SAP Replaces SuccessFactors Recruiting with SmartRecruiters

When SAP announced its acquisition of SmartRecruiters in August 2025, many in the HR technology community wondered what it would mean for SuccessFactors customers. That question was answered recently when Daniel Beck, President of SAP SuccessFactors, confirmed that SmartRecruiters will completely replace the existing recruiting module in SuccessFactors.

For HR leaders and SAP professionals, this is more than a product update, it’s a structural shift in SAP’s cloud HR ecosystem. The migration from SuccessFactors Recruiting to SmartRecruiters will unfold over the next three to five years and requires thoughtful planning, integration analysis and change management.

Understanding The Transition

SAP’s decision to replace its native recruiting module rather than merge the two products demonstrates a clear acknowledgment: SmartRecruiters brings stronger user experience and modern recruitment capabilities.

SmartRecruiters has built its reputation around candidate-centric design, AI-driven automation and simplified workflows. SAP intends to leverage these strengths to modernize the recruiting experience across its HR portfolio.

According to Danial Beck, SAP and SmartRecruiters are jointly investing in migration tooling that will allow SuccessFactors customers to move their configurations, data structures and customizations “elegantly” into SmartRecruiters. The objective is to minimize manual effort and maintain continuity of recruiting processes during the transition.

SAP aims to begin signalling migration availability by the end of Q1 2026. Customers will then have up to five years to complete the transition, although many are expected to move earlier once the tools and integrations stabilize.

Why SAP Is Making This Change

From a strategic standpoint, SAP’s acquisition of SmartRecruiters fits squarely within its broader vision to embed AI, automation and user-centric design across its enterprise applications.

SuccessFactors recruiting module, while functional, had fell behind specialist recruitment platforms in usability and flexibility. SmartRecruiters, on the other hand, has become known for features such as:

AI-powered candidate matching and automated job distribution

Collaborative hiring workflows and intuitive dashboards

Advanced analytics for pipeline visibility and diversity tracking

Seamless integration capabilities with HRIS, ATS, and payroll systems

By fully adopting SmartRecruiters, SAP is signalling that the future of its HR ecosystem will be the best, backed by integrated AI intelligence.

This also aligns with SAP’s ongoing investment in Joule, its enterprise AI assistant, which is being embedded across the SAP suite, including HR, finance and supply chain.

Integration of SmartRecruiters with Joule AI

A major advantage of the merger is the convergence of SmartRecruiters AI assistant, Winston, with SAP’s Joule AI platform. This collaboration will introduce advanced automation and predictive capabilities into recruitment processes.

For example, Winston will be able to interact with Joule to:

Recommend optimal sourcing channels for different job profiles.

Predict candidate fit based on past hiring success.

Provide insights into hiring bottlenecks and recruiter workload.

Offer real-time analytics on diversity, time-to-hire and quality-of-hire.

Beyond recruiting, SAP is expanding Joule with four new HR-focused agents planned for 2026:

Career and Talent Development Agent: supporting succession planning and career pathing.

People Intelligence Agent: analyzing workforce trends and identifying staffing risks.

Payroll Self-Service Agent: assisting employees with payroll inquiries.

HR Self-Service Agent: handling common HR questions and requests.

Together, these developments point toward a more integrated, AI-driven HR experience that reduces manual effort and supports strategic workforce management.

Read more about the use of AI in SAP here.

Key Considerations for SuccessFactors Customers

For current SuccessFactors Recruiting users, the announcement raises several immediate questions: How complex will migration be? What impact will it have on existing data, integrations and workflows?

From an SAP consulting standpoint, organizations should focus on five core preparation areas:

Early Assessment and Planning – conduct a full audit of your recruiting setup, including job requisition structures, candidate data, custom fields and third-party integrations. This will help identify migration challenges and dependencies early.
Data Quality and Cleansing – before migration, ensure that recruiting data, such as candidate histories, talent pools and requisition statuses, is accurate and well-structured. Clean data will significantly reduce issues during migration to SmartRecruiters.
Integration Mapping – document all integration points between SuccessFactors Recruiting and other systems, such as payroll, onboarding or external job boards. Determine whether these integrations will need re-development or re-certification in SmartRecruiters.
Security and Compliance Alignment – review your compliance requirements, particularly around GDPR and candidate data retention. SmartRecruiters security model differs from SuccessFactors, so alignment will be necessary during migration planning.
Change Management and Training – a successful migration is as much about people as technology. Begin preparing recruiters, HR teams and hiring managers for new processes, interfaces and capabilities. Early user engagement reduces resistance and accelerates adoption.

Benefits and Next Steps

Migrating from SuccessFactors Recruiting to SmartRecruiters presents an opportunity to modernize your HR technology landscape, but it also brings complexity. The shift touches data, licensing, security and system integrations that extend beyond HR alone.

Before committing to a migration plan, organizations should take time to review:

Contractual implications and licensing costs under the new SmartRecruiters model.

Integration requirements with other SAP modules or non-SAP systems.

Security and GRC considerations to ensure compliance during and after migration.

This is where partnering with an independent SAP consulting specialist can add real value.

At JNC, our expertise spans SAP licensing, commercial negotiations, audit defence, S/4HANA migration and SAP security. We help organizations navigate complex SAP landscapes, protecting them from unnecessary settlements, ensuring compliance and optimizing their existing investments.

Our consultants work closely with clients to:

Analyze current SAP licensing and contractual exposure.

Advise on the commercial and compliance implications of product changes like this migration.

Implement effective SAP security and GRC frameworks to safeguard business operations.

Whether your objective is to plan for the SmartRecruiters transition, optimize your SAP licensing, or defend against an audit, JNC can help you manage these challenges efficiently and strategically.

To discuss how this change may impact your SAP environment and to receive tailored guidance, get in touch today.

Ed Thompson, Associate Consultant

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Ed is an Associate Consultant at JNC, specializing in SAP solutions and digital transformation. With a first-class BSc in Business Management (Business Analytics) from Swansea University and experience in marketing and negotiation, he combines business acumen with analytical expertise. Ed is passionate about optimizing workflows, driving efficiency, and delivering SAP solutions.

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