Into 2026 - better AI means no more people silos! A finance and procurement view from SAP's Etosha Thurman

Let's face it: enterprise events come and go. We note the high points - and yes, the low points - and move on to the next. But one theme has staying power.

No, not AI - not exactly. Rather, it's how AI compels action from stagnation - action on data silos, process silos, and yes, people silos.

I covered data and process in my 2025 project review. But the best events of 2025 provoked the people side of this conversation as well: better enterprise AI requires better collaboration.

Will that hold in 2026? And what did we learn on how to spark that dialogue?

Breaking end-to-end people silos - a spend/finance view

One event that stirred the pot: the debut of SAP Connect. Gathering spend, finance, supply chain, HR, and CX professionals under one roof is a big enough job - getting them to talk across those roles is a whole different challenge ...