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Rohan Patel built AsInt on a conviction shaped by decades inside refineries, chemical plants, and reliability programs: integrity and inspection workflows only create value when they run directly on enterprise data, not on disconnected tools.
As Founder & CEO, he has turned that insight into a portfolio of SAP-native applications that address long-standing white space in mechanical integrity, reliability, safety, and turnaround planning. His firsthand experience with risk-based inspection, program reassessment, and reliability engineering informs AsInt’s focus on clean data, closed-loop processes, and applications that run directly on SAP BTP.
Under his leadership, AsInt has built a suite designed to eliminate redundant tools, streamline inspection and maintenance execution, and give organizations a single operational view of their assets as they move to S/4HANA.
In an interview with ASUG, Patel explains how AsInt is advancing integrity and reliability workflows within SAP and what that evolution means for organizations that rely on them.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Q: To start us off at a high level, how do you describe what AsInt does and the kinds of problems your solutions are built to solve?
Two other founders and I started working in industries like oil and gas, petrochemical, and the specialty chemical industry, developing a standalone endpoint solution. That was our 20–30 years of experience, doing that. Eventually, all the different products we developed separately, working with various companies, were connected to SAP ERP through SAP BTP. For most of these core companies, SAP is their main ERP system.
What happened is that all the transactions, notifications, work orders, tasks, all those different things have to get into the ERP. In 2016, we identified an opportunity to integrate our expertise and applications directly into the stack, rather than first developing an endpoint solution and subsequently creating a connector. This realization highlighted a clear need in the market.
Currently, our portfolio contains nearly 30 applications we’ve developed for various uses. These applications address fundamental gaps within existing solutions. When you compare SAP solutions to those from other providers, these gaps or “white spaces” become evident. Our applications address those needs, resulting in a suite we market alongside SAP.
In some cases, we go and sell directly to the client, depending on the customer demand and the requirement. All of our applications are integrated within SAP BTP and are designed to address issues related to mechanical integrity, reliability, safety, as well as shutdown and turnaround operations.
Q: From your perspective, what makes SAP such a pivotal platform for organizations looking to modernize their inspection, reliability, and integrity processes?
Over the 20 years we’ve worked as founders, we’ve seen one constant: SAP. SAP has been around for a long time. At some point, SAP introduced BTP and a customer-centric approach, which set it apart in our eyes. As an innovator, you want flexibility on the platform — being able to publish applications, maintain the same username for a seamless user experience, and deliver end-to-end value by managing all applications on a single master data set. These are essential foundations for running applications. SAP provides us with that foundation.
Now, in terms of user experience, we can utilize a UI similar to SAP applications. We can publish our apps simultaneously, view both in the Fiori Launchpad, and benefit from SAP’s security and configuration mechanisms, which we can expand with APIs and other tools. SAP offers the complete platform foundation we need.
Q: Could you walk through a specific example or use case that shows how AsInt and SAP work together to deliver value for customers?
One of our major clients is a prominent oil and gas company. Their primary requirement was to migrate from ECC to S/4 through the RISE program while consolidating multiple applications into a clean-core approach. In undertaking this application rationalization, they also aimed to modernize their data foundation by leveraging recent innovations.
These specifications were presented to SAP, and we collaborated closely on developing an equipment strategy focused on mechanical integrity, reliability, and safety. Our team worked extensively with the client to build a compelling value case, demonstrating our ability not only to harmonize data, but also to streamline their applications.
Our partnership resulted in the successful delivery of the solution and received highly positive feedback from the client. Notably, the client joined us at an SAP event to co-present our results.
Over the past 18 months, we addressed approximately 600 user stories and nearly 6,000 story points in this specific use case. While process changes are required, aligning them with an enterprise-wide digital transformation yields significant benefits.
Connect with Rohan Patel on LinkedIn.
Q: Many organizations still rely on disconnected tools for inspection and integrity work. How does bringing these workflows into S/4HANA and SAP EAM change performance, risk management, and accountability?
What we have seen is that either they have standalone software or they have an Excel spreadsheet to track this information.
With an Excel spreadsheet, there’s no way for me to easily get caught up with the ROI in that, because you’re keeping up with an Excel spreadsheet, your backend is S/4 or any other SAP ERP, and in that case, none of the notifications are created. You’re not even taking back work orders on that one.
In the case of people who actually have software, they attempt to build a connector, but then a software update happens, and those connectors fail. That’s where we see that people are over- spending. And where they really need to spend, they’re not spending because they don’t have the right information.
What we do day in and day out is reduce the gap between these systems. At AsInt, one of our core principles is maintaining all applications on a unified master data foundation. If an asset exists in APM, and that same asset exists in S/4 or any ERP system, we ensure they are connected through a single source of truth. This gives you a consistent, synchronized view of your assets across every application.
Any notification, work order, task, or any maintenance activities you see here, I can see the same one-to-one in the application. The next thing we do is apply the strategy on the same equipment. For example, even if we create some sort of component underneath that equipment, like parent and children, we attach all those notifications and bubble them up to the parent. Now you still see the full picture.
Q: Closed-loop processes are often described as essential for effective integrity and reliability management. When everything is working the way it should, what does that closed-loop workflow look like inside SAP?
We enable end users to view notifications and work orders directly from the ERP system, helping prevent the creation of duplicate notifications or work orders. Additionally, the application offers full functionality for creating new notifications. By introducing this comprehensive suite of applications called Maintenance and Planning, we streamline operations by importing all strategies, notifications, and work orders into a unified repository. Furthermore, financial information can also be integrated into the respective module, supporting efficient management and oversight.
Q: How does being SAP-native—not just SAP-integrated—improve data quality, user experience, and operational decision-making?
Certainly. SAP offers the Fiori Launchpad, enhancing our user interface and user experience. As an SAP partner, this significantly facilitates our rapid application development efforts. Should SAP integrate Databricks, we would be able to incorporate it into our applications as a foundational component.
Presently, as SAP integrates foundation AI, we are already situated within the application stack and can leverage this AI in our solutions. However, it remains essential to adhere to the clean-core concept.
Q: AI remains a major topic across asset-intensive industries. How does AI fit into the work AsInt is doing today, and how do you see it influencing your products and services going forward?
AsInt is actively advancing in multiple areas with artificial intelligence. Our approach is measured; rather than simply claiming to have created an AI product, we emphasize that we are integrating AI capabilities across all of our products.
For instance, the American Petroleum Institute provides numerous standards, such as API 580, 571, and 579, which outline the requirements for site operations. Our IntelliSuite mobile application, which interfaces directly with SAP BTP and all our software solutions, has recently implemented new AI features.
Now, during field inspections, users can scan a vessel and leverage embedded AI/ML technology to identify potential mechanisms by analyzing images or photographs taken on-site. We continue to refine our prompts and enhance our models through training with thousands of images.
Q: How can SAP’s data models, analytics, and integration capabilities help executives better quantify integrity risk, optimize OPEX, and make more informed investment decisions?
It is essential for all C-level executives to have a reliable foundation for decision-making. Often, this is lacking due to disparate systems within organizations. Our approach addresses this challenge by establishing a cohesive foundational layer, collaborating with SAP, and providing comprehensive API access. We also make our data model publicly available, enabling clients who use SAP Cloud Analytics to seamlessly retrieve APIs from both our platform and S/4. We have developed targeted user personas to identify key analytics needs, such as determining the top 10 critical assets, frequently failing equipment, and leading inspectors. Our analytics strategy is twofold: we utilize SAP Analytics Cloud as our primary platform while supporting integration with Power BI and Snowflake. Where beneficial to users, we incorporate in-app analytics to enhance value across various platforms.
Q: Looking ahead, which innovations within the SAP ecosystem do you think will have the biggest impact on asset-intensive industries, and where do you see AsInt contributing to that evolution?
One of our primary objectives within the foundation is to drive increased innovation—a focus we have already initiated, with related announcements scheduled for Q1 2026. I recently evaluated the application’s root-cause analysis features developed by our team, which currently include the why-why method and the fishbone method. These analytical tools are being further enhanced. Additionally, a fitness-for-service initiative is planned for announcement next year.
Visit the AsInt website.
Q: Is there anything we haven’t touched on that you think deserves attention? What stood out to you from SAP TechEd and ASUG Tech Connect?
One of the key challenges identified pertains to the adoption rate of SAP S/4, which has been slower than anticipated. This delay can be attributed to the extent of customization implemented. We are actively seeking innovative strategies to facilitate a more efficient and effective adoption process. I have tasked the steering committee with the objective of accelerating and enhancing adoption outcomes.
Regarding TechEd and Tech Connect, I was highly enthusiastic about the events. The announcement from Databricks was particularly noteworthy and warrants further exploration. Additionally, I participated in a Google session focused on AI and the introduction of a new SAP connector. SAP unveiled approximately 33 AI-related initiatives, while Microsoft discussed plans to integrate SAP functionalities within Teams.
Engagements at the booth provided valuable opportunities for discussions with customers. Attendance at such events underscores the strong connectivity within the professional community — insights that might otherwise remain unappreciated.