According to a recent ASUG survey, “Unlocking Cloud Value and the Growing Role of AI in SAP Landscapes”, conducted in partnership with Microsoft and Intel, cloud and AI are becoming increasingly popular in the SAP-user community.
ASUG research reveals that cloud landscapes are increasingly widespread in terms of adoption — but still far from uniform when it comes to execution. While most organizations have moved some or all of their SAP workloads to the cloud, the ways they deploy them and the value they extract can vary widely.
The survey’s findings point to several key themes that illustrate how SAP customers are approaching cloud and AI, and where they are seeing both progress and challenges.
1. Cloud Adoption Is Nearly Universal
Almost all respondents are already using cloud services (85%) or plan to (11%). Of those who are planning to adopt, 82% expect to do so within the next two years, leaving only a small minority with no plans.
Hybrid environments are most common at 54%, followed by mixed private-public at 25%, private at 14%, and public at 7%. This spread reflects a need for flexibility, integration, and visibility across SAP landscapes.
The top driver for moving to the cloud is SAP S/4HANA migration (56%). Other priorities include access to advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, and big data (46%), cost reduction (45%), scalability (42%), application innovation (36%), improved security and compliance (32%), reduce work needed from IT staff (32%), and performance optimization (30%).
2. RISE with SAP Accelerates Modernization
SAP’s Cloud ERP, especially S/4HANA Cloud, Private Edition, has become central to many modernization strategies. Delivered through RISE with SAP, these offerings help speed implementations and reduce complexity.
Among organizations not yet live on S/4HANA, half expect RISE to shorten timelines, while 18% see no impact and 32% are unfamiliar with it, indicating an education gap.
Top reasons for adopting RISE include SAP-managed infrastructure and upgrades (54%), bundled services such as BTP, AI, and automation (38%), transformation and process optimization support (36%), and infrastructure factors such as processor choice and HANA performance, and compliance and security.
3. Function, Experience, and Investment Shape Cloud Strategies
Cloud priorities vary by function: ERP and warehouse management often stay in private environments for greater control and compliance, while customer-facing operations favor public cloud for scalability and adaptability.
Hybrid approaches appeal to those who want the flexibility of public cloud without giving up the security profile of private, and adoption is expected to expand. Even so, private cloud remains the go-to for mission-critical workloads.
Experience also influences strategy. Early adopters often moved just a few workloads that promised quick wins. Newer entrants are more likely to plan comprehensive migrations from the outset. Organizations with years of cloud use behind them may intentionally keep certain systems on-premises, making hybrid setups a long-term choice rather than a temporary stage.
Over half of respondents spend more than $1 million annually on cloud. The highest spenders are typically large enterprises with revenues above $10 billion, and they are also more likely to run diverse environments blending public and private resources.
4. Benefits Are Real, but Gaps Remain
Organizations reported clear gains from cloud adoption: reduced workload for IT teams (39%), increased scalability (34%), and stronger data security (33%). These closely match the factors that drove adoption.
Not all expectations were met. Cost savings were anticipated by 54% but achieved by 31%. Speed to delivery showed a similar gap, 53% versus 29%. Other shortfalls included better integration with other systems and alignment with strategic business direction.
The survey shows that selecting the right cloud provider matters greatly, with Azure customers more likely than users of other providers to achieve their anticipated benefits. These findings illustrate that a strong partner can boost confidence and efficiency in realizing the benefits of the cloud.
Even so, the results revealed that internal readiness remains the leading factor in addressing challenges and achieving lasting impact.
5. Internal Capabilities Are Critical to Success
The most common challenges originate inside organizations. Thirty-three percent cited limited in-house cloud expertise, 26% pointed to complex data migration, and 28% reported unexpected costs.
These issues occur across all providers and budgets, showing that technology alone does not ensure success. Building skills across teams and dedicating sufficient resources to migration work are essential for realizing long-term value.
6. AI Adoption Is Early but Advancing
Thirty-two percent of respondents are fully invested or planning to expand AI within one to three years, 52% are in early exploration, and 2% have no plans to adopt.
Public AI services such as Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI, Google AI, or AWS Bedrock are the most common tools in use today, reported by 47% of participants. Adoption of SAP-native AI capabilities is expected to rise sharply, with 53% planning to use embedded AI features in SAP applications and 43% preparing to implement SAP BTP AI Foundation.
7. AI Priorities Are Consistent Across Maturity Levels
Automation (61%) and AI-powered analytics (59%) lead current use cases. Others include conversational AI, document processing, AI-enhanced financial forecasting and planning, AI-assisted code generation and system configuration, supply chain optimization, predictive maintenance, risk monitoring, and personalized customer experiences.
Maturity influences secondary priorities. Organizations still planning implementation often focus on document processing (62%), while those expanding existing programs prioritize AI-assisted code generation and system configuration (51%). Many take a phased approach, exploring capabilities in some areas while scaling others.
The Bottom Line
The survey shows that cloud is now the foundation of most SAP technology strategies, while AI is starting to play a larger role in delivering business value. Organizations that align technology investments with targeted skills development, strong governance, and a clear strategy will be better positioned to close the gap between expectations and results, and to capitalize on AI’s growing potential in enterprise transformation.