SAP's AI Trial Base Swells Past 110,000 as Erste Group Turns Buyer

SAP has put hard numbers behind its AI ambitions, disclosing that more than 110,000 of its own employees and over 150 customers spent several months putting Joule Work through its paces. The figure, confirmed on Friday, gives investors a tangible measure of how widely the company's cross-application AI interface has been deployed in practice — though it stops well short of proving that the software earns its keep.

The disclosure came alongside SAP's TechEd retrospective, in which Joule Work was cast as an AI layer spanning multiple applications. Customers took part through an early-adopter program. What the company has added is scale of testing, not evidence of paying users or incremental orders, leaving the commercial verdict an open question distinct from the reach of the trial.

Users Want Clarity Before They Want Features

Skepticism is surfacing from the customer base itself. On October 27, the German-speaking SAP user group welcomed greater control, open interfaces and a stronger data foundation for AI agents — then cautioned that the cost model and real-world practicality have yet to prove themselves, with many functions slated for 2027. That feedback applies a different yardstick than the size of a test program: whether the tools hold up in daily operations, and whether customers can make sense of what they cost.

SAP is attacking the expense side in parallel. Reuters reported on October 28 that the group is swapping out some pricey AI models for cheaper alternatives, a move finance chief Dominik Asam said should help deliver more than €2 billion in AI-driven efficiency gains over the next two years. That is a target, not a booked result — and it gives investors a second, separate test to run alongside customer adoption.

A Growing Cloud Base Beneath the Headlines

The commercial backdrop is expanding. Third-quarter 2026 results, published roughly two weeks ago, showed cloud revenue up 26%, with total revenue ahead 13%. Media reports indicated both cloud revenue and cloud orders beat expectations, and a refinement of the cloud revenue target toward the upper end of the guidance range added momentum to the initial share-price reaction.

Analysts have taken note. The Erste Group upgraded SAP to "Buy" on Friday, following Goldman Sachs, which on October 23 lifted its price target to €258 from €230 while reaffirming its buy recommendation, according to dpa-AFX. Yet the market's response has been less convincing than the ratings: the stock reportedly surrendered the gains it had made after the results. Upbeat calls and a durable recovery, it seems, remain two different things.

Sovereign Cloud Venture Adds a Concrete Project

A fresh business angle emerged on Wednesday, when SAP and NTT announced plans to collaborate on sovereign cloud offerings and SAP Business AI. The first step would link SAP Sovereign Cloud On-Site with infrastructure and operations managed by NTT, aimed squarely at regulated industries with strict demands on their IT environments. The distinction matters for investors: this is an announced partnership, not realized revenue, and whether it translates into a measurable lift will only become clear in execution.

What investors are left weighing is a familiar pair of questions. Can SAP keep its cloud growth running, and can it convert its announced offerings — from Joule Work to the NTT venture — into actual business? The trial figures make the experimentation tangible; the financial contribution is still to be demonstrated.