SAP & Icertis deepen partnership with AI contract extension

Icertis is working with SAP to embed its contract intelligence platform into SAP solutions, making it available as a solution extension called SAP Ariba Contract Intelligence by Icertis.

The collaboration is intended to offer businesses real-time actionable insights, increased productivity and improved financial outcomes through the use of AI-powered contract intelligence. According to Icertis, its contract intelligence platform will now be offered as a solution extension under SAP's premium qualification process, with ongoing support from SAP's service teams.

This integration builds on the existing partnership between the two companies and aims to enable faster product deployment and reduced time to value. The companies say benefits include one-stop licensing, deeper preconfigured product integrations, and an enhanced user experience for customers adopting the new platform.

There are over 25,000 SAP partners globally, but only around 40 partners hold the exclusive status required to contribute a SAP Solution Extension. The availability of SAP Ariba Contract Intelligence by Icertis marks a significant development for both companies within SP's partner ecosystem.

Contracts are described by Icertis as the foundation of all business relationships, setting out the rules of how businesses buy, sell, and partner. Traditionally, contracts have been static documents, but Icertis says its platform transforms these documents into actionable business rules, directly integrated within the SAP user experience. This, according to the company, enables customers to drive revenue, control costs, mitigate risk, and maintain compliance by linking structured contract data to business processes.

Manoj Swaminathan, General Manager and Chief Product Officer, Business Suite, Finance & Spend, SAP, commented on the development: "Contract intelligence plays an increasingly critical role in enterprise operations. This expansion in our partnership with Icertis aims to help more businesses reimagine how they leverage contracts as an essential pillar of their long-term growth strategies."

Anand Subbaraman, Chief Operating Officer, Icertis, said: "Contracts define the rules of business yet 90 percent of CEOs believe they're losing money in contract negotiations, and more than 9 percent of a contract's value is lost post-signature – adding up to billions of dollars in potential lost revenue and overpayment. For years, managing the full scope of global contract obligations felt daunting, but together, SAP and Icertis have transformed that challenge into an opportunity through AI-powered contract intelligence. Our plan to become a solution extension underscores our partnership and reinforces the vital role of contracts in a holistic technology strategy that accelerates measurable outcomes."

Icertis is an AI-powered contract intelligence partner for technology companies and global systems integrators, and according to MGI Research, it is three times the size of the next pure-play contract lifecycle management vendor.

The combined efforts of Icertis and SAP are expected to help enterprises digitally manage and integrate their contracts into core business functions. The companies aim to provide enterprises with actionable data and insights from contracts in real time, supporting growth, cost control, and risk mitigation initiatives.