At SAP Sap­phire & ASUG Annu­al Con­fer­ence 2026, SAP unveiled a bold new vision with AI embed­ded across busi­ness process­es, agents col­lab­o­rat­ing across func­tions, and enter­prise knowl­edge acces­si­ble through SAP Busi­ness Tech­nol­o­gy Plat­form (BTP), SAP Busi­ness Data Cloud (BDC), and SAP Busi­ness AI. When inno­va­tions like these are intro­duced from the keynote stage, cus­tomers turn to ASUG to under­stand what they mean in prac­tice. Just as SAP CEO Chris­t­ian Klein described the ERP as the brain of every com­pa­ny, ASUG’s com­mu­ni­ty serves as the col­lec­tive brain help­ing orga­ni­za­tions deci­pher that evo­lu­tion — because progress still hap­pens when peo­ple come togeth­er to share knowl­edge, ask bet­ter ques­tions, and help one anoth­er nav­i­gate what’s next.

This arti­cle is a col­lec­tive reflec­tion from the ASUG Com­mu­ni­ties team, cap­tur­ing the con­ver­sa­tions, insights, and expe­ri­ences that emerged from the con­fer­ence. Togeth­er, these per­spec­tives affirm one larg­er sto­ry: while tech­nol­o­gy is trans­form­ing the way we work, com­mu­ni­ty remains the way we learn, con­nect, and move forward.

To con­tin­ue the con­ver­sa­tion from SAP Sap­phire & ASUG Annu­al Con­fer­ence, ASUG will be host­ing a spe­cial vir­tu­al Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tion on June 11, focused on the key themes, ques­tions, and con­cerns raised dur­ing the event. While Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tions are typ­i­cal­ly a mem­ber-exclu­sive ben­e­fit, this ses­sion is open to every­one who wants an oppor­tu­ni­ty to expe­ri­ence the val­ue of these peer-dri­ven dis­cus­sions firsthand.

Next Steps: 

• Reg­is­ter for the vir­tu­al Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tion on June 11. 
• Sign up as an ASUG mem­ber with your com­pa­ny email.
• Set up your ASUG pro­file, join­ing com­mu­ni­ties and chap­ters that align with your work, loca­tion, and interests.
• Explore the full breadth of ASUG mem­ber ben­e­fits and con­sid­er becom­ing a mem­ber if your com­pa­ny is not yet involved. 

Eliz­a­beth Tuck­well: Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tions and Col­lec­tive Learning

ASUG Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tions took the stage for a sec­ond year at SAP Sap­phire, offer­ing the ASUG com­mu­ni­ty anoth­er oppor­tu­ni­ty to net­work, prob­lem-solve, and learn togeth­er in real time.

This year, across eight high­ly inter­ac­tive ses­sions, more than 840 SAP pro­fes­sion­als reg­is­tered to engage in dis­cus­sions span­ning AI, enter­prise archi­tec­ture, SAP BDC, Cloud ERP and SAP S/4HANA, appli­ca­tion devel­op­ment, sup­ply chain chal­lenges, and strate­gic growth — while also unpack­ing SAP’s lat­est announce­ments along­side experts and peers.

These ses­sions are inten­tion­al­ly designed to cre­ate two-way con­ver­sa­tions. While atten­dees gain deep­er insight into SAP tech­nolo­gies and strate­gies, SAP experts also gain valu­able vis­i­bil­i­ty into where orga­ni­za­tions are strug­gling, what tools cus­tomers are active­ly using, and what top­ics require fur­ther edu­ca­tion and sup­port. Real-time polling allows par­tic­i­pants to see where their peers are expe­ri­enc­ing the great­est chal­lenges, help­ing atten­dees rec­og­nize they are not alone in nav­i­gat­ing transformation.

Break­out dis­cus­sions and peer col­lab­o­ra­tion cre­at­ed oppor­tu­ni­ties for atten­dees to open­ly share lessons learned, prac­ti­cal approach­es, and real-world expe­ri­ences. One of the most mem­o­rable moments came when an audi­ence mem­ber turned to their neigh­bor and said, ​“That’s where we were last year. I’ve got you — let’s con­nect after the ses­sion.” That inter­ac­tion cap­tured the heart of Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tions: cre­at­ing spaces where mem­bers feel seen, sup­port­ed, and empow­ered by one another.

The con­ver­sa­tions that emerge from these ses­sions help shape ASUG pro­gram­ming through­out the year, ensur­ing that com­mu­ni­ty-expressed needs direct­ly guide the direc­tion of learn­ing. As ASUG con­tin­ues to build spaces where mem­bers can con­nect, col­lab­o­rate, and learn from one anoth­er, we invite you to expe­ri­ence Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tions first­hand at ASUG Tech Con­nect this fall. Join the con­ver­sa­tion, share your per­spec­tive, and become part of a com­mu­ni­ty built around help­ing one anoth­er grow, solve chal­lenges, and move for­ward together.

Adeli­na Carr: The Cus­tomer View

The Autonomous Enter­prise announce­ments at SAP Sap­phire sparked mean­ing­ful dis­cus­sion across ASUG com­mu­ni­ty break­out ses­sions. As orga­ni­za­tions began eval­u­at­ing what this shift could mean for their busi­ness and tech­nol­o­gy land­scapes, atten­dees open­ly shared their ques­tions, con­cerns, and ear­ly reactions.

Data readi­ness emerged as a major con­cern. Par­tic­i­pants high­light­ed chal­lenges with inte­grat­ing data across mul­ti­ple plat­forms, incon­sis­tent schemas, dis­con­nect­ed process­es, and siloed busi­ness units. Many agreed that a strong data foun­da­tion will be crit­i­cal to real­iz­ing the full val­ue of AI.

Com­pli­ance was anoth­er recur­ring top­ic. In one ses­sion, an audi­tor echoed many of the con­cerns raised and offered prac­ti­cal guidance:

• Don’t bypass estab­lished secu­ri­ty con­trols because some­thing is labeled ​“AI.”
• Don’t upload sen­si­tive data to unau­tho­rized third-par­ty platforms.
• Con­tin­ue apply­ing exist­ing gov­er­nance, risk, and com­pli­ance controls.

Moments like this are exact­ly why ASUG Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tions exist. Whether the top­ic is AI adop­tion, migra­tion plan­ning, or tech­nol­o­gy trans­for­ma­tion, mem­bers ben­e­fit by learn­ing direct­ly from peers and prac­ti­tion­ers who bring real-world expe­ri­ence to the dis­cus­sion. The oppor­tu­ni­ty to share chal­lenges, com­pare approach­es, and exchange prac­ti­cal advice helps orga­ni­za­tions move for­ward with greater confidence. 

When dis­cussing adop­tion strate­gies, atten­dees large­ly agreed on one approach: start small, learn, then scale. Orga­ni­za­tions see val­ue in begin­ning with tar­get­ed use cas­es, build­ing expe­ri­ence, and expand­ing from there.

Bren­da Gui­do: Indus­tries and POV from a First-Timer

Attend­ing SAP Sap­phire & ASUG Annu­al Con­fer­ence for the first time was an incred­i­bly valu­able expe­ri­ence, espe­cial­ly through the lens of the indus­try com­mu­ni­ties that I sup­port at ASUG. Being onsite pro­vid­ed the oppor­tu­ni­ty to ful­ly immerse myself in the SAP ecosys­tem while hear­ing about the lat­est inno­va­tions and see first­hand how these con­ver­sa­tions are res­onat­ing dif­fer­ent­ly across indus­tries like util­i­ties, con­sumer prod­ucts, chem­i­cals, life sci­ences, and pub­lic services.

Through ses­sions, net­work­ing, and con­ver­sa­tions with atten­dees, there was a con­stant exchange of ideas, chal­lenges, and lessons learned, which all rein­forced the impor­tance of peer col­lab­o­ra­tion and indus­try-focused dia­logue as orga­ni­za­tions nav­i­gate trans­for­ma­tion at dif­fer­ent stages of maturity.

I felt excit­ed to expe­ri­ence the scale, inno­va­tion, and col­lab­o­ra­tion first­hand. The event high­light­ed not only where SAP tech­nol­o­gy is head­ed, but also the impor­tant role ASUG com­mu­ni­ties play in help­ing cus­tomers con­nect, learn from one anoth­er, and trans­late inno­va­tion into prac­ti­cal busi­ness conversations.

Nadalee Williams: Strate­gic Top­ics and Emerg­ing Trends

What stood out most at SAP Sap­phire & ASUG Annu­al Con­fer­ence wasn’t just what was being talked about — it was who was doing the talk­ing. The con­ver­sa­tions that mat­tered most were hap­pen­ing between prac­ti­tion­ers and lead­ers nav­i­gat­ing the same chal­lenges in real time, and the exper­tise anchor­ing those exchanges came from the com­mu­ni­ty itself.

AI guid­ance dom­i­nat­ed the room, but under­neath the buzz, two themes kept sur­fac­ing in the work I focus on: data readi­ness and exe­cu­tion sup­port. Mem­bers aren’t ask­ing whether AI is the future; they’re ask­ing whether their data archi­tec­ture is ready for it, and whether their orga­ni­za­tions have the skills, oper­at­ing mod­els, and change capac­i­ty to actu­al­ly deliv­er on it.

These aren’t abstract ques­tions; they’re the pres­sure points we hear in com­mu­ni­ty con­ver­sa­tions week after week, and Sap­phire con­firmed they’re far from resolved.

What we heard at Sap­phire is a start­ing point, not a con­clu­sion. The ASUG com­mu­ni­ty exists to take what sur­faces at moments like this and turn it into sus­tained, prac­ti­cal dia­logue — and that work con­tin­ues well beyond the con­fer­ence floor.

Kel­ly Dowl­ing: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Headed

Dur­ing the con­fer­ence, every­where I went, cus­tomers were try­ing to get answers to the same ques­tions: What does this mean for my orga­ni­za­tion? Where do I start? What are oth­ers doing? How do I sep­a­rate what’s pos­si­ble today from what’s com­ing tomorrow?

That’s where com­mu­ni­ty comes in.

Our goal at ASUG has been to cre­ate oppor­tu­ni­ties for mem­bers to con­nect, learn, and grow by shar­ing expe­ri­ences at in-per­son events, par­tic­i­pat­ing in vir­tu­al Com­mu­ni­ty Con­ver­sa­tions, engag­ing with dig­i­tal con­tent, or sim­ply find­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties to con­nect direct­ly with oth­er ASUG mem­bers and peers. As we look ahead, our focus is on con­tin­u­ing to build those oppor­tu­ni­ties for con­nec­tion through­out the year. That means bring­ing togeth­er cus­tomers, SAP, part­ners, and thought lead­ers across indus­tries, lines of busi­ness, and strate­gic top­ic areas. It means cre­at­ing more spaces for peer-to-peer learn­ing. And it means ensur­ing that the top­ics and con­ver­sa­tions hap­pen­ing with­in our com­mu­ni­ties con­tin­ue to shape the con­tent, pro­gram­ming, and expe­ri­ences we deliver.

Com­mu­ni­ty Is the Com­pet­i­tive Advantage

The future out­lined at SAP Sap­phire is evo­lu­tion­ary. SAP is redefin­ing how work gets done and how orga­ni­za­tions cre­ate val­ue. The announce­ments point toward a future where AI can rea­son, rec­om­mend, and exe­cute across busi­ness process­es, pow­ered by trust­ed enter­prise data and decades of ERP knowl­edge. But tech­nol­o­gy alone does not cre­ate transformation.

Trans­for­ma­tion hap­pens when peo­ple under­stand what new capa­bil­i­ties mean for their busi­ness, their teams, and their cus­tomers. That is why, as we enter the next era of enter­prise tech­nol­o­gy, com­mu­ni­ty mat­ters more than ever. The pace of inno­va­tion will con­tin­ue to accel­er­ate, but the need for con­nec­tion, col­lab­o­ra­tion, and shared learn­ing will remain constant.

Find your com­mu­ni­ty. Join the con­ver­sa­tion. Help shape what’s next.

Learn more and register:

SAP Sap­phire & ASUG Annu­al Con­fer­ence High­lights: AI, Roadmaps, and What’s Next