SAP SE (NYSE: SAP), the enterprise application software giant, has today announced a step forward in its enduring partnership with Microsoft. The collaboration aims to harness the power of generative AI, a cutting-edge technology, to address some of the most critical challenges businesses face today.
The partnership will see SAP’s SuccessFactors solutions integrate with Microsoft’s 365 Copilot and Copilot in Viva Learning, as well as Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service. This integration will empower organizations with the capability to improve their talent acquisition, retention, and skilling processes, fundamentally transforming the human resource landscape.
Long-standing Partnership Enters a New Chapter
The collaboration is not the first for SAP and Microsoft, who have a long history of jointly driving customer transformations. Today, however, marks a significant milestone as the companies bring generative AI into the fold. Generative AI, an advanced form of artificial intelligence, can create content from scratch and is being used to solve intricate business problems.
“Today’s announcement is one example of how we are bringing the power of generative AI to business, building on 50 years of trusted innovation for companies worldwide,” Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, stated.
Echoing Klein’s sentiment, Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft, emphasized the potential of next-generation AI to revolutionize productivity growth across industries.
Addressing the Talent Gap with AI
In a rapidly evolving business landscape, the skills gap has become one of the most pressing issues. To close this gap, organizations must optimize their recruitment strategies and create robust learning and development programs. However, these tasks often involve manual, repetitive work and the potential for error is high.
Microsoft and SAP, through their joint initiative, aim to alleviate these issues. The collaboration will enable SAP customers to leverage generative AI to attract the best candidates for key roles, streamline the recruitment process, and provide personalized insights to engage employees better once they are on board.
Streamlining Recruitment and Employee Learning
By employing Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service API, SAP and Microsoft plan to create a more efficient recruitment process. They will generate highly targeted job descriptions, detect bias, and even suggest interview questions based on candidate resumes and job descriptions. Further, integrating SAP SuccessFactors solutions with Microsoft Viva Learning will provide personalized learning recommendations aligned with employees’ career and development goals.
The Power of Data in AI
SAP’s vast data estate offers the potential to substantially improve the capabilities of large-language models across various industries. This collaboration could serve as a blueprint for how AI tools can augment the power of data and systems in any field.
A Responsible Approach to AI
SAP remains committed to the highest industry standards on responsible AI. It ensures transparency, respects the privacy of sensitive data, and works diligently to avoid bias. SAP is among the pioneers to define guiding principles for AI use in software and collaborates with leading ethics experts through its AI ethics advisory panel.
This partnership between Microsoft and SAP, two technology heavyweights, promises to unlock new potentials in the AI space. Their collective efforts could fundamentally change the way businesses approach talent acquisition, development, and retention, thereby addressing one of the most critical challenges businesses face today: the skills gap.
