Can you implement SAP change without disrupting business as usual? It is a question many change managers are prepared to answer. Their chief worry is speed and whether they can make an SAP change before it impacts a business process.
That concern is why most enterprises avoid making SAP changes altogether. According to a new study by Basis Technologies, the SAP Change Management Index 2025, 84% of respondents reported their organizations avoid SAP changes because they fear business disruption.
It is a valid concern, but organizations are now using new solutions to overcome the challenge. Martin Metcalf, CEO of Basis Technologies, said SAP change managers who adopt intelligent tools and workflows are redefining the opportunity cost. “With intelligent change management, they can understand change readiness across systems and teams, apply global insights to their specific business context, create blueprints in minutes rather than months, spot problems before they happen, and get change right at the first time of asking,” he explained.
New Goals, Old Challenges for SAP Change Managers
Basis Technologies partnered with Censuswide to survey more than 200 SAP change managers who use one or both of SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA in the UK, US, and Germany. The Index focused on how managers responsible for SAP change view their work.
More than half said their roles have become more strategic: 54% reported their roles evolved from troubleshooting to driving transformation through communications, training, and engagement. These roles are traditionally associated with strategic business leadership, which means SAP change managers have found they have new touchpoints across business, IT, and HR teams, along with stress points tied to aligning stakeholders to achieve business goals.
Accordingly, the SAP Change Management Index 2025 found legacy issues have impacted managers’ ability to embrace the new role functions. When asked what challenges were most common, SAP change managers reported the following:
- Starting from scratch every time (46%)
- Months needed to gather requirements (44%)
- Inability to scale change management (42%)
- Zero visibility on what others have tried (40%).
Despite this, 93% of respondents said they believed their teams had the skills to manage SAP change.
That suggests SAP change managers know how to implement strategic initiatives but given their organizations’ hesitancy to make SAP changes (84%), not all are equipped with the resources and tools needed to deliver that change at the speed of business.
Shift Toward AI-Assisted Change Management
Robert Holland, vice president and research director of SAP Insider, said, “The difference today is that the pace of change continues to increase.” Holland has found that some leaders do not have the skillset to support investment into AI, while “most organizations are planning to either outsource [SAP S/4HANA migration] or leverage experts and consultants to assist with solution deployment, business case development, change management, knowledge sharing, and optimizing workflows.”
He concluded, “Organizations must find a way to bridge these gaps and more effectively manage change in their SAP environments.” AI adoption has emerged as a strong favorite for SAP change managers.
According to SAP change managers surveyed in the SAP Change Management Index 2025:
- 59% will use AI to automate manual aspects of change management
- 53% will use AI to align with SAP’s Joule capabilities
- 50% will use AI to analyze change with trend pattern data.
These findings show a shift toward data-informed, AI-assisted change management in SAP environments. While legacy challenges remain, the use of intelligent automation and predictive analytics signals that SAP change managers are finding new ways to move from reactive execution to proactive leadership.
What this Means for ERP Insiders
Change management cannot move fast enough. The SAP Change Management Index 2025 shows managers believe they have the skills but lack the tools and resources needed to execute without disrupting normal business operations. That reflects a gap between capability and confidence that holds some businesses back from achieving higher levels of efficiency and competitiveness.
Intelligent Change Management (ICM) is a turning point. As SAP change managers evolve their roles from reactive implementation to engagement across a wider range of stakeholders, ICM has become a necessity. ICM allows change managers to leverage their expertise to drive continuous improvements across their SAP environments at the speed businesses increasingly require.
AI-powered tools are closing the capability-confidence gap. Solutions like Klario and ActiveControl from Basis Technologies help SAP change managers turn their environments into a competitive advantage. These tools address the legacy issues managers flagged as constraints in the Index, allowing them to focus on higher-value roles, such as strategy development and implementation.
