SAP Enable Now & WalkMe: What’s next

The takeover of WalkMe by SAP has come as a surprise, especially to long-time users of SAP’s Enable Now. What happens now?

It was an announcement with a bang: instead of further developing the familiar Enable Now tool for training content, documentation and simulations, SAP has acquired WalkMe. WalkMe is a platform for in-app user guidance and digital process support. And it is based on a completely different software architecture.

We talk about the strengths and limitations of this new tool in our article SAP WalkMe: Why it is no substitute for a training concept.

But there was another announcement that caused uncertainty. SAP does not intend to develop Enable Now any further. Maintenance is only available until 2030.

That came as a surprise.

And it raises questions. Not only for existing users, but also for customers who are faced with the decision to use one of the two tools. In particular, what happens to the existing Enable Now content is causing confusion.

In our article, we try to shed some light on the situation and answer the question: What’s next for Enable Now and WalkMe?

How do Enable Now and WalkMe work?

Although the benefits of Enable Now and WalkMe are very similar, the two tools differ in their application and objectives:

SAP Enable Now is the leading digital adoption platform and is used for SAP training. The tool helps to create structured learning content. Users can use it to familiarize themselves with complex applications in advance using simulations and e-learning – for example, for SAP system launches and demanding process training.

For many SAP customers, Enable Now therefore plays an important role in training and is deeply integrated into change management processes.

WalkMe, on the other hand, is a platform for digital user guidance. It provides in-app support – i.e. directly in the software – with interactive help and guides users step-by-step through processes or explains input. WalkMe focuses on digital adoption during onboarding or software training in the live system – not on the creation of learning content or enterprise content management (ECM).

There is another difference between the two training tools: WalkMe is only available in the cloud, unlike Enable Now, which can be used hybrid, with a cloud component and a desktop application. Cloud usage is a compliance issue, especially for regulated industries (pharma, finance, public sector).

What are the challenges?

The two solutions do not compete directly, but complement each other – and that is precisely why SAP wants to merge them in the future. Strategically, this makes sense. Operationally, however, this is not easily feasible due to the technological, content-related and architectural differences between the two systems.

These are the most important points of friction:

• Different content and formats: WalkMe works with live use in the system. Enable Now, on the other hand, offers simulations or learning content. The biggest stumbling block at the moment is that the existing Enable Now content cannot simply be transferred to the other system. The question of migration is currently causing uncertainty.
• Different architectures: Merging the platforms is also not technically feasible without further ado. SAP Enable Now is deeply integrated into the SAP system landscape. WalkMe, on the other hand, is a modern cloud solution and is not embedded in the SAP architecture. A merger would require considerable development effort and even then not all functionalities would be able to continue to exist to the usual extent.
• Technological edge: WalkMe’s greatest value for SAP lies in the area of artificial intelligence and usage analysis. This is likely to have been a key reason for acquiring the tool. The platform recognizes where support is needed and evaluates usage behaviour. This data can be crucial in helping to optimize processes.
• Two platforms are not a solution: there is no way around a merger of some kind in the medium term. SAP customers are unlikely to be prepared to use two different systems in parallel and create duplicate content in the long term. The announcement of the design freeze already speaks for itself.

It remains to be seen how SAP will merge the two solutions. For users, the issue of migrating existing content is crucial.

Opinion: SAP has taken the right path – Enable Now was simply no longer up to date. It is a pity that existing customers often receive too little support with such changes. More support would be desirable here.

What alternatives are there?

Due to the current unanswered questions regarding the future of Enable Now, many companies are looking at alternatives for digital training and user support. Three providers are frequently mentioned here.

All in all, a changeover is possible, but involves considerable effort and not inconsiderable costs. Therefore, the most sensible option for existing customers is to wait and see.

Will there be a migration from SAP Enable Now to WalkMe?

Yes, SAP has officially announced that it will create a transition path from Enable Now to WalkMe as soon as the new solution arrives. This has also been confirmed once again by those responsible within the SAP community. However, we do not yet know any specific details (July 2025).

Existing Enable Now customers can proceed as follows:

• Continuation of content creation until 2030 without concerns, but at the same time
• systematically record existing content and
• with regard to migration.
• Clarify now where WalkMe can be used as a supplement – if this has not already been done – and build up the relevant expertise.

Overall, our advice at the moment is to wait and see, but not to be inactive. This will allow companies to react flexibly to further steps taken by SAP.

What should SEN and WalkMe users do now?

In the short term: Don’t panic, SAP is actively working on a solution. It’s called the Next Generation Digital Adoption and Enablement Suite.

Medium-term: transitional solution

During the transition phase, it makes sense to migrate from SAP Enable Now to WalkMe. However, this is only possible to a limited extent and is not a real content migration, as the two systems have too different formats, technologies and usage concepts. This means that the respective company would have to create new content and adapt it to WalkMe. However, SAP is currently examining whether existing content can at least be made displayable (renderable). Conversely, this means that it can no longer be adapted afterwards. And these considerations mainly concern the Companion part, the in-app help of Enable Now.

For many users, the interim solution is therefore unattractive.

Long-term: switch to the new platform

The Next Generation Digital Adoption and Enablement Suite will integrate WalkMe, digital adoption, analytics and learning. In all likelihood, it will be possible to migrate existing content from Enable Now. The new platform will be cloud-based and have an open architecture so that other systems outside of SAP can also be connected.

At present (July 2025), detailed information such as supported formats or schedules are not yet available.

SAP’s reluctance is understandable; after all, no promises should be made that cannot be kept afterwards. However, the nervousness of SAP users is also understandable, especially as individual expiration dates are on the table without binding time and migration plans.

However, there are many indications that the existing uncertainties will have been resolved by the time the new suite is launched and that the new solution will set new technological standards.

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