SAP's Innovation in AI and Developer Empowerment

Title: SAP's Innovation in AI and Developer Empowerment

In recent years, SAP (Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing) has been actively driving initiatives aimed at developers, with a central focus on their flagship platform, the "SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)." This platform serves as the core foundation for SAP's endeavors, particularly in harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). A notable stride in this direction is the swift action taken in SAP HANA Cloud to support vector databases, a crucial step towards the integration of AI capabilities.

I had the opportunity to delve into the latest developments and future directions with Bhagat Nainani, SAP's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer for SAP BTP applications, development, automation, and integration. According to Mr. Nainani, SAP envisions a future where development takes on a fusion-style approach. This entails collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including users, developers, and data scientists, right from the inception stage of application development.

The company has proactively embraced AI integration in development processes, even for those utilizing SAP applications. The goal is to enhance developer productivity, streamline automation, and improve analytics through the application of AI. An illustrative addition to SAP's development toolkit is the introduction of "SAP Build Code" within the revamped "SAP Build" family in 2022. In contrast to the low-code/no-code nature of SAP Build, SAP Build Code is tailored for developers who write code, leveraging generative AI to significantly boost productivity. Describing what you want to develop allows the tool to generate services and User Interfaces (UIs), which can be implemented immediately.

Apart from generative AI capabilities, SAP highlights other strengths, such as optimization for SAP-specific scenarios and the facilitation of fusion development. For SAP optimization, existing domain models and connectors can be utilized, making the development of extensions for SAP ERP, HR, and supply chain more straightforward. Fusion development, characterized by collaboration among application users, developers, and data scientists throughout the development stages, is streamlined by tools like SAP Build.
Automation is not just about automating specific tasks but responding to the broader need for optimizing end-to-end processes, from procurement to payment, and from employment to retirement. The initial step involves utilizing process mining for analysis, obtaining metrics, and combining multiple applications. The combination of "SAP Signavio," "SAP Integration Suite," and "SAP Build" enables even citizen developers to create automation.
SAP Build goes beyond low-code/no-code capabilities by introducing "SAP Build Code," supporting Java and JavaScript initially and planning to extend support to ABAP developers soon. This signifies the company's commitment to adapting to the evolving landscape of development technologies, including AI.

On the data front, SAP announced support for vector databases in "SAP HANA Cloud," making Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) available. This enhancement reflects SAP's anticipation of disruptive changes rather than incremental shifts associated with generative AI. SAP's CTO, Juergen Mueller, and CEO, Christian Klein, both recognize the transformative potential of generative AI, acknowledging the expectations of customers and the need to stay ahead of changes in the industry.

SAP's strategy in the AI domain revolves around building an ecosystem. The company has established partnerships with Cohere, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google, among others, utilizing various models. The introduction of the "Generative AI Hub" allows customers to select models from different providers, fostering flexibility. SAP is also developing foundational models but remains flexible about their specialization, whether for ERP, finance, or other domains.

To ensure customers derive maximum benefits from generative AI, SAP provides support tailored for different personas. Developers can access models easily through Build Code, enabling SAP to generate code. Business users benefit from the integration of AI into applications through "SAP Business AI," with users of SAP SuccessFactors or ERP unaware of the underlying model. SAP takes charge of selecting the model, allowing users to interact with it through Joule effortlessly.

Looking at the evolution of SAP BTP, the focus is on creating products with a cohesive experience for targeted personas. SAP Integration Suite, which absorbed many features from "SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI)," laid the foundation. The year 2022 saw SAP streamline low-code/no-code initiatives under SAP Build, and in 2023, SAP Build Code was introduced, along with "SAP Business Application Studio" and the announcement of "SAP Datasphere," consolidating products like "SAP Data Intelligence" and "SAP Data Warehouse Cloud."

In conclusion, SAP BTP is poised for continued evolution, emphasizing integration, scalability, and a technology platform tailored for different personas. With a solid foundation in place, SAP continues to adapt and deliver innovative solutions, showcasing its commitment to supporting organizations in their digital transformation journey. The upcoming SAP TechEd event holds promise for unveiling even more groundbreaking features, raising expectations for what lies ahead in the world of SAP innovation.