SAP SE and Google Cloud have announced an expanded partnership aimed at enabling enterprises to better utilize data and generative AI. This development was revealed at the Google Cloud Next event. The expanded collaboration will involve the integration of SAP Datasphere with Google Cloud’s Vertex AI. The intention is to launch AI-powered industry solutions initially focusing on the automotive sector, along with introducing features that enhance sustainability performance for enterprises.
Long-Term Partnership for Digital Transformation
The announcement builds upon a long-standing strategic relationship between the two companies. This partnership seeks to assist enterprise customers in accelerating their digital transformation processes and deriving maximum value from business-critical data. Google Cloud is a strategic collaborator with RISE with SAP and currently counts several leading enterprises as joint customers.
Open Data Cloud Integrations
By integrating generative AI into the open data cloud of both SAP and Google Cloud, customers will have the opportunity to deploy new solutions. These solutions will leverage data not just from SAP Datasphere but also from virtually any other data source. The aim is to significantly enhance business insights, analysis, and decision-making.
Focus Areas
The integration focuses primarily on two sectors:
- Automotive Industry: New solutions are set to be launched that utilize Google Cloud’s generative AI models through Vertex AI and data from Catena-X, an open data ecosystem for the automotive industry supported by SAP. These solutions will allow automotive companies to securely exchange data across their value chains. This data can be used to build and train generative AI models aimed at optimizing operations, enhancing customer experiences, and spurring innovation. For instance, the AI models could potentially identify and mitigate vehicle issues before they lead to recalls.
- Enterprise Sustainability: Businesses will be able to utilize Vertex AI and SAP Datasphere to create generative AI solutions focused on sustainability. The AI functionality, which will soon be available to SAP customers on Google Cloud, will help organizations combine their business data with third-party ESG data sets. As a result, companies can create tailored sustainability reports, automate sustainability alerts across their supply chains, and make more informed decisions based on comprehensive analyses.
Statements from Executives
Juergen Mueller, Chief Technology Officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, emphasized the role of generative AI in transforming business decision-making. Kevin Ichhpurani, Corporate Vice President of Global Partner Ecosystem & Channels at Google Cloud, stated that the partnership aims to provide real-world value to businesses by leveraging generative AI to extract more value from stored information.
Ethical Concerns and Security
Both companies aim to ensure responsible AI experiences by paying heed to security, privacy, compliance, and ethics.
For those interested in learning more about this expanded partnership, customer sessions will be available at the Google Next event.