Last week, on the 8th and 9th of October, SAP hosted its virtual TechEd event, and I must say it was an engaging and insightful experience. In this blog, I’d like to share my thoughts on the event and summarise the most interesting aspects that caught my attention, particularly in the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) space.
Event Structure and Suggestions for Improvement
The virtual setup was well-organised, allowing attendees to register and build their own personalised agendas. While the platform itself was smooth, I found that some session titles were a bit misleading, which led me to pick a few sessions that didn’t quite match my expectations. However, even in those cases, I still learned a great deal.
One improvement I’d suggest is the ability to filter out sessions that have already passed. This would make it much easier to navigate the schedule and find upcoming sessions more efficiently, especially when juggling multiple topics of interest.
Focus on SAP BTP: AI, New Products, and Integration Bus
My main area of interest throughout TechEd was SAP BTP, where I zeroed in on three key topics that stood out: AI, new product offerings, and the integration bus. Here’s my take on each:
AI: Expanding Possibilities
AI was naturally a hot topic, and for good reason. SAP’s message aligned with the broader industry perspective: AI is here to optimise workflows and make our daily work more efficient, but it’s not the miracle cure for everything just yet.
SAP’s AI solution, Joule, was a central highlight. It provides users and developers access to large language models (LLMs) for tasks such as generating code, mapping integrations, optimising performance, and even making recommendations based on data. Joule has already been well integrated into SAP Sales Cloud (version 2), though there’s still some work to be done in SAP Commerce Cloud.
One particularly exciting announcement was that Joule Studio will be incorporated into SAP Build next year, making integration with various products even easier. This development should open up more possibilities for seamless AI-driven automation across platforms.
In addition, the Generative AI Hub on SAP BTP gives users access to multiple providers and models, further simplifying developers' tasks. For instance, AI-generated code and field mapping will become even more streamlined. I saw some fantastic demos of how AI can be used to identify and refactor Groovy code within SAP Cloud Platform Integration (SCPI), optimising integrations—a massive benefit for developers.
New Products and Packages: Business Transformation and More
One of the new products I was eager to hear more about was WalkMe, which SAP recently acquired. I was curious to see how it would be integrated into SAP’s offerings, and I wasn’t disappointed. SAP has introduced a new solution area called Business Transformation Management, which includes SAP Signavio, SAP Lean IX, and WalkMe. This trio is designed to simplify business transformation across processes, applications, data, and people—an area worth deeper exploration for anyone involved in enterprise transformation.
Another noteworthy announcement was the Knowledge Graph Engine and expanded Data Lake capabilities within SAP Datasphere. Both of these tools offer exciting potential for businesses looking to harness the power of data for insights and decision-making.
Lastly, SAP Analytics Cloud was showcased extensively, demonstrating its integration capabilities with other cloud solutions. The ease of use and robust functionality stood out compared to previous, more cumbersome local installations. This is definitely an area I’m excited to explore further.
Integration Bus: Enhancements and AI-Driven Optimisation
When it comes to integration, there were plenty of impressive updates, especially around SCPI. SAP is continuing to enhance its Integration Bus with more intuitive tools and AI support. One demo I saw highlighted how AI could analyse integration performance and suggest improvements to scripts. The AI-generated recommendations were accurate and helpful, though as always, human validation is essential before applying these changes.
Additionally, more adapters have been added to the integration bus, enhancing its already substantial integration capabilities with third-party platforms. It was noted that SCPI remains the most integrated platform of its kind, and I’ve yet to hear of any other service that rivals its versatility.
Conclusion
Overall, SAP TechEd 2024 was packed with valuable insights and exciting developments, particularly in the BTP space. The continued focus on AI, the introduction of new product areas like Business Transformation Management, and the ongoing enhancements to the integration bus all point to a bright future for SAP’s cloud ecosystem.
As these tools and capabilities evolve, it’s clear that SAP is committed to making both developers and end-users more efficient. I’m looking forward to seeing how these advancements unfold, especially with the upcoming launch of Joule Studio and the growing influence of AI across their offerings.
Stay tuned, as there’s definitely more to explore in the coming months!
