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ThomasJoos

SAP Consulting: AI and Migration

SAP with AI and a clear migration path

I support companies with two major SAP topics: the productive use of AI around SAP Joule and the SAP Business Technology Platform, and the path to S/4HANA in the cloud. The perspective stays vendor-independent, focused on business …

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SAP consulting with technical depth and an independent view

Two movements are happening around SAP at the same time. AI is moving into business processes with Joule, Embedded AI and the Business Technology Platform, and the systems are migrating to S/4HANA and to the cloud. Both paths change the IT architecture profoundly and can be planned together.

I support these projects as an independent technical author and consultant. The value of an AI feature depends on the data architecture, on governance, on the cost model and on the ability to move a use case into live operations. This is exactly where the consulting starts, with technical depth and without marketing language.

The foundation is a rare combination. More than a hundred technical books and several thousand articles, ongoing SAP publications in the leading IT media and consulting mandates up to ministry level meet concrete migration and AI projects.

From the region

Effectively a neighbor of SAP in Walldorf

My location is in Bad Wimpfen, a few kilometers from SAP's headquarters in Walldorf, right in the middle of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. Little more than a short drive lies between me and Walldorf, which makes me effectively a neighbor of SAP.

Being close to the SAP ecosystem in the region is more than a detail. It keeps the connection to developments, partners and industry events short and feeds into consulting and publications. The perspective remains deliberately independent, because articles and recommendations are created without any vendor ties.

Strategy discussion about an SAP landscape with AI and migration

Consulting from the region around SAP headquarters, vendor-independent and close to real-world practice.

SAP writing

Articles, white papers and concepts on SAP

Besides consulting, I write SAP content on assignment for companies. The company commissions and pays for the text, the trade publication receives it free of charge and decides on its own whether to run it. The result is a piece that survives editorial scrutiny, not an advertisement.

Article

Articles for the trade press

An article commissioned by a company appears where its audience already reads. More than eighty SAP articles have appeared this way in ComputerWeekly, BigData-Insider, CloudComputing-Insider and Security-Insider.

White paper

White papers that hold up

A white paper only works when its claims are backed. Every figure gets its source, every recommendation its precondition, and the limits of a solution appear in the text rather than in a footnote.

Concept

Concepts and architecture papers

For migrations, operating models and security architectures I write papers that both decision-makers and specialists can follow. The technical depth stays in without losing the management audience.

Documentation

Technical documentation

Manuals, operations documentation and eBooks follow the same method: understand the system first, then describe it. Clients have included manufacturers and system houses.

Case study

Case studies and user reports

A case study works when it describes the problem the way it actually occurred. That takes conversations with the people involved and the willingness to name the detours as well.

Training

Training material

Work on video courses and technical books feeds into material that administrators actually take away with them. More than a hundred books and several video courses are the basis.

SAP BTP Cockpit showing the account explorer with several subaccounts across hyperscalers.
From the article on BTP administration: subaccounts on Azure and AWS within one global account. The screenshots come from real systems, not from vendor brochures.
SAP Build lobby with a project list and templates for process automation.
From the article on AI in the Business Technology Platform. Screens like this show what the reader will find again after reading.
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management with a list of requested supplier data.
From the article on ESG reporting. Even dry compliance topics need an image that shows the actual process.

How a commissioned article runs

01

Topic and scope

We settle what the piece has to say and which publication fits. Without that, the result is a text no editor will take.

02

Research and interviews

I work my way into the system and talk to your specialists. Whatever cannot be backed does not go into the text.

03

Review and placement

One review round for the technical check, then placement with the publication. Whether it runs is the editor's decision, and that is exactly what makes it credible.

Technical articles by Thomas Joos

78 SAP articles to read

A selection of my published SAP articles in ComputerWeekly, BigData-Insider and CloudComputing-Insider. Each title links directly to the article.

AI in SAP (14)
Migration and S/4HANA (19)
SAP Joule S/4HANA · Purchasing Show me open purchase orders above 50,000 euros. Three open purchase orders exceed the limit. SupplierAmountStatus Müller AG72.400 €open Kern GmbH58.900 €open Vogt Systeme51.200 €overdue Total182.500 € Start approval ›
Platform and integration (13)
Security and compliance (22)
SAP SuccessFactors Joule · HR AI DRAFT Job description: SAP Consultant Responsibilities Requirements Accept Adjust Open positions12 Applications148 Time-to-Hire34 d
HANA, operations and cloud (8)
More SAP topics (2)
Focus on AI

AI in SAP from Joule to the Business Technology Platform

SAP bundles its own AI features under SAP Business AI. I help select the right use cases from this toolbox, design them from a business and technical angle and bring them into operations as pilots.

SAP Business AI Four layers, one seamless system JouleAssistance and agents in natural language Embedded AIAI built into the business applications, from Finance to SuccessFactors AI FoundationGenerative AI Hub, AI Core and AI Launchpad for your own use cases SAP Business Technology PlatformData, integration, governance and security S/4HANA Cloud and hybrid

SAP Joule

The AI assistant operates SAP in natural language, summarizes data and guides users through processes. Joule Agents take on multi-step tasks across system boundaries.

Embedded AI

AI is built into the business applications, from Finance and Supply Chain to SuccessFactors. I assess where these features deliver real added value.

SAP BTP and AI Foundation

The Generative AI Hub, AI Core and AI Launchpad enable your own use cases with models from partners or in-house, securely and under control.

SuccessFactors and HR

Generative AI supports Human Experience Management, from job descriptions to feedback. Joule guides employees through the right workflows.

ABAP with AI

Joule for Developers analyzes code, makes suggestions and generates tests. This accelerates development and clean-core projects on the way to the cloud.

Governance and value

Guardrails, data protection and a clear cost model determine success. Every use case is examined for its data basis, effort and impact.

Focus on migration

The path to S/4HANA and to the cloud

Replacing legacy SAP landscapes is an architecture project. I support the transformation path from the initial assessment through the target architecture to the migration of critical workloads, in your own data center, in Azure, AWS and Google Cloud or as part of RISE with SAP.

The clean-core principle keeps the standard lean and the extensions cleanly separated. This keeps the landscape upgradable and open for the AI features of the Business Technology Platform. Consulting at state level, including on the transformation path of a state administration, feeds into this work.

Migration of an SAP landscape to S/4HANA into a hybrid cloud environment
1AssessmentAnalysis and evaluation 2Target pictureArchitecture and cloud model 3Clean CoreStandard and extensions 4S/4HANAOperations in cloud and hybrid Migration path in four steps
Security and compliance

SAP security and regulatory requirements

AI and migration change the attack surface and touch on regulation. I combine the SAP view with many years of experience in hardening architectures and in advising operators of critical infrastructure.

Identities and access

SAP Cloud Identity Services, authorizations and zero-trust principles keep access cleanly separated, even across system boundaries.

Operating AI securely

Guardrails, tenant separation and an eye on prompt injection and hallucinations keep generative features within clear limits.

NIS2, DORA and CRA

The regulatory requirements from NIS2, DORA, CRA and the EU AI Act run through every migration and AI project and are considered from the start.

Topics from practice

SAP topics I cover

A selection of the topics I write and advise on regularly. The range spans from the AI layer to application development.

SAP Business AI SAP Joule and Joule Agents SAP Business Technology Platform Generative AI Hub SAP AI Core and AI Launchpad Machine learning services on BTP S/4HANA in production RISE with SAP and Clean Core ABAP and SAP application development SuccessFactors and HR SAP Cloud Identity Services SAP security

How I support SAP projects

The collaboration is flexible and without long-term commitment. It ranges from a single article or whitepaper to end-to-end support of an AI or migration project.

1. Baseline assessment. Together we clarify the starting point, the goals and the use cases with the greatest benefit.
2. Design. From the requirements a solution and implementation concept emerges, robust from a business and technical angle.
3. Pilot. Selected use cases are piloted, reviewed and evaluated before they scale up.
4. Implementation and operations. The solution is implemented, secured and moved into live operations.
5. Knowledge transfer. The team learns to use the new features confidently and to develop them further on its own.

Tackle SAP with AI and a clear migration path

A free and non-binding initial consultation clarifies which SAP topics are worthwhile and what a sensible next step looks like.

Arrange a free initial consultation