UK & Ireland SAP User Group

04/11/2026

More than 1,000 people from across the SAP community are heading to UKISUG Connect at the ICC in Birmingham at the end of November.

Rebecca Hodson, ERP Programme Director at Penguin Random House, has some advice. Plan your agenda before you arrive, because some sessions fill up fast. If you’re going as a team, split up and share notes afterwards. And sit with people you don’t know, since the company names on badges make an easy icebreaker.

In the latest episode of SUGTalks, Rebecca joins Craig to share how to get the most from Connect. Craig also gives a preview of this year’s programme. Starting with hands-on workshops on the Sunday, where you can build your own AI agents with Joule. It also includes customer stories from HMRC and ASDA, plus the return of SUGFest.

Haven’t registered yet? There’s still time.

🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1557833/episodes/20061796
📺 Or watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SX889S38Nuw?si=2JDmn6c9-V1NU-iC
🎟️ Register for Connect: https://www.ukisugconnect.co.uk/event/home/registration

Be sure to subscribe to stay updated with future episodes!

04/11/2026

We’re thrilled to announce our podcast, SUGTalks, has now passed 20,000 downloads!
Thank you to everyone who has listened, shared or subscribed. To mark this milestone, we’ve picked out some recent episodes worth catching up on, starting with:

▶️ How SAP runs SAP, with Oliver Gutzeit, on being “customer zero”, achieving a clean core and using Joule internally
▶️ Inside SAP Cloud ERP Private, with Uma Rani, on how private and public cloud differ and the AI agents behind the SAP Autonomous Enterprise
▶️ Inside SUGEN, with Yasmin Awad and Philip Adams, on how more than 40 user groups help shape SAP’s roadmap, and what happens to the feedback you share with us

Read Part One on our blog: https://www.sapusers.org/resource/sugtalks-podcast-passes-20-000-downloads-our-unmissable-episodes-part-one.html

We’re excited to share that the SUGTalks podcast has reached another major milestone

28/10/2026

Your UKISUG membership covers your whole organisation. From finance and supply chain to HR and IT, your teams can attend our different events, connect with peers and learn from other organisations. As more SAP decisions move into the business, it pays to get everyone involved.

In the latest episode of SUGTalks, Craig is joined by Russell Smith, Vice President, ERX Transformation Technology at AstraZeneca, and Martin Taylor, ERP Implementation Lead at NATS, to discuss how to share the benefits of membership across an organisation.

They talk about getting business teams and new joiners involved, why small incremental wins add up and why it’s okay to be mid-pack on AI. They also explain how moving from consumption to contribution creates a feedback loop that gets more people engaged.

🎧 Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1557833/episodes/19989859
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wc-GhwbuXR4

Subscribe to SUGTalks to make sure you don’t miss future episodes.

28/10/2026

Where is your organization on its AI journey with SAP?

Our latest survey of 460 members found:
✅ 87% see SAP Business AI enhancing their use of SAP
⚠️ 87% think SAP licensing has become more complex since BTP and its latest AI offerings
🤖 Just 3% are using SAP Business AI today, but 67% plan to

“Customers need greater transparency around AI pricing, licensing, credits and consumption so they can make informed investment decisions,” says UKISUG Chair Conor Riordan.

You can read the full findings of our research here: https://www.sapusers.org/resource/ukisug-survey-reveals-strong-support-for-sap-business-ai-but-licensing-complexity-remains-a-concern.html

If you’re unclear on SAP licensing, make sure to register for UKISUG Connect where we’ll be running a specific stream to give our members greater clarity: https://www.ukisugconnect.co.uk/

New research from the UK & Ireland SAP User Group (UKISUG) reveals strong enthusiasm for SAP's Business AI strategy, despite concerns over the complexity of licensing it.

27/10/2026

Still unsure if you should attend UKISUG Connect?

From 29th November to 1st December, over 1,200 SAP customers and experts will gather in Birmingham for the UK’s largest annual SAP learning event.

With keynotes from HMRC, Asda and SAP, as well as a Secret Garden Party at SUGFest, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Read the full breakdown of what’s on at Connect in our latest blog 👉 https://www.sapusers.org/resource/what-s-on-at-ukisug-connect-2026-the-go-to-event-for-all-sap-users.html

Find out more about keynotes, customer sessions and our SUGFest theme of 2026!

23/10/2026

SAP’s research has found that UK businesses now spend an average of £20.6 million a year on AI, up 27% on 2025.

While that figure is forecast to reach nearly £30 million by 2028, challenges persist. A majority of businesses have to contend with poor data quality (71%) and siloed systems (65%), while only 11% of businesses take an organisation-wide approach to AI investment.

AI and data will be big themes at Connect. Join us at the conference to hear how organisations are approaching their AI transformation: https://www.ukisugconnect.co.uk/event/home/summary

And you can read the full story here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/uk-firms-are-spending-more-on-ai-than-ever-before-but-still-think-data-is-holding-them-back

Britain's AI spend is rising

22/10/2026

The most valuable part of User Group membership might be a conversation, with someone who has experienced the same challenge you are facing. A quick chat can steer you towards a better decision, and sometimes huge savings.

In the latest episode of SUGTalks, Craig is joined by Russell Smith, Vice President, ERX Transformation Technology at AstraZeneca, and Martin Taylor, ERP Implementation Lead at NATS, to talk about how to get the most from UKISUG membership.

They cover the events worth prioritising, how to spread awareness beyond a small core team and why communities such as Women in SAP matter. They also share their advice for anyone heading to Connect for the first time: get out of your comfort zone and be curious.

Pick one session you know nothing about. Go on, we dare you.

🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1557833/episodes/19989859
📺 Or watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wc-GhwbuXR4

Be sure to subscribe to stay updated with future episodes!

20/10/2026

SAP is among more than 150 organisations to warn that businesses have a short time to strengthen their cyber defences against AI-enabled attacks.

As more patches than ever are released, many teams are already struggling with patching backlogs and limited resources. At the same time, ERP migrations and AI deployments are expanding the number of systems and identities that need protecting.

One step SAP customers can take is to build security checkpoints into their projects, so new threat evidence can shape decisions on access, controls and go-live dates.

Read the full story in ERP Today: https://erp.today/ai-cyber-risk-business-technology-decisions/

AI cyber risk is changing the assumptions behind enterprise security decisions, pushing businesses to reassess accepted vulnerabilities, security spending and modernization plans.

15/10/2026

At Sapphire, SAP set out its vision for the “autonomous enterprise”. SAP Connect, its line-of-business event, was the chance to test that vision against customers’ real questions.

From embedding AI into mission-critical processes to the importance of context, governance and accuracy for AI tools, this article by Jon Reed highlights the priorities SAP’s leadership is focusing on.

You can read the full article here: https://diginomica.com/sap-connect-2026-sap-leadership-responds-hot-ai-issues-and-explains-why-generic-models-fall-short

I left SAP Sapphire Orlando with burning questions unanswered. I got a better result at SAP Connect. How much progress has SAP made on their autonomous enterprise plans? Here's my pick of the five hottest topics - and SAP's responses.

14/10/2026

“Because we've stayed vanilla, nothing really breaks.”

That's how Stuart Beadle, IT Director at Pitney Bowes, sums up being on SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud.

In the latest episode of SUGTalks, Craig speaks with Stuart about what happened after Pitney Bowes initial rollout. Stuart explains how the team handles releases every 6 months and why they decided automated testing wasn't worth it.

He also shares why he measures success by how little they have to change the system, what he would do differently with AI and why leaning on the community makes all the difference.

🎧 Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1557833/episodes/19901270
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4d7wPY2BtX4

Subscribe to SUGTalks to make sure you don't miss future episodes.