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Techday NZ
11-08-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Exclusive: SAP's Ashley McGibbon on AI, data and the future of partner innovation
SAP is betting big on artificial intelligence, but only if it's built on a solid foundation of accurate data. Speaking to TechDay at the SAP NOW AI Tour in Melbourne, Chief Partner Officer for SAP Australia and New Zealand, Ashley McGibbon, said partners in the region were "pivoting to meet fast-growing demand for AI solutions". "In ANZ we have about 800 partners – from those building applications, to services partners, to those helping us sell and position our cloud solutions," she said. "The focus is no longer just on go-live. It's about continuous adoption." This vision is captured in SAP's "flywheel" model, which combines applications, data and AI to build momentum for ongoing innovation. Introduced this year, the concept draws on the physics principle where connected components generate increasing energy. For McGibbon, it's not just about clever technology – it's about feeding AI the right inputs. "We run mission-critical business processes, and those processes hold a treasure trove of business-critical data," she explained. "Our Business Data Cloud allows customers to harmonise SAP and non-SAP data, structured and unstructured, to feed AI with accurate business data." Without that accuracy, she warned, AI can go badly wrong. "If they can't trust the data feeding the AI, then the decisions will ultimately be wrong," she said. "It's far easier to achieve a harmonised platform with Business Data Cloud." McGibbon said SAP values partners who work quickly and with purpose, adopting a "minimum viable product" mindset to deliver rapid returns for customers. She noted a surge of AI interest at board level, with directors eager to explore how it can boost productivity, in line with the Australian Government's focus on data-driven efficiency. The response to Business Data Cloud since its February launch has been "the most reception to a new product" SAP has ever had in the region. The momentum is already visible in real-world deployments. SA Power Networks has built a generative AI app on SAP's Business Technology Platform that delivers mobile repair instructions directly to technicians in the field, saving the utility a million Australian dollars in its first year. Beverage company Lion built an app in just 10 days, a sign of how diverse industries are embracing AI. McGibbon pointed to Deloitte's recent CFO study, which found 80 per cent of CFOs in APAC prioritise automation through AI. "Everybody's talking about it," she said. For partners still making the shift to cloud and AI, McGibbon said enablement is key. SAP has opened its AI demo systems to partners, rolled out a new business AI certification, and launched "Joule for consultants" to speed up software build and implementation. She's also watching the market evolve through moves like DyFlex's acquisition of Bluetree, which expands into New Zealand and strengthens analytics capability. "It's a combination of a cloud-native partner with an analytics partner," she said. "I think they will bring AI strategy to life across all their existing cloud customers." Central to McGibbon's message is a change in how success is measured. "In the past we celebrated go-lives. For me, it's now go-begin – get the platform right, then continue that cycle of innovation," she said. Quarterly cloud updates mean partners must be ready to help customers adopt new capabilities quickly. "That's how we make the flywheel spin." She believes AI is also prompting customers to rethink design from the outset. "Customers are demanding we look at AI as part of the design, not just copying what was done before," she said. "This is the time to do it better." Early wins, she added, are often found in human capital management. "In SuccessFactors, you can use Joule to write your performance review and it makes you sound amazing," she said. "There's a lot of low-hanging fruit for existing customers." Her advice to organisations exploring AI in the SAP ecosystem is simple but firm: talk to your partners, identify the easy use cases, and above all, get your data strategy right. "You have to get that right first," she said. "Once you've done that, the world is your oyster."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BMO Capital Raises SAP SE (SAP) PT to $330
On May 23, BMO Capital Markets upped the price objective on SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)'s stock to $330 from $320 and kept an 'Outperform' rating. The firm has expressed optimism about the customer and partner interest in BDC (Business Data Cloud). Furthermore, the management has reiterated views on longer-term revenue growth potential, which can reach mid-teens. A data centre room with cloud technology, illustrating the enterprise application software services. On February 13, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) announced SAP Business Data Cloud, a solution unifying SAP and third-party data throughout an organization. It offers a trusted data foundation that organizations require to make more impactful decisions and foster reliable AI. For FY 2025, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) currently expects €21.6 billion – €21.9 billion of cloud revenue at constant currencies, reflecting a rise of 26% - 28%. It expects €33.1 – €33.6 billion of cloud and software revenue at constant currencies, implying 11% - 13% growth. SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)'s Q1 2025 demonstrates a strong start to the year amidst a highly volatile environment, with healthy total revenue growth and operating profit expansion. The company's total revenue (IFRS) rose 12% to €9,013 million. These results exhibit its cost discipline and focused execution. While we acknowledge the potential of SAP to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SAP and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Salesforce reinforces its AI cloud with $8B Informatica acquisition
This story was originally published on CIO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CIO Dive newsletter. Salesforce agreed to purchase Informatica for approximately $8 billion Tuesday in a move designed to strengthen its cloud-based data and AI capabilities. 'Together, Salesforce and Informatica will create the most complete, agent-ready data platform in the industry,' Salesforce Chair and CEO Marc Benioff said in the announcement. The CRM provider will integrate Informatica's data governance and management services with its Data Cloud warehouse, MuleSoft hybrid interface and Tableau analytics platforms to build out its Agentforce enterprise AI automation hub, the company said. 'This proposed acquisition will be a key enabler for Salesforce's next phase of AI-driven growth — and we will move quickly to integrate their capabilities and unlock synergies on a fast timeline,' said Robin Washington, president and chief operating and financial officer at Salesforce. The transaction has approval from both companies' boards and is expected to close early in Salesforce's fiscal year 2027, which begins in February. As the agent deployment race heats up, major enterprise software providers are reinforcing their data foundations to provide autonomous AI tools with fuel for insights and action. The Informatica acquisition follows a flurry of agentic-related moves in the industry. SAP forged a data pipeline alliance with Databricks in February to amplify its Joule copilot's agentic capabilities. The enterprise software giant's Business Data Cloud platform connects ERP data with outside data repositories to put additional muscle behind machine learning, AI and agentic applications. In January, ServiceNow rolled out its AI Agent Orchestrator command center and promised to deliver thousands of pre-built agentic tools to its platform. The enterprise software company added the agent-focused Workflow Data Network multiplatform integration to its suite and purchased data governance and management start-up for an undisclosed sum in early May. 'ServiceNow is working with some of the largest companies in the world to eliminate data silos head‑on, enabling enterprises to accelerate AI adoption at scale,' said Gaurav Rewari, SVP and general manager of data and analytics products at ServiceNow, in the May announcement. Salesforce has already seen returns on its investements in agentic capabilities. After reporting 120% year-over-year revenue growth for its Data Cloud and AI segment, Benioff dubbed the three-month period ending on Jan. 31 as 'the quarter of Agentforce' during a February earnings call. Earlier this month, the company expanded its army of agent-focused AI models and added automation software startup to its growing M&A portfolio. While the terms of the deal were undisclosed, Salesforce is no stranger to multibillion-dollar acquisitions. The Informatica deal is dwarfed by two prior Salesforce acquisitions — nearly $28 billion for Slack in 2020 and almost $16 billion for Tableau in 2019. The company purchased MuleSoft for $6.5 billion in 2018.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SAP SE (SAP)'s Strategic Pivot Drives Optimism – JPMorgan Reaffirms Overweight Rating
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) stands against other AI stocks on Wall Street's radar. SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) is a leader in ERP software that leverages artificial intelligence to enhance its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. On May 23, JPMorgan analyst Toby Ogg reiterated an 'Overweight' rating and EUR290.00 price target on the stock. The reiteration follows SAP's Sapphire Conference in Orlando, where the company demonstrated a strategic pivot, focusing on suite-as-a-service applications, its Business Data Cloud, and artificial intelligence initiatives such as Joule & AI Agents. Ogg also pointed toward early interest in SAP's Business Data Cloud. Moreover, discussions with key SAP partners revealed eagerness for the company's integration with Databricks, a partnership that allows companies to prepare enterprise data for AI capabilities. The firm believes that these initiatives are seen as growth drivers and aren't fully reflected in consensus views, offering potential upside. A data centre room with cloud technology, illustrating the enterprise application software services. SAP's CFO, Dominik Asam, talked about some challenges impacting cash conversion in 2026, but at the same time, also noted the sustainability of SAP's growth. Overall, the firm holds a positive view about the company's revenue growth through 2027. This supports a mid-term investment case for the stock. Overall, SAP ranks 10th on our list of AI stocks on Wall Street's radar. While we acknowledge the potential of SAP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SAP and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BMO Capital Raises SAP SE (SAP) PT to $330
On May 23, BMO Capital Markets upped the price objective on SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)'s stock to $330 from $320 and kept an 'Outperform' rating. The firm has expressed optimism about the customer and partner interest in BDC (Business Data Cloud). Furthermore, the management has reiterated views on longer-term revenue growth potential, which can reach mid-teens. A data centre room with cloud technology, illustrating the enterprise application software services. On February 13, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) announced SAP Business Data Cloud, a solution unifying SAP and third-party data throughout an organization. It offers a trusted data foundation that organizations require to make more impactful decisions and foster reliable AI. For FY 2025, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) currently expects €21.6 billion – €21.9 billion of cloud revenue at constant currencies, reflecting a rise of 26% - 28%. It expects €33.1 – €33.6 billion of cloud and software revenue at constant currencies, implying 11% - 13% growth. SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)'s Q1 2025 demonstrates a strong start to the year amidst a highly volatile environment, with healthy total revenue growth and operating profit expansion. The company's total revenue (IFRS) rose 12% to €9,013 million. These results exhibit its cost discipline and focused execution. While we acknowledge the potential of SAP to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SAP and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now Disclosure: None.
