cloud
2025 SAP Cloud Computing Trends: 10 Key Insights for Enterprise Leaders
– Jun 17, 2025
Cloud adoption among enterprises is surging. Recent research from the German-Speaking SAP User Group (DSAG) reveals that 48% of SAP users have enrolled or plan to enroll in RISE with SAP, up dramatically from just 16% in 2024.
Companies are driven by the approaching 2027 SAP support deadline and growing recognition that the SAP cloud computing platform enables access to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. But the race to the cloud is not isolated to SAP; similar forces are accelerating cloud adoption across other enterprise software platforms.
Based on insights from oXya’s SAP consulting practice and current market data, here are ten 2025 cloud computing trends that will define enterprise strategies:
1. Migration Strategies Take Center Stage
The urgency around cloud migration has reached a tipping point. CIO Dive reported last year that more than half of customers running ECC and S/4HANA solutions risk missing the 2027 support termination deadline, creating what analysts describe as a migration bottleneck.
Deadline-Driven Urgency
Companies are no longer asking “if” they should migrate, but “how” and “when.” The DSAG survey also revealed the figure of users not planning to sign up to RISE with SAP fell from 61% in 2024 to just 23% this year, demonstrating that businesses recognize cloud migration as inevitable rather than optional.
Business Case Challenges
The motivations extend beyond compliance deadlines. Organizations see migration to the SAP cloud computing platform as necessary for accessing modern capabilities, particularly AI and analytics tools that require cloud-native infrastructure. However, the business case varies significantly — some companies struggle to demonstrate ROI while others view staying current with technology as a competitive necessity.
2. SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) Gains Momentum
BTP adoption has reached 55% among Americas’ SAP User Group (ASUG) members, with 73% of BTP users leveraging it for SAP S/4HANA transformation. The increase shows companies increasingly view the platform as the starting point for building modern SAP environments.
Core Services Leading Adoption
Several BTP services are experiencing particularly strong demand:
Cloud Application Lifecycle Management (Cloud ALM) — providing centralized management for application development and maintenance across hybrid environments.
Integration Suite — replacing legacy SAP Process Orchestration (PO) systems before their 2027 end-of-support deadline. Organizations need modern integration platforms to connect SAP and non-SAP systems effectively.
Document Management — offering cost-effective alternatives to expensive third-party solutions like Adobe services, with comparable functionality at lower total cost of ownership.
Clean Core Strategy Impact
The platform’s modular approach allows organizations to adopt specific services based on immediate needs while building toward a comprehensive cloud strategy. The “Clean Core” strategy drives much of this adoption, reducing customizations and enabling more standardized, maintainable solutions.
Read More: SAP Clean Core: Your Blueprint for Enterprise Transformation
3. AI Integration Moves from Buzzword to Implementation
AI in enterprise software has transitioned from marketing concept to operational reality. Companies are now implementing AI tools for specific business processes rather than experimenting with theoretical applications.
From Theory to Practice
SAP Joule, the company’s AI assistant, is being integrated across the entire Business Suite, including Ariba, Field Service Management, Fieldglass, and Analytics Cloud. The focus has shifted to practical applications: business process automation, code development assistance, automated testing, and documentation generation.
Industry-Specific Applications
Manufacturing and retail industries lead AI adoption within SAP environments, using these tools to optimize supply chains, automate routine tasks, and enhance decision-making processes. The emphasis is on AI that delivers measurable business value rather than impressive demonstrations, reflecting broader 2025 cloud computing trends toward practical implementation.
However, nearly every exciting AI announcement at recent SAP events requires cloud solutions, reinforcing the connection between modernization and advanced capabilities.
4. Integration Strategy Becomes Mission-Critical
With SAP Process Orchestration support ending in 2027, organizations face mandatory transitions to modern integration platforms. This deadline creates both urgency and opportunity to redesign integration architectures.
Cloud-Native Integration Platforms
SAP Cloud Computing Platform Integration and the Integration Suite provide cloud-native alternatives with enhanced capabilities for API management, event-driven processing, and real-time data exchange. These platforms support both SAP-to-SAP and SAP-to-third-party integrations.
Modern Architecture Benefits
The transition also enables adoption of modern integration patterns like API-led connectivity and event-driven architectures, which improve system performance and scalability compared to traditional point-to-point integrations.
Organizations are using this mandatory migration as an opportunity to eliminate redundant interfaces, optimize data flows, and establish governance frameworks for future integration projects.
5. Cybersecurity and Compliance Take Priority
Worldwide cybercrime costs are estimated to hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, making security a top priority for cloud implementations. With threats mounting, Gartner forecasts a 15% rise in global information security spending for 2025, while 61% of compliance officers told Accenture they anticipate increased spending on compliance processes in the next two years.
Identity Management Foundation
Cloud identity management has become foundational, with organizations implementing single sign-on capabilities and centralized identity distribution across their SAP solution portfolios. SAP Cloud Identity Services on BTP provides this capability, reducing administrative overhead while improving security posture.
CyberArk deployment has become standard practice at oXya for customer implementations, serving as the first security pillar for system access. IBM’s X-Force reports that phishing accounts for 33% of cloud-related security incidents, demonstrating the ongoing need for robust identity and access controls.
Compliance Requirements
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tools within SAP handle authorization and authentication, while third-party solutions manage broader compliance requirements including data protection and regulatory adherence.
6. Partner Ecosystem Adoption Accelerates
The complexity of modern digital transformation requires specialized expertise across multiple domains. Organizations increasingly engage partners for specific services and SaaS-based solutions rather than attempting to build all capabilities internally.
Focus on Core Differentiators
This trend reflects the reality that maintaining cutting-edge capabilities across all technology areas exceeds most organizations’ internal capacity. Companies focus their internal resources on core business differentiators while partnering for supporting technologies and services.
BTP Integration Considerations
Integration between partner solutions and core SAP systems becomes a key consideration, often driving additional BTP adoption for seamless connectivity and data exchange. Organizations increasingly prioritize ecosystem integration over isolated solutions, aligning with broader 2025 cloud computing trends.
7. Workforce Training and Upskilling Surge
The pace of technological change creates ongoing training needs as organizations implement new systems and capabilities. WalkMe, recently acquired by SAP, addresses this challenge by providing contextual training and guidance within business applications.
Beyond End-User Training
The demand for training extends beyond end-users to include IT professionals who need expertise in cloud platforms, integration tools, and modern development practices. Organizations recognize that technology investments require corresponding human capital investments to achieve expected returns.
Business Process Focus
Training programs increasingly focus on business process optimization rather than just technical functionality, helping users understand how to leverage new capabilities for improved business outcomes.
8. Advisory and Consulting Services Drive Value
Before implementing new technologies, organizations need a clear understanding of their current state and realistic roadmaps for improvement. Assessment services help companies understand where they stand and how to monetize their technology investments.
Strategic Roadmap Development
These engagements typically include architecture reviews, gap analyses, and strategic roadmap development. The goal is ensuring that technology investments align with business objectives and deliver measurable ROI.
Expert Solution Guidance
Advisory services also help organizations navigate the complexity of modern technology options, providing expert guidance on solution selection and implementation approaches.
9. Data Management and Archiving Gain Importance
As organizations accumulate vast amounts of data in expensive SAP systems, data archiving and migration to cost-effective storage solutions become financially important. Moving inactive data to data lakes and cheaper storage options can significantly reduce infrastructure costs while maintaining data accessibility for analytics and compliance.
(Read more: Strategic SAP Management: Traditional Storage or Modern Data Lakes?)
Broader Data Strategy Impact
This trend supports broader data strategy initiatives, including data governance, analytics platforms, and regulatory compliance requirements. Proper data management also enables more effective AI implementations by ensuring clean, accessible data for training and operations.
AI Implementation Enablement
Organizations are developing comprehensive data strategies that address not just storage costs but also data quality, accessibility, and governance across their entire technology ecosystem.
10. Hybrid Cloud Environments Become Standard
Hybrid cloud remains the most popular strategy for enterprises, adopted by 73% of organizations, though the share has decreased from 84% in 2021 as some companies move to full cloud deployments.
Integration Platform Requirements
For most organizations, hybrid environments are necessary rather than preferred. SAP ERP systems must integrate with various applications that may not all migrate to the same cloud platform or remain on-premises for regulatory or technical reasons.
This reality requires integration platforms capable of connecting cloud and on-premises systems seamlessly, making solutions like SAP’s Integration Suite valuable for maintaining operational continuity while enabling gradual modernization.
What’s Next
These 2025 cloud computing trends show how cloud computing has grown up — moving from something companies experimented with to something they can’t run their business without. Organizations that embrace these changes strategically — rather than reactively — position themselves to capitalize on emerging opportunities while managing risks effectively.
Enterprise leaders need to think about technology, operations, and people all at once, not tackle them separately. Simply buying new software won’t cut it. Companies need to plan carefully, execute well, and keep improving to actually see results.
Partner with Proven SAP Cloud Computing Experts
oXya’s RISE Plus Services complement SAP’s standard offerings by covering areas not included in SAP’s contract, providing additional support for organizations navigating complex migration scenarios and digital transformation initiatives. Contact us at oXya today for a free consultation.
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