SAP Business Data Cloud (SAP BDC) is a fully managed Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that unifies and governs all SAP data while seamlessly integrating with third-party data. As an evolution of SAP’s industry-leading data, planning, and analytics solutions, it brings together SAP Datasphere, SAP Analytics Cloud, and SAP Business Warehouse into a unified experience. This solution empowers organizations with transformational insights across all lines of business.
Key components include SAP Datasphere, which preserves data semantics and business context to support confident decision-making. It provides extensive capabilities such as data integration, federation, analytic modeling, and self-service data access. SAP Analytics Cloud delivers enterprise analytics, reporting, dashboards, and unified planning. The integration with Databricks enables advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models, leveraging both SAP and third-party data. Additionally, SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) integration supports cloud modernization for on-premise customers, ensuring seamless cloud migration and transformation.
Watch the video to understand the key components of SAP Business Data Cloud.
Role of SAP HANA Cloud within SAP Business Data Cloud
SAP HANA Cloud serves as the in-memory database and high-performance processing engine that underpins the unified data fabric architecture of SAP Business Data Cloud (SAP BDC). It enables real-time, large-scale data management and analytics, acting as both the technical foundation inside SAP BDC and a complementary platform beside it.
Inside SAP BDC
- Core data processing engine: Executes real-time data processing and complex analytics on large datasets within SAP BDC.
- In-memory, columnar storage: Delivers high-speed querying across structured data.
- Federated and multi-tier data management: Connects and queries across distributed SAP and non-SAP data sources without heavy data movement, acting as the semantic layer for consistent access and interpretation.
- Advanced analytics and machine learning: Powers predictive analytics, graph processing, and spatial data scenarios within SAP BDC.
- Integration with SAP Datasphere: Serves as the database layer for SAP Datasphere - the primary cloud service for SAP BDC - enabling efficient data modelling, transformation, and sharing. Also provides a managed object store for loading, staging, and preparing large quantities of data inexpensively within SAP Datasphere.
- Delta sharing server: Provides the infrastructure for secure and efficient sharing of data products within SAP BDC, using delta shares - mechanisms that transfer only changes since the last sync, avoiding full dataset reloads.
Beside SAP BDC (future capability)
- Consume data products: SAP HANA Cloud will be able to receive and work with data products from SAP BDC, enabling the creation of pro-code intelligent applications (e.g., with SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP) or SAP Build).
- Produce data products: Users will be able to define new data products in SAP HANA Cloud, whether in CAP or as calculation views, and publish them to SAP BDC. This can be done via:
- Data replication from SAP HANA Cloud/SAP HANA database to SAP BDC delta shares.
- Direct publishing into SAP Datasphere.
Through these roles, SAP HANA Cloud not only powers the core functions of SAP BDC but also extends its capabilities, ensuring high performance, flexible integration, and advanced analytics across distributed enterprise data landscapes.
Let's Summarize What You've Learned
- SAP BDC is a fully managed SaaS solution that integrates and governs SAP data, alongside third-party data, providing a comprehensive platform for insights across all lines of business.
- The key components include SAP Datasphere (for data integration, federation, and analytics), SAP Analytics Cloud (for reporting, dashboards, and enterprise analytics), SAP BW (for cloud modernization and legacy system integration), and SAP Databricks (allowing customers to apply AI and ML models to SAP and third-party data seamlessly, with zero copying).
- SAP BDC brings all SAP and third-party data into one clear view, preserving business semantics to enable faster, smarter decision-making. It offers tools for data integration, data federation, analytic modeling, self-service data access, and more.
- SAP BDC provides a flexible path for on-premise SAP BW customers to modernize to the cloud, integrating existing business warehouse data into the cloud with improved speed, scale, and interoperability.