Hello SAP family! This blog is a part of the "Blog It Forward" challenge. Thanks to my friend and almost neighbor @Lluis, and his recent blog, for tagging me to participate in this great initiative for the first time.
My name is Daniel Mateo, and I’m an experienced SAP S/4HANA Project Manager based in a coastal city near to Barcelona, with a passion for transforming business financial operations leveraging SAP’s capabilities to create real business value and guide organizations through their digital transformation journeys.
I began my career around 20 years ago at a Spanish IT consulting firm as an ABAP developer, but I quickly transitioned into functional roles within Finance and Logistics. Over time, I specialized in international SAP rollouts, with a strong focus on Finance and Controlling. For the past 12 years, I have been working as an SAP Project Manager, leading global implementations and transformations across various sectors such as pharma, manufacturing, food and beverages, mass media, and casinos, among others. Throughout the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with diverse teams in multiple countries—combining my passion for travel with my career in SAP.
In addition to managing complex implementations, I thrive on continuous learning and adapting to the evolving landscape of SAP technologies. My journey has been shaped by both professional achievements and personal experiences, such as relocating to Bulgaria during the pandemic and staying for three years. This allowed me to embrace new challenges while contributing to SAP projects remotely.
The SAP community is an incredible ecosystem of professionals who are passionate about technology and innovation. What I enjoy the most is the collaborative spirit—whether it's through groups, events, or online discussions, there's always someone ready to share knowledge and best practices.
It is inspiring to be part of a global network that is constantly evolving and sharing the trending topics to enhance the business transformation.
I regularly participate in SAP Inside Track events (mainly in Fortaleza and Barcelona), both as a speaker and an attendee. In addition, I maintain an active presence on LinkedIn, where I share insights and experiences related to SAP. I am also the co-author of a book in Spanish that details the recommended Best Practices in SAP S/4HANA rollouts, further contributing to knowledge sharing within the ecosystem.
I rely on a combination of official SAP resources and community-driven content. SAP Learning Hub and SAP Help Portal are excellent for structured learning. Additionally, SAP blogs, SAP Community discussions, and LinkedIn groups provide real-world insights and practical applications from experienced professionals. Keeping up with industry leaders and engaging in discussions helps me stay ahead of emerging trends in the SAP ecosystem.
A successful SAP project is built on three fundamental pillars:
What I enjoy the most is driving business transformation. Seeing how SAP solutions optimize financial processes, improve efficiency, and empower companies to make better decisions is incredibly rewarding. Every project is unique, with its own challenges and opportunities, and that variety keeps the work exciting. Also, working on international projects allows me to engage with diverse teams and cultures, which is a great learning experience.
SAP’s ecosystem is constantly evolving, and while it can feel overwhelming (especially with all the new acronyms, product renamings, and shifting roadmaps), the key to surviving is to position yourself as someone who doesn’t just follow the change, but helps lead it.
Here are a few survival strategies:
Stay Curious and Keep Learning: New product? New cloud solution? New “RISE with” slogan? Dive into it. Take SAP Learning Hub courses, read blog posts, join SAP Community discussions. Even if you don’t implement it tomorrow, understanding what’s coming is power.
Stick to Core Principles: While tools change, the fundamentals of business processes, integration, data governance, and project management stay solid. Focus on what delivers value to the business—technology is just the enabler.
Build a Solid Network: Talk to other professionals, share experiences, learn from what’s worked (or not worked) in other projects. LinkedIn, SAP Community, and internal project retrospectives can be goldmines.
Be Honest with Clients and Stakeholders: Don’t pretend to have all the answers. SAP sometimes doesn’t either! But if you can bring clarity to the ambiguity, people will trust you even more.
Have a Sense of Humor: When a product name changes for the third time in a year, laugh. Then update your slide deck.
SAP technology is evolving rapidly, and I see three key trends shaping its future:
Cloud-First & AI-Driven Solutions: SAP will continue pushing towards cloud-based ERP with AI-driven automation to enhance decision-making.
Increased Integration & Interoperability: With the rise of SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), we will see more seamless integration between SAP and non-SAP applications.
Sustainability & Compliance: SAP is heavily investing in sustainability solutions, and I expect more tools helping companies track and manage their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoyed sharing my journey. Thanks for being part of the SAP community!
I would like to Blog it forward to @Marssel700 , a well-established SAP Champion with a strong finance background and creator of amazing courses, and to @AAncos , one of the top voices in the SAP Spanish-speaking community who truly deserves to be part of the SAP champions. I would suggest answering the question: With SAP's continuous push toward cloud-based solutions, how do you see the role of traditional SAP consultants evolving over the next 3–5 years? I'm sure they both have plenty of surprising insights and stories to share with us! 😉
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