In September, SAP completed its $1.5BN move for WalkMe, the digital adoption platform (DAP).
The platform sits on top of a tech stack, offering visibility into the applications and workflows the organization is running.
In doing so, WalkMe identifies inefficiencies, recommends fixes, and suggests where the business can automate and build better workflows.
Upon announcing the acquisition, Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, stated:
We are doubling down on the support we provide our end users, helping them to quickly adopt new solutions and features to get the maximum value out of their IT investments.
As enterprises increase their investment in cloud and AI applications, having this single source of truth for business transformations is an attractive proposition.
After all, this granular assessment of cloud application and AI usage allows businesses to spot waste and opportunities.
As such, SAP can further support customers in evaluating their current stack and help them pivot to a more agile cloud environment.
Ultimately, that may offer a much-needed shot in the arm to the RISE with SAP framework, and the first of the following three hot takes dives deeper into this possibility.
1. The Acquisition Bolsters SAP LeanIX, Signavio, and Joule
While this all sounds exciting, SAP already has a DAP: SAP Companion, part of the vendor's Enable Now offering.
Businesses often combine these offerings to oversee large-scale business transformation projects, where they evolve from a current to a target state.
Together, they help enterprises understand their people, processes, and technology. So, if a business meaningfully touches one of these groups, it can track the impact on another.
These solutions are a cornerstone of RISE with SAP, which offers a framework to businesses to drive digital transformation projects forward and run more intelligent behind-the-scenes operations.
Add WalkMe to the mix, and that combination becomes more powerful. Indeed, it will offer new insight into how employees leverage technology, GenAI usage, license distribution, and more.
Interestingly, SAP could also take capabilities from the WalkMe AI Assistant to augment Joule, its Copilot, so it offers unique in-app guidance.
For instance, it may alert a supervisor if a specific field within an app their team leverages is prone to an input error so they can immediately address the issue. That's just one quick, significant example of how WalkMe could help to enhance SAP's virtual assistant.
2. WalkMe Is Unlikely to Replace SAP Enable Now & Companion… For Now
While this all sounds exciting, SAP already has a DAP: SAP Companion, which is part of the vendor’s Enable Now offering.
Yet, WalkMe offers more advanced analytics. For example, it can provide additional insight into where users get stuck within an app, where processes fail, and where employees may need extra training.
So, does SAP Companion have a future? Yes, certainly over the short term.
After all, it integrates tightly with SAP Fiori-based applications – which include S/4HANA – enabling it to capture critical context from SAP screens.
Nonetheless, WalkMe is generally better at integrating with browser-based, third-party applications like Salesforce and ServiceNow.
