The U.S. federal technology landscape is entering a new era, one defined not by migration alone, but by modernization with purpose. For decades, progress meant upgrading infrastructure or shifting workloads to the cloud.

As the pace of digital demand accelerates and mission priorities grow more complex, it is clear that traditional modernization approaches can no longer keep pace.

To deliver on rapidly evolving government missions, agencies must move beyond lifting and shifting legacy systems. The true transformation lies in reimagining operating models to support continuous, secure, and scalable innovation.

Shift from modernization to transformation

Legacy IT structures, designed for predictability and control, often limit progress. Risk-averse approaches that once provided stability now constrain agility and innovation. Federal agencies leading the way are adopting future-ready, cloud-native architectures that emphasize interoperability, flexibility, and resilience. These architectures do more than modernize technology; they modernize how agencies work, collaborate, and deliver results.

Reducing technical debt has become a strategic imperative, but emerging technologies also demand a balance of governance and innovation. Federal leaders are reframing their approach to modernization as an ongoing process, a state of persistent transformation where technology, mission, and operations evolve in sync.

Measuring what matters: from cost to capability

As agencies embrace new models of delivery, success must be evaluated through a dual focus:

• Total cost of ownership (TCO): Sustaining efficiency by lowering infrastructure costs and simplifying operations
• Total cost to innovate (TCI): Accelerating value creation by enabling teams to activate, test, and scale new capabilities with minimal risk and complexity

This broader lens allows agencies to view modernization as an investment in agility, resilience, and readiness—ensuring they can respond to what’s next, not just what’s now.

Partnering for a smarter, more agile government

Driving this shift requires strategic collaboration across the public and private sectors. Programs such as the U.S. General Services Administration’s OneGov initiative are redefining how government acquires and deploys technology. By consolidating procurement and engaging directly with technology providers, OneGov helps create greater transparency, efficiency, and long-term value for taxpayers.

In alignment with this vision, SAP has partnered with GSA to provide federal agencies with expanded access to both SAP licensed-based products and white glove migration, all while avoiding data egress fees. These initiatives help agencies reduce technical debt, accelerate digital transformation, and establish a secure, cloud-native foundation for the future.

Building the innovation-ready enterprise

Modernization is not a destination, it is a capability. Agencies that continually adapt their operating models will define the next generation of public service. The path forward is clear:

• Reimagine modernization as operating model transformation, not just technology refresh
• Balance efficiency with innovation by measuring both cost savings and speed to value
• Build future-ready enterprises where mission and IT operate as one, powered by cloud, automation, and AI

Together, we are shaping a smarter, more secure, and more agile federal enterprise, one that is ready to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world and deliver enduring value to citizens.

David Robinson is president of Cloud ERP and acting managing director of U.S. Public Services at SAP.

A pivotal question about how finance can be used to address the challenges of our time has been discussed at COP30 in Belém, Brazil: how can sustained climate finance be implemented to drive meaningful environmental impact?

It’s a mindset shift SAP is already embracing to help our customers build genuine business resilience. It lies not just in reducing our own emissions, but in actively supporting and financing the restoration of the natural systems that underpin global economic stability.

The business case for nature-based initiatives

The interdependence between business and nature is no longer theoretical. Today, US$44 trillion of economic value generation depends directly on nature. From food systems that sustain people to water resources, natural capital forms the invisible infrastructure of the global economy. Yet this foundation is eroding rapidly, creating systemic risks that no company can ignore.

For SAP, investing in forest ecosystems is not just philanthropy, it’s risk management. By financing and supporting nature-based climate projects, we can protect ourselves and our stakeholders against the loss of natural capital while strengthening our position as a sustainability leader. These investments provide opportunities to regenerate the ecosystems that our economies and societies depend on for food, water, medicine, and sustainable growth.

A comprehensive approach to net-zero

In our mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives, SAP has committed to achieving net-zero emissions along our entire value chain by 2030, aligned with the science-based 1.5°C future outlined in the Paris Agreement negotiated at COP21 in in 2015, 20 years ahead of our original target. This accelerated timeline reflects both urgency and ambition.

Until 2030, SAP is committed to financing projects that reduce and remove more CO₂ from the atmosphere than our own operations—including scope 1 and 2 emissions plus business travel—produce each year. This commitment means we’re taking responsibility for the impact of our business operations while we scale up our decarbonization efforts.

This strategy follows a clear hierarchy: avoid and reduce emissions first, then neutralize what remains. We’re working to reduce gross greenhouse gas emissions by 90% across our value chain on a market-based accounting approach. The remaining emissions, no more than 10%, in line with Science Based Targets initiative standards, will be neutralized through high-quality, verified carbon removal projects spanning both nature-based and engineered solutions.

Matthias Medert, global head of Sustainability at SAP SE, says: “Our reduction efforts have earned SAP’s inclusion in the EU Paris-Aligned Benchmarks, giving investors confidence in our approach and demonstrating that rigorous action to tackle global issues strengthens rather than compromises business performance.”

Nature-based carbon finance in action

Since 2012, SAP has been building one of the most comprehensive corporate reforestation programs in the technology sector. To date, we have planted 20.51 million trees towards our commitment in 2024 to plant 25 million trees by 2030 while restoring more land than our offices and data centers occupy.

These aren’t isolated exercises. Through long-term investment in the Livelihoods Carbon Funds, SAP is supporting comprehensive 10- to 20-year projects that combine reforestation, forest protection, improved forest management, rural energy, and agroforestry initiatives implemented directly with local communities. These initiatives restore degraded natural ecosystems, improve the livelihoods of rural populations, and facilitate transitions to efficient rural energy and regenerative agriculture.

In addition to this, SAP is working with the Fundação Amazônia Sustentável (FAS) to help advance its mission to secure the Amazon rainforest’s future. By tracking 15 strategic KPIs—including deforestation rates and production chain revenue—and sharing data with stakeholders through the SAP Sustainability Control Tower solution, FAS is steering its efforts with accurate and reliable ESG data, positively impacting preservation efforts in the Amazon, home to not only the greatest fresh water reserve on the Earth, but around 390 billion trees and to 2.2 million indigenous people across 400 ethnic groups whose traditional knowledge is essential to the conservation of local and global biodiversity.

Partnerships amplifying impact

As a member of the 1t.org corporate alliance managed by the World Economic Forum, SAP is contributing to the collective goal of conserving and restoring multiple ecosystems around the world, supporting projects in over 25 countries, including Brazil, Madagascar, and the Philippines.

Technology can drive indirect reforestation as well. Through a partnership with ECOSIA, the not-for-profit search engine, every 50 searches made by SAP employees support the planting of new trees and investments in sustainable developments. This partnership has resulted in over 760,000 trees planted to date, while employees conduct their work and maintain their privacy through anonymized search queries.

Beyond nature-based solutions, we have partnered with Climeworks, investing in engineered carbon removal through its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. This diversified portfolio approach helps ensure that we’re supporting the full spectrum of solutions needed.

Connecting to COP30 and the Tropical Forest Forever Facility

SAP’s approach to climate finance aligns powerfully with emerging global frameworks, particularly the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) initiative, a top financing priority for Brazil’s COP30 presidency. The TFFF, formally launched last week at COP30 in Belém, is designed to provide long-term, predictable financing for conserving and expanding tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.

This initiative reflects a critical evolution in climate finance thinking. Nearly 100 countries, representing two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, have submitted or announced new Nationally Determined Contribution targets that include strategies to safeguard forests. SAP’s multi-year investments in the Livelihoods Carbon Funds demonstrate the kind of long-term, community-centered approach that the COP30 presidency seeks to scale globally. Our experience shows that when corporations commit to sustained financing with integrity and transparency, the impacts multiply: carbon is sequestered, biodiversity rebounds, communities build resilience, and businesses thrive.

Corporate action beyond the value chain

Provided it doesn’t undermine current corporate decarbonization programs, the financial muscle of corporations can bridge critical gaps in parts of the world where funds aren’t sufficiently available to restore ecosystems and build strong, durable economies and livelihoods.

Sustained corporate financial contributions provide quantifiable benefits to strengthen business resilience beyond SAP’s own value chain, delivering positive impacts for local and global populations and for biodiversity. Through collaboration, transparency, and technology, we’re proving that climate action isn’t just compatible with long-term business success, it’s essential to it.

The question for business leaders isn’t whether to invest in climate finance, but how quickly they can scale their commitments. The resilience of our businesses, our economies, and our planet depends on the actions we take today.

Learn more about SAP’s decarbonization strategy and how we support our customer’s journey to sustainable business here.

Karen Restrepo Ávila is Sustainability and Net-Zero communications lead at SAP.

In 2025, the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector finds itself in a sticky situation. Companies across the category are facing mounting pressures on both the front and back ends of their operations — from rising costs and shifting trade policy to evolving consumer expectations and eroding brand loyalty.

Few industries feel this dual pressure more than American candy makers, particularly during this year’s Halloween season — their single most important sales moment of the year.

Unfortunately, this year the spookiest season proved to be a particularly tricky one. According to FinanceBuzz, candy prices rose by 17% from 2024 to 2025. Price increases pose a threat to legacy brands, as 26% of American consumers say they can no longer afford brand loyalty, according to the 2025 SAP Emarsys Customer Loyalty Index.

For confectionery manufacturers that have long relied on emotional connection and nostalgia to sustain sales, this Halloween season created pressures on the front- and back-end, leading to what’s effectively called the “CPG squeeze.”

Yet, there’s still room for optimism. The bottom line is that consumer demand hasn’t disappeared; it’s simply evolving. While this Halloween season presented a scare, candy makers can prepare for upcoming moments like the holiday season and Valentine’s Day by integrating financial, commercial, and supply chain planning as well as by connecting sourcing, production, logistics, marketing, and retail.

Supplier side reality

Behind the fun-size bars and Halloween packaging, U.S. candy makers grappled with operational headwinds this year. Volatile trade policy made ingredient and packaging costs unpredictable, while global disruptions reverberated through supply chains.

In anticipation, manufacturers stockpiled inventory and restructured supplier networks, tying up working capital and putting additional stress on already thin margins. The loss of supplier stability has also become a defining feature of today’s CPG landscape: 70% of companies report switching suppliers primarily due to cost considerations, and fewer than one in four (22%) have maintained supplier relationships longer than five years, according to data from SAP Emarsys.

For candy makers dependent on commodities like sugar, cocoa, and dairy, these disruptions hit particularly hard. Add that to the growing costs of packaging, transportation, and marketing, and even iconic brands found themselves squeezed from all sides.

Cautious consumers and the erosion of loyalty

On the consumer front, the loyalty that once defined relationships with classic candy brands began to show signs of strain. That’s bad news for staple brands that have long relied on customers who instinctively reach for the same branded candy every Halloween.

At the same time, social media has amplified product discovery. Trends can shift overnight, and a viral post about a new flavor or an unexpected candy collaboration can sway younger buyers instantly. For established brands, loyalty must now be earned continuously.

Halloween was one example of this shift, but we’re going to see families purchase fewer products or mix traditional favorites with lower-priced alternatives in the future as Americans continue to tighten their budgets. Meanwhile, retailers will face uncertain demand and fluctuating supplier costs, leading to a greater risk of stockouts. These trends highlight why CPG companies need smarter, more connected planning to stay ahead of shifting consumer behavior.

Stopping the squeeze with end-to-end connected planning

The effect of the CPG squeeze during this Halloween season offers candy makers valuable lessons before future moments of peak demand. Companies that continue to operate with fragmented data risk missing critical insights, whether it’s an emerging cost spike, a change in trade policy or a social trend that could make or break sales.

That’s why CPG companies must embrace end-to-end business planning, a holistic approach that aims to enable agility, transparency and collaboration across every stage of the value chain, through the following methods:

1. Integrated supply and demand planning

Using AI-driven analytics and real-time data, companies can more accurately balance supply and demand, ensuring they produce the right amount of product at the right time. For candy makers, that means having adjusted holiday production runs in response to early season buying trends or ingredient cost shifts.

This model helps connect supplier, logistics, and retail data streams, allowing teams to react instantly to cost spikes or sales slowdowns — helping CPGs improve forecast accuracy for tomorrow’s disruptions today.

2. Collaborative commercial and promotions planning

Integrating sales, marketing and trade promotion data with supply and finance planning helps maximize promotional ROI. Deloitte reports that 68% of CPG companies are simplifying or otherwise improving their organizational structure to improve coordination between teams, leading to fewer out-of-stocks and stronger seasonal performance.

To make these efforts more effective, companies must turn to revenue growth management as a strategic link between planning and execution. By connecting ROI, volume, and profit and loss data, SAP Revenue Growth Management ensures promotions are timed and tailored to shopper needs. This approach supports customer retention, attracts new buyers, and helps maintain healthy margins.

The coordination of holiday campaigns, shelf placements, and promotional pricing with a unified view of inventory and demand is crucial. Rather than running separate marketing and logistics calendars, teams must collaborate around a single version of truth, ensuring the product featured in a viral ad is available on shelves.

3. Financial planning and scenario modeling

End-to-end planning also allows companies to simulate “what-if” scenarios by modeling policy changes, supply shortages, or demand surges to test resilience. For example, a candy maker facing a 10% increase in imported cocoa costs can immediately assess how to reallocate budgets through promotional adjustments, sourcing alternatives, or margin management.

With real-time connectivity across teams, financial forecasts can automatically update as assumptions shift, empowering decision-makers to pivot fast.

Turning pressure into opportunity

The “CPG squeeze” wasn’t just a momentary market condition; it’s a structural shift that will reshape how candy makers and other CPG brands operate for years to come.

Halloween this year delivered more tricks than treats for American candy makers. Rising costs, shifting loyalties and supply challenges exposed the fragility of traditional planning models. To weather the holidays ahead, all CPGs must embrace integrated planning models that connect every part of the value chain.

With greater visibility and agility to anticipate change and respond to consumer demand, CPG brands can make every holiday a little sweeter.

Jon Dano is an industry executive advisor for Consumer Products at SAP.