SAP BDC (Business Data Cloud): A Modern Approach to Data Management
SAP BDC (Business Data Cloud): A Modern Approach to Data Management
In today’s digital landscape, data is the foundation of business success. SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) enables organizations to effortlessly integrate, manage, and leverage data across all operations. As a central pillar of SAP’s data ecosystem, BDC delivers a unified, scalable solution that transforms data into powerful, actionable insights.
What is SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC)?
SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) is a fully managed SaaS solution that consolidates SAP data and seamlessly integrates third-party sources, equipping business leaders with the contextual insights needed to drive smarter, data-informed decisions (figure 1).
Business Key Challenges:
- Access to essential Insights for better business decision making.
- Data quality and integrity to empower better business decision.
- Transform fragmented and unstructured data sources into powerful, actionable business intelligence.
One Solution for all Data & Analytics:
- Ready-to-use reporting solutions.
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence integration.
- Advanced data modeling and warehousing capabilities.
- Robust planning and reporting tools.
- Smart data management for optimal performance.
SAP BDC (Business Data Cloud Architecture
As shown in the graphic, the SAP Business Data Cloud system landscape is made up of various interconnected components. Each component serves a distinct purpose within the platform, with specific functions detailed in the sections that follow (figure 2).
Insight Apps
These SAP-managed Software-as-a-Service applications are delivered through SAP Business Data Cloud to support a range of action-oriented scenarios, including analytics, prediction, and forecasting.
SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC)
SAP Analytics Cloud stories deliver ready-to-use dashboards in Insight Apps, offering powerful visualization, planning, and AI-driven analysis. Business users can explore data, perform ad-hoc analysis, and take action—bridging analytics with end-to-end business processes.
SAP Business Data Cloud Cockpit
The SAP Business Data Cloud cockpit plays a central role in the overall landscape. It allows users to browse and discover pre-delivered Insight Apps and Data Products, install Insight Apps, and share Data Products with SAP Databricks to enhance them with AI and machine learning capabilities.
SAP Datasphere
SAP Datasphere lies at the core of SAP Business Data Cloud, offering the foundational framework for defining data models built on Data Products. It supports both pre-delivered Insight App and Data Product scenarios, as well as custom models that can be extended with AI or machine learning. Additionally, SAP Datasphere acts as a central hub for managing analytical roles and data access, ensuring the right users have access to the right data.
SAP Databricks
SAP Databricks, a customized Databricks component, is used within SAP Business Data Cloud to enhance analytics with AI, machine learning, and pro-code development. There are two main integration paths: you can either share Data Products from the SAP Business Data Cloud Catalog with SAP Databricks for enhancement and return, or push data directly from SAP Databricks into the Catalog. In both cases, data models can be extended to incorporate advanced insights typically developed by data scientists.
SAP BW or BW/4HANA
SAP BW has a long-standing role in SAP’s data and analytics ecosystem, featuring a wide range of legacy objects. For this reason, it is integrated into SAP Business Data Cloud when using SAP BW NetWeaver Cloud, private edition, or SAP BW/4HANA Cloud, private edition. This integration enables SAP BW objects to be technically onboarded and used as Data Products within the platform. While SAP BW is supported through 2030, transitioning to the modern SAP BW/4HANA approach is strongly recommended.
Foundation Services
When analysis is needed, data from your source system (e.g., SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition) is replicated into the Foundation Services of SAP Business Data Cloud. There, it is harmonized with other relevant business data, transformed, and enriched into a Data Product. Once processed, it resides in a hyperscaler environment using SAP HANA Cloud and Data Lake files, ready for any use case supported by SAP Business Data Cloud. All key data management tasks—such as integration, transformation, and cleansing—are fully handled by SAP.
