Part of any SAP consultant’s career is a commitment to continual professional development, keeping up-to-date with new developments, trends and technologies and understanding how they impact day-to-day operations.

SAP has made significant technological advancements which are revolutionising how businesses operate in the digital age. For consultants, that presents a learning challenge, particularly for those keen to progress in the industry.

What advancements should we take note of?

With developments occurring all the time, it’s important to disseminate which advancements are going to have the greatest impact and focusing on those. Currently the two big developments are intelligent enterprise and AI.

Intelligent Enterprise

The SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), which integrates data management, analytics, AI, and automation, will be crucial for companies aiming to become intelligent enterprises. This platform will be a major focus for businesses in DACH as they look to leverage real-time analytics and advanced technologies.

This will enable consultants to work with machine learning models, third party applications and custom solutions but to do so consultants will need to expand their knowledge of AI workflows.

The core skills required to master this development are:

Integration expertise: Integrating different applications and systems into SAP BTP is part and parcel of the success of the platform. Ensuring you’ve got the relevant skills to use SAP’s Integration Suite and APIs to connect on-premise environments and cloud solutions will keep you firmly in demand.

AI: No technological development is complete without AI knowledge in today’s industry. Having the capability to work with SAP’s AI and analytics component within BTP including machine learning models and predictive analysis tools will be a sought after skill.

Minimal coding solutions: Custom solutions and applications don’t always require extensive coding. With Business Application Studio or SAP AppGyver you can create them with minimal coding. As more businesses look to take advantage of custom solutions while managing budgets, being able to reduce the reliance on coding will be increasingly important.

AI and Machine Learning

SAP BTP’s capabilities in AI and machine learning are particularly relevant, as businesses strive for smarter decision-making and process automation. This will be a significant change for customers in their operations and decision making process heightening the need for skilled consultants to guide the way.

The issue is that for many consultants they’re trying to learn as they’re doing. When new developments occur consultants are racing to understand the implications while also trying to implement the solution.

Position yourself for success with these core skills:

Business transformation: We’re dealing with new technologies which are fundamentally changing business operations. SAP consultants won’t just be dealing with the tech side, they’ll become strategic advisors guiding the way through these transformation projects.

Automation technologies: The integration of AI solutions into SAP systems will become an everyday occurrence. Understanding how to automate routine tasks, capitalise on technology for data analysis and processing and marry together AI and automation will be essential for SAP consultants.

Cloud deployment models: Knowledge of the difference between public, private, and hybrid cloud deployments along with cloud extension development goes hand in hand with AI advancements.

How to keep up

The pressure to continually learn and develop while still thriving in your day job can be overwhelming. The key is to embed learning points throughout your week - these might be formal courses and blocking out time to upskill or it could be subscribing to informative newsletters, checking forums and networks or attending conferences and events.

When you make it easy to learn and monitor trends in the SAP industry, it becomes far easier to absorb new information and apply it. Here are a few straightforward ways to advance your knowledge:

SAP Help Portal: The best place to find information about new enhancement packs and solutions.  

SAP Community Network: Access thousands of blogs, forums and wikis. Learn from other people’s experiences and solutions to common problems.

SAP Business Tech Newsletter: Learn directly from SAP about all the latest news and developments.

SAP Learning Hub: With training and certification around topics related to SAP’s latest developments including machine learning and AI application development, this is a key tool to use.

Social media: Connecting with SAP experts on whatever social media platforms you use can expose you to new thoughts, products and features as well as alerting you to relevant webinars and events.

A career in SAP isn’t static. It’s an environment that’s constantly changing and as a consultant, you will always be learning. A love of learning and understanding new technologies is essential to a successful career in SAP, whether that’s geeking out over AI or obsessing over data analysis.

The answer to how to stay relevant when there are constant advancements in SAP Business Technologies is simple, it’s passion and it’s commitment. Embed learning into your everyday activities and keep being curious. That way you’ll always be relevant, and you’ll love what you do.