Episode 145: Customer Council Berlin Series #5 — Delaware’s first-mover journey on SAP Cloud ERP: Co‑Innovation, stability, and what’s next

Delaware, SAP's first public cloud customer, shares a decade of hard-won lessons from pioneering SAP S/4HANA Cloud. What began as a risky leap in 2014—facing a system with 1,000 annual incidents and missing core features like timesheet approvals—has evolved into a stable, scalable foundation now powering 5,000+ employees across 19 countries. The journey wasn't just about technology; it was a co-innovation marathon where feedback from Delaware’s key users shaped SAP’s product roadmap, turning early instability into today’s near-zero incident rate and a fully functional, AI-ready platform. Yet the real challenge now isn’t the system’s reliability—it’s extracting value. Key users are overwhelmed, leaving organizations to 'cherry-pick' small improvements instead of unlocking transformative potential from new features and upgrades. The solution? Dedicate time and resources to continuous learning and automated testing. As one leader puts it: 'We’re not getting the most out of our system because we don’t have time.' The future demands more than just running the system—it demands mastering it. The conversation also reveals a growing frustration with SAP’s AI rollout. Despite daily use of AI tools like Claude, consultants feel SAP’s own AI integrations are lagging behind market leaders. The dream? An AI that can auto-generate project setups with role-based staffing. While technically complex, it’s a clear signal: customers expect SAP to lead, not follow.