Syntax is a global technology solutions and services provider with deep expertise in running and transforming mission-critical enterprise environments. We help customers manage complexity across cloud, applications, infrastructure, security, and end-user services, with SAP being one of our core strategic focus areas.

In the SAP space, we support customers across the full lifecycle: from advisory, migration, and implementation through to technical managed services, application management, optimization, and innovation. That includes operating highly business-critical SAP landscapes, supporting transformation to SAP S/4HANA and cloud-based environments, and helping customers unlock additional value through SAP BTP, automation, security, and AI.

What differentiates Syntax is our Boutique @ Scale approach. The ability to combine strong operational discipline with a forward-looking innovation mindset, tailoring every engagement to our customers' unique priorities. Customers come to us not only to keep their SAP environments stable and secure, but to evolve them as business needs change, backed by the agility and personal care of a boutique, delivered with the reach and resilience of a global enterprise.

Your SAP roots run deep, brought to Syntax through Freudenberg IT, whose SAP pedigree reaches back almost to SAP's founding. How has that heritage shaped who Syntax is today as an SAP operations partner – and is it still something you draw on?

Our heritage through Freudenberg IT has had a lasting impact on who we are as an SAP operations partner. It shaped a culture centered on reliability, accountability, process discipline, and long-term customer commitment, all of which remain essential when you are operating business-critical SAP environments.

That background gave us a very practical understanding of what enterprise customers need from an operations partner: not just technical expertise, but consistency, governance, responsiveness, and the ability to support transformation without compromising stability.

We absolutely still draw on that heritage today. While Syntax has evolved into a global organization with a broad portfolio and a modern cloud- and innovation-focused vision, the core DNA remains the same: trusted operations, deep SAP knowledge, and a commitment to helping customers run mission-critical systems with confidence.

Looking back at those early years of the partnership, what inspired your decision to seek your first service certification in 2002 – initially in Germany – and what then drove the decision to expand that certification globally in 2006?

From the beginning, we saw certification not simply as a badge, but as an important way to benchmark ourselves against SAP's own operational standards and to validate the quality of the services we were delivering to customers. Starting in Germany made sense because that was where our SAP operations heritage was strongest and where we had built deep experience in supporting complex customer landscapes. As customer expectations grew and our delivery model became increasingly international, expanding that certification globally was the next natural step. It reflected two priorities: first, giving customers the confidence that they would receive the same high-quality service wherever they operated; and second, creating a globally consistent operational framework across our teams. In that sense, certification supported both trust and scale.

Handover of the golden certificate, June 2026

How would you describe Syntax's SAP operations proposition to a customer who doesn't want to choose between operational reliability and continuous innovation?

Our message would be very simple: you should not have to choose between the two. At Syntax, we believe the strongest SAP operations model is one that protects the business today while enabling transformation for tomorrow. That means delivering stable, secure, and highly governed day-to-day operations while also helping customers adopt new capabilities in areas such as cloud, automation, SAP BTP, and AI.

We often describe this as helping customers optimize the “run” so they can invest more confidently in the “grow“. In practice, that means reducing operational risk, increasing visibility, improving efficiency, and creating the right foundation for continuous innovation. For customers, the outcome is not just better uptime; it is a more agile SAP environment that supports long-term business change.

How do you experience the audits in practice, and what role do they play for your organization?

We see the audits as rigorous, constructive, and valuable. They are an important discipline for the organization because they require us to demonstrate – not just describe –  the maturity of our processes, controls, and service delivery practices.

In practice, audits help us maintain a strong level of operational consistency across teams and regions. They also create a useful feedback loop, highlighting where we are strong and where we can continue to improve. Internally, that reinforces accountability and continuous improvement; externally, it gives customers and SAP additional confidence in the quality and reliability of our services.

So for us, audits are not just compliance exercises. They are an important part of how we sustain operational excellence at scale.

For the first time, you achieved global certification for SAP security operations and SAP Business AI operations – can you tell us how your competencies around Security and Business AI operations are adding value to your service offerings?

These certifications are important because they reflect the evolving customer expectations. Today, customers want innovation, but they also want it delivered in a way that is secure, governed, and operationally robust. On the security side, our capabilities help customers strengthen the protection of their SAP landscapes through a combination of foundational controls, continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, privileged access governance, and broader security operations support. That adds value by reducing risk, improving visibility, and helping customers operate with greater confidence in increasingly complex hybrid environments.

On the Business AI side, the value is about helping customers move from interest to operational reality. It is one thing to explore AI use cases; it is another to run them reliably in enterprise environments. Our role is to help customers embed AI into their SAP landscape in a scalable, supportable way that is aligned with operational best practices. Together, Security and Business AI operations allow us to help customers innovate more safely and more effectively.

As SAP is strongly focusing on the cloud and encourages partners to support customers in their migration journey, how are you already helping customers in this area – and looking three to five years ahead, what role do SAP BTP and AI play in Syntax's vision and how do you expect your capabilities to evolve?

We are already supporting customers across the full cloud migration journey: from assessment and planning through migration, conversion, upgrade, and post-go-live operations. That includes helping customers modernize existing SAP environments, move to cloud-based operating models, and build the governance and support structures required for long-term success.

A major part of our value is that we do not view migration as a one-time project. We see it as part of a broader transformation of our operating model. Customers need a partner that can help them move, stabilize, optimize, and then continue to innovate.

Looking three to five years ahead, we see SAP BTP playing a central role as the platform for clean-core extensions, integration, automation, and data-driven innovation. We also expect AI to become much more deeply embedded – both in business processes and in the way SAP environments are operated and optimized. For Syntax, that means continuing to evolve our capabilities in platform operations, cloud governance, automation, observability, security, and AI-enabled service delivery. Our vision is to help customers build SAP operating models that are not only cloud-ready, but also innovation-ready.

If you could give one piece of advice to a customer who is just beginning to think about their SAP operations strategy for the next decade, what would it be?

If we had to highlight one key recommendation, it would be this: treat SAP operations as a strategic business capability rather than just a technical support function.

Over the next decade, organizations will need to balance resilience, security, cost efficiency, and continuous innovation far more closely than before. Those that succeed will be the ones who design their operating models early on, with standardization, automation, cloud readiness, and strong governance built in from the outset.

Ultimately, it is important not to separate your operations strategy from your transformation strategy. Reliable and well-governed operations are not just the foundation for stability – they are what make sustainable innovation possible.

Information on the certification program for operations partners, as well as an overview of all certified partners, can be found in the SAP Operations Partner Guide.

Visit OPC at SAP.com or on the SAP Partner Portal.