demo: Introducing Assistants in Joule and Smarter Ways to Work with Business AI | SAP Connect

Meet the new Assistants in Joule, the next evolution in Business AI, which helps people work smarter, faster, and more intuitively across every enterprise function.

In this SAP Connect 2025 demo, see how the new Assistants in Joule bring the power of generative AI directly into business workflows. Built on SAP Business Technology Platform and powered by SAP Business AI, these contextual assistants understand your role, anticipate your needs, and deliver insights when and where you need them.

00:00 – Introduction to Joule Assistants
00:40 – Embedded AI in Action
02:15 – Joule for Finance and Planning
03:40 – Joule for Supply Chain Collaboration
05:10 – Joule for HR and Talent Experiences
06:20 – Real-Time Insights and Recommendations
07:15 – Key Takeaways and Next Steps

The demo showcases how the Assistants in Joule support key areas, including finance, supply chain, and HR, by automating tasks, generating recommendations, and helping teams make confident decisions in real time. From summarizing meetings to suggesting process optimizations, Assistant in Joule demonstrates how AI can empower every employee to focus on what matters most: creativity, strategy, and collaboration.

With embedded intelligence across SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors, and SAP Ariba, Joule transforms the way work gets done — turning complexity into clarity and ideas into action.

Watch the full Opening Keynote: https://sap.to/6059AqsWB
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About SAP:
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 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: https://sap.to/6056AqsWy

#SAPConnect #Joule #AI

Businessman Checking Data

SAP and Google Cloud Redefine Enterprise AI with Zero-Copy Data for Google BigQuery

Today, SAP and Google Cloud are expanding their long-standing data and analytics partnership with the launch of SAP Business Data Cloud Connect for Google BigQuery—a new capability introduced at the SAP Connect event in Las Vegas that simplifies access to mission-critical SAP data products from SAP Business Data Cloud through bidirectional, zero-copy sharing.

Deep research AI and role-based assistants, coupled with SAP Business Suite innovations, take efficiency to new heights

By connecting Google BigQuery, the autonomous data to AI platform with agentic capabilities, and SAP Business Data Cloud (SAP BDC), SAP and Google aim to help enterprises of all sizes gain more immediate access to trusted, business-ready data for enterprise analytics and AI across their platforms.

For decades, enterprise data and analytics have existed in separate worlds. Mission-critical business data, rich with semantic context, has been locked within transactional systems. Traditional extract, transform, load (ETL) processes create data replicas that are difficult to govern, quickly become stale, and prevent businesses from acting on real-time insights, ultimately hindering digital transformation.

Our SAP and Google partnership ends this compromise. By eliminating data replication and unifying the data landscape, SAP and Google Cloud are empowering businesses to build intelligent agents, automated workflows, and predictive insights that are directly grounded in live, trusted business information.

As the first hyperscaler to adopt SAP BDC Connect, SAP BDC Connect for Google BigQuery enables organizations to unlock the true potential of their data and applications with secure and rapid access to SAP’s semantically rich and governed data products at scale, without the delays and complexities of data replication and need for ETL pipelines. Customers can flexibly combine SAP data with their other enterprise data in BigQuery and vice-versa to innovate with leading analytics and agentic AI capabilities.

“SAP and Google Cloud have a long history of empowering global enterprises to harness the power of data and AI,” said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE. “Bringing together Google BigQuery and SAP Business Data Cloud gives our customers choice without compromise, enabling them to fast-track their analytics and AI initiatives.”

“Businesses are combining intelligence and automation into every aspect of their operations,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “By uniting SAP Business Data Cloud with BigQuery and Gemini models, we’re making it easy for enterprises to build a unified data foundation that breaks down silos and unlocks a new class of AI agents and applications.”

Innovation with SAP data products and Google BigQuery

The centerpiece of this partnership is the new SAP Business Data Cloud Connect for Google BigQuery. This is a zero-copy data fabric that enables seamless access to SAP BDC’s semantically rich business data with Google’s powerful data and AI ecosystem, including Gemini models and the Vertex AI platform. The result is a modern platform for data, analytics, and AI that enables automated, cross-functional business processes.

This bi-directional integration helps to deliver an enterprise-grade offering for building and scaling AI. With SAP Business Data Cloud Connect for Google BigQuery, customers can:

  • Build grounded, trustworthy AI: Ensure the Google BigQuery AI models and agents operate on the most current and complete view of the business by accessing trusted semantically rich SAP data in real-time without copies.
  • Deploy autonomous agents: Build and deploy intelligent agents using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and Gemini that can automate complex cross-functional processes—from supply chain optimization to financial forecasting.
  • Unleash deeper insights: Fuse SAP data through SAP BDC with unique, world-scale datasets only available on Google Cloud, like Google Maps geospatial data, Google Trends, and public datasets, to create unparalleled business context.
  • Reinvent analytics: Move beyond dashboards and reports. Enable anyone in the organization to ask complex questions on Google Cloud of their business data in natural language and get immediate, intelligent answers.

Availability

Google Cloud will offer customer and partner incentives that fast-track the adoption of these joint solutions, enabling an accelerated journey to AI-infused data transformations.

SAP Business Data Cloud is available today in Google Cloud regions across Asia Pacific, Europe, and the U.S., with more regions planned. SAP Business Data Cloud Connect for Google BigQuery is planned to be generally available in H1 2026.

In addition, SAP BW, private cloud edition, which is offered through SAP BDC, is supported in more than 40 Google Cloud regions, helping our customers meet critical data residency and compliance requirements.

SAP Connect: Experience live demos and real-world case studies, hear from SAP leadership, and connect with SAP experts, partners, and peers

Factory-X: How SAP Is Driving the Digitalization of Mechanical Engineering

With the Catena-X collaborative data ecosystem, the automotive industry has successfully demonstrated how sovereign data exchange works. Factory-X now transfers these proven principles to mechanical engineering—from the supply chain to the shop floor.

Europe faces a crucial challenge: while the region has been successful for decades with the principle of “quality over cost,” other continents are catching up in quality while also pursuing aggressive pricing strategies. “We must maintain quality while simultaneously reducing costs and becoming even more flexible in meeting our customers’ needs,” explains Georg Kube, head of Industry Data Ecosystems at SAP SE.

The answer may lie in the data that has been collected in German factories and SAP systems for decades. “Europe’s great asset compared to America and Asia is our historical knowledge of how good processes and good products work,” Kube says. “This systemic knowledge—how to machine, how to manufacture, how to set up the right processes—resides in European companies, typically in SAP systems.”

This data forms the foundation for data-driven business models based on the “data flywheel” principle: the more data that flows into a system, the more new data is generated—a self-reinforcing effect that can provide European companies with a decisive competitive advantage.

Manufacturing-X: Germany’s answer to global challenges

Factory-X is part of a larger vision: Manufacturing-X, an industry-wide initiative by the German government launched as part of the Industry 4.0 platform. The goal is to promote digital ecosystems and establish an international standard for data exchange.

Manufacturing-X is based on the fundamental principle of data sovereignty and addresses a classic dilemma: companies need data from others for digitalization but want to protect their own sensitive information. The solution is a legally and technically secured framework in which data can be shared in a controlled manner without owners losing control over it.

The initiative encompasses various industry-specific projects: Catena-X for the automotive industry was the pioneer, followed by Factory-X for mechanical engineering, Chem-X for the chemical industry, and Semiconductor-X for the semiconductor industry.

Overcome the challenges of disconnected, fragmented business processes by leveraging data from an industry network

From horizontal to vertical integration

While Catena-X revolutionized horizontal supply chain processes in the automotive industry, Factory-X goes a step further. “Factory-X extends the proven Catena-X concepts to additional industries and brings vertical integration down to the shop floor,” says Nadine Kanja, solution head for SAP Industry Network Automotive and Catena-X.

SAP shares consortium leadership for Factory-X with Siemens and coordinates the work of 47 consortium members. What’s special: while Catena-X viewed the factory as a single block, it’s at the center of Factory-X. “The shop floor is our central focus because that’s where machines with their own suppliers and maintenance requirements are located,” Kanja explains.

New use cases drive greater manufacturing flexibility

“The goal is to extend supply chain flexibility to the manufacturing area,” Kanja says. “When technical problems arise or customer needs change, manufacturers must be able to pivot quickly. However, factories aren’t exactly known for their flexibility—machines are permanently installed and hardwired. Rebuilding all of this is an enormous effort.”

This is exactly where Factory-X comes in. The initiative aims to bring flexibility directly into manufacturing—not just logistics—through new concepts like modular production, manufacturing as a service, and on-demand manufacturing. “This is an essential part of Factory-X: the flexibilization and automation of actual production processes,” Kanja explains.

Factory-X focuses on use cases that fall under the motto of “individualization and customer centricity.” These include:

  • Collaborative information logistics: Optimizing information flows between partners
  • Condition monitoring: Monitoring the condition of equipment and machines for proactive, data-based maintenance decisions
  • Modular production: Flexible production concepts for changing requirements
  • Manufacturing as a service: On-demand manufacturing through digital marketplaces

Concrete business benefits

The Factory-X use cases promise measurable improvements for various business models. Condition monitoring, for example, enables proactive maintenance instead of reactive repairs. This not only reduces production costs and downtime but also opens up new digital service revenues for machine manufacturers from their installed base.

Manufacturing as a service revolutionizes capacity utilization: production companies can automatically receive orders through digital marketplaces that match their capabilities and available capacities without extensive sales activities. Standardized data models even enable the economic production of individual pieces (“lot size 1”), which means individualization without cost disadvantages.

Another competitive advantage lies in access to new partners. Through the open data ecosystem, companies can collaborate with supply chain partners without needing existing business relationships, as standardized mechanisms make integration faster, more secure, and more cost-effective.

Technological innovation: MX-Port as key

Factory-X extends the Manufacturing-X initiative not only thematically but also technologically. In addition to the established Data Space protocols from Catena-X, Factory-X introduces the MX-Port concept, which additionally builds on the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) Framework and Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC-UA).

“The existing protocols have a relatively high technological overhead to negotiate each time who can see what,” Kube explains. “In mechanical engineering, there are many use cases where this is not necessary. Therefore, we supplement the existing protocols with a second one that has similar characteristics but with less overhead.”

This dual-technology strategy enables companies active in both the automotive industry and mechanical engineering to flexibly use the appropriate technology for each case.

The path to the future

Factory-X is designed as a development project until mid-2026 and will then transition into a stable operational phase. The vision is ambitious: a digital ecosystem that strengthens the competitiveness of European industry while enabling new data-driven business models.

“What we’re building in Factory-X can also be scaled to the other data spaces of Manufacturing-X,” Kanja explains. Mechanical engineering thus becomes a testing ground for a comprehensive transformation of European industry.


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