Podcasts about asug

At ASUG Tech Connect 2025, Jon Reed, Josh Greenbaum, and ASUG CEO/Chief Community Champion Geoff Scott took the hot seats for 30 minutes of "ask us anything" audience questions on the show floor. We kick off the podcast with reactions to the show, before turning it over to a series of very sharp audience questions from customers, including issues of data licensing/access, and SAP public cloud ERP and industry readiness. ASUG Talks Senior Producer, Jim Lichtenwalter, also had top submitted questions from attendees ready for us as well (look out for a follow-on podcast with more of those questions in the new year). Note: this on-site podcast was an ASUG-diginomica collaboration, originally released as part of the ASUG Talks podcast series. ASUG produced this podcast audio.

At ASUG Tech Connect 2025, Jon Reed, Josh Greenbaum, and ASUG CEO/Chief Community Champion Geoff Scott took the hot seats for 30 minutes of "ask us anything" audience questions on the show floor. We kick off the podcast with reactions to the show, before turning it over to a series of very sharp audience questions from customers, including issues of data licensing/access, and SAP public cloud ERP and industry readiness. ASUG Talks Senior Producer, Jim Lichtenwalter, also had top submitted questions from attendees ready for us as well (look out for a follow-on podcast with more of those questions in the new year). Note: this on-site podcast was an ASUG-diginomica collaboration, originally released as part of the ASUG Talks podcast series. ASUG produced this podcast audio.

Leaders from the global SAP user groups DSAG, UKISUG, and ASUG joined the podcast this week to discuss the findings from the annual collaborative research projects the communities undertake. The three leaders not only discussed the similarities in SAP priorities, investments, and hurdles among their members, but they also parsed the differences in response among the global user groups. Key InsightsThe knowledge gap surrounding licensing of certain SAP solutionsThe split between private and public cloud environments among the global communitiesSecurity and customization concerns Related InsightsGains insights from SaskPower around its five SAP migration projectsDive into ASUG's recent change management and SAP Signavio research

In a special episode of ASUG Talks, we dive into several of clips from ASUG Talks episodes published throughout the year, covering topics ranging from cloud environments to IT professional development. Join us this week to hear clips from some of the podcast's most popular 2025 episodes. Episodes Included: SAP's Thomas Saueressig on Public and Private Cloud, Enterprise Architecture, and AI IntegrationASUG Talks Roundtable: Inside ASUG's SAP S/4HANA Adoption ResearchHow Precision Drilling Drives Improved Asset Maintenance with SAP S/4HANAASUG Talks Customer Success Story: How SA Power Networks Managed a Dual SAP S/4HANA MigrationASUG Talks Executive Interview: Philipp Herzig, Chief Technology Officer at SAPASUG Talks Roundtable: The Changing Role of Enterprise Architects in UtilitiesSAP's Irfan Khan on SAP Business Data Cloud's Impact and Future DevelopmentASUG Talks Roundtable: How Agentic AI is Reshaping the SAP EcosystemAdvice from ASUG Board Members: Building Resilient IT Careers in the Age of AIIf you have any comments (or pitches) for ASUG Talks Senior Producer, Jim Lichtenwalter, please email him at jim.lichtenwalter@asug.com. Related InsightsJoin the ASUG Communities team on Dec. 3 for a break down of the top insights from ASUG Tech Connect

In this live episodes of ASUG Talks, we answered your questions. ASUG CEO and Chief Community Champion Geoff Scott was joined by analysts Jon Reed and Joshua Greenbaum for an "ask me anything session." The three fielded questions submitted by conference attendees throughout the week, along with questions asked by the live audience. Key Topics: The interoperability of SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) with non-SAP data ecosystems Industry-specific challenges barring organizations to adopted "vanilla" ERP systems without much customization How public cloud environments free enterprises to focus on IT innovationRelated Content:Read our exclusive interview with Tim Way, VP and Chief Product Officer, Business AI Product Engineering at SAP America

This week on ASUG Talks, Isaac Feldberg, Senior Editor at ASUG, joins the podcast to discuss SAP TechEd and ASUG Tech Connect. These events share many of the same topics and themes--specifically focused on SAP developers and solutions like SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC). On the podcast, we chat through our biggest takeaways and what some of the main announcements from SAP TechEd mean for SAP customers. Key Topics: The place of both generative and agentic AI in the SAP ecosystem The announcement of SAP's foundation model built specifically for structured business data: SAP RPT-1Key customer stories from ASUG Tech Connect Related Content: Read Isaac's coverage of ASUG Tech Connect and SAP TechEdGain insights from  Etosha Thurman, Chief Marketing Officer for Finance and Spend Management at SAP

 During a special episode of ASUG Talks recorded live at the recent Dallas-Forth Worth ASUG Chapter Meeting, Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion was joined by a panel of current and former ASUG board members: Jamie Lee, Tony Caesar, and Craig Dalziel. The group focused on a timely and critical topic:  future-proofing IT careers.  With advances in AI changing the ways enterprises work and shifts in the industry job markets, it has never been more important for IT professionals to take steps to ensure they are continually improving their skillsets and expanding their knowledge base.  Key Topics:   The need for knowledge workers to effectively leverage AIThe importance of networking and building meaningful professional relationships Understanding the business needs and using AI to meet those needs.  Related Insights:  Tune into an exclusive interview with SAP executive board member Thomas Saueressig: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saps-thomas-saueressig-on-public-and-private-cloud/id1613357106?i=1000733593928

Subscribe to ASUG Talks on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Spotify. While moving to SAP S/4HANA is top of mind for SAP users, many are unsure how to proceed. According to the 2025 ASUG Pulse of the SAP Customer Research, 47% are citing the move as a top challenge in 2025. Another 56% indicate that SAP S/4HANA skills are the most important to have this year—whether they have the talent on their team or not. Now that numerous enterprises have successfully transitioned to the platform, best practices have been tried, tested, and are poised to help those who are ready.In this episode of ASUG Talks, Dr. Uwe Grigoleit, SVP of Customer Evolution at SAP, joins the podcast to share actionable advice for getting started on the ERP transformation journey. He guides listeners through decisions like Brownfield versus Greenfield transition, tapping AI for the heavy lifting on master data integration, and how AI tools from SAP help with testing new processes. Key Insights:Tangible steps for getting ahead of the 2027 end-of-maintenance date for SAP Business Suite 7 and SAP ECC 6Business transformation best practicesThe role of AI in testing automations, guiding decisions, and integrating with vendorsRelated Insights: ASUG Talks recent conversation with Dee Houchen, CMO of SAP Signaio and LeanIX: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/key-erp-innovation-insights-from-the-sap/id1613357106?i=1000728934206Read insights about the latest SAP S/4HANA research from ASUG and BearingPoint: https://www.asug.com/insights/sap-s-4hana-adoption-trends-insights-and-advice

⇨ Industry Era calls Carter one of the top 10 SAP experts in the world."⇨ CRN named Carter and Approyo one of the "Top 10 Cloud Providers to watch," a⇨ Mirror Review also selected Carter as "One of the Top 20 Business Leaders to Follow in SAP" ⇨ Entrepreneur Magazine calls Carter the “Best thing to ever happen to Approyo.”⇨ Magnate View Magazine called Carter one of the top "5 Most advanced Cloud solution providers."Entrepreneurs come to Carter and his companies, Approyo, MugatuAI, Charging Bunny, etc., looking for the answers to questions like:1) How can my business migrate to SAP?2) How can we save time and money with this migration?3) How can my business become stronger on S/4?As such, these firms have the great fortune of helping SAP-run companies achieve "Faster, stronger, more stable company" status.✔️ Scale your SAP landscape while reducing complex code and staff✔️ Generate a S/4 upgrade scenario with a team of experts✔️ Increase productivity while reducing cost and complexity And many more...Since 2011, Carter's has worked with companies in over 55+ different industries. His advice has been featured in Inc., Forbes, ASUG.com, TechTarget, Entrepreneur, CRN, and many other publications around the world. Connect with Chris here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-carter-885159/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086318521186https://www.instagram.com/christophermcartertechceo/www.Approyo.comDon't forget to register for our "LinkedIn Client Journey" Workshop here:https://www.thetimetogrow.com/the-linkedin-client-journey-workshop

 Efficiency and safety are critical components of oil and gas operations. As the SAP portfolio expands and evolves, how is the software company still arming its OGE customers with solutions and offerings that enable efficiency and safety?  Ahead of their session at ASUG Best Practices (Oct. 6-8; register here) oil and gas industry leaders Justin Lester and Bob Pennington sat down with ASUG Talks to discuss the changing world of IT in this field. Given their collective experience, the two veterans charted how OGE operations have changed, and how SAP is factoring into many enterprises' IT operations. Key Insights: The importance of correct data input in oil and gas operationsTraining the next generation of oil and gas IT professionalsHow AI factors into oil and gas operations Related Insights: ASUG Talks recent interview with Jan Gilg,  Chief Revenue Officer & President for SAP Americas and the SAP Global Business Suite organization, about the state of cloud, AI, and enterprise architecture in the SAP ecosystem. ASUG Editorial team covered the highlights from the SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG conference.Join the ASUG Communities on Sept. 16 for a session focused on the SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC). 

ASUG is set to kick off its fall conference season, hosting three events aimed at helping attendees make the most of their SAP investments: SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG; ASUG Best Practices; and ASUG Tech Connect.Ahead of these events, ASUG Talks sat down with the three ASUG programmers tasked with creating the agendas for the conferences and ensuring the content and insights present at these three events are meaningful and impactful:Kara Hughes, Director of Product Strategy – ExperiencesLauren Milligan, Senior Associate ProducerAlyssa Perna, Content ProducerThe three broke down these upcoming conferences, highlighting crucial sessions, topics, and opportunities.You can learn more about (and register for) the ASUG 2025 Fall Conferences here:SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUGASUG Best PracticesASUG Tech Connect

As the summer winds down, fall event season is about to heat up, with a slew of events from SAP (and SAP's biggest competitors). But what do customers need from SAP right now? And can fall events deliver on that? How do you get what your team needs from hectic events, without getting lost in the vendor narrative? It's time for another SAP-in-review podcast with Jon Reed, Josh Greenbaum, and Geoff Scott, CEO of ASUG. The podcast kicks off by assessing what we learned since SAP Sapphire, and where SAP may be headed next. Then we shift into fall event discussions, including a review of ASUG's upcoming events and a very intriguing SAP Connect event. We also get into the need for SAP business case development, particularly for technical SAP leadership, and how that has evolved into a new workshop for ASUG Tech Connect in November. This is mostly a US-centric event review, but we recommend listeners also check in with their international events and user groups, including: DSAG's Annual Conference: https://dsag-jahreskongress.plazz.net/ UKISUG Connect 2025: https://www.ukisugconnect.co.uk/

As the summer winds down, fall event season is about to heat up, with a slew of events from SAP (and SAP's biggest competitors). But what do customers need from SAP right now? And can fall events deliver on that? How do you get what your team needs from hectic events, without getting lost in the vendor narrative? It's time for another SAP-in-review podcast with Jon Reed, Josh Greenbaum, and Geoff Scott, CEO of ASUG. The podcast kicks off by assessing what we learned since SAP Sapphire, and where SAP may be headed next. Then we shift into fall event discussions, including a review of ASUG's upcoming events and a very intriguing SAP Connect event. We also get into the need for SAP business case development, particularly for technical SAP leadership, and how that has evolved into a new workshop for ASUG Tech Connect in November. This is mostly a US-centric event review, but we recommend listeners also check in with their international events and user groups, including: DSAG's Annual Conference: https://dsag-jahreskongress.plazz.net/ UKISUG Connect 2025: https://www.ukisugconnect.co.uk/

Organizations have contended with several "black swan" events in recent years, severely interrupting global supply chains, including the COVID-19 pandemic, global conflicts, trade route disruptions, and now the specter of tariffs. These events have put massive strain on supply chains, increasing prices. Recently at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, SAP used the example of tariffs as a way to demonstrate how its integrated business suite can help customers contend with business disruptions. This week on ASUG Talks, we dive deep into this topic, examining the role SAP solutions can play as enterprises seeks to bolster their supply chains, and prepare for the next inevitable disruption. Two supply chain experts--John Buckley, Consumer Product Industry Advisor at SAP; and  Ron Gilson, Executive Advisor and Principal of Consumer Products and Agribusiness at NTT DATA--join the podcast to cover the ways supply chains have changed, and how listeners can take steps to improve them.  Key Insights How organizations can (and should) respond to supply chain disruptionsSAP's approach to developing solutions meeting its customers supply chain needsThe importance of integrated business planning as a process Related InsightsRead how Brent Potts, Senior Director of Global Marketing for Oil, Gas, and Energy at SAP, is seeing the industry change to embrace energy diversification. Join ASUG on Aug. 28 for a customer influence opportunity focused on data privacy in the SAP HANA database

In episode 255 of our SAP on Azure video podcast we talk about ASUG with Geoff Scott. In my role as a product manager, I try to stay in contact with customers as much as possible. On the one hand I can help customers get started with new innovations, but I also get to learn and hear their feedback. So at the last Sapphire it was great for me to see, that Geoff Scott, CEO of ASUG, the American SAP User Group, was on stage during the keynote of Thomas Saueressig. Geoff has always great insights when it comes to customers and I am glad that we have him back on our show. Find all the links mentioned here: https://www.saponazurepodcast.de/episode255Reach out to us for any feedback / questions:* Goran Condric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gorancondric/* Holger Bruchelt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holger-bruchelt/ #Microsoft #SAP #Azure #SAPonAzure #ASUG

ASUG recently collaborated with Intel and Microsoft to examine two of the hottest topics in the SAP ecosystem: cloud migration and AI adoption. As SAP continues spurring its customer base to embrace the cloud, citing next-generation AI solutions as a critical benefit to this shift, this research sheds light into how the cloud environments ASUG members are choosing, and what processes they are using AI solutions to improve. Blake Baltazar, ASUG Senior Project & Research Analyst, and Marissa Gilbert, ASUG Research Director, join ASUG Talks this week to break down this research and its key findings. Key InsightsWhat factors drive cloud adoption The cost ASUG members reported paying for their cloud services What AI solutions respondents are leveragingRelated Resources Read ASUG's SAP S/4HANA focused research and listen to a recent podcast with the ASUG research team on the key findings. Read how Carhartt leveraged SAP Commerce Cloud to modernize its global commerce infrastructure. Join ASUG on Aug. 20 for an Ask Me Anything Community Conversation on SAP Process Integration & Orchestration (PI/PO). 

In North America, the utilities industry is contending with shifting customer expectations, growing power demands, and changing technology infrastructure. With the growing importance of AI and cloud solutions, the role of enterprise architects is altering in utility companies.Ahead of their session focused on EAs in utilities at SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG, Marc Rosson, EA at Snohomish County PUD, and Martin Mysyk, Senior EA at SAP Canada, join ASUG Talks for a conversation about this changing job. We dive into how SAP is supporting EAs in the utilities space, along with ways organizations to empower and train the next generation of EAs.Key TopicsMajor challenges faced by EAs in utilitiesHow the industry's changes are impact the roleThe importance of upskilling and reskilling EAs to meet demand.Related Insights and ResourcesCheck out the ASUG Content Collection "SAP Enterprise Architecture Fundamentals" for resources aimed at EAs. Learn how Gina Vargiu-Breuer, Chief People Officer and Labor Director at SAP, approaches SAP's growth strategy.Join the ASUG Communities team on Aug. 14 for a deep dive session focused on Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP) on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP).Register to recieve the monthly The Topic:  Utilities newsletter from ASUG. 

SAP S/4HANA officially released 10 years ago. In that decade, SAP has not only encouraged its customer base to embrace the next-generation ERP platform, but it also spurred widespread cloud migration. The ASUG research team has monitored the adoption of both S/4HANA and cloud environments for several years. In this year's research, sponsored by BearingPoint, they found continued adoption of both S/4HANA and cloud environments among the ASUG membership. Marissa Gilbert, ASUG Research Director, and Blake Baltazar, Senior Project & Research Analyst, join ASUG Talks to discuss the research and the trends they are seeing. Key InsightsYear-over-year S/4HANA adoption trends observed by ASUG research Insights into cloud environment adoption RISE and GROW with SAP adoption rates, and factors spurring organizations to leverage these offerings. Related ContentRead more about SAP's recent acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a human resources solution, as a way to bolster SAP SuccessFactors HCM functions.Tune into an ASUG Community Conversation on Aug. 5 focused on demystifying SAP's integration landscape.  

SAP hosted its quarterly financial results call last week. The first since the litany of announcements the software company made at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference in May, the event covered SAP's continuing focus on cloud adoption and innovative AI strategies. But, in keeping with its most recent messaging, SAP also continued articulating how its software can help organizations deal with current economic headwinds. Jim Lichtenwalter, Senior Producer of ASUG Podcasts, is joined by Isaac Feldberg, Senior Editor at ASUG, to discuss the earnings results and what they means for ASUG members. Key Insights: SAP's strong financial growth in Q2, despite uncertain economic conditionsNew customers leveraging SAP productsSAP's new efforts in China Related Insights Check out the full ASUG editorial breakdown of the financial results Listen to the last ASUG Talks News Brief, recorded at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual ConferenceJoin the ASUG Communities team on July 31 for an "Ask Me Anything" session on demystifying AI 

AI is innovating at a rapid rate. After generative AI took the ERP ecosystem--and the larger tech industry--by storm in recent years, agentic AI is quickly capturing the attention of the community. It makes sense, as the capabilities enabled by agentic AI solutions are staggering. And SAP is introducing agentic-infused solutions, further enabling its customers. But what exactly IS agentic AI? What can it accomplish for users? In the latest ASUG Talks Roundtable, host Jim Lichtenwalter is rejoined by AI thought leaders, Paul Modderman, Founding AI Engineer at Nova Intelligence; and Anurag Barua, Transformation Leader at SAP. The three build on their previous conversation (focused on generative AI) and dive deep into the development and utility of agentic AI. Key TopicsPractical applications of agentic AI Measures enterprises can take to mitigate data hallucinations The role SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) has in enable agentic AI solutions Around the ASUG Ecosystem Register for the ASUG Community Conversation Business Transformation Management: Making the Case for Change—and Proving It on July 24. 

Dive into a recent collaborative research project conducted by ASUG and SAP focused on one of the chief focuses (and challenges) for ASUG Members: integration. Members of the ASUG Research Team, Blake Baltazar and Marissa Gilbert, join ASUG Talks host Jim Lichtenwalter to go over the second iteration of this research, specific trends they are seeing, and how ASUG Members are approaching their integration strategies. Key Topics: Integration challenges respondents reportedChanges from last year's research How the 2027 deadline is impacting organizations' integeration effortsRelated content: Join us for an ASUG Community conversation on July 22 focused on the difference between private and public cloud versions of SAP S/4HANARead insights from ASUG's recent conversation with Balaji Balasubramanian, President and Chief Product Officer, SAP CX and Consumer Industries, about the growing impact of AI

Conducting a single SAP S/4HANA digital transformation is complicated enough. In this episode of ASUG Talks, we sat down with Travis Smith, Principal SAP Enterprise Architect at SA Power Networks. The Australian utility company tackled TWO RISE with SAP projects at the same time. Travis walks ASUG Talks through just how.Key Insights:The reasoning for a dual digital transformation and how SA Power Networks managed such a projectWays the organization obtained stakeholder buy-in for this digital transformation projectSA Power Networks' integration strategyRelated Resources:ASUG Fall Conferences are gearing up. Join us for the following events:SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG: Sept. 8-10 in Denver, CO.ASUG Best Practices for Oil, Gas, and Energy: Oct. 6-8 in Houston, TXASUG Tech Connect: Nov. 4-6 in Louisville, KYListen to ASUG Talks' interview with the authors of “SAP Business Technology Platform,” a recent SAP Press release

In this latest ASUG Talks roundtable, we dive deep into the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). The solution helps SAP customers tackle a variety of functions. But where should users begin?We are joined by the authors of the SAP Press publication SAP Business Technology Platform :  Smitha BandaShibaji ChandraChun Aun GooiThey cover how enterprises can begin successfully leveraging SAP BTP and laid out some of the most interesting use cases featured in the publication.  Related Resources Learn how Woodstream Corporation approached its SAP S/4HANA implementation. Read our interview with CIO  Melissa Oldfield.Gain insights from SAP President of Cloud ERP, David Robinsion around the evolving SAP cloud ERP stategy. Listen to his thoughts. 

At the end of the first official day of SAP Sapphire Orlando 2025, we taped a live podcast at the ASUG Hub with questions from the audience. On the mic: Jon Reed, your host, ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and analyst Josh Greenbaum. We gave our instant keynote reactions, and discussed the topics SAP needs to address to deliver for users - at Sapphire and also beyond. Audience questions kept this one spicy, including a surprise question from Constellation analyst Holger Mueller, who was passing through the show floor. Note: this on-site podcast was a diginomica-ASUG collaboration, originally released as part of the ASUG Talks podcast series. ASUG produced this podcast audio.

At the end of the first official day of SAP Sapphire Orlando 2025, we taped a live podcast at the ASUG Hub with questions from the audience. On the mic: Jon Reed, your host, ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and analyst Josh Greenbaum. We gave our instant keynote reactions, and discussed the topics SAP needs to address to deliver for users - at Sapphire and also beyond. Audience questions kept this one spicy, including a surprise question from Constellation analyst Holger Mueller, who was passing through the show floor. Note: this on-site podcast was a diginomica-ASUG collaboration, originally released as part of the ASUG Talks podcast series. ASUG produced this podcast audio.

In the final episode recorded live at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, ASUG Talks focuses on SAP cloud offerings. David Robinson, President of Cloud ERP at SAP, sat down with Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion for a conversation around SAP's evolving cloud strategy. With over two decades of experience at SAP, Robinson has been crucial in the development of this strategy, along with his role in the RISE with SAP launch.   Key TakeawaysHow RISE with SAP can fits into the SAP Cloud ERP strategy Addressing skepticism about RISE, and how the offering can help customers set a foundation for innovation Insights into SAP's "suite first" mentalityRelated InsightsRead our interview with SAP leaders--Deepti Patil, Senior Product Manager with SAP Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Customer Communication and Relations Team; and Tim Steuer, Vice President of SAP ALM--about the importance of adopting a clean core mentality, especially as you set a foundation to innovate.  Join us on June 26 for a Community Conversation focused on the state of the Public Services industry. 

As SAP customers migrate to the cloud, cybersecurity is a critical component of those transformation projects. Moving your IT ecosystem and sensitive organizational data from bare-metal, on-premises environments into the cloud requires a dedicated security approach, especially as threat actors' efforts grow more sophisticated.In this ASUG Talks Roundtable, we dig into how enterprises should approach cybersecurity in the cloud. ASUG Talks host, Jim Lichtenwalter, is joined by the authors of the SAP Press publication Cybersecurity for SAP:   Gaurav SinghJuan Perez-Etchegoyen Key TakeawaysInitial steps enterprises should take when securing their cloud migrationsThe importance of adopting a shared responsibility security modelThe cybersecurity benefits of RISE with SAPRelated InsightsJoin the ASUG Communities team on June 17 for a Community Conversation focused on the business transformation management announcements that came out of SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference.Learn Zeon Chemicals' insights from its RISE with SAP project.Dive into Stefan Steinle, leader of SAP's Customer Support & Cloud Lifecycle Management organization, thoughts on how AI is impacting the SAP support strategy.

In the second live episode recorded at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, Marissa Gilbert, ASUG Research Director, moderates a panel featuring several ASUG leaders: Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion Kris Cowles, ASUG Board MemberBrendan Verni,  ASUG Board Member Using recent ASUG research as a foundation for the conversation, the group dives into the main focuses, investments, and hurdles relating to SAP technology and adoption as reported by ASUG members.  Key Takeaways How enterprises are keeping abreast of the incredible pace of change and innovation in the SAP ecosystem Making sense of the consumption-based credit system that enables SAP customers to leverage SAP AI solutions The importance of prioritizing data governance as enterprises approach cybersecurity Related Insights Join ASUG on June 12 for a Community Conversation focused on the AI announcements and insights from SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual ConferenceRead our recap of the post-keynote Q&A for news outlets and analysts featuring Christian Klein, Muhammad Alum, and Philipp  Herzig  Listen to Philipp Herzig articulate his vision for SAP's AI strategy and roadmap in a recent episode of ASUG Talks

The first in a series of special ASUG Talks episodes recorded in the ASUG booth at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, we turn the mics towards the audience. Jon Reed, Co-Founder of diginomica, leads a brief conversation with Geoff Scott, CEO &  Chief Community Champion of ASUG, and Joshua Greenbaum, Principal of Enterprise Applications Consulting, on the event's first keynote. The three discuss their thoughts about the announcements unveiled at the address, before answering questions from the live audience.  Key Insights The three thought-leaders' thoughts and reactions to the keynote featuring SAP  executives unveiling new SAP software capabilities  Benefits of the public cloud options for SAP customers How ASUG approaches bringing feedback from its members to SAP Related Resources  Read our recap of the day one and two keynotes addresses at SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference, and how the announcements impact customersListen to the ASUG Editorial team's immediate reactions and responses to the event's keynote addresses Register for a series of ASUG Community Conversations unpacking insights and announcements from SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference

Two seasoned executive coaches, Carolyn Dolezal and Kate Leto, share candid insights on the realities of executive leadership and how to truly earn the trust and confidence of your team and stakeholders. They debunk common myths and explore how personal agendas can undermine leadership effectiveness, while offering practical advice for building influence even when the odds aren't in your favor.The conversation also covers how to recover from early leadership missteps and develop the skills needed to lead authentically at the highest levels. Whether you're already in the C-suite or aspiring to get there, their expert guidance will transform your approach to leadership starting today.Resources from this episode:Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletterConnect with Carolyn and Kate on LinkedInCheck out ASUG and Kate's website

ASUG Talks breaks down the major announcements from SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual conference. Jim Lichtenwalter, ASUG Talks Host, is joined by Isaac Feldberg, Senior Content Manager at ASUG, for a special news brief recorded at the conference. Following the second major keynote address delivered by SAP executive leadership, the two dive into the major announcements made at the event and what these updates mean for SAP customers.  Key Topics Discussed  SAP's suite approach to applications and expansion of JouleThe new generative and agentic AI offerings announced How SAP positioned its offerings as a means to combat tariffs  Related Resource:  Listen to ASUG's exclusive interview with Philipp  Herzig,  SAP Chief Technology OfficerTune into an exclusive discussion with Jeff Suellentrop,  Chief Information & Technology Officer of Phoenix Global, who sat down with ASUG Talks before joining SAP on the keynote stageRead ASUG's conversation with Jan Gilg,  Chief Revenue Officer & President for SAP Americas and the SAP Global Business Suite organizationDive into our breakdown of the recent SAP Q1 2025 earnings call

In an exclusive interview with ASUG Talks, Dr. Philipp Herzig, SAP Chief Technology Officer, discusses the talk of the SAP ecosystem:  artificial intelligence. The constantly-evolving technology is steadily becoming a critical component of the software company's offerings, with SAP working to embed AI capabilities across its entire suite of solutions. Ahead of SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference 2025, Herzig sat down with Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion, for a wide-ranging discussion about the place AI holds in the SAP ecosystem and how he is working to further enable SAP customers to embrace the technology.  Key Insights How Herzig is specifically driving SAP's goal of being the “number one business AI company”Specific examples of how SAP is embedding AI capabilities across its entire portfolioThe vision for SAP Business Data Cloud and how it empowers enterprises to embrace AI solutions Related Resources Read ASUG's exclusive interview with Jan Gilg,  Chief Revenue Officer & President for SAP Americas and the SAP Global Business Suite organizationExpand your AI knowledge with the ASUG  Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals and SAP AI Solutions Content CollectionListen to ASUG Director of Strategic Topics and Communities, Kelly Dowling, on a recent episode of the Women in ERP Podcast, where she discusses her work building and empowering the ASUG community Listen to more ASUG TalksJeff Suellentrop, Chief Information & Technology Officer at Phoenix Global, joins the podcast to walk through his organization's recent GROW with SAP projectAndre Bechtold,  President of SAP Industries & Experiences, lays out how SAP approaches technology innovation and building the next generation of SAP professionalsGeoff Scott is joined by two members of the ASUG Board-- Mark LeClair and Craig Dalziel--to break down the SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) release and Databricks partnership 

Enterprise Architecture is about to become more intelligent. Join us in Orlando to see how! An XTraw AI episode preview to AI-First Architecture, your Blueprint for Intelligent Enterprise Transformation. Hear how we plan to embed AI natively into Enterprise Architecture Get a preview of frameworks and AI patterns, and real business use casesDiscover how tools like Joule, LeanIX, Signavio, BTP etc., will help EAs move from strategy to execution

What exactly does a GROW with SAP project look like?  ASUG Talks digs deep into this question during a conversation with Jeff Suellentrop, Chief Information & Technology Officer at Phoenix Global, a metals and mining services company. In an effort to jumpstart AI innovation and eliminate technical debt, the enterprise chose GROW with SAP to help facilitate its implementation of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. During the discussion, Jeff walks listeners through:   Why GROW with SAP was the best option for Phoenix Global's digital transformation project and IT ecosystemHow the team overcame specific hurdles during the go-liveAdvice for listeners about to embark on their own GROW with SAP project Check out these ASUG resources mentioned in the episode to stay up-to-date on what's happening around the SAP ecosystem:   2025 ASUG Pulse of the SAP Customer Research: Gain insights into the top focus areas and challenges reported by 787 ASUG Members.ASUG Talks Executive Interview: Andre Bechtold, SAP: Listen to Andre's conversation with Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion, about how SAP is encouraging a culture of innovation and learning—both internally and among its customers.  

While visiting the SAP global headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion Geoff Scott recently sat down with Andre Bechtold, President of SAP Industries & Experiences. As the software company looks to spur continued innovation, Bechtold focuses on building memorable customer experiences. Through his work with the SAP Experience Centers, Bechtold helps SAP embrace new, cutting-edge practices to help their customers meet modern challenges. During this conversation, Scott and Bechtold covered: ·      How SAP approaches technology innovation ·      Bechtold's thoughts on leveraging AI to assist with upskilling and reskilling ·      Building the next generation of SAP professionalsBe sure to check out these ASUG resources to stay up-to-date on what's going on around the SAP ecosystem: ·      ASUG coverage of the SAP Q1 2025 financial results: Despite uncertain economic conditions, SAP CEO Christian Klein touted key growth in total revenue and cloud revenue. Read our full coverage—and what it means for SAP customers. ·      ASUG and SAP Integration Research: This collaborative project examined how respondents approach developing and enacting integration strategies. Overall, the research teams found that ASUG members are devoting necessary resources to jumpstart integration practices at higher rates. Learn more. 

With SAP Sapphire and the ASUG Annual Conference right around the corner, Jon Reed reconvened with analyst Josh Greenbaum and ASUG CEO Geoff Scott for a two part podcast. Part one: a review of SAP's ambitious Business Data Cloud announcement, what we've learned since the launch news, and the open questions heading into Orlando. Then we shift into a discussion of why so many customers have brought up the need for cloud/modernization business cases - and ways to bridge that vexing/persistent IT/business gap. We discuss the customer feedback we've received so far, and Greenbaum and Reed share their plans for an ASUG workshop on this topic in May, and why we think this issue is gaining momentum. Listeners are encouraged to chime in on how this lines up with their SAP migration plans/questions/concerns, and what other resources and discussions they want to see on this topic.

With SAP Sapphire and the ASUG Annual Conference right around the corner, Jon Reed reconvened with analyst Josh Greenbaum and ASUG CEO Geoff Scott for a two part podcast. Part one: a review of SAP's ambitious Business Data Cloud announcement, what we've learned since the launch news, and the open questions heading into Orlando. Then we shift into a discussion of why so many customers have brought up the need for cloud/modernization business cases - and ways to bridge that vexing/persistent IT/business gap. We discuss the customer feedback we've received so far, and Greenbaum and Reed share their plans for an ASUG workshop on this topic in May, and why we think this issue is gaining momentum. Listeners are encouraged to chime in on how this lines up with their SAP migration plans/questions/concerns, and what other resources and discussions they want to see on this topic.

In this latest episode, Geoff Scott, of ASUG, rejoins Mustansir Saifuddin to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of AI within the SAP ecosystem, specifically focusing on the impact of partnerships like SAP and Microsoft's collaboration on Copilot and Joule. Listen in as we explore how these advancements will shape enterprise operations in 2025 and beyond, and why you can't afford to ignore this technological shift.to discuss what is required for businesses to be successful with Gen AI as they prepare for the future.  Geoff Scott, is CEO and Chief Community Officer of ASUG, believes that the connections ASUG makes for our members have the potential to become career-defining relationships that inspire innovation and success for their organizations. His forward-thinking leadership prioritizes helping our members make the most of their investment in SAP technologies. To that end, Geoff works closely with customers, members, the SAP Executive Board, and the extensive partner ecosystem to amplify the voice of the SAP customer.   Past positions include CIO for TOMS Shoes, where he led the implementation of SAP: CIO at JBS; and senior leadership positions at Ford Motor Company. Before becoming CEO, Geoff was an ASUG member and served on the board. Geoff has served on several philanthropic boards and is the founding member of the Denver CIO Executive Council.  Connect with Us: LinkedIn Mustansir Saifuddin Innovative Solution Partners  X:  @gscott16 @MmsaifuddinYouTube or learn more about our sponsor Innovative Solution Partners to schedule a free consultation.    Episode Transcript: [00:00:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: Welcome to Tech Driven Business, brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. I'm honored to have Jeff Scott, CEO of as a, rejoin me to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of AI within the SAP ecosystem, specifically focusing on the impact of partnerships like SAP and Microsoft's collaboration on copilot and Joule. [00:00:26] Mustansir Saifuddin: Listen in as we explore how these advancements will shape enterprise operations in 2025 and beyond, and why you can't afford to ignore this technological shift. [00:00:39] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thanks for coming back on our podcast. Geoff, it was really nice to have you back. You remember, you know you came on last year and we dove into this whole [00:00:48] Geoff Scott: Oh. [00:00:49] Mustansir Saifuddin: gen AI topic. Everybody remembers that, you know, it was a very hot topic last year and, you know, everybody was going in that direction. Now, fast forwarding everything to this year and say, Hey, what is going on? And this year, SAP has had some major announcements, as we all know about the partnerships that we leverage the power of AI within the SAP ecosystem. And what I see with the majority of SAP clients using Microsoft in the enterprises. There is a lot of opportunity in SAP and Microsoft , you know, the whole partnership, especially around copilot and SAP Joule. I believe it'll make a big impact. [00:01:30] Geoff Scott: I'm surprised you have me back. I was very nervous. It's a year later. I was like, okay, this is never gonna happen again. I, I disinvited myself from future podcasts. [00:01:39] Mustansir Saifuddin: Well, I have you back [00:01:42] Mustansir Saifuddin: on. [00:01:43] Mustansir Saifuddin: and I am telling you that it is more exciting than what we were talking about last year, and I think this is what I want to get some thoughts on, Hey, what's going on? What's your take on how these partnerships are coming together and what are we going to see in 2025? [00:02:01] Geoff Scott: Well, the good news is that what we see in 2025 is no apparent slowdown in any of this technology. You know, but what's interesting is we, in the SAP space, [00:02:13] Geoff Scott: are not necessarily meeting that challenge head on, and we probably are not moving as quickly as we should to capture the amount of opportunity that's out there. I, I think AI is real. It's gonna continue to evolve at a furious pace, and that necessitates that we as technology practitioners determine how we best leverage that technology. [00:02:36] Geoff Scott: You, you talked about Microsoft Copilot, Joule, right? I mean AWS. Bedrock , Google Gemini, you know, now we've got, other LLMs popping out all over the place. Right. , deep seek . Which just popped up very quickly. So there's just, a tremendous amount of movement here and it's really hard [00:02:57] Geoff Scott: to stay abreast of it. And I think the opportunity to jump in and start leveraging this is mission critical and what I think it really necessitates, and you talked about some announcements from SAP that I think double or triple down on this notion that AI is here, so if you really want to take your SAP data and make it AI enabled using Joule or using any other series of tools, [00:03:24] Geoff Scott: it's gonna necessitate that we as technology practitioners start to do some fairly radical things with our data. Number one is we start to de-customize everywhere we can and move the responsibility for code back to SAP so that they are responsible for figuring out how to make the AI work, not us. [00:03:42] Geoff Scott: So [00:03:42] Geoff Scott: , [00:03:42] Geoff Scott: how [00:03:42] Geoff Scott: do we over time de-customize and how do we over time think about the necessity of adopting SaaS based solutions such as SAP's Public Cloud? Many of our of our community members are implementing private cloud right [00:04:00] now through Rise which is great, but ultimately if we recreate all those customizations downstream, then we have to figure out how to make them AI enabled, and I think that's where we're gonna find ourselves under continuing amounts of stress as the business innovates faster and faster. [00:04:17] Geoff Scott: We typically in the SAP ecosystem, think about our innovations on a stair step model. And what I mean by that is we do an upgrade, we sit on that upgrade for a couple of years, as long as we possibly can. You know, and then we do an upgrade again. And the challenge I think that's gonna present is that there's so much innovation happening and, all these things are moving at such a speed that if we're not continuously innovating, [00:04:39] Geoff Scott: we are gonna find ourselves further and further behind. I, I'd like to see our SAP data be the sole source of truth inside our enterprises and an innovation gold mine. [00:04:49] Geoff Scott: And to do that, I think we have to de-customize. I think we have to be able to, innovate faster. I think we have to be able to look at this data, do a lot more work around archiving and getting the old stuff, swept up and moved out. Master data is gonna become a major, major opportunity for all of us. [00:05:05] Geoff Scott: And if we do all those things really, really well. We will have a fighting chance at making our enterprises very savvy. And on top of the latest trends versus trying to perpetually catch up. [00:05:16] Mustansir Saifuddin: It's a race, the way I look at it, and I think , you summed it up very well, and I think that leads me to my question into this whole topic of collaboration. Let's take that right now. What would you tell your SAP users about the power of Microsoft and SAP's collaboration? [00:05:33] Mustansir Saifuddin: How will it positively impact their day-to-day operations? Let's start with that. [00:05:38] Geoff Scott: Well, I, I think you set this up really well. We, we know from an ASUG research perspective that most SAP customers are also Microsoft customers. And that partnership has gone back almost as long as SAP and Microsoft have been in business. You know, there's some pictures I've seen of Bill Gates and Hasso Plattner, the two founders of both organizations working together early on. [00:06:04] Geoff Scott: So this is a partnership that goes back a long, long time and it's a tremendously powerful partnership. And it indicates to me that these are organizations that work very well together, very closely together and collaborate. I mean, almost everyone I know who works in SAP also uses Excel spreadsheets, also uses PowerPoint slides, [00:06:23] Geoff Scott: also creates Word documents. I do these almost every single day. It makes perfect sense to me that a tool such as Microsoft Copilot and SAP's Joule would be working in harmony together. And I think we're seeing some interesting innovation from both organizations where they're able to demonstrate that. [00:06:39] Geoff Scott: I saw some really cool, rag based technologies, a few weeks ago where a copilot can reach out and grab some data from SAP and bring it back. Likewise Joule is being able to show some similar capabilities. For most customers, as much as we'd like to have one AI tool, I just don't think that that's going to be the way this works. [00:06:58] Geoff Scott: I think we're gonna have multiple, which, which makes the enterprise architect's role that much more challenging because they're gonna have to figure out how to integrate these tools, when these tools are best used, how they're used, and how do we as as organizations, get value from them. [00:07:15] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. And if you take this a step further, right? The hype around Agentic AI, everybody's talking about agents. What are you seeing in the marketplace? What, what is your take? [00:07:25] Mustansir Saifuddin: How are SAP users benefitting from Agentic AI within their organizations? [00:07:31] Geoff Scott: As it relates specifically to the SAP ecosystem, my. My perception, maybe right or wrong, probably more wrong than right, is that many of them are investigating and researching. I haven't necessarily seen any specific in production, customer running, agentic AI using SAP dot dot yet. Is it coming? [00:08:00] I think it's coming. [00:08:01] Geoff Scott: Has everyone figured this out yet? No certainly SAP's talking about it. I saw some presentations from the AI team at SAP led by Philip Herzig where they're demonstrating a lot of this. And I think it's gonna be very interesting to watch how agentic, you know, agent-based AI starts to manage tasks. [00:08:19] Geoff Scott: And I'm very keen to see how this works. [00:08:24] Mustansir Saifuddin: It's still very early on in, in this space where a lot of SAP customers are thinking about using it. But [00:08:32] Mustansir Saifuddin: how [00:08:32] Mustansir Saifuddin: do we really find a use case that is really beneficial to the organization at least from a investment standpoint, the time standpoint , and the value add you get as a, as a result of this application basically. [00:08:47] Geoff Scott: And I think the, the potential challenge with agentic AI is it also has to be reasonable from a, you know, a what is this agent, what is this agent's tasks? One of the things that we all know about the SAP ecosystem is we exist here because our businesses are complicated. Someone used to say to me, if, if you didn't need to run SAP, you wouldn't. [00:09:11] Geoff Scott: Right. So you know, most of the organizations that run SAP are of a, a sufficient size and scale and complexity, whether that be that they're multiple businesses running, they have international components, the business makes a complicated product that has a lot of configuration to it, right? There's reasons why these organizations are running SAP. [00:09:32] Geoff Scott: So that kind of then begets the next point, which is, an agent based AI. It's going to have to be fairly complicated in order to handle all of those different, particulars of a business. So I, I think it's gonna be interesting to watch how organizations slice that down to make it so that they can demonstrate some success early days without making the agents so complicated that they basically can't function. [00:09:58] Geoff Scott: You know, even some of this agent AI we talk about that seems like really simple. Like, Hey, I want to go out to eat at a restaurant tonight. Have agentic AI make a reservation. When you break that down. How does it do that? what type of food do you want? [00:10:13] Geoff Scott: I don't know. Maybe Italian, maybe French, maybe American. What about what time do you want to eat? How far away do you want to go? And so much of that is, is left to our brains to just on a whim, we make these decisions. How do you have that conversation with AG Agentic AI, right? Where it says, Hey, you know, here's a reservation at Italian restaurant at six 30. [00:10:32] Geoff Scott: Nah, well, 6 45, nah. Well, what do you want? Not Italian. Well, what do you want instead? I don't know French. No. You want a burger? Nah, I don't feel like a burger tonight. I mean, oh my God. I mean, it's exhausting. [00:10:47] Mustansir Saifuddin: Let's take a step up, right? Let's, let's talk about from SAP customers, you know. Everybody's getting on this [00:10:55] Mustansir Saifuddin: What word of advice would you have for SAP customers when they get further into the journey with AI? Like, what are the things that they should be looking at? [00:11:03] Geoff Scott: First and foremost, take the time to experiment, right? I mean, if you're not using these AI tools every day start. And this has taken me a little bit of time to warm up to, I'm finding now that, I have enough, road underneath my tires that it's hard for me to do new things, [00:11:22] Geoff Scott: 'cause I'm fairly, you know, set in my ways. But if I don't, use these tools to do things, I'm just not, I'm not learning. And so I. As an example, I'm recording a podcast tomorrow with a couple of fellow ASUG board members, and last night I needed to get them some prep materials. [00:11:40] Geoff Scott: I uploaded three or four documents into Claude and I said, please look at these three documents and I need to brief the podcast participants on what they say. And it looked at all three documents and it coughed up a pretty darn good summary. [00:11:55] Geoff Scott: Perfect? No. Pretty good. Yes. Was it [00:12:00] easier that I didn't, I didn't have to go and look at each document and figure out what to say. I could take a look at its summarization and determine if that was something that I wanted, that I thought was accurate and something that I thought we could share. And the answer was it was pretty good. [00:12:15] Geoff Scott: That was a great experiment. And then I said, okay, now create the podcast questions. And it did it. Now, are we using all of them? No. Did it give me at least a starting point? A hundred percent. And by the way, for the people out there was like, oh my God. He put that into, he put that into Claude. Oh my God. What about the security things? We own a subscription to Claude. So it was in a subscription. It was, it was in our protected space. It was public information. So, you know, but you gotta think about those things, right? [00:12:42] Mustansir Saifuddin: . [00:12:42] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. And I think the one thing that you hit upon is time to value, right? When you look at these tools, these technology aspects of how it can make things faster, better . But it brings up another point, like when, when you look at these, these use cases, everything is about data. What you feeding into the model. [00:13:07] Mustansir Saifuddin: So, you know, from a data perspective, I know a lot of customers doesn't matter, SAP or other technologies, and especially in SAP you know, either struggle with clean governed data and kind of makes it very difficult. So what, what's your take on that in that space? You know, especially when they are ready to go to the AI [00:13:32] Mustansir Saifuddin: journey, but they have some work to do. [00:13:34] Geoff Scott: I think there's a tremendous amount of work to do on this, and this kind of comes back to a part of our earlier dialogue that I think that data has to be right. Right. If, if we're gonna succeed in this future AI enabled world, the data that is being accessed, from your SAP systems, whether through some sort of rag or wherever you're doing, it has to be accurate. [00:13:57] Geoff Scott: So the archiving perspective of this has to be right. And you know also what has to be right is your ability to get master data correct. So if you have the same customer in your SAP system, this is an easy example, five times. Well, you now have increased by factors, the likelihood that the answer that pops back is wrong. [00:14:18] Geoff Scott: So, you know, we've been talking about this for a long time, that your SAP data has to be accurate, has to be right, and SAP data is very accurate at the time that it was entered. I think this is one of the brilliant things about SAP. And where we as SAP, you know, professionals spend so much time is getting the data into the system correctly from the get go. [00:14:41] Geoff Scott: The problem is it doesn't age so well, right? It's not like a fine wine. It can sometimes get a little stale and old and if we're not also getting it broomed out. The challenge we run into is it could be part of a , hallucination that we're not aware of. And if all of a sudden people are looking at this data and making broader based decisions on it, and the decision processes was flawed and the data's flawed, we could be making a lot of really bad decisions. [00:15:12] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, absolutely. Data and analytics is very near and dear to me. So I, I know that whole conversation about getting The data clean, having that value around data, right. Which drives a lot of those those results out of the tools that we [00:15:28] Mustansir Saifuddin: want to apply. Especially. [00:15:30] Geoff Scott: It's all gonna come down to data at the end of the day, right? The data wins and the accuracy of the data wins. And the more that we're gonna use these tools to summarize and roll up, the higher the risk that that summary is inaccurate because the data underneath it isn't right. [00:15:49] Geoff Scott: We had this conversation in an ASUG executive exchange forum last week. And I think most people are starting to recognize that , if you have been [00:16:00] deferring your archiving routines, now might be a good time to get some of that back under control. [00:16:07] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, [00:16:08] Geoff Scott: Most of the models right now, the L lms right, are based on data that doesn't, that the, you know books, fueling [00:16:15] Geoff Scott: research reports, fueling these LLMs that that data has been around for a long time and is, and has stood the test of time. Most of our SAP data, you know, has to be thought of through a very specific lens. But I, I think it's critical, a hundred percent critical. [00:16:33] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah. So let, so let's take it down a, a notch, right? From an ASUG perspective, how have you seen ASUG members approaching realtime data analytics moving to the cloud? I know ASUG does a lot of research on this. What have you seen? What, what do you see in this year? [00:16:49] Geoff Scott: So I think, you know, almost everyone is having cloud conversations, which is the beginning of this, because I don't think you can innovate at scale if you're not thinking about moving into the cloud. You know, the other thing is, is that most of these solutions, if you think about the innovation curve, mostly solutions are gonna appear first in the latest additions of your software. [00:17:08] Geoff Scott: So if you can't start innovating at a faster and faster cycle, move out of the stair step you and I discussed earlier, moving to a constant innovation framework, you're gonna find yourself further and further behind because if you want to take advantage of innovation at scale at the time it's released or near to the time it's released you need to be on the latest versions of software. [00:17:27] Geoff Scott: The hard reality of most of our ecosystem is we are not. And if we are not, that's where this stuff is gonna appear first. Will it make it down to other versions of the software? Yes. Is it gonna be on SAP's first order priority to do that? No. They're gonna want to make sure where they get it out [00:17:44] Geoff Scott: to market fast and they're gonna look at their latest versions of the software to do that, where they're the most comfortable. You know, there's this question, why can't I run AI in my on-prem data center? Well, you could, but you're gonna have to do all of that lift by yourself. And that becomes a very costly exercise that unless you're the bigs of the bigs, is probably outside of your budget to do that. [00:18:08] Geoff Scott: So if you want to do this with some degree of economy, you have to be in the cloud, you have to de-customize. You have to think about your SAP implementation as a SaaS service, push accountability and responsibility for code and business process back to SAP, right? I mean, I, I think that, you know, what has AI told me, loud and clear at a volume level of 11? [00:18:30] Geoff Scott: We as SAP customers now more than ever, need to stop customizing and moving responsibility for code back to SAP, 'cause if we don't, we are never gonna be able to keep up. .In, in addition to that, that many of us over these years have outsourced our application maintenance services. We rely on consultants to do most of the work we need done, right, so we're not even in control of the productive resources necessary to make this stuff a reality. [00:19:05] Geoff Scott: We are project managers. We are business analysts, right? We don't necessarily know how to write code to do this, and if we're gonna have to rely on outside resources every time we make one of these moves, that's gonna be super costly and super slow. [00:19:22] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah. I hear you. [00:19:23] Mustansir Saifuddin: and I know the ASUG community hears that [00:19:26] Geoff Scott: But we have a lot in our ASUG community, right, who have been around for a long time that says, well, you know, my job is an ABAP programmer. What do you want me to do next? Or I'm a basis person and I don't like this. And I'm like, you are some of the people that are in , the best position to retool and relearn. [00:19:42] Geoff Scott: We're all gonna have to relearn. And, you know, is your business's, joy in life to have you produce more ABAP code or figure out how to get that ABAP code out, move it to SAP and say, congratulations, SAP, you're now responsible for this. Here's what I need this business process to do. Right. [00:20:00] And using your, using ASUG to help you influence that business process, instead of you saying, well, I'm gonna just take it and twist it to my own needs. [00:20:08] Geoff Scott: Even with me saying that, I still think that there's a lot of distance that SAP has to travel, by the way, I don't think they have this figured out. I don't think that they'll look at this and they go, yep, we got this. You just, you know, trust us. No, I think in certain areas they have this well done. [00:20:23] Geoff Scott: In other areas they do not. So what's the best thing we can do? Help them get there faster, influence them, participate in your ASUG chapter meetings, have a voice, talk about where you're hitting challenges. How do we need SAP to make better business processes? How are we gonna use the, you know, the tools that they have, like Lean IX and Signavio to help drive some of this? [00:20:48] Geoff Scott: That's to me where this is gonna need to happen. I would much prefer to have SAP struggle to keep up with business process than have. 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 customers do it on their own. It doesn't scale. [00:21:03] Mustansir Saifuddin: No, it doesn't. And I think, and that's a fair point, right? And this is where the value of ASUG comes in. And, and I mean the journey is long, but the, the path is there for us to follow. [00:21:14] Geoff Scott: I, I, yeah. [00:21:14] Mustansir Saifuddin: Right. And that's the, [00:21:15] Geoff Scott: I think the journey is long and the journey is more important than ever. It's time to get off the couch and go out and start walking, and then when you can walk, you can run, then, you know, then you can sprint. And I think , that's kind of the, the message that we're giving as ASUG is this isn't gonna slow down for you, you're gonna have to catch up to it. [00:21:32] Mustansir Saifuddin: No, I think, and that's the message. A lot of people are hearing loud and clear now, especially 2025 has brought in that that whole concept of either you go along with it or you're gonna be left behind. [00:21:44] Geoff Scott: Or, or, or at some point you're going to have to catch up, and the question is, is how much lifting are you gonna have to do to get there? I, again, I don't think this is easy. I, I don't think that there's , a magic pill we can swallow, you know, that that cleans us all up and we're all perfect. [00:22:01] Mustansir Saifuddin: No. No, for sure. And I think I, I know we talked about a lot of things today and we can keep on talking and the journey keeps on you know, is it's a [00:22:11] Geoff Scott: It's journey. [00:22:11] Mustansir Saifuddin: it's, [00:22:12] Geoff Scott: Yeah. [00:22:12] Mustansir Saifuddin: ending, but what, what is the one key takeaway that you want to leave with the listeners [00:22:18] Geoff Scott: One key takeaway [00:22:18] Mustansir Saifuddin: as we wrap up? [00:22:19] Geoff Scott: it. [00:22:20] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yep. [00:22:21] Geoff Scott: Spend time experimenting and learning this stuff. Get comfortable being uncomfortable with these tools. Use them. Think about how your business can benefit from them. Spend some time, you know, in BTP learning how to access these LLMs through your BTP interface. If you're having a challenge getting a business case written to move from your ECC environment to S 4. [00:22:46] Geoff Scott: Talk to us at ASUG, we will help you with that. Go to a chapter meeting and ask others how they made that investment work. Spend some time, you know, if you don't have a, a license for copilot where you and I started this afternoon, ask your IT counterparts to have access to copilot, use it. [00:23:04] Ask it questions, engage in iterative rep iterative prompts. These are things I think the, the faster we get comfortable with these technologies, the better off we as technologists will have light bulbs go off and say, oh, I, now I get how I can really put agent AI to work. Right. And I'm not gonna listen to just, you know, Microsoft, you know, talk about it or SAP talk about it. [00:23:24] Geoff Scott: I actually have some ideas. And these are good ideas and I'm excited, I'm excited to share 'em. Get out of the stands and on the field. [00:23:32] Mustansir Saifuddin: And who better do it? I mean, I think I, I love , your closing, right? Especially when you are looking at your own business, your own technology, and your way of doing things. Who better can come up with , a solution , or see the applications of these co-pilot Gemini, no matter what I mean, type of tools you can use. [00:23:51] Mustansir Saifuddin: But these are , the ways you can innovate, right by looking at the processes. [00:23:56] Geoff Scott: Yes. Someone told me that they set up two agentic AI bots [00:24:00] and the two of them constructed a podcast and it was pretty good. So withstand zero. I'm worried that next time you and I meet, it's not gonna be you or I, it's gonna be our agentic AI counterparts, some version of us. [00:24:14] Mustansir Saifuddin: and yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I think it is here. It's going to be here at some point, so might as well embrace it. [00:24:22] Geoff Scott: Yeah. Absolutely. [00:24:23] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thanks for listening to Tech-Driven Business brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. Embracing innovation is no longer an option, but really a necessity for enterprise success. Geoff's key takeaway? Proactive experimentation with AI is crucial for SAP users to discover its business benefits. Engage with tools like copilot and Joule, participate in ASUG, and push for cloud migration to stay ahead of the rapid technological changes. We would love to hear from you. Continue the conversation by connecting with me on LinkedIn or x. Learn more about Innovative Solution Partners and schedule a free consultation by visiting isolutionpartners.com. Never miss a podcast by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Information is in the show notes. I.

Tune in to a special roundtable episode of ASUG Talks, where Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community, is joined by two ASUG Board Members: Mark LeClair and Craig Dalziel.  A few weeks ago, the three attended the SAP Business Unleashed event in New York, where the software company unveiled the SAP Business Data Cloud along with a new partnership with Databricks. Aimed at helping ASAP customers establish a sound data foundation in order to embrace AI solutions, the offering is yet another in SAP's business AI development journey. The three thought leaders leveraged their extensive SAP knowledge to offer their thoughts on what the announcements mean for SAP Customers. Key topics covered in their discussion include: How SAP Business Data Cloud integrates into the larger SAP suite of solutions. The ways in which SAP Business Data Cloud can enable customers to improve their data management practices and set a foundation to embrace AI solutions. The three leaders' first impressions of the new solution and partnership. 

ASUG Talks dives deep into the technology of the moment: artificial intelligence. In this roundtable, Jim Lichtenwalter, ASUG Content Manager, is joined by two AI experts:  Paul Modderman, SAP AI Director, Mindset ConsultingAnurag Barua, Transformation Leader, SAPOver the past 18 months, SAP has taken massive strides in developing AI solutions and embedding them across its entire suite of solutions. During the conversation, Modderman and Barua lend their expertise to articulate the value of AI and how enterprises can embrace these solutions. Key topics covered in the discussion include:  Steps enterprises can take to effectively leverage AI solutions in their IT landscapes. The importance of data security and governance and how SAP approaches this critical topic.  The future state of AI and what development trends are telling us about where the technology is going. 

Each year, ASUG charts the shifting attitudes, focuses, hurdles, and solution adoption rates among its members with the annual Pulse of the SAP Customer Research project. With the release of the 2025 iteration, ASUG Content Manager Jim Lichtenwalter sat down with Marissa Gilbert, ASUG Research Director, and Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion.The three discussed key highlights from the research--including popular focuses and challenges among ASUG members--and what the data is saying about how the ASUG Community is approaching SAP innovation.Key insights from the conversation include:What SAP undertakings ASUG Members are prioritizing in 2025.Top challenges ASUG Members are facing, especially as they embrace SAP S/4HANA and migrate to the cloud.The breakdown of environments ASUG Members are leveraging to run their SAP investments.Download the full 2025 ASUG Pulse of the SAP Customer report here.

ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion Geoff Scott traveled to New York for the SAP Business Unleashed event, where SAP unveiled its newest offering, SAP Business Data Cloud, and its partnership with Databricks, a data analytics and  management software company.During his trip, Scott sat down with Irfan Khan, President and Chief Product Officer of SAP Data & Analytics. They discussed SAP's new offering and partnership, and how these announcements will help enterprises develop a data foundation for business insights and artificial-intelligence applications.Key topics from their conversation included:How SAP Business Data Cloud is different from SAP Datasphere.The way SAP Business Data Cloud will sit in the SAP suite alongside applications such as the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and SAP Analytics Cloud.The importance of integrating SAP and non-SAP data into a single data layer.For more information on these announcements and their impact on the SAP ecosystem, check out the following SAP insights:The trust factor: Data, resilience, and innovationSAP and Databricks Open a Bold New Era of Data and AI

At ASUG Tech Connect 2024, for the first time, I hosted a joint podcast collaboration with the ASUG Talks team - to be issued on both of our platforms. Joining me in for a live podcast taping were familiar suspects: ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and analyst Josh Greenbaum. But this time around, we had a live audience - and pulled them into the conversation. The audience had a choice of an Enterprise Architect or AI focus. They chose Enterprise Architects - and, I think, for good reason. Effective AI is probably not possible for enterprises without the right data platform and Enterprise Architect approach. I think you'll agree that hearing so many articulate real world questions from the audience made this podcast a standout, and I'll look to do that again this year where possible. And, of course, we covered AI also - that topic always finds its way in. EDITING NOTE: This podcast was recorded and produced by the ASUG Talks team, and initially released on the ASUG Talks platform. The podcast was (very) lightly edited by ASUG Talks for listening clarity. The only difference between this version and the ASUG Talks version are the differences in musical intro (which I don't do) and my outro.

At ASUG Tech Connect 2024, for the first time, I hosted a joint podcast collaboration with the ASUG Talks team - to be issued on both of our platforms. Joining me in for a live podcast taping were familiar suspects: ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and analyst Josh Greenbaum. But this time around, we had a live audience - and pulled them into the conversation. The audience had a choice of an Enterprise Architect or AI focus. They chose Enterprise Architects - and, I think, for good reason. Effective AI is probably not possible for enterprises without the right data platform and Enterprise Architect approach. I think you'll agree that hearing so many articulate real world questions from the audience made this podcast a standout, and I'll look to do that again this year where possible. And, of course, we covered AI also - that topic always finds its way in. EDITING NOTE: This podcast was recorded and produced by the ASUG Talks team, and initially released on the ASUG Talks platform. The podcast was (very) lightly edited by ASUG Talks for listening clarity. The only difference between this version and the ASUG Talks version are the differences in musical intro (which I don't do) and my outro.

 ASUG partnered with Diginomica for a special episode of ASUG Talks. Recorded at ASUG Tech Connect,  Jon Reed, Co-Founder at Diginomica, hosted a conversation with  Geoff Scott, CEO & Chief Community Champion at ASUG, and Joshua Greenbaum, Principal at Enterprise Applications Consulting.  The three thought leaders fielded live questions from the audience focused on two areas of vital importance: artificial intelligence and enterprise architecture. During the session, the three experts had an insightful dialogue on how enterprises can leverage AI to drive improved business outcomes, and how the enterprise architect role is evolving.  

To debrief major announcements from the most recent editions of Microsoft Ignite and ASUG Tech Connect, ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion Geoff Scott and Carolyn Szczurek, ASUG Communications Lead, recently welcomed Holger Bruchelt, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, to a special episode of the ASUG Talks podcast.

I was unable to get Josh Greenbaum and Brian Dennett together for an on-the-ground podcast at ASUG Tech Connect in November, but the show provoked important talks on RISE, clean core, and why SAP projects need enterprise architects. Those topics aren't going away, so we got together virtually to make sense of what we learned - and what's next. With looming ERP deadlines on the one hand, and modernization/AI on the other, it's a crucial year for SAP. The role of the S/4HANA public cloud edition is in the middle of this also. That's plenty for this discussion, which starts out on a humorous note as the cities and shows blurred together for your host. Note: there are more podcasts from this show, including an ASUG collaboration on Enterprise Architects coming soon - and my on the ground taping with Jelena Perfiljeva of the Boring Enterprise Nerds on SAP developer issues, clean core debates and more: https://jonerp.podbean.com/e/asug-tech-connect-review-jelena-perfiljeva-of-boring-enterprise-nerds/

I was unable to get Josh Greenbaum and Brian Dennett together for an on-the-ground podcast at ASUG Tech Connect in November, but the show provoked important talks on RISE, clean core, and why SAP projects need enterprise architects. Those topics aren't going away, so we got together virtually to make sense of what we learned - and what's next. With looming ERP deadlines on the one hand, and modernization/AI on the other, it's a crucial year for SAP. The role of the S/4HANA public cloud edition is in the middle of this also. That's plenty for this discussion, which starts out on a humorous note as the cities and shows blurred together for your host. Note: there are more podcasts from this show, including an ASUG collaboration on Enterprise Architects coming soon - and my on the ground taping with Jelena Perfiljeva of the Boring Enterprise Nerds on SAP developer issues, clean core debates and more: https://jonerp.podbean.com/e/asug-tech-connect-review-jelena-perfiljeva-of-boring-enterprise-nerds/

On the final day of ASUG Tech Connect, Jon gets a strong (overdue) podcast debut from Jelena Perfiljeva of the Boring Enterprise Nerds. During this taping, Perfiljeva was fresh off her interactive session on the state of SAP developers - where clean core turned into the topic that stirred up the room. Perfiljeva explains why, which leads to a different discussion of clean core than Jon was expecting. The two also discuss the impact of AI on SAP developers, and why the sessions at Tech Connect brought customer concerns to the fore. They also trace back to Jelena's emergence in the SAP community, and why strong/outspoken voices matter to customers. Audiophile note: to remove static from the recording Jon's audio had to be adjusted, but this was still the best of the two recordings and hopefully is a good level of listenability for you.

Many events have passed since our post-Sapphire clean core review. Time to hash out AI, clean core and more - in the context of ASUG's fall events, and fresh research data. Analyst Josh Greenbaum, ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and your host Jon Reed rejoin for another unscripted review of event lessons learned - from SAP shows and beyond. Along with Geoff's new ASUG data, Jon shares his top event gripes and learnings; Josh shares his clean core/BTP findings. Then we look ahead to what we want to learn from ASUG Tech Connect, and why Enterprise Architects are central to the changes afoot. Show notes: 1 - 31:00 - fall event reviews, ASUG research findings, clean core, and AI hype vs customer reality 31:00 - SAP TechEd news review 51:00 - ASUG Tech Connect preview, why Enterprise Architects matter, and community as a learning framework Jon recommends listeners look at SAP's Knowledge Graph pursuits, a notable TechEd topic not covered in this podcast.