CNME Editor Mark Forker sat down with Sergio Maccotta, Senior Vice President at SAP Middle East and Africa - South, to learn more about why autonomous ERP has emerged as a major focus in SAP's AI strategy, the role AI agents will play in terms of changing traditional ERP business practices, and how ERP systems will need to evolve to keep pace with the growth of agentic AI.
Autonomous ERP has become a major focus in SAP's Business AI strategy. Why is this?
The shift is being driven by the maturity of enterprise AI, the availability of trusted business data, and growing demand from organisations for systems that can act in real time rather than simply analyse outcomes.
Over the past year, SAP has moved Business AI from insight generation into execution, introducing production-ready autonomous agents that can run complete business processes across finance, HR, procurement, and supply chain. This changes ERP from a system that records and reports activity into one that actively drives outcomes.
How does autonomous ERP differ from earlier uses of AI within enterprise software?
The key difference is execution. Traditional AI helps users decide what to do next. Autonomous ERP allows intelligent agents to interpret data, determine the appropriate action, and complete that action within a governed environment.
These agents operate within defined parameters, with clear permissions and accountability, which enables organisations to move much closer to real-time operations without losing control.
Where do you see autonomous agents being applied most effectively within core business processes today?
The agents are purpose-built for specific scenarios, including invoice matching, supplier onboarding, expense auditing, and dispute resolution. Each one is designed to operate within defined business workflows and uses reasoning capabilities to complete tasks that would traditionally require manual intervention.
In the UAE and wider region, this is particularly relevant for organizations looking to scale automation across core functions while supporting growth and operational efficiency.
Are organisations already putting autonomous ERP capabilities into practice, and what early patterns are emerging?
Early use cases are encouraging. A global automotive supplier is using SAP Joule agents to autonomously resolve pricing discrepancies across procurement contracts. In the telecom sector, an organisation is now handling a significant proportion of HR cases without initial human intervention.
Within SAP itself, we are also piloting multi-agent collaboration, where different agents coordinate to complete complex tasks that span multiple functions.
As AI agents take on more responsibility within core business processes, how should organisations think about access, guardrails, and accountability? Do these agents need to be treated more like digital workers than traditional technology?
AI agents need to be treated as accountable actors within the enterprise, not as background automation. Each agent is designed for a specific business role, with clearly defined permissions, decision boundaries, and responsibilities. That clarity is what allows organisations to introduce autonomy without losing control.
Access should be granted on a least-privilege basis, aligned to the task the agent is expected to perform, much like role-based access for employees. Guardrails are embedded directly into workflows, so agents operate within approved processes, escalation paths, and compliance requirements.
Governance is managed through SAP LeanIX, giving organisations visibility into how agents behave and the ability to audit decisions using the same standards applied to human users.
This model is particularly important in regulated environments, including across the UAE and the wider region, where transparency and traceability are essential.
Autonomy does not remove human oversight. It shifts people into supervisory and decision-making roles, where they manage intelligent agents and focus on higher-value, strategic work rather than repetitive execution.
What does the rise of autonomous agents change about the traditional role of ERP systems within an organisation?
Historically, ERP systems have acted as systems of record, capturing transactions and reporting on activity. Autonomous agents change that role fundamentally.
The system becomes an active participant in shaping outcomes rather than simply documenting them. That shift expands what enterprises can achieve in terms of speed, scale, and operational intelligence.
How does this evolution align with AI and automation priorities in the UAE and the wider Middle East?
There is strong alignment. Markets such as the UAE continue to invest heavily in AI-ready infrastructure, cloud platforms, and large-scale automation. Autonomous ERP supports these ambitions by enabling end-to-end workflow automation without the need for extensive custom development. It complements national and enterprise strategies focused on efficiency, growth, and faster execution.
Looking ahead, how do you expect ERP systems to evolve as agentic AI becomes more established?
The next phase of ERP will move beyond supporting individual users. It will support coordinated teams of intelligent agents operating at machine speed and aligned with business KPIs.
That is the point at which Business AI becomes truly operational. SAP's focus is on providing the platform that allows organisations to adopt these capabilities safely, with confidence and strong governance in place.
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