In this episode of SUGTalks, Craig is joined by Phil Creek, Intake Demand Lead at the SAP Centre of Expertise at Boots, and Rohan Parikh, SAP Platform Architect at Maersk, to explore the value of building an SAP Customer Centre of Expertise (COE).

The conversation builds on the UKISUG SAP Customer Centre of Expertise Insights paper, covering why COEs matter, the importance of senior sponsorship, what effective governance looks like, and the skills a modern COE needs. Phil and Rohan share practical perspectives on balancing internal capability with partners, supporting a clean core, and how COEs need to evolve as SAP customers move further into the cloud.

📄 Click Here to download the UKISUG SAP Customer Centre of Expertise Insights paper
💬 Join the UKISUG ALM Community to continue the discussion with fellow SAP users
🔗 Learn more about the UKISUG referral scheme: https://www.sapusers.org/community-referral-scheme

Recorded live at UKISUG Connect 2025 at the ICC in Birmingham, Craig Dale is joined by Cliff Saran, Technology Editor at Computer Weekly, and Gerren Maine, host of SAPCHAT, to unpack the keynotes and what they mean for SAP users.

They discuss the key points raised, including the need for balance between AI ambition and practical delivery, why “foundations first” keeps coming up, and how looming maintenance timelines are still shaping transformation plans. They also explore cloud adoption blockers, from security and cost to customisation and clean core, plus the role BTP and partners can play in helping customers move forward.

To learn more about the UKISUG referral scheme, visit: https://www.sapusers.org/community-referral-scheme

You can read Cliff Saran’s Enterprise blog here: https://www.computerweekly.com/blog/Cliff-Sarans-Enterprise-blog

In this episode of SUGTalks, Craig is joined by Russell Smith, Vice President of ERP Transformation Technology at AstraZeneca.

Together, they unpack SAP’s newly announced partnership with Snowflake and what it really means for SAP customers in practice. Russell shares why AstraZeneca was involved early, how the collaboration supports large-scale S/4HANA transformation, and where zero-copy data sharing can remove complexity and accelerate timelines.

The conversation explores semantically rich data, real-time analytics, AI readiness, and the cultural shift required to bring analytics and AI to the data rather than moving data between platforms. Russell also reflects on governance, data trust, and why strong foundations matter before scaling AI across the enterprise.

To learn more about the UKISUG referral scheme, visit: https://www.sapusers.org/community-referral-scheme