When you type a question into SAP Joule inside S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, Ariba, or any SAP cloud app, a surprisingly sophisticated orchestration begins.
Here’s the flow explained in the simplest possible way.
1️⃣ The User Query
It starts when a user asks Joule something -
“Create a purchase order”
“Show my pending invoices”
“Explain this error”
This query is sent from the SAP app’s native Joule interface.
2️⃣ Joule’s Intelligence Layer Kicks In
Before going to an LLM, Joule evaluates three things:
↳ Scenario Catalog
What actions am I allowed to perform?
Joule checks SAP-delivered skills and customer-built skills across your SAP landscape.
↳ Knowledge Catalog (RAG)
Do I need to look up information?
Joule retrieves SAP-owned + customer-owned content using Retrieval Augmented Generation for Enterprise.
This prevents hallucinations.
↳ User Context & Authorization
Who is this user? What app are they in? What roles do they have?
Joule NEVER shows or performs anything the user can’t do directly in SAP.
This is what makes Joule enterprise-safe.
3️⃣ The LLM Step (Dialog Brain)
Using all this context, Joule enriches the user query and sends it to an LLM inside SAP’s AI Foundation / Generative AI Hub.
Important:
SAP’s contract with LLM providers forbids training on customer data.
Your data stays yours.
4️⃣ Action or Insight — Depending on the Query
Joule now decides:
Generate an answer
(for “inform me” questions)
OR
Invoke a Joule Function
for “do something” tasks
↳ create PO
↳ approve leave
↳ show sales orders
↳ navigate to the right Fiori app
It calls the right backend system (S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, Ariba, etc.) via secure SAP BTP connectivity.
5️⃣ Secure Response Delivery
The response goes back to the user — clean, filtered, grounded, and aligned with:
↳ Enterprise security
↳ SAP authorizations
↳ Responsible AI standards
This is why Joule is different from generic copilots — it respects SAP rules.
The Architecture That Makes This Possible
1. SAP BTP (Foundation)
↳ Joule
↳ AI Core
↳ Generative AI Hub
↳ SAP Build Work Zone
↳ Joule Studio
This is the orchestration + intelligence layer.
2. SAP Cloud Identity Services (Security)
Handles:
↳ Authentication
↳ Authorization
↳ SCIM provisioning
↳ OIDC / SAML trust
This is the IAM backbone of Joule.
3. SAP Business Systems (Execution Layer)
↳ S/4HANA Public/Private Cloud
↳ SuccessFactors
↳ Ariba
↳ Concur
These systems execute the actual business processes.
Together, they allow Joule to think, retrieve, understand, and act.
Understanding this flow helps you design better:
↳ Skills
↳ Extensions
↳ AI Agents
↳ Custom integrations
↳ Secure enterprise workflows
