In today’s era of digital intelligence, the rapid growth of new technologies like cloud computing and generative AI stands in stark contrast to the challenges of inflation, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain disruptions. Businesses are left wondering how to navigate these technologies and transform while managing to survive such turbulent times.

Enter Claudio Muruzabal, chief business officer of SAP SE.

Muruzabal supports SAP’s Customer Advisory, Solution Area and Services Sales, and Customer Success Management & Engagement teams. For over eight years, he has played a crucial role in understanding the evolving technology landscape and how businesses utilize available technologies. His efforts help SAP customers achieve their goals by effectively leveraging SAP solutions, starting with advising them on integrating intelligent capabilities like generative AI.

In a recent conversation, Muruzabal shared insights into his role, the success of SAP customers with intelligent technology, and the growing significance of customer success management at SAP.

Q: AI is all the rage today, so let’s start there. What are the biggest opportunities for businesses to use AI?

Muruzabal: The opportunities for AI are vast and go beyond just automating processes to increase efficiency. At SAP, we see AI supporting relevant business processes, driving innovation and competitiveness. While many industry players focus on developing AI engines and large language models, we emphasize accelerating business value through generative AI. AI is transforming data analytics, decision-support systems, supply chain optimization, predictive maintenance, and HR. Daily, we discover new opportunities for customers to leapfrog their competition by combining generative AI with their business data and processes.

Q: What are some examples of how SAP customers are using AI, and what value have they realized so far?

There are countless exciting examples of customers using AI capabilities included in their SAP solutions. Across industries, workers use natural language to get instant data insights via the SAP Analytics Cloud solution. Busy recruiters use generative AI with SAP SuccessFactors to create compelling job descriptions and interview questions faster. Joule, our AI assistant and copilot, helps end users maximize our cloud solutions. Embedded in SAP SuccessFactors HCM, SAP Start, and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Joule offers tremendous opportunities for our customers.

Professional soccer clubs like FC Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC are using an AI-powered scouting prototype to find and develop new star athletes, showcasing AI’s broad applicability.

Q: AI can solve many problems, but what about the foundational technology stack companies have today? What conversations are you having with businesses about their technology investments?

Early conversations with customers focus on setting up a robust enterprise technology platform in the cloud, which is crucial for innovation journeys, including SAP Business AI. Many customers have built numerous modifications on their core ERP. To embrace innovation and AI, it is essential to adopt a clean core model, where modifications are built outside the core using extensibility solutions. This approach is not just technical; it enhances flexibility and adaptability, turning the cloud operating model into an “innovation as a service” platform.

Q: What makes SAP unique and stand out to customers with its value proposition?

SAP stands out as a global leader in best-of-suite solutions, backed by over 50 years of industry knowledge and ERP technology leadership. Our leading “best of breed” solutions in HCM, customer experience, intelligent spend, and business networks integrate seamlessly into the core. Only SAP can offer this comprehensive value proposition. When combined with the cloud operating model, as adopted by RISE with SAP customers, it provides exponential value for innovation as a service.

Q: How can customers get the most from their investments? What kind of support is there to help them transform and innovate?

Customer success management is crucial in the cloud. It involves end-to-end engagement, from advisory to sales execution to onboarding, adoption, and consumption. We provide tools, assets, and content to accelerate adoption and maximize value from the initial to full and future use. SAP Preferred Success services can further accelerate time to value. Deep telemetry in our cloud solutions helps customers and our customer success managers understand solution usage and identify opportunities to expand.

Q: Where do advisory services fit into the customer journey?

Customer advisory services are perhaps the most critical part of the customer journey. Successful projects begin with a well-defined business case, anchored in a thorough understanding of the customer’s industry and business. Our Customer Advisory teams help build the right technical solutions to support enterprise architecture, setting the stage for developing a cloud operating model.

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