For decades, climate adaptation lived on the fringes of corporate strategy. It was typically addressed through insurance coverage, emergency protocols, and risk registers. These tools were helpful at the time as they helped organizations respond to disruption, but they often positioned climate considerations as something to manage episodically, rather than as part of how a business operates day-to-day and plans for growth.

In 2026, that distinction is becoming increasingly blurry. Extreme heat, water scarcity, flooding, wildfires, and energy volatility are affecting cost structures, disrupting supply chains, and constraining labor productivity and capital planning. These factors increasingly show up in routine operational and financial decisions and interact with broader economic dynamics. Climate impacts intersect with geopolitical competition, supply-side volatility, and regional fragmentation. At the same time, the transition to a low-carbon economy continues to progress unevenly across markets, with carbon increasingly subject to pricing, regulation, and disclosure expectations.

Together, physical climate impacts and transition pressures are influencing how companies plan, invest, and operate. Many organizations are approaching adaptation and mitigation as an integrated business capability, on par with financial management, supply chain planning, or cybersecurity.

Why adaptation and mitigation demand sustained leadership attention

S&P Global Energy Horizons projects that physical climate risks could more than triple corporate financial exposure by 2050, driven by asset damage, supply disruptions, and productivity losses. Despite this growing exposure, however, fewer than one in five companies have implemented adaptation measures at scale.

This widening gap between risk and readiness has profound implications for CEOs and boards, who recognize this threat. A new report from WEF found that business leaders identified extreme weather events as the greatest long-term business risk, with cascading effects across economic stability, supply chains, and social cohesion. Climate risk is now:

• Financial, affecting margins, asset values, insurance availability, and cost of capital
• Operational, disrupting production, logistics, and workforce availability
• Strategic, influencing where companies invest, source, and grow
• Reputational, shaping trust with investors, customers, regulators, and employees

For many leadership teams, climate adaptation and mitigation have become part of the broader challenge of enterprise readiness. In some cases, they are also influencing access to capital, insurance terms, talent attraction, and long-term market positioning.

Going beyond the contingency mindset

A common constraint on progress is how climate adaptation is still framed inside organizations.

When it is treated primarily as contingency planning, it tends to be reactive and episodic. Plans are developed, documented, and revisited only after disruption occurs, while ownership is often spread across risk, sustainability, operations, and finance teams with limited integration into core decision-making.

A capability-based approach works differently. Business capabilities are embedded and inform everyday decisions, supported by data, systems, governance, and incentives.

Climate capability emerges when organizations integrate climate risk, resilience, and carbon considerations into the core of how the enterprise runs.

The four pillars of climate capability

1. Supply chains designed for disruption

Global supply chains are increasingly exposed to climate volatility and regulatory pressure. Highly optimized, linear supply chains designed primarily for cost efficiency have shown limitations under these conditions. Many organizations are adjusting value chains to improve resilience and address emissions. Supplier diversification, regionalization, circular material flows, and better data sharing can reduce exposure to physical disruption and, in many cases, lower Scope 3 emissions. In practice, efforts to improve decarbonization and resilience often reinforce one another.

What this requires is more reliable, timely data across supply chains, so that COOs are empowered to turn insights into meaningful outcomes.

2. Assets and infrastructure built for a changing climate

Facilities, equipment, and logistics networks are increasingly exposed to chronic stresses, such as heat and water scarcity as well as acute events like flooding. At the same time, carbon-intensive assets face growing transition risk as energy systems and regulations evolve.

A capability-based approach evaluates assets through a dual lens: physical climate exposure and carbon intensity. This informs where companies locate facilities, how they maintain them, and when they invest in retrofits, electrification, or renewable energy.

Investments in energy efficiency and clean energy can reduce emissions while also moderating exposure to energy price volatility and supply disruptions.

3. Workforce resilience as a business priority

Climate impacts are also affecting people. Rising temperatures and extreme weather are already reducing labor productivity and increasing health and safety risks in many roles and regions.

The International Labour Organization estimates that heat stress alone could result in the equivalent of 80 million full-time jobs lost globally by 2030 under a 1.5°C warming scenario. Organizations that treat workforce resilience as a core business issue are adjusting schedules, working conditions, training, and safety protocols, protecting people while maintaining productivity.

4. Financial decision-making informed by climate reality

Despite growing awareness, climate data is often still disconnected from financial planning and analysis. CDP reports that while 67% of companies identify climate-related risks with potential financial impact, only a fraction can quantify those risks with enough precision to guide investment decisions.

A capability-based approach incorporates carbon and climate risk into financial models. This allows leaders to assess physical risk, transition risk, and return on investment together, turning climate action into a disciplined, value-driven decision process. SAP’s carbon accounting solutions, like SAP Green Ledger and SAP Green Token, can empower organizations to drive actionable climate strategies and unlock measurable impact by helping them integrate sustainability into core business processes through the combination of trusted financial data and granular carbon insights.

A C-suite framework for climate capability in 2026

Across industries, five leadership actions will define those organizations building true climate capability:

1. Embed climate and carbon assumptions into core business planning and governance.
2. Redesign value chains for resilience and emissions reduction.
3. Protect assets and people with predictive, forward-looking insight.
4. Align mitigation and adaptation with financial strategy.
5. Measure resilience and emissions together, not in isolation.

Together, these actions help shift climate efforts from parallel initiatives into a managed enterprise capability, one that determines operational continuity, financial resilience, and long-term competitiveness.

Learn more about how you can build a more compliant, sustainable, and resilient business with SAP Sustainability solutions.

Sophia Mendelsohn is chief sustainability and commercial officer at SAP.

The extended workforce is now at the core of business transformation. Organizations everywhere are looking for technology partners that deliver not just scale, but also intelligence, agility, and innovation.

That’s why the latest recognition from two of the industry’s most respected research firms—Ardent Partners and Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)—means so much to us at SAP. Their findings reinforce what we see every day: SAP Fieldglass isn’t just keeping up with the industry, we’re setting the standard for innovation, execution, and customer value.

Market leadership confirmed by independent analysts

The 2025 VMS Technology Advisor from Ardent Partners named SAP Fieldglass a “Market Leader,” a distinction reserved for providers with universal strengths and top-tier execution. The evaluation looked at every aspect of our portfolio, from supporting the full scope of managing the external workforce—requisitions, candidates, projects, direct sourcing, SOW/services procurement, integrations, and AI—to our execution ability, client success, references, talent ecosystem, product vision, and future of work readiness.

We’re especially proud to be recognized as an “Elite Performer” in four critical categories: AI Innovation, SOW and Services Procurement, Direct Sourcing, and Total Talent Management. Ardent Partners highlights SAP Fieldglass’ deep integration with SAP SuccessFactors solutions, SAP Ariba solutions, SAP Build Work Zone, and the AI solution Joule, positioning it as a strategic hub for managing external talent and optimizing services procurement. Joule is transforming how users interact with the portfolio, offering conversational, data-driven guidance for requisition creation, SOW intake, job description design, and workflow acceleration.

SIA’s VMS Global Landscape & Differentiators Showcase also confirms SAP Fieldglass’ global leadership. The portfolio operates in more than 180 countries, supports 22 languages, and enables invoicing in 118 countries, making it the largest footprint in the industry. This extensive reach is further underscored by consistently strong customer retention, reflecting the deep trust and satisfaction SAP Fieldglass enjoys among global enterprises.

Customer-validated leadership

Recognition from leading analyst firms is important, but what matters most is the experience of our customers. SAP Fieldglass has also been ranked as a category leader by TrustRadius, a respected platform for verified customer reviews. TrustRadius rankings are based on direct feedback from real users, making it a powerful complement to analyst evaluations. While analyst reports validate market position and strategic capabilities, TrustRadius highlights the day-to-day value customers experience, such as ease of use, depth of functionality, and overall satisfaction. This dual endorsement, from both industry experts and actual practitioners, reinforces SAP Fieldglass’ commitment to delivering solutions that can meet business needs and exceed customer expectations.

Innovation at the core: AI, automation, and analytics

Innovation is at the heart of SAP Fieldglass’ value proposition. The portfolio’s embedded AI solution, Joule, helps users initiate job requisitions, design and translate job descriptions, and accelerate approvals through a conversational interface. Rate benchmarking helps ensure customers stay competitive with market rates. Document AI can automate structured SOW creation, while machine learning and skills ontology models can power advanced candidate matching and workforce planning.

SIA notes that SAP Fieldglass’ “AI-first” product strategy is embedding intelligence into every workflow, emphasizing seamless data extraction, intuitive user experiences, and impactful use cases across applications. The business intelligence suite delivers real-time and historical analytics, benchmarking tools, and persona-based dashboards, empowering organizations to make data-driven decisions at every stage of the talent lifecycle.

Comprehensive capabilities for a modern workforce

What distinguishes SAP Fieldglass is its wide-ranging and comprehensive set of features. The portfolio allows users to effectively manage all kinds of external labor expenses—whether that’s contingent labor, services procurement, independent contractors, high-volume workers, or field services. It offers streamlined onboarding, advanced and customizable tools for global compliance, AI-driven workflows, and robust skills extraction, helping to ensure depth and efficiency in every area. Additionally, its compliance and audit capabilities, mobile accessibility, and dashboards supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion help create a holistic solution.

SIA’s research, based on 23 in-depth VMS surveys and 36 customer assessments, found SAP Fieldglass excels in supplier management, time/expense/billing, SOW capabilities, candidate sourcing, technical functionality, and customer perceptions. Customers cite the portfolio’s innovation, influence over roadmap evolution, and ability to scale with their programs. The open API framework, pre-built integrations, and strong MSP partnerships create a connected ecosystem that can support even the most complex workforce strategies.

Customer experience and ecosystem strength

Customer experience is another area where SAP Fieldglass shines. SIA’s customer perception data shows high marks for platform stability, ease of use, integration quality, adaptability, and support. Customers appreciate the portfolio’s innovation, the ability to influence roadmap evolution, and its capacity to scale with their programs.

Both Ardent Partners and SIA emphasize SAP Fieldglass’ commitment to continuous innovation. The “AI-first” and “suite-first” strategies focus on embedding intelligence into every workflow and delivering seamless, end-to-end business processes across the SAP ecosystem. Key areas of ongoing investment include skills-based hiring, AI, enhanced analytics, and high-volume workforces for SOW management.

A portfolio for the future of work

The latest findings from Ardent Partners and SIA reaffirm SAP Fieldglass’ leadership, vision, and relentless focus on customer value. Combined with customer-driven recognition from TrustRadius, SAP Fieldglass stands as a proven leader in delivering solutions that can empower organizations to unlock the full potential of their extended workforce—today and for the future of work.

Learn more about SAP Fieldglass.

Amber Roth vice president of Global Presales & Strategy for SAP Fieldglass.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved far beyond experimentation. It is already reshaping how industries operate, how economies evolve, and how people experience work.

Recent McKinsey research shows that almost all organizations now use AI in some form, yet most are still at the beginning of scaling it responsibly and effectively. At the same time, there is no question that technological change continues to happen at a remarkable pace, and it demands careful guidance through constant organizational transformation, strong leadership, and the key ability to learn and unlearn.

I am convinced that the future will not be human versus AI, despite this still-dominant narrative. It will be determined by how effectively human insight, judgement, and expertise shape AI’s integration into work and society. The real opportunity lies in combining human and AI across creative and analytical domains, applying the right competencies in the right context.

Built on trust and ethical intent, AI can amplify human potential while inevitably transforming certain roles and tasks. The Intelligent Age is not about technological dominance, but about purposeful progress through human-AI collaboration.

The rise of human-AI power couples

Imagine working with a new colleague who has not been trained in a classroom but by algorithms processing vast datasets. Simply put, this AI teammate delivers speed, scale, and precision while you bring judgement, context, and creativity. Together, you achieve outcomes neither could deliver alone.

This is already happening across industries. The real differentiator is how well humans and intelligent systems complement each other’s strengths—mainly combining AI’s capacity for data-driven execution with human adaptability and vision. These human-AI power couples are becoming a new source of competitive advantage, able to solve problems faster, spot opportunities earlier, and innovate more boldly.

Yet this potential only materializes when people trust the AI tools they use: trust built not just on transparency, but on daily experience of systems that help them succeed.

Designing the new architecture of work

To set these human-AI power couples up for success, organizations must rethink the very architecture of work. Trust and collaboration are not enough if the underlying structures remain rigid. Traditional roles and hierarchies cannot keep pace with continuous technological change. Work will become increasingly fluid, shaped by skills, collaboration, and shared intelligence. Our time demands adaptive organizations that continuously learn and enable their teams to take on new challenges as they arise.

Consequently, this shift also places new expectations on leaders. As AI progresses, human leadership becomes increasingly important, not less. Leaders must design environments where human and artificial intelligence reinforce each other, and they must actively drive the effective use of AI to deliver business outcomes. This requires adopting a new model, in which leaders fluently manage integrated systems of people and AI agents. They are accountable not only for their human teams’ performance, but also for the limitations of the AI models they deploy. This means creating a working environment where experimentation is encouraged and where people feel supported as their roles evolve.

As shown in SAP’s own Future of Work research, employees express growing openness toward AI-enabled coaching and support. When AI takes on parts of the coaching role, leaders must focus on what only humans can provide: context, empathy, and the ability to inspire. AI can track progress, but it cannot build trust or shape culture.

The human skills that will shape the Intelligent Age

As humans and intelligent systems collaborate more closely, the skills people need will also continue to evolve. Research from the OECD and the World Economic Forum shows that skills have a shorter lifespan than ever before. Traditional job profiles no longer keep pace. The real differentiator is how quickly people can learn and keep up as technology advances.

A skills-led organization takes a holistic view of employees’ skills across the entire employee life cycle—from recruiting and learning to talent development and succession management. Its defining capability is the ability to adapt with speed to external changes and disruptions. A company can adjust required skills almost in real time. This is a prerequisite to staying competitive and responding quickly to customer and market needs.

AI is the catalyst for this adaptability: it identifies skill gaps in real time, personalizes learning journeys, and enables talent to move fluidly to where it is most needed. This turns skills management from a static process into a dynamic system, preparing a workforce that evolves alongside technology rather than being overtaken by it.

Culture as the true algorithm

At the same time, culture becomes equally decisive. Technology may accelerate change, but culture determines its impact. Responsible AI adoption depends on strong cultural foundations. A culture of trust enables people to take ownership and try new approaches without fear of failure. The goal is to have a workforce with a true growth mindset. A mindset that is defined by the inner drive to grow turns change from uncertainty into progress. It is the ability to learn and unlearn, to let go of outdated approaches and embrace new ones.

In fast-moving industries like technology, the pace of transformation is beyond any single person’s control; what can be shaped is how we respond to it. When curiosity and adaptation become a constant core element of organizational agility, change is met with confidence.

Building inclusive and forward-looking societies

When such strong organizational cultures guide responsible AI adoption, their influence naturally extends beyond the workplace, shaping how technology transforms societies, economies, labor markets, and education systems. Whether this shift leads to broader opportunity or deeper inequality depends on the decisions we make now.

AI is already widening access to learning, democratizing coaching, creating more opportunities, and enabling people to focus on meaningful, uniquely human work. The challenge now is to scale these gains, so the Intelligent Age drives shared progress—not deeper inequality—under a responsible, human-centric approach.

What matters now

In the Intelligent Age, technological progress will not wait—nor should it—but it does require leaders to redesign how work and organizations function so that human and artificial intelligence advance together.

This demands a radical rethinking of structures, skills, and leadership models to match the pace of innovation. Three imperatives stand out.

• Design for trust: Ensure transparent governance and explicit human accountability, embedded in every stage of AI design; this is essential to building trust in human-AI collaboration.
• Build human capability: Make continuous learning, upskilling, and mobility the default, powered by AI insights that connect talent to opportunity in real time.
• Lead with humanity: Anchor empathy, purpose, and ethical judgment in every decision.

Technology can amplify performance and even inspire to think out of the box, but only when guided by clear intent and values. The future will favor organizations that reimagine work at the speed of technology—and keep humanity at its core.

AI will accelerate our potential, and while technology’s advance is largely unstoppable, it is our values and leadership that will determine how we respond to and guide its impact. AI without humanity is simply incomplete.

Gina Vargiu-Breuer is chief people officer, labor director, and a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

This piece originally appeared on the World Economic Forum website.

I am excited to share important updates regarding the integration certification program for partner-built solutions, managed by the SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP ICC).

As SAP accelerates our strategy around applications, data, and AI, these certification enhancements will help ensure our growing ecosystem is aligned—both technically and directionally—with our clean core, cloud-forward, and AI-ready approach. 

A framework designed around partner and customer needs 

SAP is committed to delivering business innovations across applications, data, and AI. With this update, we have listened closely to partners and customers and introduced enhancements that make it easier for partners to validate their solutions while maintaining SAP’s high standards: 

• Empowering customers to leverage data-driven business and enterprise AI—securely and at scale 
• Supporting intelligent apps, seamless cloud connectivity, and adoption of SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)
• Adhering to SAP’s “clean core” extensibility guidelines, ensuring future-ready, upgradable integrations

Integration certification and the new interoperability review 

Our refreshed framework offers two clear paths for partners.

Integration certification (use-case based) 

• For partner solutions aligned with SAP strategic priorities (SAP BTP-based, using SAP Business AI, clean core, public cloud, and intelligent apps)
• Certification awarded for specific use cases that adhere to SAP strategic priorities for integration, data, and development guidelines
• Benefits include certified status, branding rights, and access to go-to-market support, with clear guidance and transparency throughout the process

Interoperability review (open and inclusive) 

We are especially excited to introduce the interoperability review, a new open program designed in response to partner and customer feedback.

• Open to all partner and independent software vendor (ISV) solutions, including those that may not be eligible for integration certification
• Showcase technical compatibility with SAP solutions through compliance with technical integration standards 
• Solutions listed as interoperable on SAP Notes and receive detailed review summery
• Helps partners demonstrate interoperability and SAP compliance to customers.

This new interoperability review reflects our commitment to listen to the SAP ecosystem and enable more partners and ISVs to participate, fostering innovation across our platform. 

How this benefits partners and customers  

For partners:

• Easier access to SAP’s integration framework, even if formal certification is not applicable
• Clear pathways for strategic alignment and accelerated development of maintainable, future-ready solutions
• Co-marketing visibility for certified solutions

For customers: 

• Access to a broader set of partner solutions that are future-ready, upgradable, and compliant with SAP’s clean core standards
• Confidence in interoperability and technical quality across SAP’s business application landscape
• Faster adoption of data-rich solutions built on robust foundations

Looking forward 

The new framework, planned to launch in Q3 2026, is designed to empower partners, build trust with customers, and accelerate innovation across SAP’s platform.

Our Partner Ecosystem Success team will support this transition throughout the second half of 2026. Partners can preview the criteria for the integration certification and the interoperability review in the SAP Integration Certification framework reference guide or reach out to your SAP partner manager or the SAP ICC team with questions. 

Karl Fahrbach is chief partner officer of SAP SE.

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and Fresenius today announced that both companies intend to enter a strategic partnership to accelerate innovation for stronger digital healthcare delivery.

Together, the companies plan to create the digital backbone for a sovereign, interoperable and AI-supported healthcare system. The solutions will combine the expertise of Fresenius, one of the world’s largest healthcare companies, with future-oriented SAP technologies and meet high requirements for data sovereignty, security and regulatory compliance. The plan is to provide an open, integrated and data‑driven digital health ecosystem that enables hospitals and medical facilities worldwide to use AI securely and to handle health data responsibly.

Digital sovereignty for healthcare

SAP and Fresenius plan to jointly build an individual, scalable healthcare platform that enables connected, data-driven healthcare processes. Based on this, the companies will develop joint, future-oriented and AI-supported healthcare solutions to sustainably increase quality, transparency and efficiency across the entire care chain and set new standards for digital innovation in the healthcare sector. The foundation will be proven SAP technologies and products such as SAP Business Suite, SAP Business Data Cloud (SAP BDC), SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) and SAP Business AI. These core elements help create a unified, compliant, open and expandable base for the more-secure exchange and use of data as well as for operating AI models in a controlled environment.

Together, the companies also plan to build a sovereign, European solution for an integrated healthcare ecosystem that supports the integration of modern hospital information systems (HIS) based on SAP’s “AnyEMR” strategy. Interfaces based on open industry standards such as HL7 FHIR will enable the more-seamless connection of HIS, electronic medical records (EMRs) and other medical applications.

“With SAP’s leading technology and Fresenius’ deep healthcare expertise, we aim to create a sovereign, interoperable healthcare platform for Fresenius worldwide. Together, we want to set new standards for data sovereignty, security and innovation in healthcare. Thanks to SAP, Fresenius can harness the full potential of digital and AI-supported processes and sustainably improve patient care,” says Christian Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

“Together with SAP, we can accelerate the digital transformation of the German and European healthcare systems and enable a sovereign European solution that is so important in today’s global landscape. We are making data and AI everyday companions that are secure, simple and scalable for doctors and hospital teams. This creates more room for what truly matters: caring for patients,” adds Michael Sen, CEO of Fresenius.

As part of the joint transformation project, both companies plan to invest a mid three-digit million euro amount in the medium term to consistently drive the digital transformation of the German and European healthcare system through the use of digital and AI-supported solutions.

The partnership is implemented through various forms of collaboration. These include joint investments in startups and scaleups, joint technological developments and close cooperation within coordinated governance structures between the two companies.

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Media contact:
Dana Roesiger, +49 62277 7 63900, dana.roesiger@sap.com, CET
SAP Press Room; press@sap.com

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