Mastering SAP 2025: Key insights on HR, Payroll & AI innovation

Across two days of customer presentations, industry panels, and hands-on demos, a clear picture emerged of how organisations in australia are accelerating value through cloud HR and payroll modernisation. This event showcased practical insights for SAP end users navigating HR transformation, compliance, and AI-driven innovation within the SAP ecosystem. Mastering SAP 2025 provided invaluable connections and expert insights for SAP professionals driving real-world change.

Transformation in practice: How the SAP community is driving real change

Mastering SAP 2025 brought together customers, partners and consultants facing the same challenge: HR and payroll transformation is no longer about future planning - it’s happening right now.

Whether modernising on-premise payroll, moving to cloud HR, or preparing for upcoming compliance changes, the conversations centred on practical execution, not hype.

A recurring theme was the interplay between technology, governance, and capability uplift. As SAP accelerates towards cloud-first architecture, organisations are navigating new expectations around integration, configuration, and compliance - all while redefining the employee experience.

Key takeaways from Mastering SAP 2025

• Cloud HR transformation is accelerating - but requires disciplined change, strong data foundations, and effective cross-functional collaboration
• Organisations are balancing local compliance with global design principles within their HR and payroll operations.
• AI in SuccessFactors is moving from theory to practical use cases, driving real-world lessons and data-driven insights.
• Payroll compliance (including Payday Super 2026) is driving urgent preparation across industries, emphasising integration between finance, payroll, and compliance tools.
• Cross-functional collaboration between HR, payroll, finance, IT, and other business functions is becoming essential for successful transformation and operational excellence.

Below is a deeper look at the major themes highlighted in Zalaris-led sessions.

Event presentations: Accelerating end user value through Cloud HR & Payroll Transformation

Speakers: Hannah Hale (Zalaris), Mark Bain (Engenco), Sara Chamma (Heinemann)

This session cut through the complexity surrounding HR and payroll modernisation. Rather than focusing solely on technology, the panel emphasised value acceleration - how organisations shorten the time from investment to measurable outcomes.

Key insights included:

Local vs global design:

While global frameworks bring consistency, Australian organisations face unique compliance, industrial relations and workforce demands. Successful cloud journeys balance global standards with local reality.

Change fatigue is real:

Transformation requires communication and expectation management across all levels - especially frontline managers and payroll teams adjusting to new processes.

Data readiness determines success:

Clean, structured data was highlighted as the single biggest predictor of cloud HR success. Many delays stem from data remediation, not configuration.

Continuous improvement mindset:

Organisations making the most progress treat transformation as a multi-year maturity journey, not a “go-live and forget” project.

Demo: Driving Talent Success with AI in SAP SuccessFactors

Demonstrated by: Claire Badger (Zalaris)

AI has become a buzzword across HR technology - but this demo showed what practical innovation looks like within SAP SuccessFactors today.

Key themes from the demonstration:

AI is amplifying decision-making, not replacing it

From skills suggestions to personalised learning recommendations, AI is helping HR teams focus on higher-value work.

The shift from reactive to predictive

Talent processes - recruitment, development and mobility - are benefiting from predictive insights that allow organisations to act before issues escalate.

Skills intelligence is becoming foundational

SuccessFactors’ emerging capabilities around skills recognition and inference are closing gaps between workforce data, learning content and internal career opportunities.

Delegates walked away with a clear understanding of how these capabilities can be activated today - not someday in the future.

Payday Super 2026: Ensuring Compliance in SAP HCM & SuccessFactors

Speakers: Trent Lund (Wrkr Ltd), Greg Tonner (Wrkr Ltd), Junaid Seifried (Zalaris)

With Payday Super moving from legislation to operational urgency, this session drew an engaged audience.

The presenters outlined:

What Payday Super means for employers

Super contributions will need to be calculated and paid in real time - fundamentally reshaping payroll cycles across SAP HCM and SuccessFactors Payroll.

Operational impacts:

• More frequent calculations
• Accelerated payment cycles
• Increased reliance on automation
• Stronger audit and reconciliation capability
• Why integration matters

Seamless connectivity between payroll, finance and contribution gateways will be critical to maintaining compliance.

Zalaris × Wrkr collaboration

Early solution designs and practical considerations were shared, giving organisations clarity on what to prioritise in 2025/26.

The takeaway was clear: preparation for Payday Super must start now to avoid compliance and operational risk.

Moving forward with confidence: Your gold partner in SAP technology

Mastering SAP 2025 highlighted a sector accelerating into a new era of cloud capability, AI-powered intelligence and compliance-driven payroll transformation. Across every discussion, one message stood out: technology alone doesn’t deliver outcomes - people, processes and readiness do.

For organisations navigating this shift, success requires:

• A clear transformation vision
• Strong data and integration foundations
• Practical adoption of AI
• Compliance readiness, especially for Payday Super
• A culture that embraces continuous improvement

This is where Zalaris continues to play a meaningful role. Through our consulting expertise, proven delivery frameworks and deep understanding of both local and global HR and payroll landscapes, we help organisations design solutions that are intuitive, scalable and compliant - allowing them to focus on value, not complexity.

As an SAP Gold Partner, Zalaris has 25 years of real-world experience implementing SAP solutions across the APAC region and the globe. Explore what Zalaris can do: Get in touch with our team of experts today!