SAP Unleashed: SAP Business Suite & SAP Business Data Cloud

The name “Business Suite” actually dates back to on-premise times. Under this label, SAP used to combine a software bundle consisting of SAP ECC (SAP ERP Central Component), SAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management), SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management), SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management) and SAP PLM (Product Lifecycle Management). The Business Suite offered a distinct advantage for users, as all applications were already interlinked and integrated, ensuring comprehensive coverage of process chains. This popularity among many companies, some of whom continued to invest in the application package even after the release of the successor system SAP S/4HANA in 2015, is a testament to the value it provided.

SAP asserts that the new Business Suite facilitates end-to-end processes in the cloud by integrating various technology stacks and cloud services based on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). In the future, customers will have the option to purchase a cloud ERP system as either a public or private edition. New RISE and GROW journeys are designed to support transformation. From SAP’s perspective, the strategic ERP product is the S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition. The functional gaps in SAP S/4HANA, which are sometimes criticized as lacking integrations and achieving choppy data harmonization in the SAP cloud solutions, can be solved as soon as a complete business suite is also running in the cloud.

The SAP Business Suite is designed for both existing SAP customers and companies seeking a future-proof, AI-supported ERP solution, offering a clear competitive advantage, particularly for data-driven, scaling, or globally active companies.

The SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) offers a uniform semantic level for data from SAP systems and third-party providers, facilitating seamless integration of existing systems and enhancing scalability and automation. Rather than replacing existing products, the SAP BDC serves as a platform for optimizing and harmonizing analysis and data processes, allowing companies to streamline their operations and derive maximum benefit.

The new offering aims to harmonize SAP data management across systems so that decision-makers can access evaluations of real-time data from all departments. SAP BDC provides companies with new contexts and insights for fast, actionable decisions. At its heart is the Business Data Fabric, which prepares data semantically and makes it available in a standardized way. Data products previously based on SAP BW will be available in the SAP BDC in future.

SAP BDC accesses existing partial solutions such as SAP Analytics Cloud (SAP SAC), SAP Datasphere, SAP Business Warehouse, and SAP BW/4HANA in the S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition. An intensified partnership with technology provider Databricks will also enable companies to use the AI and warehousing functions of Databricks tools with SAP BDC in the future. The initial focus of this offering will be on S/4HANA Private Cloud as part of the RISE model, for which SAP-managed data products will be provided from S/4HANA RISE 2021+. The integration of on-premise systems via mapping and integration logics, in cooperation with the application companies, is to be prepared.

SAP Datasphere allows users to access all databases with SAP and partner tools in SAP and non-SAP systems, in the cloud and on-premise. SAP BDC is intended to build on Datasphere, with the difference that the new Data Cloud is a SaaS offering managed entirely by SAP. Previously, companies had to set up and operate SAP Datasphere themselves, which required significant internal effort.

The SAP Business Data Cloud is ideal for companies with complex, fragmented data landscapes that want to centralize their data, make it usable for AI, and manage it securely. It offers a uniform, powerful platform for data integration, analysis, and automation.

The Insight Apps are designed to enable analysis and planning across all lines of business, including core business, finance, and human resources. SAP is responsible for the semantic data model, ongoing operation, and further development of the apps. The objective is to achieve cross-portfolio data integration of all SAP applications. The first Insight Apps will be available from March 2025. Concurrently, SAP’s proprietary GenAI bot, Joule, is poised to enhance its efficiency and will undergo systematic integration into all applications. This integration will be accompanied by the availability of ready-made templates and APIs for new Joule agents.

At this time, a concrete further roadmap, license models, and initial experience reports are not available.

The integration of SAP S/4HANA on-premise and ECC systems is considered technically feasible; however, SAP has not yet provided a timetable. Protecting customer investments in SAP Business Warehouse and SAP Datasphere is essential. The availability and conditions of specific Insight Apps, such as added value, costs, and requirements, will determine the application timeline.

The impact of the solution on existing IT landscapes and business processes will only become apparent in the coming months. It is therefore essential for companies to identify the points of contact for their individual requirements at an early stage. We are happy to advise you in this respect.