As businesses increasingly adopt cloud technologies and open ecosystems, securing B2B communication has become paramount. In SAP B2B Integration scenarios, OAuth 2.0 emerges as a modern, secure, and flexible authorization framework designed to protect APIs and ensure controlled access to business-critical data and services.
This article provides an overview of OAuth 2.0 and guides SAP professionals on implementing OAuth 2.0 for B2B scenarios within the SAP landscape.
OAuth 2.0 is an open standard for authorization, enabling applications to obtain limited access to user resources on an HTTP service without exposing user credentials. Instead of sharing passwords, OAuth 2.0 uses tokens to grant access rights securely.
It is widely adopted in API security to enable secure delegated access, which is critical for B2B integrations where partners need controlled access to backend SAP systems.
The most common OAuth flow for server-to-server B2B communication. The client (partner system) authenticates using a client ID and secret and obtains an access token to call SAP APIs.
Used when the partner presents a signed JWT token issued by a trusted identity provider, allowing token exchange without transmitting credentials.
Typically used in user-interactive scenarios but less common in automated B2B processes.
In SAP ecosystems, the OAuth 2.0 provider can be:
Configure clients, scopes, and consent policies here.
Each business partner acting as an OAuth client receives:
Partners need to request access tokens using configured OAuth flows (e.g., Client Credentials grant).
SAP Integration Suite or API Management validates incoming tokens before processing messages.
Implementing OAuth 2.0 in SAP B2B Integration environments strengthens security, enhances partner trust, and aligns integration processes with modern authentication standards. SAP’s support for OAuth in Integration Suite and API Management provides a scalable and secure foundation for B2B collaboration.
By adopting OAuth 2.0, businesses can safeguard sensitive data exchanges while enabling seamless and flexible API access, ultimately accelerating digital transformation initiatives in the SAP ecosystem.