Leaders from three of the world’s largest SAP user groups—ASUG in North America, DSAG in German-speaking countries, and UKISUG in the UK and Ireland—don’t often get the chance to compare notes publicly. But when they do, the insights are striking.
During a recent ASUG Talks podcast conversation, Geoff Scott, CEO and Chief Community Champion at ASUG; Jens Hungershausen, Chairman of DSAG; and Conor Reardon, Chairman of UKISUG, walked through the results of their latest collaborative research project. This annual effort looks at how SAP customers across regions perceive and prioritize cloud services.
Despite operating in different markets, the leaders described a remarkably aligned set of challenges: persistent knowledge gaps, uncertainty around cloud strategy, ongoing customization debates, and rising security concerns. At the same time, each region is responding in its own way.
“We’re a few years into this collaborative research project…and it’s a really great look into how our three user groups are approaching their SAP investments,” Scott said. “This has been a fascinating year in the SAP ecosystem.”
That fascination is fueled by several forces hitting customers at once: SAP’s continued investments in generative and agentic AI, the introduction of SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) earlier this year, and the steadily approaching 2027 end-of-maintenance deadline.
A Persistent Knowledge Gap Around New Offerings
One of the clearest themes across all three communities is a lack of familiarity with newer SAP offerings, including SAP BDC.
According to the research, 22% of ASUG members, 31% of DSAG members, and 30% of UKISUG members said they are not familiar with BDC at all. When respondents who said they were only “slightly familiar” are included, that number rises to roughly 60% across the user groups.
“That really signals to me that there’s still a tremendous amount of knowledge gap,” Scott said. “Some of it I can understand—as BDC was only announced earlier this year—but a fairly large percentage of respondents are still not familiar with some really important progress coming out of SAP.”
Scott emphasized that this isn’t just about a single product announcement. It reflects how long it takes for complex SAP messaging to land inside large organizations.
“Our communities don’t absorb information instantaneously,” he said. “This stuff takes a period of time to percolate and really make sense. When messaging shifts too quickly, we don’t create awareness—we create confusion.”
Both DSAG and ASUG said their organizations are stepping in to translate high-level SAP announcements into more easily actionable guidance. DSAG even published a white paper to explain BDC after members asked for clarity on what it actually meant for them.
“That was a really good thing,” Hungershausen said. “We as user groups can help explain the strategy behind these announcements.”
Cloud Adoption Is Moving, But in Different Directions
Cloud adoption is clearly progressing, but not uniformly and not always toward the public cloud.
Among ASUG members who are open to moving their SAP workloads and applications to public cloud environments, 36% reported a one-to-three-year timeline for migrating to the public cloud, and 21% have no timeline at all. In contrast, 30% of DSAG respondents said they lack a timeline, along with 27% of UKISUG respondents.
Hungershausen noted that attitudes toward cloud have softened in Germany over time.
“Cloud computing is gaining acceptance,” he said. “Compared to previous surveys, cloud really gains acceptance. But ERP in a public cloud setting—that is a long journey.”
Across regions, leaders expect hybrid landscapes to dominate for years, combining on-premise, private cloud, and selective public cloud deployments.
“The next few years will be characterized by hybrid landscapes,” Hungershausen said. “Companies should be able to transform at their own pace.”
Scott agreed, adding that even three years can feel aggressive for many organizations.
“We’re talking about a fairly lengthy time period,” he said. “Five to 10 years is not uncommon when you think about the scale of change.”
Customization: The Central Tension in Cloud and AI Conversations
If there’s one issue that cuts across every discussion about cloud and AI, it’s customization.
In the UK and Ireland, 58% of members cited loss of customization or functionality as a major concern when moving to public cloud. That number climbs to 63% among DSAG members.
Reardon described the contradiction many SAP customers face.
“AI is driving standardization around process and data,” he said. “But customers still really value their own innovations and customization. That’s the paradox.”
Scott warned that long-term customization could become a serious barrier to innovation.
“We’ve got to figure out what’s the right level of good customization and what’s not so good,” he said. “If we customize heavily, we then have to maintain that for a long period of time—and that may create discontinuities around AI adoption.”
Both Reardon and Hungershausen emphasized that this shift isn’t just technical, it’s cultural.
“IT has been used to customizing systems for 25 years,” Reardon said. “Now the role may need to shift toward being a solution architect—maximizing the asset rather than customizing it.”
Hungershausen echoed that sentiment, pointing to SAP’s “clean core” messaging and the mindset change it requires.
“It doesn’t have to be public cloud,” he said. “But it has to be a mindset change inside the companies.”
Security Concerns Remain High
Security remains another major concern among ASUG members. More than half (52%) said security and protection is a top issue, the highest percentage among the three user groups.
Scott suggested some of that concern may stem from outdated assumptions.
“I would generally posit that utilizing a hyperscaler should be far more secure than trying to secure it on your own,” he said. “Sometimes there’s a leftover belief that ‘we can do it better ourselves.’”
Reardon agreed, pointing again to education gaps.
“People don’t fully understand the security offering in public cloud,” he said. “There’s probably an education process required.”
Waiting for Tangible AI Value
While SAP’s investments in AI are widely acknowledged, all three leaders said customers are still waiting to see concrete results.
“We’ve got loads of use cases and loads of investment,” Reardon said. “But people are waiting for tangible business value.”
Hungershausen added that AI could play a significant role in helping customers meet the 2027 deadline by supporting S/4HANA transformations.
“A lot of transformation work is just analyzing your processes,” he said. “That’s a good use case for AI.”
For Scott, the bigger question is what the SAP professional of the future looks like.
“Is our job to customize software for one company,” he asked, “or is it to help drive an AI-enabled future based on more consistent practices?”
A Shared Mandate: Close the Knowledge Gap
Across regions, one takeaway was clear: progress depends on better, clearer, and more consistent education.
“We need to move the needle from ‘slightly familiar’ to ‘I understand,’” Scott said. “That’s a huge task but it’s the work in front of us.”
For SAP customers navigating cloud, AI, and looming deadlines, the message from user group leaders is pragmatic rather than prescriptive. Transformation is happening, but it will happen at different speeds, with different tradeoffs — and only if organizations are given the time and clarity to get there.
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