Sapphire 2025 marked a turning point, not because SAP introduced a radically new vision but because the company finally appears ready to execute on the one it has been quietly building for years. The narrative has matured, the tools are in place, and the platform is coherent. And the partners, customers and product ecosystem are starting to move together. Some heavy lifting remains, such as around migrations, data harmonization and partner fluency, but if SAP can stay focused on delivering scalable value through agentic AI, integrated data platforms and partner-enabled execution, the next chapter of the company’s growth story will look a lot less like catching up to the cloud and a lot more like leading in it.

Although smaller than the typical IT and professional services firms covered by TBR, Hitachi Digital Services warrants close attention in the coming years. Its distinctive business model, strategic direction and performance — particularly its combination of IT, OT, AI and domain expertise — position Hitachi Digital Services as a potential outlier in the IT services landscape.

By bringing governance, metadata and ingestion capabilities in-house, Salesforce will fill critical platform gaps that limit the company’s ability to scale Agentforce and deliver on its broader AI vision. The pieces now fit: a unified stack spanning CRM, data and AI. Execution, of course, is the next hurdle. Agentforce is still in the early days of development, and the company’s ability to drive meaningful ARR from the platform will depend on sustained growth, smart ecosystem plays and clear ROI for customers. But once Informatica is in place, Salesforce will be better equipped to turn its AI ambitions into enterprise outcomes — and to do so in a unified way.