SAP launches People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud

At SAP Sapphire 2025 in Orlando last week, SAP SuccessFactors CEO Dan Beck introduced People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud as a transformational product for Human Capital Management (HCM) analytics.

The human resources domain currently deals with historic obstacles. The existing skills shortages continue to expand, while workforce planning has evolved into a complicated system, and HR executives face challenges using multiple analytical tools for decision-making. The industry needed a transformative solution, and SAP delivered People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud which could fundamentally change organizational people analytics.

SAP Business Data Cloud People Intelligence stands as their most transformative HR technology move beyond standard analytics tools toward a complete data-driven approach for business impact. This product launch creates a major change in HR technology infrastructure, because it unites separate reports with AI-based workforce intelligence systems.

What is People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud?

Earlier iterations of the solution were called SAP HR Insights, Insight Apps and/or People Insights, and this new offering is seen as a successor to SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics (WFA).

The primary purpose of People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud is to convert SuccessFactors, HCM and other people and business data into interactive insights through automated processes. But this description fails to capture all aspects that make this solution revolutionary: the platform provides three value propositions which address the critical challenges organizations face in HR analytics today.

• The application provides self-service analytics which enables business users to access dashboards containing hundreds of HR metrics, while using AI predictions to forecast workforce requirements and labor expenses and identify potential risks. The solution enables a dual copilot system to answer HR questions and deliver actionable insights that match each business context.
• The solution merges all people and skills data into one context-rich source through SuccessFactors HCM data integration with SAP Business Data Cloud. The solution enables automatic data connection, harmonization and governance across SAP applications and external data structures and unstructured information from all sources.
• The platform allows users to establish a future-ready data foundation through semantic data organization in a single location which supports AI process automation and quick business decisions. The platform uses AI/ML and data science and data engineering capabilities together with pre-built content that allows customization for business-specific requirements.

The technical architecture follows SAP's Business Data Cloud strategy which enables each line of business to run analytics on this unified platform. Every business function from ERP to finance and people and customer and supply intelligence operates on SAP Business Data Cloud while intelligent applications run within its ecosystem.

Evolution: From Workforce Analytics to something bigger

This new solution goes beyond what was available in SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics (WFA) even though it does not explicitly name the previous product. The Business Data Cloud architecture allows a move away from previous tool restrictions, because these tools required users to perform all functions within specific tools with limited exposed options.

The solution addresses a major weakness, since the previous tools performed well in SuccessFactors transactions, but failed to deliver strong analytics capabilities. The new analytical solution processes data for analytics purposes while providing unprocessed data to customers who need to create their own data models.

The transformation also indicates a progression toward an ‘almost infinitely scalable solution to solve whatever problem or data need you have’ that provides users with all available tools beyond tool constraints.

Target audience: Who does this solution serve?

The solution addresses multiple customer groups who have unique requirements and profiles.

• Primary target: Organizations that have aligned their analytics and planning strategy with SAP – those who own Business Data Cloud, SAP Analytics Cloud, or Datasphere and have invested in Employee Central. Organizations that have adopted SAP's platform direction can leverage their existing strategic investments in the suite because their analytics footprint matches SAP's platform direction.
• Secondary focus: SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central customers who lack access to complete SAP analytics but need extensive people analytics tools. The ongoing discussion about employee size minimums is currently debated, but it has been established that small customers successfully use Workforce Analytics and are advancing to more complex analytics requirements.
• Organizations that focus on skills-based operations: Companies that use Talent Intelligence Hub for skills planning who want to utilize skills data and skills-based planning functionalities. Organizations that maintain several major SuccessFactors modules have ample data resources to perform comprehensive analytics.

Real-world applications: What can you actually do with People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud?

• Organizations use the demo to track skill proficiency development across time which reveals whether employees match their role expectations or fall short. The direct learning team investment guidance helps organizations answer questions about needed skill development for specific competencies.
• The solution provides geo-mapping features which automatically convert addresses into maps to help organizations perform location-based workforce planning through visual data analysis.
• The system features hierarchical dimensions that let users explore data by moving between different levels of the organizational structure. The advanced data exploration features in this system enable HR professionals to study organizational trends across various levels and perform detailed investigations of specific problem areas.
• All data models in the architecture receive Employee Central data to enable users to analyze goals management data through slicing and dicing based on ‘age, tenure, job role, department, division, whatever custom dimensions you have’. The cross-module functionality presented a major restriction that limited previous solutions.
• The solution enables customers to start analytical data model development for third-party data integration and custom dimension creation. Customers begin with analytical data models which they can expand for quick time-to-value.

Real-world applications: What you can’t do with People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud (Live reporting)

The system begins with data updates that happen every day instead of streaming information in real-time. This is great for analytics and cross-module planning, but this solution cannot be used for live real-time operational reporting. You will still require a third-party solution for that as described in this SAP Community Blog post: Reporting in SAP HCM & Payroll and SuccessFactors. The only SAP S/4HANA certified reporting solution that is also approved to run on SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll is EPI-USE Labs’ Query Manager solution.

Educational takeaways: What HR leaders need to know

Current SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics customers must develop their transition plan immediately. SAP plans to assist existing customers during their migration process by developing commercial and technical services for this transition.

The solution incorporates skills data in various aspects which shows organizations must establish strong skills frameworks to achieve effective people analytics. The integration with Talent Intelligence Hub demonstrates that skills data functions as an essential analytics component rather than an optional feature.

The early adopter program will initiate in late July 2025, but general availability will not happen until September, which indicates that organizations should start planning right now rather than waiting until the market is fully available.

Forward outlook: Implications for HR technology

SAP’s new product launch indicates a fundamental shift toward making people analytics as powerful and strategic as financial or operational analytics. The system’s ability to integrate with business data enables HR to transition beyond reporting historical data to perform predictive analytics for future outcomes.

The architectural structure indicates a future direction where HR analytics systems merge with business analytics to form an enterprise-wide intelligence framework. This development will transform the way HR demonstrates its business value and its role in corporate strategic planning.

The launch creates both urgent need and promising possibilities for organizations conducting people analytics strategy assessments, and enables organizations to obtain advanced analytics capabilities that used to be restricted to big corporations with extensive custom development budgets. Sophisticated people analytics creates a pressing need, because it offers organizations a competitive advantage in the present talent shortage.

What you should do now

Your organization needs to evaluate its present state starting with an assessment of Employee Central implementation and analytics tools. Your assessment of current circumstances will enable you to develop the best possible future plan.

The early adoption program accepts applications through supported data centers for Employee Central customers who have Talent Intelligence Hub access and meet the criteria. Review SAP partner communications for contact information to access the early adopter program.

The launch of People Intelligence in SAP Business Data Cloud establishes a decisive shift in HR technology. Strategic and thoughtful adoption of these capabilities by organizations will give them a substantial advantage as the workplace continues to evolve.