SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) has announced a strategic alliance with Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA; HKEX: 9988) to accelerate cloud-based digital transformation, initially focused on the Chinese market and later expanding to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
As part of this collaboration, Alibaba will implement SAP Cloud ERP Private to modernize its business infrastructure and adopt a wide range of SAP solutions, including SAP Business AI, SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP Ariba, SAP Integrated Business Planning, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Concur, and SAP Emarsys. These tools will enable Alibaba to enhance its operational agility and strengthen its innovation capability within a business ecosystem managing millions of transactions and users.
“Our collaboration with SAP reinforces our commitment to empowering global businesses with technology, ” said Joe Tsai, Chairman of the Alibaba Group. “The combination of SAP and Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure will enable our customers to build smarter and more agile operations.”
Integrated Generative AI
One of the standout components of the agreement is the integration plan for the Qwen language model (developed by Alibaba) into the generative AI core of SAP AI Core in China, aimed at delivering localized AI capabilities to business users using SAP software. At the same time, SAP is exploring the deployment of its AI Foundation on Alibaba Cloud, which would provide customers in China with access to advanced, scalable, and secure AI tools.
This advancement marks a strategic step in the adoption of generative AI within the SAP environment, especially in markets with specific regulatory requirements like China.
Certification as a Hyperscaler and Regional Expansion
Alibaba Cloud thus establishes itself as a certified hyperscaler for SAP workloads, facilitating Chinese enterprises’ use of solutions like RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP, customized to local regulations and market needs. The goal is to enable organizations to pursue a more secure, scalable, and tailored cloud transformation aligned with their business processes.
This collaboration also aims to open new business opportunities through a joint go-to-market strategy, initially centered on China but with plans to expand into other key regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
“This alliance demonstrates the power and flexibility of SAP’s cloud solutions,” stated Christian Klein, CEO of SAP. “Together, we can help our customers innovate, optimize their operational performance, and gain new competitive advantages.”
A Step Toward Global Digital Transformation
The alliance between SAP and Alibaba not only strengthens a long-standing relationship but also occurs in a global context where the demand for cloud solutions and artificial intelligence continues to grow. By combining SAP’s expertise in enterprise software with Alibaba Cloud’s technical and infrastructural capabilities, both companies aspire to lead a new phase of data-centric, automation, and contextual intelligence-driven digital transformation.
With this collaboration, SAP reinforces its presence in Asia and doubles down on hybrid and multicloud strategies, while Alibaba solidifies its position as a strategic partner for the digital transformation of large enterprises in China and globally.
via: news sap