SAP Business Data Cloud was announced in 2025. Let's explore the positioning and use of SAP Business Data Cloud and explain the relationship between SAP Datasphere and SAP Business Data Cloud.
Positioning SAP Business Data Cloud
SAP Business Data Cloud provides a single, fully managed cloud SaaS platform for all your data and analytics.
SAP Business Data Cloud combines strategic solutions in one single solution, such as:
- SAP Datasphere
- SAP Analytics Cloud
- SAP BW PCE or SAP BW/4HANA PCE
- SAP Databricks
Note
While the business data fabric architecture of SAP Datasphere was a positive move, it did not fully realize the goal of a truly one unified semantic data platform. SAP Business Data Cloud addresses these limitations by:
- One Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform : One platform and subscription model for all data and analytics needs.
- Unified data experience: A seamless experience to access, manage and analyze data across the integrated solutions.
- Delivering SAP-managed content: Ready-to-install intelligent applications and data models.
- Automating data integration: SAP-managed data integration, including pre-built data products and intelligent applications.
- Extending analytics with AI/ML: Integration of SAP Databricks, expanding analytical capabilities and enabling comprehensive ML/AI use cases.
- Data lake house architecture: A cost-effective storage, data federation, and computing capabilities in a layered approach.
Note
SAP Datasphere in SAP Business Data Cloud
Although SAP Business Data Cloud can combine various strategic solutions, a customer does not need to utilize all services.
However, SAP Datasphere plays a central role in SAP Business Data Cloud to integrate SAP and non-SAP data, and also to develop custom data models on SAP and non-SAP data:
- SAP Datasphere models (views, analytic models) are used for intelligent applications.
- SAP Business Data Cloud leverages the native data integration capabilities of SAP Datasphere, including third-party connections (data flows, replication flows, remote tables).
- SAP Datasphere is used for the activation of data products which provide the basic structure for all upper levels in SAP Business Data Cloud.
- Data is stored in the SAP Datasphere object store, which is built upon SAP HANA Data Lake Files.
- Customers can leverage the SAP Datasphere embedded object store for data access and storage.
- SAP Datasphere models are the major models when customers develop individual apps.
- SAP Datasphere is leveraged for data management and governance.
SAP Datasphere will continue to be developed by SAP especially to support the growing use cases for SAP Business Data Cloud.