The DSAG Annual Congress returned to Bremen this year, with more than 5,300 participants gathering under the motto “The Art of Balance.”
In the keynote presentation Jens Hungerhausen, Chairman of DSAG, highlighted the tension that many SAP customers feel today: balancing the need for innovation with the need for stability, in a landscape where SAP itself is reshaping its portfolio around the cloud, AI, and the SAP Business Suite.
As Hungerhausen reminded the audience, “SAP itself is in transition.” The new SAP Business Suite now offers a vision for future IT architectures built in the cloud, but the path there is not simple.
AI, he argued, could help smooth that journey, but adoption lags behind SAP’s own ambitions: the official direction is clear, yet the customer reality often looks different.
The latest DSAG investment survey figures, presented during the keynote, give a view of the current SAP ecosystem.
51% of respondents are still running their businesses on SAP ERP or the old Business Suite. By contrast, 42% have moved to S/4HANA on-premise, 33% are using S/4HANA in the Private Cloud, and only 13% are running S/4HANA in the Public Cloud. Some firms are even juggling multiple systems in parallel.
Despite the push from SAP toward S/4HANA and the cloud, the majority of the installed base is still rooted in older systems. Even a decade after S/4HANA’s launch, “progress is slower than it really needs to be.” Hungerhausen admitted. In other words, consultants are likely to be dealing with hybrid landscapes for years to come. This complicates transformation roadmaps but also creates steady demand for skilled support across the spectrum of SAP solutions.
SAP has tried to ease the journey with its integrated toolchain of Signavio, LeanIX, and Cloud ALM, promising faster value delivery and lower transformation costs. Yet DSAG pointed out: “For companies to actually take this path, it must become clearer why the move into the new SAP world is worthwhile.”
In practice, he said that means transparent cost models, clear licensing structures, and the flexibility to adapt solutions to individual company needs.
Much of the debate involves the deadlines. Maintenance for SAP ECC ends in 2027, with extended support until 2030. DSAG sees this as a trigger for many firms to move, but Hungerhausen emphasized that “the pace SAP is setting is simply not realistic for many companies.”
Consultants in the field will recognize this well. A complex migration cannot be rushed. The risk, as always, is that projects are started hastily to meet deadlines rather than carefully planned to create lasting value.
For the SAP talent market, this tension has been defining hiring trends for some time. Companies seek program managers and technical leads capable of managing risk under pressure. Others, moving more deliberately, prioritize experts in hybrid architectures and system integration. Both types of demand will grow as 2027 approaches, but DSAG’s call for “more flexibility” from SAP reflects the widespread anxiety in boardrooms and project teams.
Another theme running through the keynote was sovereignty. The blocking of the email account of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was cited as a reminder that cloud reliance must be balanced with geopolitical realities. “Companies and organizations using cloud solutions must ask themselves: how reliable are my partners, even in times of geopolitical tension?”
SAP’s partnership with Schwarz Digits and the expansion of sovereign cloud services were presented as partial answers. SAP now offers infrastructure directly operated by SAP, either in a customer’s own data center or one of their choice. For consultants, this is an area of opportunity: sovereign cloud expertise, compliance with European standards, and advisory services on data and operational sovereignty are becoming new niches in SAP services.
AI has become a primary talking point. DSAG’s survey results show 68% of respondents now see AI as highly or moderately relevant for their company, 48% see very high or high potential in SAP’s AI portfolio, and 45% report that AI already strongly influences their investment decisions. Compared to last year, that is a notable increase in enthusiasm.
As expected, Hungerhausen added a cautionary note: “It still remains to be seen how much of this truly has substance and how much may still be hype.” Clients want practical outcomes, not AI experiments that fail to deliver. SAP has promised more than 400 AI use cases by the end of 2025, along with its AI Agent Hub to orchestrate Joule agents, customer-specific agents, and third-party tools. But the test will be adoption. Are firms embedding AI in their core processes, or running isolated pilots?
Jewellery firm Pandora offered an instructive case. Mariane Heidingsfelder explained how, in their old ERP, Germany alone required 31 RPA bots. After going live with S/4HANA, they needed zero, because embedded automation covered the workload. That is a substantial reduction in complexity and a reminder that the best AI use cases may be incremental but powerful changes in how business critical processes are executed.
Clean Core was a recurring concept in the customer discussions. For Pandora, 98% adherence to standard in Sales and Finance and 88% in Distribution were milestones of discipline. For Adesso, the principle was equally important, but balanced with side-by-side extensions where differentiation was needed, such as their custom-built timesheet entry tool.
Benedikt Bonnmann described Clean Core as “the number one accelerator” when executed well, while also stressing that value-based decisions are needed to deal with legacy. This perspective resonates with many consultants: Clean Core is not dogma, but a strategy for clarity, speed, and easier upgrades. The hard work lies in change management and prioritization, not simply in stripping out custom code.
When the discussion moved to security, the tone became sharper. Hungerhausen cited the German Federal Office for Information Security’s 2024 report, which described the state of IT security as “alarming.”
Ransomware damages worldwide now run into the billions, and in Germany alone, cyberattacks in 2023 caused an estimated €250 billion in economic losses: close to five% of GDP. For companies, that makes security the very foundation of digital continuity.
SAP’s response is Security by Design, Zero Trust policies, and compliance with frameworks such as ISO 27001. Thomas Saueressig also noted that security is “the most important issue, alongside cloud operations,” explaining that SAP manages more than 160,000 system IDs in the Private Cloud. He also admitted that the number of cyberattacks doubled in the past year. The message was that customers expect resilience, and SAP must keep pace with escalating threats.
For consultants, this means firstly that cybersecurity expertise tied to SAP landscapes, from configuration hardening to monitoring, is no longer a specialist add-on but a mainstream consulting requirement. Second, the “human firewall” remains a weak link. Up to 90% of incidents stem from user behavior, whether through phishing emails, weak passwords, or careless network use. Some form of training, change management, and culture are now part of many SAP consultant’s duties.
Saueressig closed his keynote by returning to the theme of balance. The future is cloud, but the present will remain hybrid for years. On-premise, private cloud, and public cloud will coexist, often within the same company. AI will not replace human intelligence but extend it, and its impact will depend on how quickly firms adapt.
He quoted a Chinese proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.” Applied to SAP, the message was: start now. Whether cloud transformation or AI adoption, waiting carries risks. Yet he also echoed Hungerhausen in stressing inclusion: “We do not want to leave anyone behind. Transformation must not become a race.”
Projects that race ahead without bringing people along fail not because of technology, but because of capacity. Companies need time to upskill their workforces, embed new practices, and create adoption. And those consultants who can balance urgency with patience will remain invaluable.
The DSAG and ASUG surveys provided some of the most important data points for consultants planning their careers and consultancies planning their service lines. 51% of firms remain on ECC or Business Suite. 42% are on S/4HANA on-premise. 33% are in the Private Cloud. 13% are in the Public Cloud. AI relevance was acknowledged by 68%, with 45% already factoring it strongly into investment decisions. And 92%highlighted cybersecurity as highly or moderately relevant.
Each of these figures signals demand. Legacy support is not vanishing, and hybrid systems are the norm. Private Cloud remains the comfort zone for many, but Public Cloud is growing, especially in greenfield cases. AI is becoming an investment driver, and security touches every layer. Consultants who build expertise across these domains will not lack opportunities.
Saueressig’s part in the keynote reinforced consistency. He described SAP’s twin strategy of Suite First and AI First, anchored in RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP. He emphasized ongoing investment in both Private and Public Cloud, promising not to abandon customers who cannot move at SAP’s ideal pace. He highlighted partnerships, sovereign cloud options, and customer feedback as integral to shaping the portfolio.
Perhaps most importantly, he framed AI as deeply embedded. By the end of 2025, SAP plans to deliver more than 400 AI scenarios and over 60 agents, integrated through the AI Foundation, GenAI Hub, and Joule Studio. He positioned this as a cycle: applications generate data, data fuels AI scenarios, and AI scenarios create new value, reinforced by ecosystem partnerships.
For consultants, this commitment suggests stability. SAP’s direction is clear, and consultants who align their skills with embedded AI, clean core practices, hybrid cloud strategies, and cybersecurity standards will be in demand. The talent market will reward those who can translate SAP’s strategy into practical outcomes for clients.
The DSAG Annual Congress 2025 keynote was not a showcase of new announcements but a reflection of where the ecosystem stands.
The “Art of Balance” theme described how customers must navigate deadlines without being rushed, adopt cloud without abandoning stability, and embrace AI without chasing hype. SAP, DSAG, and partners all acknowledged the need for flexibility, transparency, and shared progress.
As I listened to the discussions, I was struck by how often themes of patience and collaboration reappeared. Migration is not just a technical task. AI is not just a buzzword; it is valuable when embedded in core processes. Security is not just a compliance item; it is the foundation of trust.
The reassurance is that demand will remain strong across legacy, hybrid, and cloud projects, with AI and security opening new specialisms. The challenge is to build credibility in areas where hype abounds, to guide clients through complex decisions with clarity, and to keep the human factor at the center of technological change.
In that sense, the keynote was less about SAP’s vision and more about how the community of customers, consultants, and partners can walk the path together. The art of balance is the daily work of every SAP professional shaping projects, advising clients, and helping businesses move forward.
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