The Future of ERP

In a world of silent cyber wars, ERPs sit at the center of risk and resilience. Discover how CIOs can design ERP as a crown jewel: assume breach, use AI wisely, and balance sovereignty, trust, and business continuity.

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This episode dives into the “silent global war” on ERP, where cyber threats are constant, interconnected systems are fragile, and resilience is the new gold standard. Our guests, Bayer’s Asha Vartak and SAP’s Gabriela “Gabs” Fiata, unpack how to treat ERP as a mission critical crown jewel instead of a back office system, and why assuming breach changes everything about architecture, governance, and recovery. They explore how AI can both sharpen ERP security and create new risks, from detecting anomalies and reducing alert fatigue to acting as a privileged user that must be monitored. The conversation also covers digital sovereignty, data classification by design, and placing ERP at the core of digital trust, transparency, and compliance across borders. If you want practical, board level language for ERP cyber resilience, this episode is for you.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Episode Transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Useful Links:
 
⁠⁠SAP Cloud ERP⁠⁠
⁠Bayer⁠

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SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP: ⁠LinkedIn⁠

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Guest: Gabriele Fiata, Head of Security Market Strategy, RISE with SAP
Thought leader with a strong background in security as well as business processes, controls, and enterprise risk management.
 
For more than 20 years, he has been leading teams in implementing innovative process improvements to identify and mitigate risks to promote resilience for the whole enterprise and enable overall business growth.

Gabriele’s LinkedIn

Guest: Asha Vartak, Director, Cyber Security and Risk Management at Bayer
Asha Vartak has a proven record of developing and executing comprehensive cybersecurity strategies that align with organizational goals. Her expertise spans Cybersecurity Risk Management, Compliance, Threat Modeling, and Mitigation Planning and Implementation.
 
She brings extensive experience in leading and consulting on business and information security initiatives for companies across multiple global regions. With an educational background spanning four countries—India, Australia, Germany, and the United States— Asha excels at building strong relationships with diverse stakeholders and teams.

As a motivating and inspiring leader in cybersecurity, risk management, and compliance, she thrives on tackling complex projects and driving them to successful completion for organizations worldwide.

Host 1: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Follow Richard Howell on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host 2: Oyku Ilgar, SAP
Oyku Ilgar is a marketer and thought leader specializing in SAP’s digital supply chain and ERP solutions since 2017. As a marketer, blogger, and podcaster, she creates engaging content that highlights innovative SAP technologies and explores key topics including business trends, AI, Industry 4.0, and sustainability.

She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance & Accounting and English Translation, along with a master’s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade, specializing in marketing. With her background in digital transformation, Oyku communicates technology trends and industry insights to help professionals navigate the evolving business landscape.

Oyku’s ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠SAP Community⁠⁠

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Key Topics: ERP security, ERP resilience, cloud ERP, AI in ERP, cybersecurity,RISE with SAP, SAP S/4HANA, digital sovereignty, data protection

How real-time security transforms ERP systems in a cloud-driven world, spotting threats instantly, leveraging AI for proactive defense, and closing common blind spots before breaches escalate. Curious about staying ahead of cyber risks?

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Mohammed Moidheen, SAP security architect at Infosys, unpacks why real-time monitoring is vital amid 2,200 daily cyber attacks costing trillions annually. He highlights blind spots like unmonitored access vulnerabilities, ignored audit logs, unsecured APIs, privileged accounts, insider threats, and poor event correlation in S/4HANA Cloud setups. AI evolves detection with predictive intelligence, automated responses, natural language queries, and cross-system pattern spotting, shifting from reactive to proactive security. Real-world cases show systems halting unusual data downloads and insider data exfiltration in minutes. Advice includes aligning with governance, prioritizing crown jewels, setting baselines, training teams, and correlating data. Infosys aids via assessments and foundational builds.

Listen now and rethink what ERP can do for your organization!

⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Episode Transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠

Useful Links:
 
⁠SAP Cloud ERP⁠
Infosys.com

Follow Us on Social Media!
SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP: LinkedIn

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Guest: Mohammed Khan Moidheen, SAP Security Architect at Infosys Consulting
Mohammed Khan Moidheen is a Senior SAP Security architect with over 12 years of experience securing and operating large scale SAP landscapes across global enterprises. His expertise spans SAP S/4HANA security, ERP platform services, DevSecOps enablement, and designing audit ready security architectures aligned with frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST, and GDPR.

Mohammed is CISSP and CISA certified and I excel at translating complex security requirements into actionable strategies that are practical , strategically aligned and strengthen organisational resilience.

Host 1: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Follow Richard Howell on ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host 2: Oyku Ilgar, SAP
Oyku Ilgar is a marketer and thought leader specializing in SAP’s digital supply chain and ERP solutions since 2017. As a marketer, blogger, and podcaster, she creates engaging content that highlights innovative SAP technologies and explores key topics including business trends, AI, Industry 4.0, and sustainability.

She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance & Accounting and English Translation, along with a master’s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade, specializing in marketing. With her background in digital transformation, Oyku communicates technology trends and industry insights to help professionals navigate the evolving business landscape.

Oyku’s ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠SAP Community⁠

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Key Topics: real-time security, ERP monitoring, cloud threats, SAP S/4HANA, access management, audit logs, AI threat detection, insider threats, privileged accounts, predictive intelligence

Imagine ERP systems that spot cyber threats before they strike, using AI to predict outages and banish reactive support forever. How close are we to invisible, proactive defense that keeps businesses unbreakable? Dive into the future where data and smarts outpace chaos.

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In this compelling episode of the Future of ERP podcast, SAP's Jens Bernotat, head of strategy, portfolio, and ecosystem management for SAP Support, shares transformative insights on evolving ERP customer support. He outlines a future where support becomes invisible through prevention, hyper-proactive with deep customer data insights, and accelerated by AI-driven recommendations. Jens emphasizes data's starring role in pattern detection via AI analytics, addresses change management for teams shifting from routine tickets to complex missions and AI curation, and reveals key KPIs like customer effort scores and health metrics. Practical advice includes starting with quick-win AI use cases, fostering team experimentation, and crafting transformation roadmaps.

Listen now and rethink what ERP can do for your organization!

⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Episode Transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠

Useful Links:
 
⁠SAP Cloud ERP⁠

Follow Us on Social Media!
SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP: LinkedIn

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Guest: Jens Bernotat, Head of Strategy, Portfolio and Ecosystem Management, SAP Customer Support at SAP
Jens joined SAP in 2007 as Vice President in the Corporate Strategy Group. Here, he has guided high impact programs with a focus on maintenance and support strategy, portfolio and commercial design. From 2011, Jens was driving strategy for Maintenance Go-To-Market, where he designed commercial transformation programs to the Cloud and new support offerings.

Since 2017, Jens is driving SAP's maintenance and support strategy, orchestrating maintenance phases, end dates and the portfolio of support offerings. Jens also leads Ecosystem management, defining the setup of how partners deliver support to our customers.

Host 1: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Follow Richard Howell on ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host 2: Oyku Ilgar, SAP
Oyku Ilgar is a marketer and thought leader specializing in SAP’s digital supply chain and ERP solutions since 2017. As a marketer, blogger, and podcaster, she creates engaging content that highlights innovative SAP technologies and explores key topics including business trends, AI, Industry 4.0, and sustainability.

She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance & Accounting and English Translation, along with a master’s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade, specializing in marketing. With her background in digital transformation, Oyku communicates technology trends and industry insights to help professionals navigate the evolving business landscape.

Oyku’s ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠SAP Community⁠

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Key Topics: ERP support, proactive support, AI analytics, customer health, data patterns, change management, Black Friday uptime, support automation, ERP transformation, cyber prevention

Discover how identity and access management (IAM) is reshaping cybersecurity in cloud ERP, enabling businesses to be safer, faster, and more compliant with clarity in roles and responsibilities.

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In this insightful episode of the Future of ERP podcast, Aditya Thakurdesai from Infosys dives deep into the vital topic of identity and access management (IAM) in cloud ERP environments. He explains why understanding "who owns what" in IAM is non-negotiable to ensure security, compliance, and operational efficiency amid today’s complex hybrid IT infrastructures. Aditya shares compelling customer stories- rom a global pharmaceutical company safeguarding sensitive research data to a large retailer accelerating seasonal workforce onboarding - highlighting how the shared responsibility model brings clarity and confidence in managing cloud security. The discussion further explores how AI is revolutionizing IAM, with intelligent threat detection, adaptive access control, and proactive governance transforming traditional security roles. This episode is a must-listen for any business navigating cloud security risks and looking to leverage AI for smarter, faster, and safer ERP management. Tune in and learn how to stay ahead in the evolving cybersecurity landscape.

⁠⁠⁠Download Episode Transcript⁠⁠⁠

Useful Links:
Learn how the shared responsibility model for SAP Cloud ERP Private defines roles, streamlines operations, and improves security and compliance: Operate your cloud ERP with confidence and control
 
SAP Cloud ERP
Infosys

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⁠⁠⁠SAP Cloud ERP - LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠

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Guest: Aditya Thakurdesai, Director – Enterprise Security , Infosys
Aditya is a seasoned SAP Security and GRC professional, currently serving as Director – Enterprise Security at Infosys. With nearly two decades of experience, he has delivered transformative security solutions that seamlessly integrate deep domain expertise with emerging technologies.
 
In his current role, Aditya heads the Manufacturing and Communications, Media & Technology segments within Infosys’ Enterprise Risk Management Services group. He also drives strategic Centre of Excellence initiatives focused on security transformation, intelligent automation, and AI innovation. His current passion lies in Agentic AI, where he has developed pioneering solution that introduce new levels of agility, compliance, and scalability to enterprise security operations.

Host 1: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Follow Richard Howell on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠

Host 2: Oyku Ilgar, SAP
Oyku Ilgar is a marketer and thought leader specializing in SAP’s digital supply chain and ERP solutions since 2017. As a marketer, blogger, and podcaster, she creates engaging content that highlights innovative SAP technologies and explores key topics including business trends, AI, Industry 4.0, and sustainability.

She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance & Accounting and English Translation, along with a master’s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade, specializing in marketing. With her background in digital transformation, Oyku communicates technology trends and industry insights to help professionals navigate the evolving business landscape.

Oyku’s LinkedIn and SAP Community

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Key Topics: Identity Management, Access Management, Cloud ERP, Shared Responsibility, Compliance, Security, Artificial Intelligence, AI, Threat Detection, Case Studies

Can your ERP really turn sustainability from a reporting headache into a competitive advantage? Discover how better data, AI, and cloud ERP help companies move from sustainability slogans to embedded, measurable business value across their supply chains.

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This episode of The Future of ERP explores how companies can turn sustainability into a core business capability by using robust data foundations, cloud ERP, and closer collaboration across their value chains. Deloitte partner Brian Jobe, carbon accounting lead and SAP sustainability lead, explains why almost every sustainability challenge ultimately comes down to the quality, granularity, and reliability of enterprise data. He compares global regulatory frameworks and highlights how emerging harmonization will shape what “good” looks like for sustainability reporting across industries and regions.

The conversation dives into the pivotal role of cloud ERP and supply chain solutions in providing near real-time insight, especially for scope 3 emissions, traceability, and responsible sourcing beyond the four walls of the enterprise. Brian shares best practices on engaging suppliers, embedding sustainability into procurement, finance, operations, and investor relations, and using AI to turn data into actionable insights - once the data foundation is in place. The episode closes with a clear vision for the future of ERP, where sustainability KPIs sit inside everyday management dashboards rather than in a separate “green” silo, and listeners are invited to follow the podcast for more practical conversations like this.

⁠⁠Download Episode Transcript⁠⁠

Useful Links:
⁠SAP Cloud ERP⁠
⁠Deloitte⁠

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⁠⁠SAP Cloud ERP - LinkedIn⁠⁠

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Guest: Brian Jobe, Lead for SAP Sustainability at Deloitte
Brian is Deloitte’s lead for SAP Sustainability, focused on identifying opportunities to drive business value through sustainability offerings across our global network.  Brian is also the Carbon Accounting leader for the US, focused on supporting clients on their journey to implementing and operationalizing data, processes, and technology to address the regulatory and market-based pressures related to sustainability.  In these dual roles, Brian has a unique perspective on how SAP can be leveraged for sustainability outcomes.
 
Brian has more than 25 years of experience in providing data strategy, reporting process, controls, and governance services, primarily to clients in the  life sciences and health care sectors.  He also works with many of Deloitte’s largest audit clients on a technical consultation basis relating to complex accounting matters. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Economics with concentrations in Accounting and Information Systems from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is licensed as a CPA in New York and New Jersey, and is a member of the AICPA.

Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Follow Richard Howell on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠

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Key Topics: sustainability, cloud ERP, data, carbon accounting, scope 3, supply chain, AI, regulations, procurement, Deloitte