The hybrid cloud model, combining on-premise IT infrastructure with public and private cloud services, is increasingly adopted by enterprises aiming for agility, scalability, and control. In the SAP ecosystem, this hybrid environment poses unique integration and management challenges. SAP API Management provides a robust solution to govern, secure, and optimize APIs across hybrid cloud landscapes, enabling seamless connectivity and innovation.
A hybrid cloud setup involves running some applications and services on-premise (such as SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA systems) while leveraging cloud platforms like SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) or third-party clouds for other workloads. This mixed environment demands consistent API management practices to unify these diverse systems into a cohesive digital ecosystem.
SAP API Management serves as a centralized control plane to manage APIs regardless of whether they reside on-premise, in the cloud, or both. Here’s how it addresses hybrid cloud needs:
SAP API Management provides a unified API gateway that acts as a secure entry point for APIs hosted on-premise and in the cloud. This gateway supports protocol transformations, throttling, caching, and request routing to optimize API traffic.
Using SAP Cloud Connector and VPN tunnels, SAP API Management establishes secure, encrypted channels between cloud services and on-premise systems, protecting sensitive enterprise data.
Policies for authentication (OAuth 2.0, API keys), authorization, quota management, and threat protection can be defined once and enforced consistently across all APIs, regardless of location.
SAP API Management facilitates versioning, deprecation, and retirement of APIs, helping enterprises maintain backward compatibility and manage change efficiently in hybrid deployments.
Unified dashboards provide real-time insights into API performance, usage, and security incidents, spanning both cloud and on-premise environments. This visibility supports proactive troubleshooting and capacity planning.
SAP API Management integrates seamlessly with SAP Integration Suite and other SAP BTP services, simplifying hybrid integrations and extension scenarios.
A global financial services company runs critical SAP S/4HANA workloads on-premise due to regulatory requirements but leverages cloud services for customer portals and analytics. SAP API Management enables secure, controlled access to on-premise APIs through the cloud, ensuring compliance and delivering real-time customer experiences without compromising security or performance.
Hybrid cloud is the future of enterprise IT, offering the best of both worlds: control and scalability. SAP API Management is a vital enabler for hybrid cloud architectures, providing a unified platform to secure, govern, and optimize APIs across diverse environments. By leveraging SAP API Management, organizations can accelerate their hybrid cloud adoption, enhance operational control, and deliver seamless digital services to customers and partners worldwide.