Alibaba & SAP partner to drive cloud innovation in China & beyond

Alibaba Group and SAP SE have formed a strategic partnership aimed at supporting enterprise innovation and digital transformation in China, with future expansion planned for Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The partnership will see SAP's enterprise software working in conjunction with Alibaba Cloud's infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Alibaba Cloud is set to participate in the SAP Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Certification Program, which will support customers deploying SAP's cloud solutions. In tandem, Alibaba Group intends to use SAP Cloud ERP Private for its own enterprise infrastructure.

This collaboration will initially focus on the China market, with Alibaba Cloud certified as a hyperscaler for SAP workloads, allowing enterprises to implement SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP), RISE with SAP, and GROW with SAP. Expansion to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa is planned to enable businesses in those regions to access SAP Cloud ERP and SAP Cloud ERP Private solutions hosted on Alibaba Cloud infrastructure.

Both companies are planning to establish a joint go-to-market approach to offer scalable, intelligent solutions tailored to local requirements for global businesses across multiple industries. Through the partnership, Alibaba Group also plans to use additional SAP solutions, including SAP Business AI, SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP Ariba, SAP Integrated Business Planning, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Concur and SAP Emarsys, to further enhance its technology backbone and support its network of businesses and consumers.

The collaboration also aims to further the integration of AI within enterprise applications. SAP is investigating the integration of Alibaba's large language model, Qwen, into the SAP generative AI hub in SAP AI Core for China. This would allow enterprise users to access localised generative AI features within SAP's applications and customised AI apps.

SAP is additionally exploring the deployment of its SAP AI Foundation on Alibaba Cloud to provide scalable AI tools to customers operating within China. The intention is to offer new capabilities and facilitate enterprise users' adoption of AI in line with regulatory and operational requirements in the country.

Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group, said, "Our collaboration with SAP reinforces our commitment to empowering global businesses with world-class technologies. By combining SAP's enterprise software with Alibaba Cloud's robust infrastructure and AI capabilities, we are enabling customers to build smarter, more agile operations."

Christian Klein, Chief Executive Officer of SAP SE, commented, "Our collaboration with Alibaba Group is a testament to the power and flexibility of SAP's cloud solutions. Our joint go-to-market strategy can unlock new opportunities for enterprises by providing them with access to a comprehensive suite of tools and services. Together, we can help our joint customers drive innovation, improve operational performance, and create new competitive advantages, and we look forward to working with Alibaba to shape the future of cloud-powered digital transformation."