SAP launches generative AI offerings to support developers

Juergen Mueller, CTO and member of executive board of SAP SE.

Enterprise application software giant SAP on November 2 rolled out a series of generative AI offerings aimed at empowering developers including SAP Build Code solutions, vector engine on SAP HANA Cloud and a generative AI hub in SAP AI Core.

“Today’s dynamic technology and business landscape means every developer needs to be an AI developer. The innovations we’re launching at SAP TechEd, from AI-infused pro-code tools to a one-stop shop to create generative AI extensions and applications on SAP Business Technology Platform, supporting the developers at the heart of the AI revolution and providing them with resources they need to transform the way businesses run,” said Juergen Mueller, chief technology officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

While SAP Build Code will help developers bring better extensions, the second offering, SAP HANA Cloud vector engine will support the creation of better generative AI solutions combining the strength of LLMs (large language models) with real time data from companies in business process context, said Mueller, at the TechEd Conference 2023, in Bengaluru.

Mueller added that the vector engine will be up and running by the first quarter of 2024.

To be sure, LLM databases are generally out of date by over two years, limiting its ability to use new information for better outcomes, and creating hallucinations when facts are not available.

In addition to the above, the company is also launching a generative AI hub to derive better solutions and use cases in the new technology, Mueller added.

This foundation will be available for developers to use by December, this year.

This also follows the launch of SAP’s Joule, a natural-language, generative AI copilot, in September this year, that is embedded throughout SAP’s cloud enterprise portfolio.

This comes months after SAP Labs India MD Sindhu Gangadharan said that the country, having SAP’s largest R&D centre with over 15,000 people, will be looking to double its AI talent base across domains, as opposed to a dedicated AI team earlier.

The company has a bullish outlook on India and expects the country to become an innovation hub for SAP.

During his India visit in February this year, SAP’s global CEO Christian Klein told the media that the company is also planning to double down on investment in India over the next five years in terms of increasing team size and hiring here.

There also have been reports about SAP Labs in India laying off around 300 employees. However, Gangadharan earlier clarified to Moneycontrol that the number accounts for only 2 percent of the total employee count and that most of the affected employees were repurposed within the organisation.

The reporter is in Bengaluru at the invitation of SAP.