DSAG 2024 - Navigating the Current State of SAP: Insights and Reflections

The DSAG Annual Congress 2024 is now behind us. Under the theme "Triad of the Future," the event featured over 250 presentations, 175 SAP partner companies, and welcomed more than 5,500 visitors across three days. The triad referred to the harmony between SAP, its partners and customers—working together like a musical chord. But, as in music, harmony isn’t guaranteed. The balance between these three players can produce both major and minor chords, representing opportunities and challenges alike. 

What Stood Out? 🎵 

A major focus across the event was SAP’s push for “RISE with SAP”, SAP BTP, and AI. Every booth in Ballroom 3 had a slogan featuring "RISE with SAP." However, while SAP promised 100 business cases for AI by the end of 2024, real-world examples still felt scarce, leaving room for speculation on SAP’s progress. 

With over 65 presentation streams covering deep technical content, licensing, transformation strategies and industry solutions, it was difficult to attend all that caught my interest. I balanced my time between technical discussions and presentations on licenses and contracts, with a particular focus on “RISE with SAP”, which dominated the discourse. 

Keynote Highlights 

The conference kicked off with DSAGs Jens Hungerhausen emphasizing about the collaboration between SAP, partners and customers. In his keynote, Thomas Saueressig from SAP revealed that SAP is partnering with Schwarz IT to offer a European cloud option, diverging from the usual hyperscalers like AWS, Azure and GCP—a significant move for data sovereignty in Europe. 

On Day 2, the focus remained on the importance of this collaboration, while DSAG’s Michael Bloch tackled the complex issue of commercial contracts in SAP cloud services, a topic that would resonate throughout the event. 

Presentations That Left an Impression 🚀

One of the most compelling presentations I attended was titled Feedback from "RISE with SAP" Operations by Jens Gleichmann and Dominik Fiedler . They shared customer insights on “RISE with SAP”, which drew far more attendees than the available seats—an indicator of the strong interest and concern among SAP users. The customer feedback was mixed, with recurring themes of degraded service quality, increased communication challenges with SAP teams and extended lead times. One significant shift noted was the changing role of SAP Basis teams. Instead of performing administration, these teams are now required to coordinate efforts with SAP ECS, meaning headcount reductions aren’t an option. In fact, more staffing may be needed to manage these complexities. 

A key takeaway: before signing a “RISE with SAP” contract, customers should carefully review the roles and responsibilities document with input from all relevant departments—technical experts, finance, legal and licensing. 

Licenses and Contracts: The Fine Print 📑 

Day 2 also featured a stream on licensing within “RISE with SAP”. The ballroom was filled—a rarity for licensing sessions, which traditionally attract fewer attendees. Michael Bloch and Dr. Michael Karger led two insightful presentations that illuminated the complexities of SAP’s contract structures. Dr. Karger emphasized three key challenges when negotiating RISE contracts: scope, transparency, and dynamics. Contract documents often changed during negotiations, adding another layer of complexity. He advised companies to begin contract discussions with the end in mind, particularly focusing on exit strategies, SLAs, AI, data sovereignty and the shift from perpetual to subscription licenses. 

It was noteworthy that 48% of SAP clients surveyed held a negative view of SAP’s S/4HANA Cloud strategy, while only 13% were positive. Moreover, 61% of existing clients had no plans to adopt RISE. These numbers starkly contrast SAP’s optimistic messaging. 

Customer Lessons Learned 💡 

In another standout presentation, Michael Scheel from EnBW Energie shared hard-earned lessons from their ongoing RISE implementation journey. Starting in 2022, with a planned go-live in mid-2024, their timeline has since been pushed back by a year. His advice? Involve technical teams early, budget extra time for contract reviews, and expect unforeseen costs. When asked if he would go through the process again, Scheel’s response was telling: "It’s not about if, but about when and how." This reflects the strategic importance of RISE for some companies, even amid operational challenges. 

The Final Word: Contracts Matter 

The panel discussion that followed reinforced this point. Michael Bloch’s advice resonated with many: "Make sure you understand what you’re signing when you decide to go with RISE." 

Closing Thoughts and Key Takeaways ⚙️ 

As we look ahead, it's clear that “RISE with SAP” isn’t going anywhere. SAP has fully committed to this model and most SAP partners have joined the bandwagon. However, the crucial question remains: how many customers are ready to make the leap? 

While DSAG has softened its critical stance on RISE, there’s still skepticism among clients, many of whom remain on ECC or S/4HANA on-premise. Will they transition to RISE, and do they have the resources and expertise to navigate the contract complexities? 

Before signing any RISE contract, take Warren Buffett’s advice to heart: "Only invest in things you understand." If you find the contracts confusing, involve independent advisors who can help you decode the terms and see the bigger picture. 

Presentations & Additional Resources 📂 

For those interested, the presentations from DSAG 2024 can be downloaded directly from the DSAG portal. However, if you have trouble accessing the portal or need specific slides, feel free to reach out to me via direct message, and I’ll be happy to share them with you. Most presentations are in German, but charts and diagrams can easily be understood.

What’s Your Take? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Did you attend the DSAG Annual Congress this year? What were your impressions, particularly around “RISE with SAP” and SAP’s new focus on AI and SAP BTP? How do you see these trends shaping the future of SAP and its customers? Feel free to share your experiences or questions in the comments below or reach out to me directly.