SAP TechEd Berlin 2025: Agentic AI, Data & Robotics Shift

SAP TechEd Berlin 2025 unfolded key announcements and strategic pivots around AI, data integration, new certifications and emerging compute models. The company’s annual event, which wrapped on Thursday, emphasised not only continuing digital transformation but also how SAP intends to stay relevant in the age of agentic AI and quantum computing.

In this article, you will learn about five major takeaways from SAP TechEd Berlin 2025:

SAP TechEd Berlin 2025: 5 Key Takeaways

Here are five key takeaways from SAP TechEd Berlin 2025.

1. Zero-copy data sharing comes of age

SAP is moving beyond traditional siloed data systems by enabling what it calls “zero-copy bidirectional data sharing” between its own Business Data Cloud and the platforms of partners such as Databricks, Snowflake and Google Cloud’s BigQuery. By opening up to external data-platform ecosystems, SAP signals that enterprises must become more fluid with data: sharing, combining and consuming it in real time rather than moving/copying large volumes between systems.

This shift means organisations that already use SAP applications and also run Databricks, Snowflake, or BigQuery will find improved interoperability, fewer data-marriage headaches and less duplication of data storage. If you use SAP plus other cloud-data platforms, start mapping your “data sharing” flows now rather than traditional “data migration” projects.

2. Certification overhaul: from memorisation to real-world scenario testing

SAP is redesigning its certification programme. Rather than multiple-choice exams focused on memorised textbook knowledge, the company will move toward scenario-based assessments that allow candidates to reference material (including AI-assisted) just as they would in a real working environment.

The idea: tests should reflect real job tasks, not artificial exam constructs. Six of the new exams are already available; the rest of the portfolio is slated for transition in 2026. Organisations training staff and looking for SAP-certified skills should expect a shift in how competence is validated. And employees preparing for certifications should focus more on problem-solving and workflow understanding rather than rote memorisation.

3. The rise of “agentic” AI

At SAP TechEd Berlin 2025, SAP Executive Board Member Muhammad Alam declared that “every enterprise is becoming a data company, and every user experience is becoming AI-driven.” SAP plans to roll out dozens more “AI agents” (it already has 20+ in place) embedded across tools from development to core business-process software.

The move from AI as a tool to AI as a “trusted teammate” or “agentic AI”, i.e., systems that act proactively rather than just respond. If your enterprise is using SAP, begin planning how AI agents might integrate into your workflows, e.g., assist decision-making, automate repetitive tasks, and surface insights rather than merely applying AI as an add-on.

4. A dedicated foundation model for structured business data

One of the most attention-grabbing announcements at SAP TechEd Berlin 2025 was the first foundation model built specifically for structured business data, dubbed “rpt-1” (Relational Pretrained Transformer). Unlike general-purpose large language models (LLMs) that focus on text, rpt-1 is pretrained on table-based business data and supports “in-context learning”: you supply examples of your predictive task (within your table rows) and the model delivers instant predictions across areas like finance, supply chain, and HR. No fine-tuning required. 

It shows SAP is investing in AI models that align with enterprise structured data (not just natural-language). Organisations using SAP’s business applications might get faster access to prediction/insight tools that understand their tables, relations and workflows. Evaluate how your data tables, metadata structures and forecasts align with such a model; you may gain leverage if your SAP-landscape uses well-governed structured data.

5. Bold extensions: robotics & quantum computing in view

SAP also demonstrated two “left field” directions hinting at its longer-term bets:

• An expanded “Embodied AI ecosystem” in which SAP partners with robotics companies to integrate robotics into business functions (though SAP emphasises it is not building hardware).
• A partnership with IBM around quantum computing, again, SAP is not offering quantum hardware, but is embedding quantum-driven algorithms and processes into its business-software stack, so quantum becomes just another paradigm in your compute mix.

These show that SAP is thinking beyond traditional ERP/CRM software and positioning for future compute paradigms. Start exploring pilot scenarios where robotics or quantum-adjacent technologies might intersect with your SAP workflows, even if just as proofs-of-concept for now.

Conclusion

The big theme of SAP TechEd Berlin 2025 is transformation from “systems of record” to “systems of insight and action”. With zero-copy data sharing, AI agents, foundation models, scenario-based certifications, and forward-looking compute modalities, SAP is signalling that the next wave of enterprise software will be about intelligence, agility and integration, not just process automation.

For organisations using SAP technologies (or considering them), the advice is:

• Audit your data sharing architecture: are you ready to interoperate with external platforms?
• Re-think upskilling: prepare your workforce for scenario-based problem solving and AI-augmented workflows.
• Consider how AI agents, structured-data foundation models and new compute paradigms might impact your roadmap over the next 2-5 years.

In short: The conversation is shifting. SAP is no longer simply the backbone of enterprise operations; it wants to become the innovation platform of the intelligent enterprise.

What did you learn from SAP TechEd Berlin 2025? Share it with us in the comments section below.