For the past 18 months, the world has been talking about AI.
Boards have asked about it. CEOs have demanded it. Vendors have promised it.
HR technology leaders have been left with a difficult question:
How do we embrace AI responsibly — without risking governance, compliance or platform stability?
With the introduction of People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC), AI in HR is no longer abstract. There is now a structured foundation for making workforce data AI-ready inside the SAP landscape.
The opportunity is real.
So is the risk of doing nothing.
Here are five reasons Heads of SuccessFactors should attend the Festival of People Analytics 2026 (#FOPA26).
To get your complimentary Festival ticket, please use 100% discount code: 3NS100 at Checkout.
AI is no longer an innovation experiment. It is becoming embedded in enterprise systems.
Joule is expanding across SAP. Executives increasingly expect conversational answers to business questions. Workforce data will inevitably become part of that dialogue.
But AI only performs as well as the data foundation beneath it.
People Intelligence runs on SAP Business Data Cloud — the structured data layer SAP is positioning to enable trusted AI across the suite. It prepares workforce data in a consistent, governed way so that AI-powered insights and automation are based on defined, reliable metrics.
If your SuccessFactors landscape is not aligned to that foundation, AI expectations may quickly outpace capability.
At “The State of People Analytics in 2026 – Then, Now, and Next,” we will explore what this shift means in practical terms for SuccessFactors leaders.
For many organisations, Workforce Analytics has provided a trusted foundation for structured metrics, consistent definitions, and governed reporting within SuccessFactors.
But the expectations placed on workforce data are changing.
As AI, automation, and cross-domain analytics expand within SAP Business Data Cloud, the question is no longer simply how to report on workforce metrics — it is how to prepare workforce data to support broader decision-making across the enterprise.
People Intelligence represents the next stage in that evolution. By introducing structured Data Products within Business Data Cloud, workforce definitions and transformation logic move closer to the data foundation itself — enabling greater consistency, scalability, and readiness for AI-enabled use cases.
Future-proofing your Workforce Analytics approach does not mean abandoning what works today. It means understanding how to evolve deliberately, preserve trust in your existing metrics, and align your analytics landscape with SAP’s forward direction.
In “Moving from Workforce Analytics to People Intelligence in 2026,” we will explore how to evolve deliberately — without fragmenting your existing reporting landscape.
Organisations that prepare their workforce data for AI will make faster decisions, model workforce cost more accurately and identify capability risks earlier.
Those that delay may find themselves paying too much for reactive hiring, struggling with inconsistent insight or lacking agility in a competitive market.
The shift toward AI-enabled HR is already underway across industries. The question is whether your platform is ready to support it.
The session “People Intelligence in Action: A Demo & Discussion with SAP” will demonstrate what practical adoption looks like.
As workforce insight becomes more accessible through conversational interfaces like Joule, scrutiny increases.
Executives expect consistent answers. Legal teams expect control. Regulators expect protection of sensitive workforce information.
Business Data Cloud introduces a structured model for managing workforce data centrally, reducing reliance on unmanaged extracts and duplicated reporting logic.
The live “Ask Me Anything: People Intelligence” session will provide the opportunity to explore governance and control in more depth.
For many HR technology leaders, the past year has been about understanding AI.
The next year will be about acting on it.
People Intelligence and Business Data Cloud provide a tangible starting point for an AI-enabled HR roadmap within SAP landscapes.
The closing session, “Databricks and Predictive Analytics Made Simple,” will show how more advanced workforce capabilities become possible once the foundation is in place.
The risk is not experimentation.
The risk is waiting until competitors are already benefiting from AI-powered workforce decisions.
The Festival of People Analytics 2026 is designed to help you move from conversation to action - and begin shaping a deliberate roadmap. We hope you will join us.
To get your complimentary Festival ticket, please use 100% discount code: 3NS100 at Checkout.