AI Meets SAP: Naresh Kumar Rapolu Leads the Charge in Unlocking Business Intelligence with SAP BTP

Artificial Intelligence (AI) merging with ERP has ushered in a new age of smarter, faster, and resilient business processes as industries face rapid digital transformation across the globe. In order to remain competitive, organizations are adopting, on a larger scale, cloud platforms and intelligent automation to drive preparation in their respective industries of retail, finance, manufacturing, and human resources. At this transformation's frontline is SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), which is a suite of tools allowing businesses to innovate, integrate, and extend their core SAP systems with AI, data analytics, and cloud-native tools.

Amid this paradigm shift, Naresh Kumar Rapolu has established himself as a pioneering force. With deep expertise in SAP ecosystems and a strong focus on AI integration, Rapolu is redefining how businesses leverage SAP BTP to unlock real-time insights, automate critical processes, and build intelligent enterprise solutions that drive measurable outcomes.

Reports highlighted his work includes streamlining SAP system migrations to RISE with SAP, embedding automation and AI-readiness directly into the architecture. These efforts resulted in a 40% reduction in infrastructure setup time and significantly improved system performance post-migration. His innovation in connecting SAP Customer Activity Repository (CAR) and Business Warehouse (BW) with external AI engines has enabled real-time fraud detection, especially benefiting clients in the retail and financial sectors.

Interestingly he has delivered visible business outcomes through AI-infused solutions developed on SAP BTP. His work in automating complex processes across HR, finance, and supply chain functions has improved efficiency, reduced manual workload, and enhanced decision making speed. For example, AI-driven invoice processing automation using SAP Intelligent RPA and Document Information Extraction reduced invoice cycle time by 70% and achieved 98% accuracy in document validation. Additionally, his AI-powered demand forecasting model led to a 30% increase in sales and inventory accuracy, while HR automation efforts resulted in a 65% reduction in manual onboarding tasks.

Reports suggest among his most impactful projects is the development of a spend analysis dashboard for a major retail client and the creation of Smart HR Analytics, which combined SAP SuccessFactors with machine learning models for enhanced workforce insights. Another high-impact initiative includes the automation of end to end invoice workflows in SAP S/4HANA environments, showcasing Rapolu's ability to merge technical expertise with functional business acumen.

This professional journey has not been without challenges. Integrating modern AI capabilities into legacy SAP environments like ECC and PI/PO presented compatibility issues that few had tackled before. He overcame these by building intelligent bridges using SAP BTP’s Cloud Connector and optimizing data flows with CPI and HANA Calculation Views—resulting in a 45% reduction in AI data latency.

While he has not yet published formal research on the subject, Rapolu’s influence in the field is evident in his thought leadership and mentorship. He has guided teams on embedding AI within SAP modules such as FI, MM, SD, and HR cultivating a forward-thinking, innovation-first culture.

“Embedding AI into SAP is not just a tech shift it’s a mindset shift,” Rapolu says. “Too often, AI solutions are built in silos and miss the mark on real business impact. The key is in aligning AI initiatives with SAP’s native business processes and logic.”

Looking ahead, he predicts a future where AI capabilities are deeply woven into SAP systems available out of the box in platforms like SAP S/4HANA. With SAP investing in tools like SAP AI Core, SAC, and RISE with SAP, he envisions predictive and prescriptive analytics becoming standard across enterprise operations.

Naresh Kumar Rapolu is not just adapting to the AI era he’s actively shaping it. His work exemplifies how the fusion of SAP BTP and AI can create resilient, intelligent enterprises equipped to thrive in the digital age.