An ERP Career at the Crossroads of Industry, Academia and the SAP Community

23.04.2026
News Study Program

Throughout his career, Michael Bucher has built a diverse network that connects industry, academia, and the SAP community.

Michael Bucher, an alumnus of the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol, designs the digital landscape for sales, marketing, and business platforms at Swarovski Crystal Business, teaches cloud computing, and leads the ESUG-Fashion group. In this interview, he shared exclusive insights into his work and what drives him.

As an alumnus of the part-time master's degree program in ERP Systems & Business Process Management at Kufstein University of Applied Sciences, Michael Bucher works as an Architect for Commercial and Brand at Swarovski, where he designs the global digital landscape for sales, marketing, and business platforms. In addition to his work, he teaches the course Business Platforms & Cloud Computing at Kufstein University of Applied Sciences, a higher education institution or university, and volunteers with the European SAP User Group Fashion (ESUG-Fashion).

Through his interactions with students and their project work, he continually gains new perspectives that enrich his own professional practice. In this interview, he offers fascinating insights into his career path, his teaching, and his volunteer work in the SAP community.

YOUR CURRENT SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES EXTENDS FROM INDUSTRY TO TEACHING AND VOLUNTEER WORK. WHERE DID YOUR CAREER ACTUALLY BEGIN?

Michael Bucher: I started at Swarovski Crystal Business in 2004 as an SAP ABAP application developer. I joined the company right in the midst of the global SAP ERP rollout, which I had the opportunity to support as a developer. At the same time, I worked on initial solutions in SAP CRM, particularly in the area of customer loyalty. Through these early experiences in international projects, I quickly gained insight into a wide range of business and technical requirements and was able to continuously develop my skills. This environment has had a strong influence on my subsequent career path and remains highly dynamic and diverse to this day.

How do your experiences influence the content of your course on Business Platforms & Cloud Computing, and which topics regularly spark discussion?

Bucher: I strive to make my course as practical as possible. Whenever possible, I incorporate my experience in selecting, implementing, and further developing software solutions and business platforms directly into my teaching. It quickly becomes clear that there is rarely just one right way or a single solution—rather, it depends on the specific context. This is precisely the understanding I aim to convey to students: how to make well-founded and sustainable decisions even in complex and dynamic environments. In addition, I provide an overview of the market as well as current developments in this fast-paced field. Discussions with students regularly lead to engaging conversations, particularly regarding the interplay between cloud, on-premise, and edge computing. In practice, cloud solutions are rarely viewed in isolation but rather as part of hybrid architectures where different technologies complement each other effectively. Another central topic is cost and economic efficiency. The move to the cloud is always a strategic decision that must be well thought out and involves significant investment. At the same time, it opens up new possibilities in terms of scalability and cost optimization. The wide variety of cloud providers and services also offers plenty of room for discussion. Here, the focus is often on how to systematically select, from a multitude of options, the solutions that truly fit the specific use case.

BESIDES YOUR TEACHING WORK, YOU ARE ACTIVE IN THE EUROPEAN SAP USER GROUP FASHION (ESUG-FASHION). WHAT DOES THAT IMPLY?

Bucher: ESUG-Fashion has been in existence for many years and brings together companies from the retail and fashion sectors with a focus on SAP solutions in this context. The initiative is supported by SAP, but the content is shaped by the participating companies, which actively contribute their topics and priorities in consultation with SAP. I have been part of the user group since 2019 and have learned a great deal there about various solutions and their practical application. After the previous chairs pursued new career paths, Tim Schmid from Hugo Boss and I were asked if we would like to take on this volunteer role. Since we both greatly value the exchange within this group, we have taken on this task together. The exchange takes place three to four times a year in virtual sessions lasting about 45 minutes. Once a year, there is also a two-day in-person event, which alternates between SAP and one of the participating companies. Last year, the group met at Hugo Boss in Metzingen; this year, Zalando is hosting in Berlin.

HOW DOES THE EXCHANGE TAKE PLACE AT THE EUROPEAN LEVEL, AND WHAT ISSUES ARE CURRENTLY THE FOCUS?

Bucher: The exchange takes place in a concise stand-up format, during which participating companies share their current challenges and experiences. In addition, SAP provides information on new developments, releases, and features, bringing together both the user and vendor perspectives. The ESUG-Fashion format is highly practical. The goal is to discuss challenges and solution approaches as concretely as possible - for example, by sharing project experiences, exchanging best practices, and engaging in direct dialogue with SAP. For SAP itself, this exchange is particularly valuable, as it provides immediate feedback from customers on improvements and new ideas.

In terms of content, the focus is currently on many key topics, including SAP RISE, migrations and upgrades to S/4HANA, developments in S/4 Retail and Fashion, SAP CAR, new SAP cloud solutions, and artificial intelligence. These topics represent a common ground among participants and foster a very intensive and fruitful exchange - including direct dialogue with SAP. Regular exchange is particularly important here, as all participants operate in a highly dynamic and, at times, volatile environment. The discussions open up new perspectives, offer concrete solution approaches, and help participants better contextualize developments.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SAP ECOSYSTEM, WHAT ISSUES WILL BE OF PARTICULAR CONCERN TO THE FASHION AND RETAIL INDUSTRIES IN THE COMING YEARS?

Bucher: The transition to S/4HANA, the increasing use of SAP RISE, and the ongoing development of new SAP cloud solutions will significantly shape the industries in the coming years. Added to this is the growing use of (embedded) artificial intelligence, which opens up new opportunities but also brings new challenges. The fashion, retail, and luxury sectors are particularly exciting in this context, as they have already undergone numerous phases of transformation in recent decades. This continuous change will continue - however at an even faster pace and with additional technological drivers. This creates both significant opportunities and new risks that must be actively managed. However, I am confident that this will result in many new paths and opportunities that we can explore together.

I am all the more delighted to be actively shaping this transformation, both at Swarovski Crystal Business and through my teaching at the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol and as part of ESUG-Fashion. Or, as Bob Dylan so aptly put it: “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”