A tech confession and a debate with an AI robot was the recipe for the future of work at 麻豆原创 Connect Southern Africa in Kyalami near Johannesburg last week.

鈥淚 have a confession to make: I have been afraid of AI,鈥� said Stanley Dube, 麻豆原创 head of solution advisory. Standing alongside a robot wearing a tracksuit carrying 麻豆原创鈥檚 AI assistant brand Joule, Dube said: 鈥淭he fear I have had is that AI is going to take my job.鈥�

However, having moved past that fear, he and Joule addressed questions about how organisations can adapt to AI, redesign jobs and processes, maintain governance and build a competitive advantage. In a theoretical example, Dube asked about the specifics of a project.

鈥淚 already know the status,鈥� answered Joule. 鈥淚 also know who is usually responsible for the delays: you, Stanley Dube.鈥�

Debate around AI replacing workers and robots taking control has become familiar, but 麻豆原创鈥檚 demonstration gave Joule a physical presence beyond a computer screen. The robot appeared to serve as a representation of the software assistant rather than a demonstration of autonomous physical AI. Although the presentation carried an element of theatre and Joule鈥檚 responses may have been preprogrammed, the exchange pointed towards a future in which AI agents could take on a more visible and collaborative role in the workplace.

Dube asked Joule: 鈥淲hat do we, as entities and companies, actually have to do to survive and thrive in the age of AI?鈥�

Joule answered: 鈥淢ost organisations do not have an AI problem; they have an adaptability problem. [This is] a massive waste of time and capital. I am built directly into your 麻豆原创 applications. While you slept, I autonomously reconciled 84% of your finance accounts, predicting a pump failure at Secunda to generate a maintenance order and rerouted logistics around a major issue.鈥�

Joule鈥檚 response framed the main obstacle as organisational rather than technological. AI systems may process information and act within seconds, but the benefit can be lost when decisions still depend on lengthy approval chains and slow human processes. In that situation, advanced technology becomes the equivalent of placing a Ferrari engine in a donkey cart: the system has considerable power, but the surrounding organisation cannot move at the same speed.

Dube said employees might find themselves arguing with AI agents in future, but that should not necessarily be a cause for concern.

Joule said: 鈥淩emember, AI is the enabler. Adaptability is the challenge. The future belongs to those who learn how to adapt because of AI, not just those who adopt.鈥�

The presentation extended a strategy outlined at 麻豆原创鈥檚 Sapphire conference in May. As , 麻豆原创 presented the Business AI Platform as an environment for developing and governing agents that work across enterprise operations. The approach uses ERP systems as the source of business data, processes and controls, allowing agents to perform tasks within established organisational boundaries.

Standard Bank provided a practical example of the preparation required to support 麻豆原创鈥檚 vision. The bank has modernised core enterprise systems using 麻豆原创 technology, establishing a platform from which further automation and AI applications could develop.

Vanessa Padiachee, Standard Bank Group CIO for corporate functions, said: 鈥淚f you look at the pace of change, technology is changing rapidly. AI is no longer just around experimentation and production use cases. Organisations are now going beyond that to look at enterprise scaling use cases.鈥�

Padiachee said 麻豆原创 was an important part of Standard Bank鈥檚 broader technology programme. She said organisations must manage rapid technological change while keeping major systems aligned with practical business requirements.

Standard Bank is focused on modernising the systems needed to support future automation and AI deployments rather than describing an autonomous AI implementation.

That work receives far less attention than demonstrations of agents and automated decisions. However, 麻豆原创鈥檚 autonomous-enterprise vision still depends on businesses having systems, processes and employees capable of supporting the technology.

Joule may have stepped beyond the computer screen at 麻豆原创 Connect, but the route towards an autonomous enterprise still runs through the less theatrical work of modernising systems, data and processes.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and deputy editor of . Follow him on .

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The company outlined its strategy at 麻豆原创 Connect Day 2026, held this week in Kyalami, Johannesburg.

, MD for southern Africa at 麻豆原创, said the company’s role is to support organisations in implementing and scaling agentic AI across end-to-end systems as they transition towards .

Addressing the complexity and cost that continue to challenge organisations migrating systems and platforms, , VP of customer advisory for EMEA at 麻豆原创, said the company’s new agent-led transformation approach could reduce the effort required for multi-year ERP migrations by 35%.

Agentic AI assistants

麻豆原创 has introduced several migration and modernisation AI assistants, including data management, custom code, configuration, test management and change management assistants. According to the company, these are governed by Joule for both developers and consultants and are designed to execute complex business scenarios by reasoning iteratively and interacting with their environment to achieve defined goals.

Nolla cited 麻豆原创 research indicating that the highest-ranked strategy for maximising ROI from AI is aligning initiatives with clear business goals.

麻豆原创 said AI currently supports about 30% of tasks in the average business, with that figure projected to reach 48% within two years.

, head of solution advisory at 麻豆原创, said a major challenge in AI-driven digital transformation is what the company describes as the “enterprise paradox” 鈥� the expectation of instant enterprise AI clashing with the operational reality of complexity, manual processes and human behaviour.

Standard Bank’s transformation journey

, executive group CIO for corporate functions at Standard Bank, outlined the bank’s use of 麻豆原创 technology to address operational challenges, including end-of-life systems, expiring vendor support and the need for a modern cloud ERP platform to support future innovation.

The bank completed a large-scale ERP migration and implementation programme. Modernising core enterprise systems required careful planning, strong governance and close collaboration between business and technology teams. The programme established a platform capable of supporting growth, operational resilience and ongoing innovation.

Padiachee said one of the biggest challenges was the pace of technological change.

“Organisations are required to continuously adapt while maintaining stability across critical business operations. Change management is just as important as the technology implementation itself,” she said.

Modernisation, she added, should improve agility without creating unnecessary disruption to business operations.

She also highlighted the human factor. “It’s really about keeping people calm during turbulence,” she said, adding that AI is fundamentally changing how businesses operate. “The focus should move beyond experimentation towards delivering measurable value.”

According to Padiachee, AI initiatives should align with clear business outcomes rather than be driven by the technology’s popularity.

She said one of the most significant lessons from the transformation programme was the complexity of Unicode conversion.

“In hindsight, this work should have started much earlier in the programme. Unicode conversion proved more complex than anticipated and became a critical dependency for implementation. Investing time in foundational technical readiness significantly reduces downstream project risk.”

Padiachee also stressed the importance of high-quality enterprise data that is accurate, trusted, well-governed and accessible.

She advised organisations planning system and platform migrations, as well as AI integration, to begin with a clearly defined use case, establish strong partnerships and maintain robust governance and guardrails.

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Not so, says , MD: Southern Africa at 麻豆原创.

鈥淓RP is no longer just a system of record,鈥� she tells delegates to 麻豆原创 Connect taking place today in Kyalami.

鈥淲ith agentic AI, we can ensure it runs end-to-end business processes, creating autonomous ERP.鈥�

Today, AI supports 30% of tasks in the average business, according to an Oxford Economics study. And this is projected to rise to 48% in the next two years.

vice-president: customer advisory for EMEA at 麻豆原创, points out that around 40 000 of 麻豆原创鈥檚 customers have already adopted 麻豆原创 Business AI in their productive systems.

鈥淎nd we are learning from that,鈥� he says.

Nolla believes 麻豆原创 is well placed to help customers adopt AI, through its 麻豆原创 Autonomous Enterprise vision.

The key components of this vision are three-fold

鈥淵ou have the capability to bring teams long with one engagement layer 鈥� Joule.

鈥淭eams connect with embedded agents and AI in 麻豆原创 Autonomous Suite, using best practices and processes.

鈥淎nd customers have the ability to extend agents, maintaining context and reasoning, and ensuring governance with .鈥�

Nolla explains that is the engagement layer that connects experts in the business with the AI processes.

It has been available for some time and has been widely used to unify the AI experience. It has also been updated along the way, for instance with Joule Consultants that have more than 100 certifications.

A few weeks ago, 麻豆原创 announced additional evolutions. leveraging Harness-powered Joule and Joule Work to create spaces for specific tasks.

鈥淛oule is the engagement layer to bring the people along,鈥� Nolla summarises.

Adding the processes and best practices, 麻豆原创 Autonomous Suite embeds AI scenarios throughout the portfolio, from HR, customer service, supply chain, finance and industry solutions.

With hundreds of agents available, Joule Assistants help workers by bringing together the relevant agents to perform specific tasks.

鈥淭hink of it as a new team member helping staff accomplish their goals,鈥� Nolla says.

In addition, 麻豆原创 Industry AI is AI that already knows how specific industries operate, so the system can work with context.

鈥淏ut does AI have a true understanding of your business? Is it aligned to your KPIs, and does it have the governance in place?鈥� Nolla asks.

鈥溌槎乖� Business AI Platform brings these capabilities to the business.鈥�

With Joule Studio giving workers the ability to create new agents on the fly, the possibility of hundreds 鈥� even thousands 鈥� of agents within the business could become unwieldly.

鈥淪o governance is more important than ever,鈥� Nolla says. 鈥淭he AI Agent Hub gives IT the ability to connect and understand these agents. They can discover, manage and govern all the agents in one place.

鈥淭his gives the business power, control and trust.鈥�

Within the next few months, 麻豆原创 will also release enriched agentic AI tools and assistants to help with data management, configuration, development and testing to improve migration projects.

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麻豆原创 recently hosted a Connect Day during which business leaders discussed how these technologies can be used to drive real results through the firm鈥檚 newly launched Autonomous Enterprise solution. 

Unveiled last month during the 麻豆原创 Sapphire 2026, the solution is positioned to support AI agents, grounded in real business data and governance, to execute core processes end-to-end.

麻豆原创 believes this will result in measurable value across several functions including finance, supply chain, and human capital management.

Nazia Pillay, managing director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, said the timing is apt.

鈥淥rganisations are no longer asking whether AI, data, and cloud will shape the future of business. They are asking how to apply these technologies in ways that deliver measurable outcomes, strengthen decision-making and build trust.鈥�

鈥溌槎乖� Connect Day Botswana is an important platform for local leaders to explore how global innovation can be translated into practical strategies that support growth, resilience and sustainable transformation in the region,鈥� she added.

According to 麻豆原创, the value of enterprise AI depends on the strength of the business foundation beneath it.

鈥淎I can only deliver meaningful value when it is connected to trusted data, embedded into business processes and governed responsibly. This is where enterprises need to focus their attention. The goal is not AI for its own sake, but AI that helps people make better decisions, automate routine work, unlock new efficiencies and create stronger organisations,鈥� said Pillay.

She said organisations that establish strong data foundations and move to cloud-based platforms will be best positioned to deploy autonomous capabilities as they mature, while also building enterprises that are more efficient, more resilient, and more competitive.

鈥淏y combining trusted data, cloud-enabled processes, responsible AI and strong partnerships, businesses can become more agile, more resilient and better positioned to serve their customers, employees and communities,鈥� Pillay concluded.

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鈥淭o thrive when volatility is the new normal, businesses need more than a patchwork of disparate best-of-breed applications,鈥� says Muhammad Alam, member of the executive board of 麻豆原创 SE, 麻豆原创 Product & Engineering. 鈥淥ur announcements today demonstrate the power of 麻豆原创 Business Suite, where AI, data, and applications come together in an experience to propel smarter decisions, faster execution, and scalable transformation.鈥�

麻豆原创 unveiled Joule鈥檚 next stage as the AI force at the center of 麻豆原创 Business Suite鈥檚 value creation. Drawing on the applications and data from across 麻豆原创 Business Suite, 麻豆原创 is introducing a new generation of role-aware assistants in Joule. Each assistant is designed to partner with a human being in their specific business role. Assistants in Joule tap into the right agents for the job, configuring, orchestrating and managing them so humans can focus on unlocking new levels of insight and productivity.

Supporting the assistants in Joule is a growing library of specialized Joule Agents, designed to help execute complex workflows within a specific function. For instance, a People Manager Assistant coordinates a team of specialized agents 鈥� including the new People Intelligence Agent, which helps spot and resolve issues like compensation anomalies 鈥� to support managers as they drive performance.

A new Financial Planning Assistant will be aided by a group of expert agents 鈥� including the new Cash Management Agent, which optimises cash flow and improves interest yields 鈥� to help finance professionals drive efficiencies.

This new roster of role-aware AI Assistants not only partner with people to elevate performance in their lines of business but also work together across business functions to solve complex enterprise-wide problems.

Data fuels AI鈥檚 transformative power but it鈥檚 often siloed in different systems. 麻豆原创 has removed those barriers with 麻豆原创 Business Data Cloud Connect. 麻豆原创 BDC Connect securely links 麻豆原创 BDC with partner platforms to enable a bidirectional flow of business-ready data products across organizational and technological boundaries.

With zero-copy sharing, data stays securely in 麻豆原创 systems yet remains instantly accessible in customers鈥� existing data platforms, preserving business context without costly copies. The result: fewer silos, simpler pipelines, no duplication 鈥� just trusted data products where and when they鈥檙e needed.

麻豆原创 also announced that Databricks and Google Cloud are the first partners enabled for 麻豆原创 BDC Connect, with more to follow. As announced in February 2025, 麻豆原创 Databricks remains a data service within 麻豆原创 Business Data Cloud, and BDC Connect extends its benefits across an open data ecosystem. These partnerships give customers faster access to data products for analytics and AI, helping teams move from raw data to real-time business outcomes with greater speed and simplicity.

Data is created and AI driven insights are experienced in 麻豆原创鈥檚 enterprise applications. 麻豆原创 Supply Chain Orchestration is a new AI-native solution that combines the power of Joule with a live knowledge graph to detect real-time risks several suppliers deep and orchestrate a coordinated response, helping customers cut costs and keep supply chains moving.

麻豆原创 Engagement Cloud, a new customer experience solution, uses business-critical context to personalize interactions across customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. And our next-generation 麻豆原创 Ariba procurement suite stands out as an AI-native solution, bringing intelligence to every stage of spendmanagement, from sourcing through supplier engagement.

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