No more mammoth projects – now it's time for business apps!

Numbers and Facts

Low-code as a game-changer

85 % of CIOs consider low-code apps to be very important or business-critical (businesswire, 2023).

SAP customers rely on BTP

55 % of surveyed SAP users already use the Business Technology Platform (BTP);
in 2023 it was still 40 % (asug, 2025).

Large projects deliver little ROI

~30 %

of the expected effects of large digital initiatives are achieved on average (McKinsey 2022).

Why classic large projects no longer work

Many companies have in the past relied on comprehensive large projects – for example the introduction of a new CRM suite or a complete redesign of service processes. However, such mammoth undertakings are increasingly stalling:

• Long duration, slow benefits: A large IT project can take years until go-live. During this time, the business units are waiting for improvements – a no-go in a business world that demands rapid change today. Departments like sales or service can no longer afford to wait years for results. The pressure to respond flexibly has increased due to factors such as skilled labor shortages and volatile markets.
• High complexity, high risk: Large projects often try to solve too much at once. Planning becomes complex, budgets swell, and the risk of failure rises. In particular, business requirements frequently change during long implementation phases – the project may then deliver something that misses the actual needs. There is a risk that business and IT work past each other because too much time and communication lies between the business concept and technical implementation.
• IT overload: Traditionally, IT departments were seen as a bottleneck in such endeavors – too few resources, too many dependencies, everything takes longer than desired. IT had to implement all requirements while the business side waited. This leads to frustration on both sides.
• Rising customer expectations: At the same time, customer demands have increased. In B2B, buyers today expect, for example, to be able to retrieve information online themselves, receive quotes more quickly, and get service around the clock. Long internal project durations make it difficult to keep up with these expectations. Those who don't deliver digitally and quickly lose customers.

These factors make clear why mammoth projects are losing effectiveness. Companies need a new approach to further develop their CX processes: faster, more flexible, and closer to the business. This is where business apps come into play.

Enough with mammoth projects – now come business apps – fast, flexible, tailored

Business apps are small, modular applications that solve a clearly defined business requirement – for example an app for price calculation, a tool for lead capture, or a customer portal for service tickets. Instead of overhauling a huge system, you target exactly where the problem is. This brings decisive advantages:

• Tangible results in shorter timeframes: A business app is developed in weeks or a few months, not years. “It's about applying more flexible solutions,” emphasized SYBIT expert Thomas Winter, “instead of setting up a giant project.” Through these short cycles, business units see quick wins, for example in the form of a functioning prototype or MVP (Minimum Viable Product). At SIEGENIA, MVPs were continuously presented in the sales project to show users: Look, there's already something usable! This iterative approach greatly increases acceptance because users are not left in the dark until the end.
• Better planning & budget control: “I simply have more oversight when I have a smaller unit that I can plan better,” said Peter Wagner from SIEGENIA. Individual apps can be scoped in a manageable way regarding effort and costs. Companies can allocate budgets specifically to small initiatives and adjust as needed – instead of issuing a blank check for a giant project. The risk decreases: if one idea fails, the whole program is not lost.
• Focus on the business process: Each app is built for a concrete use case – e.g., a configurator app for quotes or a mobile application for field service reports. As a result, the solution fits the requirements of the department exactly, without unnecessary ballast. Wagner reported that such apps precisely serve the use case the business unit wants. This increases business value and ensures that in the end the department's problem is truly solved (business value before technical details).
• Higher acceptance and participation: When sales or service teams see early results and can even have a say, identification increases. Business users feel taken seriously and are happy to help refine the solution. This way, IT solutions become real business solutions. In the talk it became clear that business units know best what the market and customers demand, and their input is therefore essential. Business apps allow this input to flow in directly.
• Modularity and reuse: Business apps are not dead ends but building blocks. Often they can be used in multiple places and later even expanded. At SIEGENIA, for example, the developed product configurator is used internally for quote calculation and externally as a customer self-service. “We used the configurator multiple times and provided it as a separate app,” said Wagner. SYBIT expert Winter added: You can later make such an app available to partners or extend it with additional functions. The architecture is open for growth, unlike rigid monoliths. In the end, the individual apps can be assembled like puzzle pieces into the big overall picture – without having to plan everything from the start.

How are business apps implemented technologically? Typically using modern cloud platforms. In the SAP context this means: side-by-side extensions on the SAP BTP. The apps run separately from the core system but access required data and functions via APIs and services. Low-code tools are also used depending on the requirement, e.g., for quick workflow prototypes. However, it is important that quality and security are right in the end – complex apps are therefore usually completed by professional developer teams, even if a business unit prepared work in no-code. In short: business apps combine speed with robustness.

New role of IT: From bottleneck to enabler

For business units to take off with business apps, the IT department needs the right role. In the traditional model, IT was often overloaded and seen as a brake (“Can't do it, takes too long”). This picture is now fundamentally changing:

• IT provides the platform and guardrails: Modern IT organizations see themselves as enablers for the business units. They provide platforms like the SAP BTP and define clear governance rules – e.g., guidelines for security, data management, and interfaces. Within these guardrails, business units can act agilely without creating chaos. “It shouldn't become a zoo; rather we have certain guidelines that everyone follows,” said Thomas Winter about the IT directives. Central IT thus ensures the stability and integrity of the system landscape while deliberately allowing room for flexibility.
• “Keep the core clean” – keep the core system lean: Side-by-side apps mean that core applications (e.g., ERP, CRM) remain largely untouched. New functions are no longer developed directly into the core system (as was often the case before), but built on externally. This has enormous advantages: updates of the standard software remain uncomplicated and the stability of the core system is not jeopardized. SAP pursues this approach consistently – in the new Sales & Service Cloud (version “V2”) it goes so far that customers can no longer tinker with the core. Adjustments are made exclusively via extension apps. Microservices are the architectural principle of choice: each app is broken down into small, independent services that communicate via interfaces. If one component fails, the rest keeps running – the system as a whole remains available. In addition, individual components can be exchanged or scaled at any time without restarting the whole. This modularity fully benefits business apps.
• Integration instead of silos: A common objection: “If each department builds its own app, we'll end up with lots of separate data silos.” The solution is a clean integration architecture. Ideally, business apps access existing data sources rather than maintaining their own. Thomas Winter explained: In most cases the apps don't even need a separate database because they retrieve and write back data live via interfaces. “We leave the data where it belongs. We don't build a second data store.” For example, customer and product data remain central in CRM/ERP, and the app only uses them temporarily. If a separate database is ever necessary, this decision is made very deliberately – data duplicates are recognized as a problem and avoided. This integration principle ensures that all apps fit into the overarching data picture. In addition, a good overall data strategy is of course helpful (keyword Data Warehouse or Data Lake), but it's not a must: “To build a small portal or sales-cloud extension, I don't need a complete Data Lake,” said Winter. With a view to flexibility he even warns: Anyone who waits for the perfect Data Lake project “won't do anything for the next two years.” In short: better to integrate agilely than to wait for the big data solution.
• Interweaving IT and business knowledge: The platform approach also changes collaboration. Instead of rigid requirement specifications, interdisciplinary teams are used. IT provides, for example, a product owner or architect who develops the app together with the sales or service manager. This way, business knowledge flows in directly while IT ensures clean implementation. In some cases, citizen developers in the business unit can build a prototype via low-code that IT then professionalizes – keeping the know-how within the company. In general: the IT department provides orientation and ensures quality, but it is no longer the sole creator of all solutions. It becomes an advisor and enabler on equal footing with the business. This partnership model was reflected in an example from the talk: at one customer IT provides BTP credits (units) and actively encourages the business unit to implement use cases with them. Such a thing would have been unthinkable a few years ago – today it shows the new spirit: IT provides the toolbox, the business the ideas.

Interim conclusion: A solid, modern IT architecture is the enabler for business apps. With guardrails, integration and security in place, business units can be creative without chaos arising. The organizational result: more speed and freedom for innovation in the departments, while at the same time a stable, extensible core is carefully managed by IT.

AI in the CX context: With concrete benefits instead of hype

A trending topic that was discussed in-depth in the expert talk is artificial intelligence (AI). Particularly in sales and service there is huge potential for AI – from automated recommendations to chatbots. But here too the rule applies: instead of setting up a huge AI mega-project, companies should proceed in a targeted, benefit-oriented manner.

Challenges: AI is a (too) broad field and laden with a lot of hype. Many executives feel pressure to “do something with AI.” At the same time, users are often skeptical, even internally within teams. Acceptance is therefore an issue. “AI can be helpful, but you have to bring people along,” emphasized Wagner. In addition, AI needs a data foundation – and many companies still lack a comprehensive data infrastructure or experience with machine learning.

Solution approach: Instead of betting on a big bang, an iterative pragmatism is recommended:

• Define clear use cases: Start with a clearly defined AI use case that delivers real added value. Not “We're doing AI now,” but e.g., “We want to automatically classify incoming service tickets.” Or: “We want to automatically prioritize sales opportunities (lead scoring).” Such concrete goals are understandable and measurable. In the talk the experts named, among others, these examples:
   
  • Ticket AI: An AI service reads new customer inquiries (e.g., emails) and recognizes subject, sentiment and urgency. From this it automatically creates a ticket in the correct category and priority queue. The service employee has to sort less and can focus directly on important cases.
  • Lead scoring: AI analyzes past sales to calculate closing scores for open leads or offers. Sales sees at a glance which opportunities are hot (and deserve priority). In addition, the system can suggest suitable cross-/upsell offers (e.g., “Customer A might also be interested in product B”).
  • Quote follow-up: An intelligent assistant monitors sent quotes. It automatically reminds sales staff about due follow-ups or even generates an email draft for follow-up. This simplifies a tedious but important task – a specific example mentioned in the talk.
     
• Think AI into apps: These use cases don't have to be set up as a separate big AI project. Often they can be implemented as an extension of an existing app – Winter spoke of “AI-flavouring,” i.e., giving an existing business app a touch of AI. For example, the existing service app could call an external AI service via API that analyzes the entered customer report and pre-fills fields. Technically this is an additional interface – the effort remains low while the benefit can be large. This embedding also has cultural advantages: AI then appears as a helpful feature of a familiar application, not as a foreign monitoring tool.
• Think in processes, not technology: This motto ran through the entire talk. It applies especially to AI: the introduction must occur in the context of the end-to-end process. Example sales: Where in the sales process can AI support without disrupting the flow? Perhaps in quote creation (automatic product suggestions) or in the CRM (capturing visit reports by voice). But using AI indiscriminately just because it's possible rarely leads to success. “You must never lose sight of the overall process and not jump in with both feet and say: We're doing AI now – something,” Wagner warned clearly. His recommendation: create small, clearly delimited AI functions that really help.
• Create acceptance through benefit communication: AI projects must reduce fears. Show early how AI relieves employees. For example, by trying out a prototype together with the team that automates a time-consuming task. When colleagues realize that routine tasks are being taken off their plates, openness increases. “You have to bring people along and make the advantage clear – such as relief from tedious administrative tasks,” said Wagner. It helps to position AI as assistance rather than a threat.
• Use external expertise selectively: AI requires specialized knowledge (data preparation, model training). It's worthwhile to seek expert advice here to avoid wasting time or taking wrong paths. At the same time, internal AI competence should be built up – nobody wants to be dependent on service providers for every little thing. The talk guests recommended a mix: involve partners for the initial phase and strategic impulses, but bring your own people along and train them. This matches SYBIT's principle of “connecting strategy + technology” and “continuous learning.” This way AI remains controllable and aligned with corporate strategy.

In summary: AI in the CX area unfolds its value best in combination with business apps. Small, intelligent helper elements can both improve the customer experience and relieve employees. The important thing is to proceed step by step, based on concrete processes and data – and always take the people along. Then AI turns from a buzzword into a real competitive advantage.

Practical examples of business apps (CX)

Several use cases were already mentioned in the expert talk that illustrate what business apps look like in practice. Here are three typical examples – with possible implementation:

• Product/quote configurator: Use case: In the sales of complex products (here: hardware for windows) SIEGENIA needed a solution to create customer-specific quotes faster and error-free. Implementation: Together with SYBIT, a product configurator was developed as a business app on the SAP BTP. The app combines modular components into complete functional sets and calculates the price directly. Sellers thus receive a technically valid quote in minutes – previously this took much longer and was error-prone. The app runs side-by-side to the SAP Sales Cloud and the ERP, which it accesses live (master data, prices). Special feature: customers can also use the configurator to configure products themselves – a true self-service experience. SIEGENIA thus achieves a double effect: internal efficiency and better customer experience. Technically, microservices were used to flexibly represent the high product variety (tens of thousands of items) and regional price lists.
• Pricing app for sales approvals: Use case: In many companies special prices or discounts must first be approved – a time-consuming process via email. A business app can speed this up: if a quote exceeds a certain discount, the app triggers a digital approval process (including calculation of the new margin). Responsible persons receive a notification and can review the case in the app (e.g., view calculation details) and approve or reject with a click. The app uses real-time data from ERP/CRM (current prices, contribution margins) and documents the decision back in the main system.
• Lead-capturing app: Use case: After trade shows or webinars, lead data often ends up in Excel lists. A business app helps capture leads in a structured way and follow up quickly. Implementation: Development of a mobile lead app (e.g., with SAP BTP). Trade show staff can enter contact data, notes and areas of interest of a visitor directly on a tablet or smartphone. The app synchronizes live with the SAP Sales Cloud: each lead is immediately created as a potential customer, including conversation notes. Through a small automation flow (low-code), follow-up actions are triggered – such as a sales qualification or a trigger to marketing to send information material. Variant: You can also integrate existing solutions like snapADDY (for business card scanning etc.), but a custom app can be tailored exactly to the needs (e.g., individual trade show questions). Such a lead app is usually pilot-ready within a few weeks and gives sales an advantage in following up contacts.

These examples illustrate: business apps are as versatile as the business processes themselves. It is important that each app is clearly limited (what it should and should not do) and is cleanly embedded into the existing process and system landscape. Then they deliver exactly what the name promises – business value. And they follow the principle “end-to-end customer experience instead of isolated solutions”: each app handles a part-process, but through integration they together form a coherent whole along the customer journey