Head of Finance & Spend Management—India Subcontinent
SAP
As Indian enterprises focus on AI, cloud-native models, and sustainable growth, SAP aligns its strategy with the nation’s digital ambitions. In this exclusive interview, Ashwani Narang, Head of Finance & Spend Management—India Subcontinent at SAP, discusses how the company enables enterprises to innovate faster, operate more efficiently, and remain compliant with evolving regulations.
From embedding generative and agentic AI into core applications like finance, HR, and supply chain to building API-driven integrations with initiatives like ONDC and GST, SAP drives meaningful outcomes at scale. Narang also highlights the significance of SAP’s ₹500 crore India Data Center investment and how nearly 25% of the company’s new patents now originate from India. With a new R&D campus underway, SAP is strengthening its commitment to innovation, localization, and customer-centric transformation, empowering Indian enterprises to become truly intelligent and future-ready.
CIO&Leader: What role do you play in ensuring a strong AI-driven foundation, particularly in the context of SAP India’s data center infrastructure?
Ashwani Narang: The roadmap for us is clear on AI. Now, if you look at it—if I draw a big sphere for you—you would see that AI is right at the top. You have ML, which is machine learning, as a subset; then you have deep learning, which is more focused on neural networks; and finally, we are getting down to generative AI. The roadmap is pretty straightforward for us.
We are looking at combining generative AI and agentic AI. When we consider agentic AI, we see use cases, and if you were upstairs today, you would have heard about 180+ use cases that already exist. We are speaking to customers; some customers have already gone live with it. We see specific use cases we have already built when considering generative AI. Even SAP has developed some generative use cases internally.
For example, if you’re a new employee in your company and you want to set up goals for that particular employee, then essentially what we are talking about is: I, as a journalist, for example, enter the organization, and the system should predict what my KPIs should be. Now, that would be awesome—if the system could say, “These are the top five KPIs for journalists working in technology.” That’s generative AI for you.
Now, when you talk about that in the context of India’s data center, we’re saying that SAP India has already pledged a certain amount of money. It was reported in the media some years back—about ₹500 crore—to build the local data infrastructure. The India data center is already live for the entire ERP ecosystem. Regarding lines of business, it is live for Ariba; regarding hire-to-retire processes, it is live for SuccessFactors. So, we are integrating all these capabilities from both an application and an AI standpoint. We’re building that into the India data center today. The roadmap is clear—what happens globally will also occur in India. SAP has pledged that the entire set of use cases will be implemented in the India data center.
And one more thing I would like to add—you may or may not have heard it—is that about 25% of SAP patents on new technology are now being generated from India. That is the highest percentage outside our headquarters in Germany. A new R&D campus is coming up, including new labs and facilities, and we plan to employ more people there as well. That’s how committed we are to AI in India.
CIO&Leader: How are you enabling your customers to accelerate their digital journeys by harnessing the full potential of the cloud to innovate faster, operate more efficiently, and achieve their long-term growth strategic goals?
Ashwani Narang: If you remember the good old world—the good old world talked about ERP on-prem—and those days are gone now. Cloud will bring you a new set of innovations very clearly, which is pretty evident. The innovation happening—not only on our side but in any technology company—is happening on the cloud. As a customer, when you empower yourself with the SAP cloud business, you will benefit from all the innovations being integrated into all these areas.
For example, if you are a procurement manager in a company and want to access the system and see how many pending POs you need to finish as your to-do task, I have an agentic AI on top. Can you show me a list of the pending POs? And here it goes—you have the entire list available in five seconds.
Or if you’re a casual user and have no idea about the policies of the company you’re working for—because it can be a significant document, by the way—we can build that entire document into the system. The system can then tell you: “Look, you are a manager, you’ve joined this company, and you cannot buy a laptop worth more than ₹50,000 because that’s the policy set up by your organization.” So, in the system, while you see three laptops, only two are eligible for you to buy because they are priced below ₹50,000. The system will stop you then and there if you try to violate the policy, knowingly or unknowingly.
Therefore, all of this intelligence is being built into the system. Customers are using this now to ensure compliance and reliability and to work within their organization’s policy framework. That is what makes the difference for all these companies.
CIO&Leader: How is AI fueling SAP growth in India? What are the key cost and complexity challenges it addresses for enterprises?
Ashwani Narang: If 10 tech startups are happening around the globe, almost 7 are native AI, which also holds for India. So, as a provider, the obligation is on us, as SAP, to go back to our customers and say: we will give you the best-in-class AI experience. And that’s an obligation we have taken on ourselves.
The crux of the matter is how we are helping our customers transform better. As I said, we already provide our customers with about 180 AI use cases. There was one, you know, from a public sector company that I remember, which asked us: “If I want to go out and close my books, is there a way that Joule can help me do that?” We saw that upstairs at SAP Now today.
But then, what I’m trying to get to is that AI will make life easier for companies. So, whether it’s the new-age companies or companies like SAP, we are building the AI layer on top of our enterprise applications. On the other hand, the new-age companies are also starting from that point. AI will be evident, and it’s now on us—how fast-paced we can be to ensure that we give the best-in-class experience back to our customers.
CIO&Leader: How is your traditional on-premise model evolving to a cloud-first approach, and what does that transition mean for your customers in India?
Ashwani Narang: I remember my conversation with one of my customers almost one and a half decades ago, 15 years ago. I asked them, “You know SAP has launched S/4HANA, do you know this?” And they said, “Yeah, yeah, we know it.” So I asked, “When are you converting from ECC to S/4HANA?” And they said, “You know what, we are happy with what we are doing now. Probably it’s not the time for us to move from ECC to S/4HANA.”
The single biggest problem was that we were living in the mindset of “I am already doing a fair job—why should I change?” And that doesn’t hold good today. If you look at the evolution of technology or the disruption happening globally right now, if you do not have the best-in-class technology, you’re going to get stuck.
For example, if I’m a pharma company and I have a shipment coming in—from China to India, Germany to India, or even the US to India—I need to track a path that ensures the shipment arrives on time. That’s a fair expectation. But if I want to know where my shipment is today—whether it is at sea, which particular sea, and at what location—then think back to COVID.
A drug coming in from one place to another had to be maintained at a specific temperature and pressure. Therefore, I need to know if the conditions are being met and if the route is followed correctly. If the temperature and pressure are not maintained, the drug will not be effective, and that’s a loss of money, and possibly lives as well.
That’s why SAP realized we need technology that operates in real time. We need to help our customers be more predictable in how they run their businesses, and businesses understand that.
So, while we returned to customers, they returned to us and said, “We understand on-prem was a thing of the past. Help us understand what advantages we will get if we move from on-prem to cloud. What’s the impact? Will you help us reduce costs? Will you help us become more effective and efficient in completing our work faster?”
We prepared all those business cases for each customer. Customers found it easier to decide once the business value was proven to them: “Well, this makes sense. I’m getting my ROI.” And so, it became the right time to move from on-prem to cloud.
That is how we are creating a journey. Internally, we have a name for it—the customer value journey. That’s what we call it. The customer value journey starts when we justify the business case to them. I think the ROI convinced customers that there is value in moving from on-prem to cloud. Of course, we are going to customers, but customers are also returning to us. So, it’s a win-win for all of us.
CIO&Leader: As Indian enterprises increasingly adopt AI and cloud-native models, how is SAP collaborating with the local ecosystem—startups, partners, and developers—to drive innovation at scale?
Ashwani Narang: I love this question because there must be something in it for the local MSMEs and the economy.
Now, when we talk about how SAP is collaborating—or creating those APIs where two systems can connect—these systems may have something to do with a solution SAP has built, or perhaps it’s an extension we’ve built with a partner, a customer, or even in collaboration with a government marketplace.
I’m thrilled to give an example. The other day, I was sitting with the Chairman of ONDC. You know, ONDC is a significant initiative by the Government of India, and they want to bring every small MSME onto a platform where they can access a marketplace. This marketplace connects with SAP, enabling buyers and sellers to trade. The question posed to us was: “SAP, can you connect to ONDC? And if you can, can we have a marketplace where all the MSME providers can participate and help evolve the Indian economy?”
I’m proud to tell you that we took that challenge upon ourselves and are actively working with a few government-sector companies to identify how we can integrate with ONDC.
Suppose someone like me in a PSU wants to get on a system and buy something. In that case, I can connect to ONDC and make that purchase, where the supplier doesn’t pay anything to the platform because the Government of India supports it in a charitable format to help MSMEs grow.
We’ve also developed extensions with local partners. For example, let’s discuss GST, a significant concern for CFOs. They often worry: If I’ve paid GST to a supplier, has that supplier submitted it to the government on time? The law says the buyer becomes liable if the supplier hasn’t done so. So, I, as a customer, am concerned that everyone complies with the law and submits taxes on time.
We’ve developed a specific API with one of our partners in India that can fetch data from the government’s open-source portal and alert me. It can tell me: “A supplier is collecting GST from you on time, but they’re submitting it to the government late—40% of the time.” That delay makes me liable. This is another innovation we’ve taken to the market, and customers have very well received it.
There are more examples I can talk about, but these two were particularly relevant.
CIO&Leader: With compliance, data sovereignty, and sustainability gaining importance, how is SAP aligning its India strategy to meet these evolving enterprise priorities through its infrastructure and services?
Ashwani Narang: So, compliance and sustainability—I was looking at a CEO survey conducted by Gartner, and compliance was listed as point three, acknowledged by 40% of CEOs as essential. Sustainability ranked at point seven, cited by almost 25% of CEOs who said they need sustainable practices.
Again, SAP hits its obligation to develop compliant systems, protect our customers’ interests, and be forward-looking, ensuring we also address the sustainability agenda.
When I meet a CFO, I ask them: You prepare your profit and loss statement every quarter, report it to the street, SEBI demands it, you’re a public company, etc. But you’re at the same time, do you have your green ledger? While you may be doing well regarding your profit and loss, how are you doing regarding sustainability?
For example, if I ask you a simple question—if you’re spending ₹100 in your company, what percentage of that is going to a sustainable supplier? Can you confidently say that 10% of your spending is toward sustainable suppliers? These are the kinds of questions that are now being asked.
Even from a regulatory perspective, BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting) must now be filed, just like you declare your P&L results every quarter, you must also submit your BRSR results quarterly. If you don’t, you could be excluded from mid-don’tndices, your valuation may drop, and your stock price could plummet. That’s not a good sign.
So, if I’m a toThat’s any to’s any, I need to ensure my I’m SR score is in place. I need to generate and submit that report to the government, just like I do with my P&L. That has become critical.
Companies regularly ask us: How can you help us make our processes more sustainable while ensuring we comply with the regulatory frameworks defined within our organizations?
We’ve already developed and backed your Scope 3 emissions there. We have a product called SDX—Supplier Data Exchange.
For example, if I issue a PO to a supplier and ask them to deliver 10 items, they may say “yes,” but then I’ll ask, “Can you tell me our Scope? I’ll know about each line item of these 10 products?” And that’s the kind of challenge we’re facing.
For example, I live in Delhi and flew to Mumbai today. How many carbon emissions did the flight generate? That’s a great question.
According to the UN framework on sustainability, companies must fulfil about 19 criteria. In the function I handle—finance and spend management—we address 13 of them. One of the criteria is to measure how much carbon is generated by employees in your organization.
As we say, charity starts at home, so the change has to start internally. I need to be sustainable myself before I can advocate for company-wide sustainability.
We’ve provided customers with tools and innovations to say, “Don’t worry—we’re looking at your greenhouse gas emissions, tracking employee-generated carbon emissions, and measuring Scope 3 emissions.” We’re a line of products that can help you become compliant and sustainable wherever you are. That is how we are approaching it.
CIO&Leader: What are India’s top priorities, including revenue goals from Indian operations and innovation focus areas?
Ashwani Narang: Okay, so revenue, of course—we look at it globally. The numbers are already explained at the global level. The results were out yesterday, and we are delighted and very gung-ho. Everything is looking green, so I’m pretty excited about it. The share price also tells a story about it.
But in terms of innovation, there is a lot of localization effort going on—that’s where I would love to bring your attention. When you look at the kind of use cases we’re getting from a localized standpoint—for example, if I’m invoicing with a particular supplier—there is the IRN portal of the Government of India. The invoice must be generated in five copies, barcoded, and returned to my system.
This means that the system should be capable of handling these invoices and retrieving them from the IRN portal after submission. And that’s what we’ve done. Few providers in the country are capable of doing that. That’s one example of localization or the kind of local innovation we are bringing to the table.
Another example is that Indian organizations often use a simple process called Note for Approval. Many companies follow this process while signing off on a capital expenditure, and follow a particular format and process. We are customizing all of this to meet customer needs on our BTP platform.
Now there’s another aspect—scaling it to an unimaginable level. Customers looking for customizations or configurations beyond SAP’s core product offering, inside our portfolio, are now getting extensions developed on BTP. So I think, in many ways, there are a lot of innovations planned from a localization standpoint, and even very specific to individual customer use cases.
CIO&Leader: With SAP integrating AI into finance, supply chain, and HR, how is the platform helping CIOs balance agentic AI autonomy with human accountability in critical enterprise decisions?
Ashwani Narang: We are looking at CFOs, CIOs, CPOs, Chief Supply Chain Officers, and Chief HR Officers. You know, all of them have their own set of requirements. When we’re building AI—or specifically generative AI—use cases, we consider many underlying factors. For example, you touched upon security.
Our philosophy is quite clear—we call it Business AI. We’re not just calling it AI—we call it Business AI. It has to be reliable, relevant, and related to the specific use case we’re working on. That’s our definition of Business AI.
We understand these personas very well when looking at those kinds of datasets.
Regarding security and data protection, we’ve already obtained the necessary SOC approvals and certifications, and we are following all those protocols to ensure customer data is safe and the AI is secure. We’re aligned with global guidelines on artificial intelligence.
So, I think that becomes very important—and it is at the core, the central theme of SAP’s approach to building all its AI products.
We’re doing this by bringing to life many customer use cases across different personas and CXOs.