AFSUGrecently hosted an exclusive webcast with SAP, giving customers and partners greater insight into SAP’s €100 million Business AI Partner-led Adoption Incentive and how organisations can use the programme to move AI initiatives from proof of concept to measurable business outcomes.
Held virtually on 3 September 2026, the session, SAP’s €100M AI Opportunity: How to Secure Funding for Your Next AI Project, brought together SAP experts Michael Ovens, Nickki Johar, Harish Kintali, Dylan Fasser and Peter Blignautto unpack the opportunity, eligibility requirements and practical process for accessing the incentive.
The discussion came at an important time for organisations exploring artificial intelligence. While investment and interest in AI continue to accelerate, many organisations are still struggling to translate experimentation into sustainable business value. The presentation highlighted that data access and quality remain significant barriers, while many organisations remain caught in pilot mode without a clear path to scale.
From AI experimentation to business value
A key message from the session was the need to move beyond isolated AI use cases towards AI that is embedded into business processes, supported by appropriate governance and connected across the organisation.
SAP described the evolution towards an autonomous enterprise where agents can support routine transactions and coordinate actions across business processes, while people remain focused on higher-value decisions. Importantly, governance, auditability and traceability need to be built into AI-enabled processes from the outset.
The webcast also reinforced the importance of keeping people at the centre of AI adoption, with human-triggered and monitored agent actions forming part of understanding the €100 million opportunity
At the heart of the webcast was SAP’s €100 million Business AI Partner-led Adoption Incentive, a pilot programme aimed at helping customers realise greater value from their SAP Business AI investments by encouraging adoption and consumption through the SAP partner ecosystem.
Approved partners can deliver projects across SAP Business AI, including SAP Build and Joule Studio, creating agents, applications and workflows around customer use cases. The programme is running through the end of 2026.
The programme includes different levels of support depending on the scope of the implementation, ranging from €15,000 for SAP Agent Adoption, through €25,000 and €50,000 packages, to an €100,000 Enterprise Package supporting three or more custom Joule Studio or SAP Build agents together with workflow or pro-code application development.
Who can participate?
The session also provided clarity on customer eligibility. The programme is aimed at qualifying existing SAP Business AI Platform customers with active subscriptions as well as certain new customers entering eligible SAP Business AI Cloud Services agreements during the programme period. Specific commercial and subscription criteria apply, while public-sector and government entities are excluded from the current programme.
Customers do not apply independently. Eligible customers are nominated through an SAP representative, after which SAP validates programme eligibility. Once approved, customer consent is obtained before enrolment.
Importantly, the final choice of implementation partner remains with the customer. Customers may nominate a preferred eligible partner, or SAP can provide available approved partner options where a preferred partner has not yet been identified.
Helping the AFSUG community navigate AI adoption
For AFSUG, the webcast was about more than introducing a funding programme. It was an opportunity to give the community practical information that can help organisations ask the right questions about AI investment, partner selection, scalability and business value.
As AI moves rapidly from experimentation into enterprise operations, collaboration between customers, SAP and the partner ecosystem will become increasingly important. Through sessions such as this, AFSUG will continue creating opportunities for the community to connect, learn, share experiences and make more informed decisions about emerging SAP technologies.
Connect. Create. Collaborate.
