From the Boardroom to the Customers: An introduction from Peter Maier

At SAPPHIRE, Christian Klein presented the Autonomous Enterprise as a central part of SAP’s strategy. In this episode, Peter Maier explains how governed Business AI turns enterprise data into decisions, automation, and verifiable business results.In this kickoff episode of the “Autonomous Enterprise” podcast, hosts Julia Kloppenburg and Benedikt Gieger speak with Peter Maier, who leads Strategic Customer Engagements for SAP’s CEO. They discuss how the Autonomous Enterprise is becoming a concrete operating model for leading companies, built on enterprise‑grade, governed Business AI embedded in ERP. Peter shares key observations from SAPPHIRE in Orlando and Madrid, where board and C‑level discussions shifted from testing AI in pilots to scaling it into production for measurable outcomes. The conversation focuses on three core dimensions: business value beyond token consumption, better predictability based on trusted business data, and the ability to scale AI agents from a single use case to end‑to‑end processes. They also address governance, auditability, and change management so organizations can stand behind every AI‑driven decision. The episode closes with a clear recommendation for executives: start with one critical, traceable process, validate the impact, and then expand the autonomous enterprise step by step.