SAP and Google Cloud Expand Partnership on Data and AI Solutions

SAP and Google Cloud have announced an expanded partnership aimed at harnessing the power of data and generative artificial intelligence (AI) for enterprises.

The collaboration will combine their open data cloud, using the SAP Datasphere solution with Google Cloud’s Vertex AI to introduce new generative AI-powered industry solutions, starting with the automotive sector, and enhance sustainability performance, the companies said in a Tuesday (Aug. 29) press release.

By integrating generative AI capabilities into SAP software and Google Cloud’s open data cloud, customers will have access to solutions that leverage information from SAP Datasphere and other data sources, according to the release. This integration improves business insights, analysis, and decision-making processes.

In the automotive industry, SAP and Google Cloud will launch solutions that use Google Cloud’s generative AI models through Vertex AI, combined with data from Catena-X, the release said. This open data ecosystem, supported by SAP software, enables secure data exchange throughout automotive value chains.

The solutions will optimize collaboration between automotive companies, manufacturers, suppliers and end customers, per the release. For example, generative AI can facilitate effective data sharing, enabling the identification and mitigation of potential vehicle problems before they lead to recalls. It can also enhance safety by providing insights into hazardous road and traffic conditions and improve product quality by predicting defects more accurately.

The partnership between SAP and Google Cloud will also help accelerate sustainability programs, according to the press release. By using Vertex AI in conjunction with SAP Datasphere, businesses can combine critical business data, the SAP Sustainability Control Tower solution, and third-party environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data sets.

This integration empowers companies to generate bespoke sustainability reports, automate AI-powered sustainability alerts across the supply chain, and make more informed decisions through analyses of environmental impact and financial benefits, the report said.

This news comes on the same day that Google Cloud announced several updates and expansions to its Vertex AI platform, aimed at providing customers with a wide range of options for AI models. These include the addition of new models to Model Garden, which is Google Cloud’s collection of models, and the upgrading of the company’s own first-party foundation models.