The News: IBM and SAP SE are set to enhance their collaboration through the New Value Generation partnership, aiming to transform clients into next-generation enterprises using generative artificial intelligence (AI). This initiative will focus on boosting client productivity and fostering innovation through advanced generative AI capabilities and tailored cloud solutions for specific industries. Read more here.
Revolutionizing ERP: IBM and SAP’s AI-Driven Partnership Unveiled
Analyst Take: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are at a transformative crossroads, increasingly influenced by the integration of AI. Traditionally, ERP systems have been the backbone of large organizations, managing day-to-day activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, and supply chain operations. However, the digital age demands more flexibility, predictive capabilities, and efficiency from these systems. AI is stepping in to meet these demands, reshaping ERP landscapes by introducing capabilities that enhance decision-making processes, automate routine tasks, and personalize the user experience at scale.
With AI, data processing and analytics are significantly accelerated, offering real-time insights that were previously unimaginable. AI-driven ERP systems can predict trends, suggest actionable insights, and even automate complex processes without human intervention, improving operational efficiency and strategic outcomes. This evolution is crucial in a competitive market where companies must rapidly adapt to changes and make swift, informed decisions.
What Was Announced: IBM and SAP Deepen Collaboration with Generative AI
On May 8, in a joint announcement, tech giants IBM and SAP SE unveiled the next phase of their collaboration. This strategic partnership leverages generative AI to revolutionize industry-specific cloud solutions. This partnership, underpinned by decades of combined expertise in technology and domain-specific knowledge, marks a significant leap toward embedding AI deeper into the fabric of ERP systems.
IBM and SAP’s latest initiative, dubbed the New Value Generation partnership, is built on a foundation of trust and an open ecosystem, designed to empower clients by optimizing business outcomes through generative AI. This initiative reflects a shared vision to drive innovation and competitive advantage, positioning enterprises to transition into next-generation entities equipped with state-of-the-art AI capabilities.
The announcement detailed several key areas where IBM and SAP aim to accelerate digital transformation. Primarily, the focus is on infusing AI into SAP’s business processes through the RISE with SAP program, enhancing the functionality of cloud solutions across various applications. This includes financial solutions, supply chain management, human capital management, and customer experience solutions, all anchored on SAP’s Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP).
IBM plans to extend AI functionalities across SAP’s comprehensive suite of cloud solutions and applications. Initial efforts will concentrate on developing generative AI capabilities for RISE with SAP and integrating AI into existing SAP business processes. This endeavor will not only redefine current business models but also aim to establish new benchmarks in ERP capabilities.
A key point of interest is the coming availability of watsonx.ai Granite Models on SAP’s Generative AI Hub. Given the wide range of specific functions, tasks, and use cases within enterprise ERP systems, the coming availability of domain-specific large language models (LLMs) offered within the Granite Series ensures that organizations have even more choices for selecting the most appropriate enterprise-grade model for the task.
Additionally, IBM and SAP are set to pioneer next-generation business processes through a proof-of-concept adoption program that leverages SAP Signavio and SAP Business AI solutions. This will facilitate the creation of a new suite of intelligent industry use cases, from industrial manufacturing to retail, all powered by data-driven insights and integrated into end-to-end business processes to spur industry-specific innovations.
The collaborative effort also promises to develop over 100 AI solutions tailored to various industries and business functions. These solutions will be accessible globally through IBM Innovation Studios and SAP Experience Center sites, offering clients unprecedented access to cutting-edge AI resources.
Moreover, IBM revealed plans to provide next-generation reference architectures through the Value Generation initiative, enabling a ‘clean core’ approach by leveraging SAP BTP, SAP Signavio, and LeanIX solutions. These architectures will standardize data, process, system, and device integration, enhancing process orchestration and automation across the board.
Looking Ahead
The strategic deployment of AI in ERP systems represents a game-changing paradigm for both IBM and SAP. As they deepen their collaboration, the potential for transformative impacts on enterprises and their clients is immense. AI promises to refine the efficiency and effectiveness of existing ERP systems and redefine what is possible regarding scalability, adaptability, and responsiveness to market dynamics.
For IBM and SAP, AI acts as a catalyst for innovation, enabling them to offer solutions that are not just reactive but predictive and prescriptive. This approach positions them uniquely in the market, allowing them to provide unparalleled value to their clients through enhanced decision-making capabilities, improved operational efficiencies, and more personalized, user-centric products and services.
The future of ERP, powered by AI, looks toward automating processes and empowering businesses to anticipate changes and drive outcomes that align closely with their strategic objectives. Furthermore, the growing utilization of both internal and external data sources to fuel analytics, predictive, and generative AI models requires specific domain knowledge and expertise to develop next-generation processes and opportunities for deriving value from AI. As IBM and SAP continue to innovate and integrate AI into their offerings, their clients stand to benefit from these advancements, which are set to revolutionize industries by making businesses more agile, forward-thinking, and adaptive to the needs of the digital era.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
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Image Credit: IBM
Author Information
Steven engages with the world’s largest technology brands to explore new operating models and how they drive innovation and competitive edge.
Keith Kirkpatrick is Research Director, Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows for The Futurum Group. Keith has over 25 years of experience in research, marketing, and consulting-based fields.
He has authored in-depth reports and market forecast studies covering artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, robotics, high performance computing, and quantum computing, with a specific focus on the use of these technologies within large enterprise organizations and SMBs. He has also established strong working relationships with the international technology vendor community and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
In his career as a financial and technology journalist he has written for national and trade publications, including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, The Red Herring, The Communications of the ACM, and Mobile Computing & Communications, among others.
He is a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Keith holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Magazine Journalism and Sociology from Syracuse University.
