SAP TechED 2025 in Berlin - a new high!

[TomCenens]

Injured but thriving nevertheless

Coming back from SAP TechEd 2025 in Berlin, I found myself being wheelchaired out of Zaventem Airport in Belgium. My inflamed Achilles tendon had worsened over the course of the event.

I probably should have been resting, but I was determined to be there. Between participating in the DemoJam finals, giving a presentation, meeting with SAP leadership through the SAP Mentors program, and reconnecting with so many community members, SAP Champions, and fellow Mentors, missing it simply wasn’t an option.

By the end, I could barely walk. I managed to push through for a few days, but eventually my body said, “enough is enough,” and it quite literally shut down on the last day of SAP TechEd.

Even at what could be seen as a low point, I couldn’t stop smiling because the experience, the people, and the inspiration made it all worth it.

Caretakers

A huge thank you to Raf B. for wheeling me out of the airport, and to Jana de Klerk for taking such great care of me throughout the event. From fetching ice to taking me to the medical post at SAP TechEd. Also, sincere thanks to Jérémy Coppey and Wouter Lemaire for all their help and for carrying my things around when I couldn’t.

I’m truly grateful for the amazing friends I have and for all the support they gave me when I needed it most.

SAP TechED DemoJam 2025 winners

One of the absolute highlights for me and a new all-time high was winning the SAP DemoJam 2025 final at SAP TechEd in Berlin.

Wouter and I had a blast presenting our use case. Our goal was to show that developing with the latest SAP technologies and sharing what we build can be great fun. We both love the community spirit and feel proud to be an active part of it.

Our demo was based on a real Artificial Intelligence use case for Infrabel (Belgium), powered by a wide range of SAP technologies behind the scenes. The idea came from automating some of my own recurring system monitoring tasks. In other words, turning a practical challenge into an innovative solution.

To make it engaging, we turned it into a friendly battle: I performed the tasks the “old-fashioned” way, while Wouter used the AI-driven application we had built. With a touch of humor and a lot of energy, we managed to deliver a DemoJam that truly resonated with the audience: blending lighthearted banter with serious SAP innovation.

Team efforts

We’d like to thank our customer Infrabel for the opportunity to work with the latest SAP technologies. A special thanks to Kevin Verzele and to everyone in the team who supported us among others, Brieuc Bernard and Tom Van de Velde . Thank you all!

The trophy will be placed at the customer’s site as a token of appreciation, symbolizing that this achievement was truly a team effort.

Working on the MCP server application

We had some fascinating discussions with SAP and Microsoft during SAP TechEd about our Artificial Intelligence journey. Specifically around using MCP with SAP S/4HANA data. These conversations sparked fresh ideas and inspired us to push the boundaries of what’s currently possible. Needless to say, we spent at least one evening in our Airbnb apartment exploring those new possibilities even further.

I'll give you a quick example of a pump comparison. The product has been fetched from actual SAP product data and is then compared against other pumps by combining SAP S/4 HANA data with online data. This is just a quick showcase snippet. I'll write up another article to detail this out further.

There was a lot of "MCP" visible on architectural slides and announcements in terms of support for MCP and in terms of SAP making use of MCP which showed that MCP is the new kid on the block and the "hotness" right now when it comes to Artificial Intelligence.

SAP Mentors

The SAP Mentor program has, without a doubt, had a profound impact on my professional journey. It continues to be a tremendous source of inspiration. Surrounded by so many brilliant minds and remarkable individuals, I always feel that I’m growing, learning, and thriving whenever we come together.

We had really productive discussions with SAP. The kind that keep them on their toes and occasionally challenge their thinking. The goal is to provide an outside perspective that helps SAP continue to improve and evolve.

We very much appreciate the time taken by everyone who meets up with us at these conferences and the candid conversations we have with them.

The vision of SAP

In my view, SAP’s technological vision remains truly impressive. Of course, there are still challenges to overcome but that’s true for every player in the enterprise software space. The current limitations of Artificial Intelligence affect the entire industry.

What sets SAP apart is its bold vision and determination to execute on it. They’re not just adopting what already exists; they’re actively thinking ahead, exploring how to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve in the context of enterprise software.

We’re already in active discussions with SAP on how we can push the needle even further together.

Announcements and demo's

While I truly appreciate SAP’s vision and the technological drive that continues to push boundaries, my heart really jumps for joy when I see live demos on stage. Even if they would fail, I prefer them because they show what’s possible right now.

Yes, Artificial Intelligence still has its limitations, but it’s incredible to see how much can already be achieved today and how quickly technology continues to evolve.

Inspired and fuelled up

These events are rocket fuel for me. They ignite something that makes me want to push harder and reach further. The inspiration hits so powerfully that here I am, writing on a Saturday night at 9:30 PM, unable to wait.

It's like hearing that one song that gives you chills and completely shifts your state of mind.

I'm back, and I've already spun up a fresh repository to experiment with new ideas and push boundaries. I'm diving deeper into Artificial Intelligence because I genuinely believe we're standing at the beginning of a transformative journey that will propel technology to heights most can't yet imagine in the months ahead.

See you at SAP TechEd 2026! Something tells me we'll have a lot more to talk about by then.