Making the Most of SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG: Your Inside Track for the 2025 Conference

The following Utility Voice was authored by Marc Rosson, Enterprise Architect at Snohomish County PUD. 

This week at Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD), we began reviewing the SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG conference agenda to identify which topics our team wanted to focus on. It quickly became clear that no single person could cover everything.

Fortunately, like many utilities well into the SAP RISE journey, we are currently in the request-for-proposal (RFP) selection phase for a systems integrator (SI) to help us advance. Given our stage in the project, we have nine team members, including project leaders, business SMEs, architects, and leadership, attending the conference this year, all traveling together next month to connect with peers and learn from their experiences.

This year’s conference (Sept. 8-10; in Denver, Colorado) gathers together utility leaders, SAP product experts, and industry innovators to exchange lessons learned, explore practical use cases, and chart the next steps in their shared evolution.

To maximize our coverage of this opportunity, we created tailored tracks for each team member, ensuring we attend sessions ranging from CX panel discussions to RISE deep dives. From BTP to SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC), security, generative AI, partner-provided solutions, and core IBU development, there is truly something for everyone. We'll come together for the keynotes, where SAP senior leaders—not just from their utilities lines of business (LoBs) but across the company—will present a stellar lineup of speakers.

We also discovered sessions featuring utilities like ours. So, whether you are publicly owned or publicly traded—or delivering water, gas, or electricity—we look forward to seeing you at this year’s conference.

Pre-Conference Learning and Networking

Hit the ground running on Monday with pre-conference workshops that provide collaborative environments where you can pressure-test your approaches with SAP’s senior architects and peers who have successfully executed similar transformations. 

Exclusively available to ASUG members, these sessions offer a concentrated return on time invested before the main program gets underway.

• Utility Transformation in the Cloud Era: Strategic Enterprise Architecture, Tools, & Real-World Execution – Led by Martin Mysyk (Senior Enterprise Architect, SAP) and Stefan Ressing (Chief Enterprise Architect, EA-RISE Utilities, SAP) and Marc Rosson (Enterprise Architect, SNOPUD), this workshop covers clean core principles, AI use cases, and tools (SAP Signavio, LeanIX, WalkMe, Cloud ALM) that jointly support transformation. Case studies will highlight how utilities are applying these in real-world scenarios.
• Unlocking the Power of SAP BTP: Innovation, Integration, & Intelligence for Utilities – Led by Suhas Aligave (Principal Solution Advisor, BTP, SAP), Sandeep Dhingra (Chief Architect Advisor, SAP), and Vicki Zheng (Global CRO AI, SAP), this session demonstrates how to use SAP Business Technology Platform to unify operational data with Business Data Cloud, embed AI into forecasting, and build intelligent integration landscapes.

The day will also include EA, Water, and Energy Community Meet Ups for targeted networking, and a welcome reception that will set the stage for the days ahead.

Customer Experience: Defining the Future of Utility Engagement

With utilities facing the decision between adopting the Embedded Customer Engagement (CE) module in S/4HANA or moving to the SAP CX suite, this year’s CX sessions provide real-world insights from notable early adopters and engaging discussions with experts.

• Enhancing Utility Customer Service with SAP Service Cloud (Tuesday, 11:15 a.m.) – Tina Kuo (Senior Director, Product Management, Customer Service, SAP Sales & Service Cloud) and Sanu Koshy (Director, Product Management, SAP) will walk through the latest 2.0 capabilities and roadmap developments, giving utilities the detail needed to make long-term platform choices.
• Real-World Insights & Future Vision: How Utilities & Partners Are Shaping & Adapting to SAP CX 2.0 (Tuesday, 1 p.m.) – Panelists Anthony Sabatini (CX Specialist, Utilities, SAP), Kevin Bojanowski (IT Director, SAP Customer Support, Duke Energy), Sarah Peluso-Ibarra (Director, Customer Solutions, Southwest Gas), Kristina McClenahan (Supervisor, Billing & Payment Systems, Puget Sound Energy), and Gibs Saint Paul (Director, Customer Modernization, Salt River Project) will share experiences from both CX 1.0 and 2.0, with Salt River Project as the first electric utility to implement CX 2.0. A follow-up Q&A will allow audience members to directly interact with the panelists.
• Pioneering the Future: Loudoun Water’s Journey to Next-Generation SAP Solutions (Wednesday, 1:45 p.m.) – Lara Bowers (IT Program and Supplier Manager, Loudoun Water) and Tony Foreman (Solutions Manager, Loudoun Water) share operational impacts from being the first water utility to go live on 2.0.

Service Management and Process Modernization

S/4HANA has delivered innovation for over 10 years. In 2018, new utility functionality started to move away from certain compatibility components like Customer Service Notifications, via transitions to new S/4HANA functions like Service Requests/Service Orders. 

For RISE customers, capability mode extends to 2030, and for those utilities already on S/4HANA on-premise, certain utility areas—including LE-TRA, PP-PI, and Customer Service Notifications—were also extended to 2030. Planning, managing, and learning from others is key to managing these changes.

• Sunsetting CS: Future-Proofing Utility Service Management in SAP S/4HANA (Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.) – Dominic Brennan (Senior Director, Business Development, SAP) and Robert Straubinger (Senior Director, Industry Business Unit for Utilities, SAP) will outline the shift to Service Requests and Service Orders with Advanced Execution, explain compatibility deadlines, and provide strategies for getting ahead of the change.
• Greenfield CIS Transformation with London Hydro - Enabling Digital Utility (Wednesday, 1:45 p.m.) – Syed Mir (CIO & VP, Corporate Services, London Hydro) and Sayantan Tarafdar (Head of Transformation, Utilities Americas, Tata Consultancy Services) will detail how London Hydro became the first utility to fully adopt the new service model and is preparing to go live.

Cloud ERP and EAM Transformation Journeys

From asset management modernization to large-scale ERP moves, this track features end-to-end case studies worthy of a spotlight. Here are the sessions you shouldn’t miss:

• Digital Transformation Success: TECO Peoples Gas Streamlines Field Operations with SAP and Mirata (Tuesday, 10:15 a.m.) – Greg Hall (IT Manager, EAM Functional & Solution Architecture, Tampa Electric) and Rich Padula (Founder, Mirata Software) share how TECO replaced paper-based workflows and upgraded to SSAM 2405 with Mirata forms for better UX and streamlined automation.
• Metropolitan Utilities District’s SAP S/4HANA Migration Journey on RISE with SAP (Tuesday, 2:00 p.m.) – Featuring Dhanachezhiyan Mahalingam (IT Director, Enterprise Architecture, MUD) and Devender Kumawat (Senior Basis Administrator, MUD). A business-first, brownfield move preserved key configurations and history while modernizing core systems. Topics include readiness assessment, data archiving, security redesign, CRM-to-CE migration, BTP enablement, and key integration lessons.
• Implementing SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition: A Journey of Challenges & Triumphs (Tuesday, 2:00 p.m.) – Kevin Lagge (Strategy and Business Development Executive, OGE) and David Kenyon (Chief Information Technology Architect, OGE) share how they became the first legacy utility to migrate 25 years of work order history to S/4HANA on RISE in a single go-live, alongside a CX 1.0 deployment and EAM modernization.
• OGE Transitions to SAP S/4HANA and SAP C4C by Taking Advantage of OpenText Solutions (Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.) – Bryan Sherlock (Sr. Manager of Product and Platform Operations, OGE) and Gabriella Popovych (Director of Customer Success, Ecodocx) detail a first-of-its-kind OpenText deployment for customer correspondence, vendor invoice automation, and AI/ML-driven document management.

Safeguarding Data and Systems in an AI-Driven Utility Landscape

As AI becomes a core part of utility operations, the integrity of data and the security of digital environments are now mission-critical. Attendees will have the opportunity to discover practical strategies to establish a reliable data foundation, defend against emerging threats, and lay the groundwork for advanced analytics that deliver.

• Business Data Cloud: The Trusted Foundation for AI in Utilities (Tuesday, 11:15 a.m.) – Bret VanderWoude (Principal Solution Advisor, BDC, SAP) explains how connected, context-rich data enables reliable, responsible AI across utility operations.
• Through the Breach – Security and Compliance in the Shared Responsibility Model (Tuesday, 11:15 a.m.) – Paul Kleinschnitz (CRO, Onapsis) and Marc Rosson (Enterprise Architect, Snohomish PUD) examine how the Shared Responsibility Model in RISE with SAP impacts security and compliance, emphasizing clear accountability, early-phase decisions, and sustaining success after go-live.
• Overcoming Data Security & Testing Challenges in Utilities: OGE’s RISE with SAP Transformation (Wednesday, 2:45 p.m.) – Rick Taylor (Manager IT Platforms, SAP ERP and QA, OGE) and Phil Best (VP of Sales, Americas, EPI-USE Labs) share how Object Sync and Data Secure tools protected sensitive data, streamlined testing, and met privacy compliance requirements.

Keynotes and Shaping SAP’s Utility Product Roadmap

Don’t miss this opportunity to network with and influence the SAP leaders responsible for delivering innovative products for the utilities community. This year offers direct access to the leaders who define and build utility products.

• Welcome & Keynote: SAP’s Strategic Vision for Navigating What’s Next in Utilities (Tuesday, 8:15 a.m.) – Co-hosted by SAP, ASUG, and Xcel Energy, this opening session outlines the priorities shaping today’s utility landscape and SAP’s strategic response. Expect real customer examples, solution demos, and insights into innovations in work and asset management driving resilience, efficiency, and sustainability. Speakers include Daniela Haldy Sellmann (SVP and GM, Energy & Natural Resources, SAP), Viktor Kehayov (Chief Product Officer, SAP Field Service Management, SAP), Geoff Scott (CEO and Chief Community Champion, ASUG), Michael Sullivan (National VP, Renewable Energy and Utilities, SAP), and Jan Gilg (CRO, Americas & Global Business Suite, Member of the Extended Board, SAP).
• Addressing Utilities’ CIS & Innovation Needs: Unlocking SAP Solutions Across SAP S/4HANA and BTP Ecosystems (Wednesday, 10:30 a.m.) – Markus Bechmann (VP Digital Energy Solutions, SAP) and Frederik Meyer (Product Manager, SAP SE) will share the current development priorities and solicit feedback on functional requirements.
• Keynote Innovation, Collaboration and Unlocking Data Driven Intelligence (Wednesday, 12:15 p.m.) – Featuring customer success stories and SAP’s vision for the Business Data Cloud and AI strategy, this session will show how unified data foundations can drive sharper insights, faster decision-making, and innovation in utility operations. A panel of leaders, including Jan Bungert (CRO for Business Data Cloud & Business AI, SAP) and Swati Daji (Executive VP, Chief Financial, Risk, and Operations Officer, Electric Power Research Institute), will discuss how integrated data enables more agile responses to industry and customer demands.
• Follow-Up Discussion (Wednesday, 1:45 p.m.) – Bringing Bechmann and Meyer back together for an additional session on SAP’s current direction for the utilities sector, this session is a second opportunity to engage, collaborate with peers, and align on requests that can be amplified to SAP’s product teams.

Final Thoughts

This year’s conference has something for everyone. Don’t miss the SAP Utilities 2025 Excellence Awards, where we recognize the successes of our peers. Our ability to learn from their stories makes all of us better, allowing us to achieve our missions and provide the key services we enable for our communities.

See you all soon.

Marc

Save the date for the 2026 SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG!