Cloud SAP® automation now has a standards-based path to AI

Key Takeaways

• Connecting AI assistants to SAP requires customized integration work that should be rebuilt for each new AI platform the group adopts.
• The Exactly Automate MCP Server exposes current Automate Studio scripts and Automate Evolve workflows to any MCP-compatible AI instrument by way of one standards-based connection.
• Native OData help in Automate Studio ensures cloud SAP automation runs by way of SAP-sanctioned APIs, not legacy scripting approaches now restricted below SAP connectivity insurance policies.

I’ve observed a development amongst SAP prospects: they’re invested in AI tooling, their groups are utilizing Claude, Copilot, or ChatGPT each day, and so they’re making very actual productiveness good points in content material, reporting, and evaluation. Then somebody asks the pure subsequent query: can my chosen AI do one thing in SAP?

The reply is sort of at all times, “not but,” or “not very nicely.” Compounding the challenges, SAP’s up to date API coverage requires prospects to direct AI entry to SAP-published APIs by way of endorsed pathways. Consequently, connecting an AI assistant to your SAP ERP sytem might be difficult, and given the current coverage modifications, typically requires customized integration work that must be repeated from scratch for each new AI platform your group adopts. As extra AI instruments enter the enterprise stack, that debt accumulates quicker than most IT groups can tackle it. 

Now, you may sort out that downside head-on with the brand new Exactly Automate MCP Server and native OData help in Exactly Automate: two capabilities that collectively give any MCP-compatible AI assistant ruled, standards-based entry to SAP automation workflows, with out rebuilding the mixing each time the AI stack modifications.

What are the challenges of guide AI-to-SAP connectivity?

When a finance lead needs their AI assistant to set off a journal entry workflow, or a provide chain supervisor wants it to replace a vendor document, somebody has to construct the bridge between the AI instrument and SAP. Meaning customized API growth, authentication configuration, and ongoing upkeep. Then, when the group provides the subsequent AI platform, they construct it once more.

Most enterprises aren’t converging on a single AI instrument, however as a substitute operating a number of in parallel: Copilot for productiveness, Claude for evaluation, ChatGPT for particular workflows. Joule for SAP duties.

Every represents its personal integration mission if it wants to hook up with SAP. That’s an untenable backlog for IT groups already stretched by S/4HANA migration work.

SAP’s evolving connectivity insurance policies for third-party software program and LLMs have made the stakes increased nonetheless. Organizations counting on legacy scripting approaches (BAPI, RFC, GUI automation) are discovering that these strategies face rising restrictions in cloud environments, notably S/4HANA Cloud and RISE with SAP.

SAP’s path is evident: integrations have to run by way of sanctioned, API-based protocols. What was as soon as a greatest apply is shortly turning into a compliance requirement.

Analysis from Exactly and ASUG how widespread this stress is:

• 62% of organizations cite enterprise course of complexity as their prime automation problem
• 59% are already absolutely or partially dwell on S/4HANA.

Organizations that may join AI to SAP by way of a standards-based interface can have a significant benefit over these nonetheless managing it integration by integration.

What does the Exactly Automate MCP server do, and the way does it work?

The Exactly Automate MCP Server is constructed on the Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP), an open normal developed by Anthropic and now adopted broadly throughout the AI ecosystem. It exposes Automate Studio scripts and Automate Evolve workflows as AI-callable instruments, so nearly any MCP-compatible AI consumer can uncover and invoke them by way of a single configuration.

• A finance operations lead can instruct their AI assistant to run an current journal entry automation.
• A provide chain supervisor can ask it to retrieve or replace vendor data.
• A utilities operations lead can request updates to tools data, upkeep orders, and plant information

All of that is achieved in plain language, with out submitting IT tickets or ready on developer assets. Automate Studio and Evolve deal with the SAP interactions within the background, with governance controls intact all through.

The Studio scripts and Evolve workflows that the MCP Server exposes must be constructed and configured  first. This isn’t a zero-configuration shortcut to cloud SAP automation, however what it eliminates is the recurring overhead of re-exposing these workflows to every new AI platform. Construct your automation as soon as; join it to any MCP-compatible AI instrument going ahead.

Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Joule and Gemini are all MCP-compatible at the moment. As extra AI platforms undertake the usual, they hook up with the identical Automate MCP Server with out extra integration work. That compounds the worth of each automation already inbuilt Studio or Evolve, slightly than treating every new AI instrument as a brand new integration mission.

This launch is a part of a broader technique: Exactly is rolling out enterprise MCP Server help for a number of merchandise throughout the portfolio, connecting AI brokers to information high quality, location intelligence, grasp information administration, and automation capabilities by way of a unified interface.

Why does cloud SAP automation want native OData help?

SAP has been transferring its connectivity insurance policies in a transparent path for a while, and up to date modifications have accelerated that. Direct BAPI calls, RFC-based scripting, and GUI automation are more and more restricted or unsupported for third-party software program and LLMs in SAP’s cloud environments. In case your cloud SAP automation technique is constructed on these approaches, you’re introduced with a really actual danger.

OData (Open Information Protocol) is SAP’s most popular REST-based API normal for contemporary integrations. It’s the strategy required for Clear Core environments, together with RISE with SAP and S/4HANA Cloud, and it’s what SAP endorses for all new third-party connectivity. Native OData help is now constructed into Automate Studio, which implies AI-driven SAP automation constructed on Automate runs by way of SAP-sanctioned protocols from the beginning.

The scope of what’s reachable by way of OData is substantial. The SAP Enterprise Accelerator Hub publishes greater than 2,700 OData APIs throughout SAP’s cloud utility portfolio, masking S/4HANA Finance, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Concur, SAP Buyer Expertise, and extra. That breadth means your Automate-driven cloud SAP automation can prolong throughout the complete SAP utility panorama, not simply the on-premises processes the place legacy scripting labored.

In sensible phrases, native OData help delivers:

• Steady automation throughout SAP upgrades, with no dependency on display scraping or brittle GUI scripting that breaks with interface modifications
• A full audit path on each AI-initiated SAP transaction, which is a tough requirement for organizations below FDA, GxP, SOX, or comparable regulatory obligations
• No-code information creation, retrieval, and replace for enterprise customers, in keeping with the governance mannequin Automate has at all times delivered, now prolonged to OData-enabled SAP purposes
• Backward compatibility with current Studio scripts and RFC-based automations, so organizations can undertake OData for net-new automation with out changing what they’ve already constructed

AI-accessible and Clear Core compliant was once competing necessities. This launch makes them achievable by way of the identical platform.

What does this imply for SAP groups constructing towards AI-ready information?

For autonomous methods to be helpful in an SAP surroundings, they want dependable, ruled entry to the processes and information SAP holds: monetary data, provide chain operations, HR, procurement. With out that entry, the AI operates round SAP slightly than inside it.

AI methods should have the ability to each learn from and write again to authoritative methods of document, and the Automate MCP Server extends that attain into SAP: AI brokers can invoke SAP workflows by way of ruled Automate processes, with each motion logged and traceable.

When you’re already operating Automate Studio or Evolve, this launch converts the automation you’ve already invested in into an AI-native asset. The scripts, workflows, and governance configurations you’ve got in place turn into reachable by way of the AI instruments your groups use day-after-day, with out re-platforming.

When you’re approaching cloud SAP automation for the primary time by way of an AI-first lens, the Automate MCP Server provides a place to begin that doesn’t require committing to a single AI supplier.

Our analysis with ASUG discovered that 75% of SAP organizations price no-code and low-code functionality as vital when selecting an automation platform. Controlling SAP processes by way of pure language is the subsequent step in that path, and the connectivity layer to help it’s now out there.

Get began with a custom-made demo of the Exactly Automate MCP Server at the moment.

Regularly Requested Questions

What’s the Exactly Automate MCP Server?

The Automate MCP Server makes use of the open Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) to show Automate Studio scripts and Evolve workflows as AI-callable instruments. Any MCP-compatible AI assistant, together with Claude, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot, can invoke SAP automation capabilities by way of pure language with out customized per-platform integration growth.

Does the Automate MCP Server work with AI platforms apart from Claude?

Sure. As a result of it’s constructed on the open MCP normal, it really works with any MCP-compatible consumer. Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini are all suitable at the moment, and any future platform that adopts the usual connects to the identical Automate MCP Server with out extra configuration.

What’s OData, and why does it matter for cloud SAP automation?

OData (Open Information Protocol) is SAP’s most popular REST-based API normal for third-party and AI connectivity in its cloud utility suite. Native OData help in Automate Studio means new SAP automation runs by way of SAP-sanctioned protocols slightly than legacy scripting approaches that face rising restrictions below SAP’s evolving connectivity insurance policies for LLMs and third-party software program.

Do I have to rebuild my current Automate Studio scripts to make use of the MCP Server?

No. Current Automate Studio scripts and Evolve workflows, together with RFC-based automations, proceed to work. The MCP Server exposes them to AI instruments by way of a brand new interface with out requiring a rebuild. Organizations can undertake native OData help for net-new automation the place Clear Core compliance is required, whereas leaving current automation in place.

What governance controls apply when AI triggers SAP automation by way of the MCP Server?

Governance controls stay absolutely intact. AI-initiated SAP actions run by way of Automate Studio and Evolve with the identical audit path, role-based permissions, and traceability that governs all Automate-driven processes. For organizations in regulated industries, that auditability is a baseline requirement, and it’s maintained no matter whether or not a human or an AI agent initiates the workflow.

SAP automation has at all times been one of many higher-stakes locations to get AI proper. The workflows concerned contact monetary data, provide chain integrity, HR information, and regulatory compliance. The Automate MCP Server and native OData help carry these workflows into attain for the AI instruments organizations are already operating, by way of a connectivity strategy that holds up as each the AI ecosystem and SAP’s personal structure proceed to evolve.