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SAP: Bringing the ‘Operating System’ of a Company into the AI Era with CTO Philipp Herzig

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SAP: Bringing the ‘Operating System’ of a Company into the AI Era with CTO Philipp Herzig

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

Apr 23
No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

Apr 23
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

More than fifty years ago, the modern idea of the standard enterprise software was birthed at SAP. Now, after managing companies through technological shifts from the mainframe to mobile, SAP is at the forefront of closing the AI adoption gap for their cus...

Highlights

In this podcast, SAP's Chief Technology Officer, Philipp Herzig, discusses the company's enduring role as an enterprise operating system and its strategic pivot towards AI. The conversation explores how SAP is navigating the current technological shift, focusing on embedding AI agents to enhance business processes and customer outcomes, while addressing the unique challenges of scaling AI in a complex enterprise environment.
00:05
SAP's AI strategy and resilience through tech transitions
00:49
SAP is the market leader in enterprise software.
01:18
SAP is the operating system for companies.
02:52
Enterprise AI adoption lags despite dropping costs
06:54
AI is the next big shift after cloud.
12:17
Scale and verifiability are the core challenges.
17:09
Data alone is insufficient for full autonomy.
20:47
Most enterprise AI agents will use tool calling rather than computer use.
22:13
Natural language interfaces bypass IT departments.
27:50
RPT1 bridges the AI adoption gap for enterprise customers.
29:08
Fragmented data limits AI potential
31:54
AI will uplevel roles by automating mundane tasks.
34:08
Hybrid pricing blends consumption and seat-based elements
36:45
Making technology invisible ensures rapid adoption and ROI.
38:54
Connecting vision to execution through hands-on prototyping
40:10
Understand customer needs before pitching technology
42:40
Quantum computing could reduce emissions and costs

Chapters

Cold Open
00:00
Philipp Herzig Introduction
00:42
What SAP Does
01:18
Why SAP Endures
02:51
CTO Priorities and AI Push
06:53
Scaling AI in Enterprise
12:14
Verifiability and Agent Mining
17:06
Tool Calling vs. Computer Use
20:42
Domains Where Agents Deliver Value
22:11
Limitations of Predictive Tabular Models
24:58
Barriers to Enterprise Adoption
29:07
How AI Will ‘Uplevels’ Work
31:54
How AI Changes SAP’s Pricing Model
34:03
What Makes a Winner in the AI Era
36:41
Day in the Life of a CTO
38:53
Customer Challenges
40:08
Business Problem of Quantum Computing
42:36

Transcript

Sarah Guo: Hey, listeners. Welcome back to No Priors. Today, I'm here with Philipp Herzig, the CTO of SAP, the enterprise juggernaut. We talk about their AI strategy, why SAP has endured and thrived through several technology transitions, why entrepreneurs...