Going forward SAP plans to predict customer support questions, roll out the relevant solution for on-premises environments and automatically solve the problem in cloud environments.

The company announced its strategy to leverage AI, analytics and cloud, including SAP Cloud ALM (Application Lifecycle Management), as part of evolution of its customer support services.

SAP Cloud ALM starts with the implementation portal for SAP S/4HANA Cloud and was made available in Q4 2018, with the next release of SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

SAP intends to extend SAP Cloud ALM from implementation support for SAP S/4HANA Cloud with a road map towards the entire application lifecycle of all cloud solutions from SAP, scheduled for availability by 2021.

Andreas Heckmann, executive VP and head of SAP customer support services, said market research shows flat growth of on-premises licence revenue against an upward trajectory of cloud subscription revenue.

As hybrid business models gain popularity, the enterprise software giant has positioned next- generation customer service technology at the basis of its operational strategy.

"In 2019, we want to change the game... our ambition is that we can predict the questions you will ask, and we can detect the problems that you may face before you even realise them. What happens on the customer side when they become an intelligent enterprise? Their solution landscapes change, the role of IT will change... So we are introducing a brand new cloud-based ALM offering for customers, specifically focused on the intelligent suite and will be made available via the public cloud," said Heckmann.

Experience economy is here

Cathy Smith, MD of SAP Africa, said SAP's strategy has never been more clear and hinges on partnerships. "It is not about us alone, it is about our partnerships, it is about working with our customers, it is about doing it together. We are living the experience economy. It is happening to every single one of us .... Experience matters and the experience economy is here."

Smith said the intelligent enterprise is what connects all business processes in an organisation in service of the experience economy.

"Intelligent enterprise looks at operational data, which we call our O data, things that we all know have been there for many years. It is called the intelligent suite.

SAP says the intelligent suite is a key area of technology that brings intelligence into the applications used to manage customers, supply chains, networks, employees, and core business processes.

The company's intelligent suite of integrated applications include SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP C/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Concur, SAP Fieldglass, and solutions for digital supply chain and manufacturing.

"It marries that with what we call the X data and that is the experience economy, that's been in place for some time now and brings it together so that we can help our customers build the capability to compete and thrive in the new era of the best run business."