Unlock AI innovation with new joint capabilities from Microsoft and SAP

Microsoft and SAP have been companions and prospects of one another for over 30 years, collaborating on modern enterprise options and serving to 1000’s of joint prospects speed up their enterprise transformation. Microsoft Cloud is the market chief for working SAP workloads within the cloud, together with RISE with SAP, and at this time at SAP Sapphire 2024, we’re very excited to deliver extra wonderful innovation to the marketplace for our joint prospects. 

On this weblog, we discover the newest thrilling developments from the Microsoft and SAP partnership and the way they assist prospects speed up their enterprise transformation. 

SAP on Microsoft Cloud

Innovate with probably the most trusted cloud for SAP

Saying new joint AI integration between Microsoft 365 Copilot and SAP Joule

As we speak at SAP Sapphire, Microsoft and SAP are increasing our partnership by bringing Joule along with Microsoft Copilot right into a unified expertise, permitting workers to get extra carried out within the circulate of their work by way of seamless entry to info from enterprise purposes in SAP in addition to Microsoft 365.  

Clients need AI assistants to hold out requests no matter knowledge location or the system that must be accessed. By integrating Joule and Copilot for Microsoft 365, the generative AI options will work together intuitively so customers can discover info sooner and execute duties with out leaving the platform they’re already in. 

A person in Copilot for Microsoft 365 will be capable of leverage SAP Joule to entry info saved in SAP—for instance S/4HANA Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors, or SAP Concur. Equally, somebody utilizing SAP Joule in a SAP software will be capable of use Copilot for Microsoft 365 capabilities with out context switching.

To see this in motion, tune into the “Innovation: The important thing to bringing out your finest” keynote at SAP Sapphire which may even be accessible on-demand and learn the announcement weblog. 

Unlock enterprise transformation with Microsoft AI and RISE with SAP

SAP techniques host mission-critical knowledge powering core enterprise processes and might significantly profit from the insights, automation, and efficiencies unlocked by AI. Microsoft Cloud—probably the most trusted, complete and built-in cloud—is finest positioned that can assist you obtain these advantages. You’ll be able to lengthen RISE with SAP by utilizing a broad set of Microsoft AI providers to maximise enterprise outcomes, catered to what you are promoting wants: 

1: Unlocking joint AI innovation with SAP Enterprise Know-how Platform (BTP) and Microsoft Azure: SAP BTP is a platform providing from SAP that maximizes the worth of the RISE with SAP providing. We just lately partnered with SAP to announce the supply of SAP AI Core, an integral a part of BTP, together with Generative AI Hub and Joule on Microsoft Azure in West Europe, US East, and Sydney. Clients that use BTP and need to embed extra intelligence into their finance, provide chain, and order to money enterprise processes can now accomplish that simply, on Azure. SAP prospects may also reap the benefits of the most well-liked giant language fashions like GPT-4o accessible in SAP Generative AI Hub provided solely on Azure by way of the Azure OpenAI Service.

2: Unlocking end-user productiveness with Microsoft Copilot: SAP prospects can use Copilot for Microsoft 365, accessible in Microsoft Phrase, PowerPoint, Excel, and PowerBI in order that end-users can unlock insights, and carry out duties sooner. You’ll be able to go one step additional by tailoring Copilot to work the way in which you want, along with your knowledge, processes and insurance policies utilizing the SAP plugin in Microsoft Copilot Studio. Now you can customise Copilot to connect with your SAP techniques and retrieve the data you want similar to expense info, stock, and so forth. That is made potential with new Copilot connectors and new agent capabilities that we introduced at Microsoft Construct final week. 

3: Enabling AI transformation utilizing Azure AI providers: SAP prospects working their workloads on Azure can construct their very own AI capabilities utilizing the Azure OpenAI Service with their SAP knowledge to shortly develop generative AI purposes. We provide over 1,600 frontier and open fashions in Azure AI, together with the newest from OpenAI, Meta, and others—offering you with the selection and suppleness to decide on the mannequin suited on your use case. Greater than 50,000 prospects use Azure AI at this time, signaling the wonderful momentum on this area. 

A robust productiveness enhancement use case right here is the mix of OpenAI, together with enterprise course of automation instruments just like the Microsoft Energy Platform which has SAP connectors accessible to assist a person work together with SAP knowledge simply and full duties sooner. 

For instance, a gross sales assistant can entry SAP knowledge to position product orders, immediately from Microsoft Groups, leveraging the ability of Azure OpenAI. Watch this video to see this state of affairs in motion. 

RISE with SAP prospects may also devour OpenAI providers by way of Cloud Utility programming mannequin (CAP) and SAP BTP, AI Core. 

4: Automated assault disruption for SAP, powered by AI: Microsoft Safety Copilot empowers all safety and IT roles to detect and tackle cyberthreats at machine pace, together with these arising from SAP techniques. For purchasers utilizing Microsoft Sentinel for SAP, which is licensed for RISE with SAP, assault disruption will routinely detect monetary fraud methods and disable the native SAP and linked Microsoft Entra account to stop the cyberattacker from transferring any funds–with no further intervention. See this video to study extra and skim extra about automated assault disruption for SAP. 

Extra alternative and suppleness with expanded availability of SAP BTP on Azure 

Along with SAP, we just lately introduced the expanded availability of SAP BTP to 6 new Azure areas (Brazil, Canada, India, the UK, Germany, and one to be introduced) in addition to further BTP providers within the present seven public Microsoft Azure areas (Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, the US East-VA, and the US West-WA.) Upon completion, SAP Enterprise Know-how Platform will run in 13 Microsoft Azure areas, and all the important thing BTP providers that almost all prospects are asking for, can be accessible on Azure.

The expanded service availability, primarily based on buyer demand, unlocks AI innovation and enterprise transformation for purchasers extra simply, as now you can combine SAP Cloud enterprise useful resource planning (ERP) and SAP BTP providers with Microsoft Azure providers, together with AI providers from each corporations, inside the similar knowledge heart area.  

New and highly effective infrastructure choices for working SAP HANA on Azure

Final 12 months we introduced the Azure M-Collection Mv3 household—the following era of reminiscence optimized digital machines, giving prospects sooner insights, extra uptime, a decrease whole value of possession, and improved price-performance for working SAP HANA workloads with Azure IaaS deployments and SAP RISE on Azure. These VMs, supporting as much as 32 TB of reminiscence, are powered by the 4th era Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors and Azure Enhance, one in every of Azure’s newest infrastructure improvements.  

As we speak, we’re happy to construct on this funding and share that the Mv3 Very Excessive Reminiscence (as much as 32TB of reminiscence) providing is usually accessible for purchasers and the Mv3 Excessive Reminiscence providing (upto 16TB) is in preview.

Microsoft and SAP Signavio: Teaming as much as speed up transformation

Microsoft and SAP proceed to collaborate to assist prospects of their journey to S/4HANA and RISE on Azure. SAP Signavio Course of Insights is an integral a part of SAP’s cloud-based course of transformation suite and provides corporations the flexibility to quickly uncover areas for enchancment and automation inside your SAP enterprise processes. SAP Signavio Course of Insights is now accessible on Microsoft Azure and supplies ECC prospects an accelerated path to S/4HANA, permitting prospects to unlock the worth of innovation by way of the Microsoft platform. 

Simplifying enterprise collaboration with new integrations in Microsoft Groups 

Microsoft and SAP have been working collectively for a number of years enabling organizations and their workers enhance productiveness by way of collaborative experiences that mix mission essential knowledge from SAP with Microsoft Groups and Microsoft 365.

As we speak, we’re excited to construct on this and announce new joint capabilities with thrilling updates to Microsoft Groups apps for SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors and, SAP Concur:

Upcoming options in S/4HANA app for Microsoft Groups

• S/4HANA Copilot plugin: Customers can entry S/4HANA gross sales particulars, order standing, gross sales quotes, and extra utilizing pure language with Copilot for Microsoft 365. See a pattern question under: 

• Adaptive Card Loop elements: Share clever playing cards in Groups and Outlook (accessible for pre-release customers solely). 

• Groups search-based message extension: Customers can shortly seek for and insert info from S/4HANA with out leaving the Groups surroundings.  
• SAP Neighborhood search: Search SAP Neighborhood and share content material with co-workers in Microsoft Groups—with out having to depart the app. Whereas chatting with a colleague or a gaggle, click on on the three dots under the textual content subject, open the SAP S/4HANA app, and enter your search time period within the popup window. From the outcomes checklist, choose the subject you need to share and immediately ship it to your colleagues. 
• Share to Microsoft Groups as Card: Talk higher along with your co-workers utilizing Microsoft Groups by offering a collaborative view that reveals software content material in a brand new window and allows you to have a significant dialog. 
• Entry S/4HANA inside Microsoft 365 Dwelling and Outlook too:

New launch: SuccessFactors for Microsoft Groups

• HR Process Reminders by way of Groups Chatbot: Obtain a non-public message from the SuccessFactors Groups chatbot, which may help you full HR duties immediately in Groups or information you to SuccessFactors on-line for extra advanced workloads. 
• Set off Fast Actions by way of Instructions: Request and supply suggestions to your colleagues, handle time entries, view studying assignments and approvals, entry worker and supervisor self-services, and way more!  

• Coming quickly: New SuccessFactors Dashboard in Groups tab. 

Coming quickly: Concur Journey and Expense

Customers can be to capable of share journey itineraries and expense reviews with colleagues in Microsoft Groups. This app can be launched later this summer season. 

Microsoft and SAP collaborate to modernize identification for SAP prospects 

Earlier this 12 months, we introduced that we’re collaborating with SAP to develop an answer that allows prospects emigrate their identification administration situations from SAP Identification Administration (IDM) to Microsoft Entra ID. We’re excited to announce that steering for this migration can be accessible quickly.

Driving joint buyer success 

It’s tremendous thrilling to see all of the product innovation that can in the end drive success and enterprise outcomes for purchasers. Microsoft was one of many early adopters of RISE with SAP internally, and is proud to have helped 1000’s of consumers speed up their enterprise transformation to RISE with SAP with the ability of the Microsoft Cloud. 

Building business provider Hilti Group migrated its large SAP panorama to RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure, accelerating their steady innovation roadmap. In parallel, it upgraded from a 12-terabyte to a 24-terabyte SAP S/4HANA ERP software and is about to close down its on-premises datacenter to make Azure its sole platform. Hilti wished to be one of many first adopters of the RISE with SAP providing, which brings mission administration, technical migration, and premium engagement providers collectively in a single contract. The accelerated, on-demand enterprise transformation resolution was the right match to assist evolve the corporate’s large SAP panorama, which serves because the spine of the corporate’s transactional enterprise.

“RISE with SAP on Azure helped us transfer our consultants and assets into areas the place they will add probably the most worth, which was a game-changer.” 

Dr. Christoph Baeck, Head of IT Platforms, Hilti Group

Tokyo-based metal producer, JFE Metal Company wished to improve it’s on-premises SAP techniques to a hybrid cloud technique to pursue higher digital experiences. The corporate selected S/4 HANA Cloud personal version—which supplies the SAP SaaS resolution, RISE, in a non-public cloud surroundings, and Microsoft Azure was chosen as the inspiration for this. They achieved the migration of their SAP system to the cloud in simply seven months and are additionally driving additional innovation with the Microsoft Energy Platform. 

“We thought of on-premises and varied cloud providers primarily based on the three axes of high quality, value, and turnaround time. Azure was the primary alternative as a result of we had confidence in its high quality, and we had gathered know-how within the firm. We additionally actively use Microsoft Energy Platform and different merchandise, and we appreciated the excessive diploma of affinity and integration between the merchandise.” 

Mr. Etsuo Kasuya, JFE Programs, Inc. Tokyo Workplace Enterprise Administration System Improvement Division Accounting Group

Australian mining and metals firm South32 set its objective of transitioning its greater than 100 terabyte knowledge panorama right into a fit-for-purpose ERP system. South32 seamlessly accomplished part one in every of its SAP migration to Azure, attaining consolidation and simplification of its property and constructing a scalable, simple to handle system surroundings utilizing SAP S/4HANA with RISE on Azure by working with SAP, Microsoft and key accomplice TCS. 

“Now that we’ve moved our SAP panorama to Azure, now we have extra breadth of protection. Our environments are standardized, which supplies our infrastructure crew with a lot better instruments to handle consumption and provides us transparency round prices.” 

Stuart Munday, Group Supervisor, ERP, South32