The biggest problem in financial services is not AI readiness, it’s structural complexity
That was the takeaway from a recent conversation between SAP CFO Dominik Asam and SAP Fioneer CEO Matthias Tomann. Their conversation touched on topics like the future of financial services, the role of AI, and the growing importance of integrated enterprise platforms
For decades, banks and insurers have built operating models around regulatory fragmentation, country-specific requirements, layered systems, and continuous workaround solutions. As a result, the industry is running on patchwork architecture that is expensive to maintain, slow to change, and fundamentally misaligned with how AI works
Partnership built for financial services innovation
Since joining forces in 2021, SAP and SAP Fioneer have significantly expanded their joint capabilities for the financial services sector. As Tomann highlighted in the conversation, the partnership has already delivered substantial momentum for SAP Fioneer:
- R&D investment increased by 120%
- Annual software sales more than doubled
- Major customers successfully transitioned to SAP Cloud ERP
- The platform evolved into a richer, more scalable, and highly capable ecosystem
Together, the companies are combining SAP’s trusted cloud and data infrastructure with SAP Fioneer’s deep financial services expertise to help institutions simplify operations, modernize core systems, and prepare for the AI-driven future.
Executives from both companies will be exploring these critical topics further at their annual SAP & SAP Fioneer Financial Services Forum 2026, which is now open for registration
AI is not the starting point, data integration is
Everyone wants AI, but AI can only create value from integrated data, real-time access, and standardized processes. But most financial institutions still operate on the opposite: fragmented foundations. That reality will define the winners over the next five years
The organizations that succeed will not be the ones experimenting with the most models. They will be the ones that establish unified, trusted, real-time enterprise data with strong governance. That is the real competitive advantage
But even that is only part of the story. The next phase is not just about using AI to analyze better; it is about AI executing work
We are now seeing a fundamental shift: from systems that store and report information to systems that act on that information in real time, orchestrating end-to-end processes across the business. This marks the transition to the Autonomous Enterprise, SAP’s vision for the future of business where AI does not just support decisions but increasingly drives execution, within clearly defined guardrails
Financial services can no longer afford “patchwork architecture”
This shift makes one thing clear: The traditional approach to building IT landscapes is no longer
For years, many financial institutions solved problems incrementally—another point solution, another integration layer, another workaround. But eventually every workaround becomes technical debt and integration is the single largest IT cost category
Tomann made clear during the conversation that the emphasis must be on simplification rather than adding more complexity
What SAP and SAP Fioneer are driving is not another modernization cycle. It is a structural shift toward comprehensive, integrated platforms and AI driven processes that replace fragmentation, not sit on top of it
The result is a scalable financial services platform where core banking, lending, reporting, insurance, and analytics operate within an integrated architecture instead of disconnected silos
Real-time finance is becoming a strategic requirement
Real-time capability is becoming foundational to competitiveness—whether it’s risk management, regulatory reporting, customer experience, fraud prevention, treasury operations, or AI-driven decision making
Institutions that can act on integrated data instantly will have a major advantage over those still moving information between disconnected systems overnight. With integrated data and AI embedded in core processes, finance is moving toward continuous financial intelligence:
- Forecasting becomes dynamic and always up to date
- Risk is detected and assessed in real time
- Closing processes become increasingly automated
- Decisions are guided by AI based on live business context
Increasingly, AI assistants and agents take over execution of finance processes, from planning and risk management to invoicing and financial close, under strict governance. The role of finance shifts from reporting on the business to steering the business in real time
AI will reward those who simplify
One of the most striking statements from Asam during the discussion is that SAP is already seeing 10x performance improvements from AI-driven process improvements. But it also highlights something many organizations still underestimate: just how much AI rewards those who standardize
The more fragmented the processes and data structures are, the harder it becomes to operationalize AI at scale. In contrast, organizations with standardized platforms, harmonized data, and integrated workflows will accelerate much faster
That is why modernization conversations today are no longer simply “IT projects.” They are business strategy discussions
Future of financial services will be built on trust, scale, and intelligence
Financial services organizations are operating in an increasingly complex geopolitical and regulatory environment. Infrastructure decisions are no longer just about performance and cost, they are about compliance, security, operational resilience, and national requirements
This is why scalable, enterprise-grade cloud platforms are becoming so critical
The institutions that thrive in the next era of financial services will be the ones that can combine trusted data, integrated operations, AI-enabled processes, scalable infrastructure, and regulatory resilience into a single operating model
The future of financial services will not be defined by isolated AI experiments. It will be defined by who can build the most intelligent, connected, and adaptable enterprise foundation for what comes next
Learn more about SAP solutions for financial services here
Kris Kowal, Banking Industry Leader at SAP.Falk Rieker, Financial Services Industry Leader at SAP
