Finding the Talent You Need to Leverage SAP Business AI

As the capabilities of SAP Business AI continue to expand, many organizations are eyeing the technology not just as an add-on, but as a strategic enabler. Whether you’re using SAP S/4HANA, SAP BTP, or integrated SAP applications like SuccessFactors or Ariba, AI is embedded in the fabric of the platform, and the companies poised to extract value from it will be those with the right talent in place. 

But there’s a growing gap between the potential of SAP’s AI-driven solutions and the availability of professionals who can harness them. Finding and deploying the right talent to turn those AI opportunities into real business results is now a priority for companies looking to stay competitive. 

So, how do you find the SAP Business AI talent you need? 

5 SAP Business AI Talent Considerations

Understand the Talent Landscape

It starts with understanding the types of roles that are critical. SAP Business AI blends traditional SAP architecture with automation and intelligent analytics. This calls for a blend of legacy SAP expertise and newer, AI-focused capabilities. 

Here are some of the most in-demand roles: 

• SAP AI Solution Architects – Professionals who understand both SAP’s AI capabilities and how to integrate them into business processes. 

• Data Engineers and Data Scientists – Especially those familiar with SAP BTP or external integrations, who can organize, cleanse, manage, and model the data feeding your AI. 

• SAP Developers with AI Experience – Developers working who can embed AI into custom applications. 

• Functional Consultants – Individuals who can identify high-value business use cases and work with technical teams to operationalize them. 

• Change Management and Training Experts – Because if you’re introducing AI into workflows, adoption matters as much as functionality. 

The right team won’t necessarily include all these roles at once, but you will need cross-functional collaboration to get AI initiatives off the ground. 

Focus on Building Agile Teams

One common trap many organizations fall into is seeking a “unicorn”—that one magical candidate who knows SAP inside and out, has experience deploying machine learning models, understands your specific industry, and can lead change management. 

They don’t exist. Or at least, they’re rare and extremely expensive. 

Instead, focus on building agile teams that blend complementary skill sets. Pair a veteran SAP S/4HANA functional consultant with a data scientist who’s comfortable on SAP BTP or match an AI-savvy developer with a business process lead who knows where the biggest efficiency gaps exist. These teams can co-create value faster than trying to shoehorn everything into a single role. 

Don’t Ignore the Talent You Already Have

SAP itself is investing heavily in making its AI capabilities accessible, through low-code tools, embedded intelligence, guided machine learning features, and more. That means the bar to entry for AI fluency is lower than it used to be. 

If you have an internal SAP Center of Excellence (COE), consider investing in training that expands their capabilities into AI. SAP’s Learning Hub and certifications like the “SAP Certified Development Associate – Business AI” can accelerate upskilling without needing to recruit externally. 

Likewise, upskilling developers or business users, especially those using SAP Analytics Cloud or S/4HANA embedded analytics, can empower business functions to self-serve insights without leaning heavily on IT. 

Partner with a Staffing or Consulting Firm

The SAP ecosystem is tight-knit, and working with partners who live and breathe SAP talent can be a major advantage, especially if you don’t have internal capacity to source and vet specialized talent quickly. 

Look for staffing firms that: 

• Specialize in SAP and have a proven track record placing niche roles (not just generic IT talent) 

• Understand the nuances of SAP Business AI and adjacent technologies  

• Offer flexible models (contract, contract-to-hire, or permanent placement) so you can scale teams based on project needs 

• Can advise on skills roadmaps, not just resumes 

The right partner can help you not only fill gaps but also shape your talent strategy to align with your long-term SAP roadmap. 

Prioritize Talent That Thinks Business-First

Technical skills matter. But just as important—sometimes more so—is the ability to apply those skills to real-world business outcomes. The best SAP Business AI talent will know how to train a model or write a script, reduce days sales outstanding, improve forecasting accuracy, and automate invoice matching. 

In interviews, look for candidates who can talk in terms of impact. How did their last project improve process efficiency? What KPIs were they targeting? How did users respond to the change? That kind of mindset will deliver value faster than someone with certifications alone. 

Final Thoughts

Rather than chasing talent reactively, start by identifying your highest-priority AI use cases within SAP. Do you want to improve demand forecasting? Optimize inventory? Reduce manual tasks in finance? Build a smarter chatbot for employee services? Once you know your goal, you can reverse-engineer the team you’ll need to make it real. 

With the right approach, you can secure the talent you need and unlock the full value of intelligent enterprise. 

Contact us today to learn more.