Alibaba and SAP Deepen Cloud Partnership to Drive Global Innovation By CIOTech Outlook Team

Alibaba and SAP Deepen Cloud Partnership to Drive Global Innovation

CIOTech Outlook Team | Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 09:43 IST

Alibaba Group and SAP have joined forces to provide businesses from all over the world with the latest advanced cloud solutions.
SAP Cloud ERP Private will be integrated into Alibaba’s business system, as well as SAP Business Suite, SAP Business AI.
A key element of this alliance is a strategy called go-to-market which will initially serve the China market and later extend to Southeast Asia.

Alibaba Group and SAP have joined forces to provide businesses from all over the world with the latest advanced cloud solutions. Alibaba Cloud’s powerful infrastructure and AI and SAP’s all-encompassing cloud ERP and business solutions, the companies hope to increase efficiency and speed up digital changes for joint customers.

Working together, the companies strive to bring SAP software into Alibaba Cloud’s flexible and scalable platform. SAP Cloud ERP Private will be integrated into Alibaba’s business system, as well as SAP Business Suite, SAP Business AI, SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP Ariba, SAP Integrated Business Planning, SAP Success Factors, SAP Concur and SAP Emarsys. They ensure quick maintenance tasks, easy to perform upgrades and stronger AI support within daily operations, giving Alibaba a flexible and steady technological base.

“Our collaboration with SAP reinforces our commitment to empowering global businesses with world-class technologies,” Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai said. “By combining SAP’s enterprise software with Alibaba Cloud’s robust infrastructure and AI capabilities, we can help customers build smarter, more agile operations.”

A key element of this alliance is a strategy called go-to-market which will initially serve the China market and later extend to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Firms in these areas will enjoy faster adoption of SAP’s Integrated Business Planning and Cloud ERP solutions through the use of SAP’s RISE and GROW programs. Certified by SAP as a hyperscaler, Alibaba Cloud will provide local companies with cloud ERP solutions that are secure, easily scalable and meet the needs of China.

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Alibaba’s Qwen large language model is now being tested for integration within the SAP AI Core platform, giving SAP a Chinese generative AI tool for use with SAP’s software and custom AI solutions. The company also intends to run its AI Foundation platform on Alibaba Cloud in China, allowing customers to take advantage of its AI tools. Alibaba is now fully certified to provide customer support for SAP when SAP’s enterprise solutions are hosted in the cloud.

“Our collaboration with Alibaba Group is a testament to the power and flexibility of SAP’s cloud solutions,” SAP CEO Christian Klein said. “Our joint go-to-market strategy can unlock new opportunities for enterprises by providing them with access to a comprehensive suite of tools and services.”

Alibaba and SAP plan to use their partnership to help businesses make use of the latest cloud and AI technologies. With Alibaba Cloud supplying the infrastructure and SAP sharing their knowledge, the partnership should provide scales, secure solutions and smart tools to encourage industry innovation and competitiveness. With the improvements to the partnership, both organizations are ready to shape how enterprises use cloud technology to succeed in a world driven by digitization.