SAP unveils AI innovations, collabs with Google and Meta

SAP has announced a range of artificial intelligence (AI) innovations at its annual Sapphire Conference in Orlando, Florida, including the introduction of its generative AI copilot, Joule.

This move is part of a broader strategy to transform business operations through proactive and contextualised insights.

In an effort to push the boundaries of AI, SAP has partnered with several leading technology companies, including Google Cloud, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and NVIDIA. SAP believes the collaborations will enhance cloud-based sustainability and supply-chain innovation.

"The Business AI innovations we’re announcing at SAP Sapphire in 2024 will redefine the way businesses run. Today’s AI announcements and partnerships build on our commitment to deliver revolutionary technology that drives real-world results, helping customers unleash the agility and ingenuity they need to succeed in today’s fast-moving business landscape," CEO and member of SAP's Executive Board Christian Klein said.

SAP's generative AI copilot, Joule, is designed to sort and contextualise data from multiple systems, facilitating automation and improving decision-making processes.

Initially launched in SAP SuccessFactors solutions last September, Joule is expanding to include SAP S/4HANA Cloud solutions and other products such as SAP Build and SAP Integration Suite. By the end of the year, Joule is expected to integrate with SAP Ariba and SAP Analytics Cloud solutions.

In addition to these developments, SAP announced plans to further enhance Joule’s capabilities by integrating it with Microsoft Copilot. This integration aims to provide richer insights by giving users a unified experience, seamlessly blending information from SAP and Microsoft 365 business applications.

SAP is committed to the principles of relevant, reliable, and responsible AI. Reflecting this, the company has adopted the 10 guiding principles of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, which aim to ensure that AI technologies are developed and used in ways that respect human rights, promote fairness, and contribute to sustainable development.

The partnerships with leading technology companies like Google Cloud, Meta, Mistral AI, and NVIDIA are pivotal in SAP’s strategy to harness AI technology for enterprise-level innovation. With Google Cloud, SAP is integrating Joule and the SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain solution with Google Cloud’s Gemini models AI assistant and the Google Cloud Cortex Framework’s data foundation.

This collaboration aims to help enterprises better predict and mitigate supply-chain risks, minimising disruptions and maintaining optimal inventory levels.

Meta’s next-generation AI model, Meta Llama 3, will be leveraged by SAP to generate scripts for highly customised analytics applications within SAP Analytics Cloud. This model excels at understanding language nuances and contextual requirements, making it ideal for translating enterprise business needs into actionable outcomes.

SAP is also adding new large language models from Mistral AI to its generative AI hub within SAP AI Core. This will facilitate the development of generative AI use cases for SAP applications, further enhancing their capability.

The partnership with NVIDIA involves several initiatives.

NVIDIA’s AI models will assist in answering implementation-related questions during the RISE with SAP solution deployments, while its accelerated infrastructure will support the scaling and management of SAP's generative AI model for ABAP code generation.