NTT DATA and Neptune Help Organizations Modernize SAP Cloud ERP Faster.
Combining SAP Cloud ERP, Clean Core, and SAP Native Innovation
As organizations modernize SAP environments and prepare for the future of enterprise operations, balancing innovation with governance has become a strategic priority.
In this interview, originally published by CIO Taiwan, Hsiao Yung-hsien, Senior Solutions Consultant Manager at NTT DATA Taiwan, and Helder Goncalves, Chief Product Officer at Neptune, discuss how organizations can reduce technical debt, adopt Clean Core principles, and accelerate innovation with SAP-native low-code development.
Modernizing SAP Cloud ERP?
Technical Services and Low-Code Development Accelerate Digital Transformation and Innovation
As digital transformation continues to reshape industries worldwide, organizations are increasingly dependent on their core business systems. Many traditional ERP environments have accumulated years of customization, leading to greater complexity, higher maintenance costs, and reduced agility in responding to changing business requirements.
To address these challenges, SAP introduced its next-generation SAP Cloud ERP strategy centered on the Clean Core concept. The goal is to maintain a standardized ERP core while moving differentiated business requirements and innovation outside the core environment. This approach helps organizations reduce complexity, eliminate technical debt, simplify upgrades, and build a more sustainable foundation for future innovation.
To help organizations accelerate the transition from SAP ECC to SAP Cloud ERP, NTT DATA has partnered with Neptune to offer an SAP-certified, SAP-native low-code platform that runs directly within SAP environments.
Hsiao Yung-hsien, Senior Solutions Consultant Manager at NTT DATA Taiwan, explains that many Taiwanese manufacturers have built their competitive advantage on highly flexible operating models, including outsourced production, multi-layered cost allocation, and complex batch traceability processes. Over time, however, these requirements have led to extensive customization within SAP ECC environments, creating significant technical debt and increasing operational complexity.
By moving to SAP Cloud ERP, organizations can separate innovation from the ERP core and shift custom development to SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). Hsiao notes that NTT DATA’s deep SAP expertise, combined with Neptune’s SAP-certified development platform, offers organizations a practical path to modernization while preserving the flexibility needed to support future innovation. NTT DATA is already running proof-of-concept projects with well-known Taiwanese organizations and views this approach as a strong model for future SAP Cloud ERP adoption.
Helder Goncalves, Chief Product Officer at Neptune, explains that the biggest challenge in moving to SAP Cloud ERP is often not the migration itself. Organizations must continue to improve operations, maintain business continuity, and drive efficiency throughout the transformation journey.
According to Goncalves, Neptune’s value lies in its ability to run directly on SAP, enabling organizations to reuse existing data models and business logic without adding extra integration layers. This reduces system complexity and allows organizations to focus less on connecting systems and more on optimizing business processes.
He further explains that Neptune’s low-code development capabilities and AI-powered agents help organizations rethink how work is done. Rather than forcing users to switch between multiple SAP and non-SAP systems, processes can be redesigned as a single connected workflow. This reduces errors, improves productivity, and shortens decision-making cycles.
Goncalves describes this approach as establishing a “System of Action” layer that connects SAP and non-SAP systems and transforms fragmented activities into end-to-end business processes.
SAP Cloud ERP Becomes the Enterprise Core: NTT DATA Strengthens Implementation and Operational Value
SAP Cloud ERP has earned broad recognition for its ability to process real-time data and deliver advanced analytics. By simplifying data models, reducing redundancy, and enabling embedded analytics and automation, organizations can improve operational visibility and accelerate decision-making. The platform supports SAP Cloud ERP Private, SAP Cloud ERP, and on-premise deployment models, enabling organizations to design IT environments aligned with their business strategies.
Within SAP transformation programs, NTT DATA provides end-to-end implementation and project management services. From business process assessments and requirements analysis to architecture design and deployment, NTT DATA helps organizations adopt standardized processes while preserving the flexibility needed to support unique business requirements. This enables organizations to modernize with lower risk, improve efficiency, and optimize IT costs.
Hsiao explains that NTT DATA works closely with customers to evaluate both SAP Cloud ERP and SAP Cloud ERP Private architectures. By combining standardized processes with flexible extension capabilities, organizations can integrate real-time KPIs and analytics, comply with regulatory requirements, support global operations, and deliver measurable business value from digital transformation initiatives.
To support broader transformation goals, NTT DATA combines cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, and data governance frameworks to enable business intelligence, predictive analytics, and process automation. The objective is to help organizations move beyond using ERP as a system of record and instead use it as the foundation for creating business value from enterprise data.
NTT DATA also provides ongoing support services, including monitoring, issue resolution, change and patch management, performance optimization, and SAP Partner Center of Expertise (PCOE)-certified support. These services help organizations improve system stability, reduce total cost of ownership, and maximize the long-term value of their SAP investments.
Advantages of Low-Code and Native Integration Make Neptune a Key Extension for SAP
While SAP often recommends combining SAP Cloud ERP with SAP BTP, organizations increasingly need flexibility to extend and innovate across their SAP landscapes. As a result, many enterprises are also evaluating complementary cloud platforms and SAP-certified development solutions, such as Neptune DXP.
According to Hsiao, one of the key reasons NTT DATA selected Neptune is that the platform runs directly on SAP’s application layer. This provides two important advantages.
First, developers gain direct access to SAP’s existing data models and business logic. Second, organizations can leverage SAP’s native security mechanisms, reducing the need for additional authentication layers, minimizing integration risks, and improving performance and responsiveness.
Goncalves explains that Neptune supports on-premise, SAP Cloud ERP Private, SAP Cloud ERP, and multi-cloud deployment strategies, enabling organizations to innovate to their own requirements while maintaining predictable costs. This helps organizations avoid unexpected expenses as application usage grows and provides greater control over innovation investments.
Neptune’s low-code platform also significantly shortens application development cycles. Compared with traditional development approaches that can take weeks or months, organizations can create application prototypes in hours, and in some cases, minutes. Based on global customer implementations, Neptune has helped organizations reduce development timelines by approximately 60% to 80%, enabling business teams to respond more quickly to changing market demands.
Neptune has also introduced Naia, an AI copilot deeply integrated into SAP development environments. Unlike generic AI assistants, Naia understands enterprise data structures and application logic within SAP environments.
According to Goncalves, Naia embodies a broader vision for agentic AI within the enterprise. By leveraging user permissions, business context, and cross-system workflows, AI can move beyond assisting users and become an active participant in operational processes. This enables organizations to embed AI directly within enterprise workflows and unlock new opportunities for automation and efficiency.
Building a More Agile Future with SAP
As organizations face mounting pressure to modernize operations while maintaining business agility, the partnership between NTT DATA and Neptune offers a practical approach to SAP modernization.
By combining SAP expertise, Clean Core principles, SAP-native low-code development, and AI-driven innovation, organizations can accelerate application development, optimize business processes, reduce technical debt, and sustain long-term competitiveness while keeping the SAP core stable.
Why Neptune for SAP Cloud ERP?
SAP-Native by Design
Build applications directly within SAP while supporting Clean Core principles and reducing architectural complexity.
Reduce Technical Debt
Move innovation outside the ERP core while continuing to leverage SAP’s existing business logic and data models.
Accelerate Application Delivery
Reduce development time by up to 80% and respond more quickly to changing business requirements.
Create a System of Action
Connect SAP and non-SAP systems via end-to-end workflows that enhance productivity and decision-making.
Future Ready with AI
Leverage Naia and agentic AI capabilities to embed AI directly within enterprise processes.
Source: This article is based on an interview originally published by CIO Taiwan (link) and is republished with permission. The content has been adapted and localized for Neptune’s international audience.
