On April 16, 2026, SAP officially opened its newest creative area for joint development with customers – the SAP AppHaus Walldorf.

After months of renovation and design – together with architects and facility management – the time had finally come: the new SAP AppHaus Walldorf opened its doors to the region's employees. For SAP, this is an important milestone on the way to a special, integrated customer experience on the Walldorf campus. At the opening, Álvaro Wiedling, Head of Customer Engagement Services MEE, Andreas Wendel, Head of SAP Innovation Experience Services and Dennis Kecskemeti, Head of SAP Innovation Experience, came together for a fireside chat moderated by Kathrin Tarnai-Sindl, Head of Customer Engagements for APAC, EMEA and MEE.

Visitors like Dirk Häumermann, Managing Director of SAP Germany, attended the event to get a first impression of the premises: “The new SAP AppHaus Walldorf is a very friendly and inviting place for collaboration. This is a perfect setup for our customers and partners to explore the latest innovations. It motivates them to take the step towards real SAP solutions.”

The opening ceremony

That was the case for the opening SAP AppHaus team decided not to cut a red ribbon, but to tell a little story. An ancient Chinese gong was unveiled and Kecskemeti officially opened the new AppHaus Walldorf with a loud, clear strike of the gong. He explained that the gong was a special eye-catcher in the previous creative area in Heidelberg. There the traditional design of the instrument unfolded its impact and its sound accompanied numerous workshops, meeting breaks and events. When the team prepared the move, it quickly became clear: the gong had to go with them to Walldorf. The gong underwent its own little transformation and received a new, modern design to fit perfectly into its new surroundings. When its deep sound rang out in the new SAP AppHaus Walldorf, it was a worthy setting for the start of a new chapter in its new home.

From now on, the gong is an integral part of the SAP AppHaus Walldorf, where the team continues to hold innovation workshops. Together with SAP customers and partners, it's about formulating business problems, converting insights into concrete concepts and quickly testing ideas. This is particularly relevant in the area of ​​AI solutions. Agent-based AI opens up completely new business opportunities here. With the special one Innovation toolkit for AI The SAP AppHaus team helps customers from all industries explore use cases and implement them with the latest SAP technologies. In this way, SAP customers learn how to scale their business and grow successfully.

Integrated customer experience on the campus in Walldorf

The new SAP AppHaus Walldorf in the SAP headquarters offers customers space for practical collaboration to familiarize themselves with SAP innovations. In the SAP Experience Center, on the exhibition floor, in the S-Factory and in the S.Mart Store, customers on the SAP campus in Walldorf can experience all aspects from the think tank to the implementation of solutions in action. Visitors not only find out what SAP has to offer, but can also find out more about solutions based on the latest SAP technologies such as SAP Business AI. This gives them the opportunity to explore the potential of innovations for their respective companies. With a user-oriented approach to developing innovations, SAP AppHaus supports teams in realizing concepts in the form of solutions and implementing innovations, especially in relation to Use cases for AI and agent-based AI.

“Our new service offerings in the area of ​​innovation represent an important further development in the way we support our customers' digital transformation. By combining the innovative spirit of our SAP Experience Centers with the interactive and practical workshop formats of SAP AppHaus, we can accompany customers in every phase of their transformation and quickly provide measurable added value,” says Wieldling. “What's special about this approach is that we consistently involve business stakeholders and users from the start. This allows us to ensure that the use cases we identify and the solutions we develop have real business relevance and are practical – and ultimately deliver results that matter to our customers.”

Collaboration with customers

At the heart of SAP AppHaus' offering are three fundamental services: innovation, exploring possibilities and designing solutions. Depending on customer requirements, these services can be expanded to include various workshop formats, for example for SAP Business AI, the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) or Joule. And within our network, customers can get in direct contact with product experts who are specifically integrated where they offer the greatest added value.

New beginnings

“For many people, the SAP AppHaus Heidelberg was more than just a workplace or a venue for workshops. You had the feeling of working in a start-up, where you were developing and designing new solutions together with customers and partners. That's why we naturally look back on shared memories with a nostalgic look,” summarized Tarnai-Sindl. “At the same time, the campus in Walldorf provides a breath of fresh air and brings with it new opportunities. You feel much more clearly that you are part of a larger whole and have the chance to get in touch and network more easily with many colleagues and other people. It is a step from a very familiar environment into a larger context, combined with the feeling of a new beginning.”

The first comments on the guest wall in the SAP AppHaus Walldorf seem to confirm their impression: “Cool new rooms!”, “Finally!”, and “Inspiring, open and beautifully designed”.

How is the SAP AppHaus equipped to work with customers from all over the world?

The SAP AppHaus Network plays an important role at the international level. It includes more than 20 SAP partners who work closely with the market units, have set up their own SAP AppHaus locations and have extensive knowledge of the user-oriented innovation approach as well as the latest workshop formats, for example Joule Agent Discovery Workshopwhich also in particular Innovation toolkit for AI is offered. All members are familiar with the latest methods and tools right from the start and have the necessary knowledge to act as agile pioneers and experts in joint innovation projects. You accompany customers worldwide at every stage of their digital development and help them with the help of the SAP's user-oriented innovation approach to realize concrete business benefits.

In addition, the SAP AppHaus and the SAP partner organization have the initiative together SAP AppHaus Alliances brought into being. This program is specifically designed for large SAP Global Strategic Services partners who work with key customers around the world and are able to apply SAP AppHaus AI workshop formats.

Imke Vierjahn is Communications Lead for the SAP AppHaus Network.