SAP Connect spotlights AI-driven tools for the next-gen enterprise

Enterprise applications company SAP has announced a series of new enterprise software capabilities at its inaugural SAP Connect event in Las Vegas, highlighting developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), data integration, and supply chain coordination as part of its SAP Business Suite strategy.

The company introduced a new generation of AI assistants within its Joule platform, a data-sharing feature called SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) Connect, and an AI-powered supply chain orchestration system. These offerings are part of SAP’s broader roadmap to embed intelligence across its applications by connecting data, AI models, and operational workflows.

Role-specific assistants in Joule

At the centre of SAP’s announcements are new role-aware assistants built into the Joule AI platform. Each assistant is configured for a specific business role, using specialised Joule Agents to automate workflows and decision-making across lines of business.

Sharing details at the event, Muhammad Alam, Member of the Executive Board of SAP, Product and Engineering, indicated that more than 40 agents spanning the SAP portfolio will be rolled out between now and mid-2026.

“These assistants are designed not only to support role-specific functions but also to collaborate across departments, enabling enterprise-wide coordination,” he said.

The People Manager Assistant, for example, coordinates with agents such as the People Intelligence Agent, which identifies compensation-related anomalies. Similarly, the Financial Planning Assistant works with the Cash Management Agent, which is scheduled for Q1 2026. This agent will automate the reconciliation of bank statements, identify cash flow gaps or surpluses, and recommend optimisations.

A new International Trade Classification Agent, available in beta in December 2025, will utilise trade regulations to classify exported products and recommend corresponding customs codes.

In procurement, an update to SAP Ariba Source-to-Pay, scheduled for release in February 2026, will integrate AI into the entire procurement cycle. Enhancements include improved supplier profiles, AI-driven risk analysis, and performance evaluation tools. A new Bid Analysis Agent, planned for Q1 2026, will compare supplier bids and provide insight into trade-offs often missed in manual analysis.

SAP also announced Joule Deep Research, a capability entering beta in December 2025, which will allow Joule to conduct strategic research using SAP’s internal data, external intelligence, and trusted third-party sources.

SAP Business Data Cloud Connect

Data fuels AI’s transformative power, but it is often siloed in different systems. To address this, the company announced SAP BDC Connect, which facilitates secure, bidirectional data sharing between SAP systems and external partner platforms. The new feature builds on SAP BDC, introduced earlier this year, and utilises zero-copy data sharing to enable access to business-ready data without requiring movement or duplication.

SAP further announced that Databricks and Google Cloud are its first partners enabled for BDC Connect, extending the company’s open data ecosystem. SAP stated that these partnerships are designed to help customers accelerate access to analytics and AI-driven insights across platforms, thereby reducing silos and simplifying data architecture.

SAP Databricks, which was announced in February 2025, continues to operate as a native data service within SAP Business Data Cloud. With BDC Connect, the integration now supports a broader ecosystem, enabling data products to move securely and maintain their business context. The company further informed that while SAP BDC Connect for Databricks is now generally available, the version for Google BigQuery is planned for the first half of 2026.

AI-driven supply chain software and CX tools

Among the AI applications showcased at the event, SAP introduced Supply Chain Orchestration, an AI-native application that integrates Joule with a live knowledge graph. The system continuously analyses supplier networks across multiple tiers to detect risks in real time and coordinate proactive responses, aiming to reduce costs and maintain operational continuity during disruptions.

SAP also unveiled SAP Engagement Cloud, a customer experience platform that applies contextual insights to personalise interactions across customers, suppliers, and partners. The platform leverages business-critical data from SAP applications to tailor engagement strategies.

In addition, the company introduced an updated version of its SAP Ariba procurement suite, positioning it as an AI-native solution that embeds intelligence throughout the sourcing and spend management lifecycle—from procurement planning to supplier collaboration.

Strategy focused on actionable intelligence

The new announcements reinforce SAP’s strategy to unify AI, data, and enterprise applications within a single platform. Speaking during a media and analyst session at the event, Alam said that businesses require more integrated tools as they respond to increasing operational complexity.

“To thrive when volatility is the new normal, businesses need more than a patchwork of disparate best-of-breed applications. Our announcements demonstrate the power of SAP Business Suite, where AI, data, and applications come together in an experience to propel smarter decisions, faster execution, and scalable transformation,” he said.

Alam further added that the new developments mark SAP’s latest step in turning enterprise data into actionable intelligence and measurable value.