Having spent 13 months at SAP, graduating university, and now continuing my career with Xmateria, I feel very fortunate to still be part of the SAP ecosystem - a space that's constantly evolving and full of innovation. Last week's TechEd in Berlin was the perfect reminder of that.

The event was a great opportunity to see where enterprise technology is heading. From the exhibition stands to the packed breakout sessions, there was a real energy around how organisations are handling transformation -particularly the move towards cleaner, more intelligent systems, with data at the centre of it all.

A few things stood out for me:

1. Transformation remains a huge topic of discussion:

There wasn't an empty seat in the sessions covering S/4HANA and cloud transition, showing how many organisations are progressing their plans. It was interesting how often data played a part in many of the discussions- often in the context of challenges like defining scope, managing complexity and building confidence in migration plans.

 2. AI capabilities are evolving fast:

SAP HANA Cloud's roadmap highlighted how quickly AI capabilities are being embedded- not just as an add-on, but as a part of the platform. It's an exciting time, with possibilities emerging for automation, decision making, and performance improvement across the enterprise.

3. Transformation is about more than just technology:

Customer transformation stories brought the bigger picture to life for me. Beyond the technology and systems, it was great to see exactly how transformation has impacted teams, helping them work more efficiently and deliver greater value.

After three packed days of sessions, conversations, and ideas with some truly inspiring people - one message really stayed with me: these innovations can only deliver value if the data beneath them is reliable, clean and well-understood. Without this, even the most advanced capabilities can't reach their full potential.

I left Berlin feeling inspired for what’s ahead. If your organisation is exploring how to make the most of these new capabilities, it all starts with a strong data foundation - something we’re always happy to talk about at Xmateria.