How SAP BDC Connect Changes Multi-Cloud Strategy
The Multi-Cloud Reality for Enterprises
Most large enterprises today operate in a multi-cloud environment – using SAP S/4HANA for core business processes, Azure for data engineering, Google Cloud for analytics, and AWS for infrastructure and AI.
While each platform excels in specific areas, they often operate in silos.
SAP data, rich with business context, becomes isolated within the SAP ecosystem – difficult to access and even harder to blend with external data for advanced analytics or AI.
Until now, bridging this gap required complex ETL pipelines, duplicate data models, and manual synchronisation across environments.
Enter SAP BDC Connect – a new capability that eliminates these barriers, enabling real-time, governed connectivity between SAP Business Data Cloud and other hyperscaler platforms.
What Is SAP BDC Connect?
SAP BDC Connect is a new framework introduced within SAP Business Data Cloud (built on SAP Datasphere) that enables zero-copy, federated data integration with external cloud platforms.
It allows SAP data – already enriched with semantic context and governance – to be securely shared and consumed in tools like:
- Google BigQuery
- Microsoft Fabric / Azure Synapse
- Databricks
- AWS Redshift
Through open APIs, virtual connections, and change data capture (CDC), BDC Connect lets you use SAP data in real time, without replicating or re-engineering it.
Why BDC Connect Is a Game-Changer
BDC Connect fundamentally shifts how CIOs and data leaders think about multi-cloud integration.
Instead of forcing all workloads into one platform, it allows each to do what it does best – with SAP as the governed data core.
🔹 Zero-Copy Data Sharing
Move from extract-and-load to query-in-place.
Keep your SAP data where it lives while making it instantly available in other clouds.
🔹 Federated Governance
Maintain SAP’s data lineage, semantics, and authorisations even when accessed externally.
This means AI models in BigQuery or Databricks can leverage SAP-trusted definitions of “customer,” “revenue,” or “inventory.”
🔹 Real-Time Synchronisation
Using CDC (change data capture), external systems receive updates the moment data changes in SAP – enabling up-to-the-minute analytics without batch processing.
🔹 AI and Machine Learning Readiness
BDC Connect makes it possible to train AI models across SAP + external data seamlessly, combining operational and behavioural data to create richer insights.
The Architecture Behind It
A modern multi-cloud landscape powered by BDC Connect looks like this:
This setup creates a “hub-and-spoke” model, with SAP BDC as the trusted hub and hyperscalers as spokes that scale compute, AI, and visualisation.
The Benefits of Multi-Cloud Done Right
| Benefit | Impact |
|---|---|
| Flexibility | Run analytics, ML, and reporting on your preferred cloud without migrating SAP data. |
| Cost Efficiency | Avoid unnecessary data replication and storage duplication. |
| Governance | Keep SAP’s semantic and security layers intact across clouds. |
| Innovation | Enable AI use cases combining SAP and external data (e.g., market trends, IoT signals). |
| Scalability | Use hyperscaler compute resources while keeping SAP as the trusted core. |
In short, you get innovation at the edge and control at the core.
Why This Matters for CIOs and CFOs
For CIOs, BDC Connect simplifies architecture – reducing integration complexity and cloud lock-in.
For CFOs, it ensures that all financial, operational, and forecasting insights are derived from governed, auditable data – regardless of where analytics occurs.
This balance of control and flexibility is what makes BDC Connect the backbone of SAP’s AI-ready, multi-cloud future.
A Real-World Example
A multinational manufacturing firm operating across 120+ markets wanted to integrate SAP S/4HANA operational data with Google BigQuery for customer analytics and Databricks for predictive maintenance models.
Before BDC Connect:
- Data pipelines were custom-built and costly.
- SAP definitions (like “order delivered”) were lost during extraction.
- Updates lagged by 24–48 hours.
After adopting SAP BDC Connect:
- Data remained governed within SAP BDC.
- BigQuery accessed live SAP data via zero-copy integration.
- Predictive models in Databricks ran on consistent business semantics.
- Decision latency dropped from days to minutes.
The company achieved unified visibility across operations and customer behaviour – without duplicating a single dataset.
How to Start Your BDC Connect Journey
To leverage BDC Connect effectively:
1️⃣ Assess your current SAP landscape: Identify systems generating high-value data (S/4HANA, BW/4HANA, etc.).
2️⃣ Map your multi-cloud strategy: Determine which platforms handle analytics, AI, and data science.
3️⃣ Establish governance: Define ownership, lineage, and access controls in SAP BDC.
4️⃣ Deploy BDC Connect: Set up federated connections using SAP’s integration framework.
5️⃣ Enable analytics & AI workloads: Use SAC, Vertex AI, or Power BI for reporting and predictive insights.
The Liquid Peak Approach
At Liquid Peak Consulting, we help organisations design and deploy multi-cloud data strategies built around SAP Business Data Cloud and BDC Connect.
Our services include:
- BDC and Datasphere architecture design
- Integration with hyperscaler AI and analytics tools (BigQuery, Databricks, Azure)
- Data governance and security frameworks
- Enablement and training for IT and business teams
We ensure your data landscape remains connected, governed, and ready for innovation – no matter how many clouds you operate in.
Multi-Cloud, Without the Chaos
The future of enterprise data isn’t single-cloud – it’s multi-cloud, governed, and intelligent.
With SAP Business Data Cloud as the semantic foundation and BDC Connect as the bridge, enterprises can innovate across ecosystems without compromising trust or compliance.
📩 Ready to simplify your multi-cloud strategy?
Contact Liquid Peak Consulting to learn how we can help you design and implement an SAP BDC Connect architecture that scales securely across platforms.
