“It's all about AI” – Impressions from Sapphire Orlando and Madrid 2025

What was your overall impression of SAP Sapphire?

Stephan (Madrid): Very good overall. There were lots of SAP partners, customers, and SAP contacts there. It was ideal for networking. Around 7,500 people attended the event, which speaks for itself.

Heiko (Orlando): I also thought it was well attended, with lots of impressions and many new and existing contacts. The balance between SAP stands and partners was striking; that used to be different. There was a real fireworks display of announcements, but no revolutionary highlights.

Which keynotes or sessions impressed you the most and why?

Stephan: The concept was very good, with a maximum of 20 minutes per presentation, which kept things moving at a good pace. The keynotes themselves were well staged, but also noticeably “scripted.”

Heiko: I only listened briefly to Christian Klein's opening speech and caught a few minutes of Jessica Alba's presentation because there was so much to discover and network. To be honest, what I saw later in the recordings didn't make a lasting impression on me. However, Christian Klein's clear statement was interesting: “Every SAP user should be 30% more productive in the future with the support of AI and Joule.” It sounds ambitious, but that's exactly where we want to be.

Was there a specific theme or motto?

Heiko: If you want to boil it down to one thing: “Joule for everyone, everywhere!”

Stephan: Absolutely – “It's all about AI.”

Which trends in the SAP environment were particularly emphasized?

Heiko: Dealing with uncertainty. There was even a dig at Donald Trump, perhaps also at the aftermath of COVID-19.

Stephan: From a technological perspective, two topics dominated the discussion: artificial intelligence and clean core.

What were the setup and atmosphere like in Orlando and Madrid?

Heiko: Sapphire has changed noticeably over the last five years, partly due to COVID-19. Most of the stands were very crowded and well attended, making it difficult to find the right contact person. Overall, the event felt like a “in-between-Sapphire” to me, with no major disruptive innovations, but rather “more of the same,” i.e., continuous. In addition, many customers have not yet made the transition to SAP S/4HANA, so topics such as Joule and Signavio are still a long way off for many.

Stephan: The halls in Madrid are better suited than those in Barcelona. It was particularly nice that the paths between the halls led through open outdoor areas, with temperatures around 30 degrees and sunshine. The atmosphere was correspondingly good. There were numerous stands, and I was approached frequently.

Was there a specific focus, for example on industries, technologies, or partnerships?

Heiko: Personally, I didn't notice a clear focus. There is a partnership with Perplexity for unstructured data. WalkMe was particularly prominent in terms of technology: it is intended to be the medium for making Joule available to everyone, everywhere.

Stephan: Yes, the focus in Madrid was on technology. Among other things, emphasis was placed on the “Integrated Tool Chain,” i.e., the interaction of various SAP tools throughout the entire business process. Topics such as Joule, artificial intelligence (AI), BDC (Business Data Cloud), Public Cloud, and, of course, Clean Core were also in the spotlight.

If you had to summarize your experience in one sentence, what would it be?

Heiko: SAP announced three years ago that it was an AI company. It's still not, but with Joule and increasingly concrete application examples, it's becoming clearer where AI can really help.

Stephan: Keep it simple.