SAP Accelerates AI Strategy with New Tools, Platforms and Partnerships
SAP has unveiled a wave of new Business AI features and strategic partnerships, signalling a bold move to make artificial intelligence more accessible and actionable for enterprises globally.
At the centre of the announcement is the next evolution of SAP’s AI assistant, Joule. Now equipped with an ever-present action bar, Joule is designed to embed itself directly into users’ daily workflows, offering intelligent prompts, relevant data, and suggested actions in real time, based on user behaviour.
In a move to further boost Joule’s intelligence, SAP has teamed up with Perplexity. The partnership is set to enhance Joule’s responsiveness by generating fast, visual answers grounded in the user’s business context, even pulling insights from unstructured data.
Beyond its AI copilot, SAP revealed its work on a new class of interoperable AI agents. These agents won’t just make recommendations, they will have the ability to independently carry out processes across systems, using advanced reasoning to tackle complex tasks. Despite their autonomy, SAP emphasised that a human will always remain in the loop to approve final decisions.
Developers were also a key focus, with SAP introducing the SAP AI Foundation, a new end-to-end platform for building, deploying and scaling custom AI solutions. A standout feature is its multi-model prompt optimiser, which enables applications to dynamically select the best-fit AI model for any given task, rather than locking into a single provider.
SAP is also embedding intelligence across its Business Data Cloud with a new suite of smart applications tailored for specific business functions. These apps are designed to learn continuously, run simulations, and deliver real-time decision support. Among them is the People Intelligence suite, a solution aimed at helping HR and executive teams plan more strategically while maintaining compliance and fostering engagement.
As part of its multi-cloud expansion, SAP confirmed that both the Business Data Cloud and the SAP Business Transformation Platform will be rolled out to leading hyperscalers, including AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, by the fourth quarter of 2025. Simultaneously, the company is broadening its network of intelligent app partners, now including major players like Accenture, Adobe, Moody's, Palantir, and Thomson Reuters.
The announcement also reinforces SAP’s shift toward a modular, streamlined Business Suite. Originally introduced earlier this year, this updated approach bundles solutions by function, covering finance, HR, procurement, supply chain, and sales, to support easier cloud adoption and system agility.
Enhancements have also been made to the SAP Build platform, which now features advanced AI capabilities that allow organisations to customise applications based on their unique needs, all within the context of the broader Business Suite packages.
Angela Colantuono, President and Managing Director of SAP Australia and New Zealand, shared her perspective on what this means for the region:
"Across both nations we are at a tipping point with AI. While investment is booming and some businesses are already making big moves, there are still gaps in trust, literacy and around governance. The news from Sapphire should be seen as being a game-changer. We're combining top-tier business apps with real-time data and the latest AI innovations. This isn't just an incremental update; it's about making AI accessible and usable for everyone. These aren't just tools, they're strategic levers to help businesses lead confidently in the AI era. Now's the time to be bold not bashful, to embrace these innovations and drive real productivity and efficiency gains."
With its growing ecosystem, interoperable tools, and developer-first AI infrastructure, SAP is positioning itself as a central force in shaping the future of business automation, balancing innovation with the practical needs of enterprise users.