SAP Business Data Cloud: Rebrand or Game Changer

SAP announced the introduction of SAP Business Data Cloud on 13th February 2025. But is it another SAP product rebrand or is SAP serious about creating an open data ecosystem, leaving behind the legacy of data conservatism?

SAP’s rapid innovation and expansion of its portfolio require a thorough understanding of each product’s role in business. Data professionals face steep learning curves, making it crucial to position each SAP analytics product within the broader ecosystem.

The Shift to SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC)

We discussed in an earlier blog the challenges in extracting business data from SAP ERP systems to non-SAP cloud data platforms.  SAP initially pursued an open data ecosystem through partnerships with Databricks, Collibra, DataRobot, and Confluence an year ago. While promising, scepticism remained, especially after SAP’s attempt to create its own large language models.

SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) signifies a shift from this legacy mindset by unifying SAP ERP and third-party data for a single source of truth, enabling AI-driven decisions.

Key Features of SAP Business Data Cloud

• Insight Apps: Pre-built SAP content, including Datasphere models and SAC story visualizations, managed by SAP.
• Foundation Services & Data Products: SAP delivers operational data as reusable packages for business scenarios.
• Role of Datasphere & SAC: Datasphere acts as a semantic layer, while SAC provides visualization for Insight Apps.
• BW to BDC Migration: Hybrid migration paths exist for BW customers using BW/4HANA PCE.
• Databricks & Delta Sharing: SAP enables zero-copy delta sharing, allowing ML notebooks within the SAP environment.

BDC was released with controlled availability on February 13, 2025, without Databricks integration. Full availability, including Databricks, is expected by April 2025 in additional AWS data centers.

Components & Business Benefits

BDC comprises six core components:

• Foundation Services: Hosts Data Products for business scenarios.
• BDC Cockpit: Central UI for administrators.
• Datasphere: Data platform using knowledge graphs to power AI.
• SAC: Provides out-of-the-box business stories for critical functions.
• SAP Databricks: Facilitates data sharing between SAP and non-SAP Databricks environments.
• BW on Private Cloud Edition: Supports legacy BW customers.

Implications for SAP BW Customers

BDC offers a transition path rather than an outright replacement for BW, focusing on:

• Extended Data Integration: Connecting BW models with SAP Datasphere and third-party data sources.
• Gradual Evolution: SAP acknowledges existing BW investments, allowing a hybrid transition.
• Business Semantic Layer: Simplifies data accessibility and AI-driven insights.
• Hybrid Transition Path: Enables staged adoption of Datasphere.
• BW Roadmap: SAP BW/4HANA remains supported, but innovation shifts to Datasphere & BDC.

Recommendations for BW Customers:

• Assess BDC and Datasphere for hybrid use cases.
• Use semantic federation instead of full migration.
• Plan a gradual transition while maintaining BW logic.
• Explore AI-driven insights through BDC.

Implications for SAP Datasphere & SAC Customers

BDC can function without Datasphere but maintains its relevance in two scenarios:

• Out-of-the-Box Scenario: Datasphere acts as a semantic layer for Foundation Services.
• Custom Scenario: Allows businesses to create custom models combining SAP and third-party data.

SAP Analytics Cloud remains the visualization layer, handling reporting and planning. A migration path to BDC exists but seamless integration is part of SAP’s future roadmap. BDC currently targets new customers.

Role of Databricks in BDC

SAP Databricks within BDC offers limited functionality, focusing on:

• Zero-copy delta sharing for Data Products.
• ML notebook execution within SAP’s ecosystem.

Integration with Joule AI Agents

BDC enables Joule AI agents by grounding them in business context via knowledge graph-powered Data Models.

BDC Pricing Model

BDC pricing is based on Capacity Units (CUs). Minimum capacity units is 966.

• SAC Public Cloud Edition (PCE) will be moved out of CPEA/BTPEA license and will move from user-based licenses to capacity units-based pricing. Minimum BDC capacity units will equate to a SAC Public tenant capacity units (966) of 25 BI user licenses. Standalone SAC SKUs will gradually be offset as BDC data centers and migration tools become available in H2 2025 and beyond.
• Insight Apps are priced based on source system Full-User Equivalents (FUEs).
• Datasphere & BW PCE remain capacity-based.
• SAP Databricks follows CU pricing.

BDC is not bundled with SAP RISE, and no roadmap exists to do so. Existing customers can continue using their current licensing model until renewal, after which restructuring may be required.

Conclusion

SAP Business Data Cloud aims to unify SAP ERP, big data, and analytics. Its integration with Datasphere, SAC, and Databricks provides a comprehensive data solution, though challenges remain in ensuring seamless single-sign-on and end-to-end authorizations. Time will determine how well these integrations deliver value to businesses globally.