SAP HANA, the high-performance in-memory database, is at the heart of many enterprise solutions, enabling real-time analytics and transactional processing. With the increasing adoption of cloud technologies, integrating SAP HANA with SAP Cloud Platform (now known as SAP Business Technology Platform - BTP) opens new horizons for hybrid architectures, agile development, and scalable services.
This article explores how SAP HANA can be integrated with SAP Cloud Platform to build innovative applications, leverage cloud services, and extend on-premise systems seamlessly.
SAP Cloud Platform is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering that provides tools and services for developing, deploying, and managing applications in the cloud. Key features include:
- Multi-cloud support (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
- Managed runtimes like Cloud Foundry, Kyma
- Services for database, AI/ML, integration, and security
- Connectivity to on-premise and cloud systems
- Hybrid Landscapes: Seamlessly extend on-premise SAP HANA capabilities to cloud applications.
- Scalability: Utilize cloud elasticity for burst workloads and development/testing environments.
- Advanced Services: Incorporate SAP BTP services like AI, machine learning, and IoT with SAP HANA data.
- Faster Innovation: Develop and deploy cloud-native apps connected to your SAP HANA data.
- Centralized Management: Use SAP BTP Cockpit and tools for monitoring and managing integrations.
- The Cloud Connector acts as a secure tunnel between SAP Cloud Platform and on-premise SAP HANA systems.
- Enables secure, firewall-friendly communication.
- Supports exposing SAP HANA database tables and views as OData or REST services.
- SAP offers SAP HANA Cloud as a fully managed cloud database.
- Data can be replicated or migrated from on-premise HANA to HANA Cloud.
- SAP Cloud Platform applications connect natively to HANA Cloud via JDBC/ODBC or REST APIs.
¶ c. OData and XSJS Services
- Expose SAP HANA data models as OData services using XS Engine or SAP Gateway.
- Cloud apps consume these services for CRUD operations.
- Supports secure authentication via SAP BTP identity services.
- Use SAP Integration Suite (formerly Cloud Platform Integration) for orchestrating data flows.
- Enables seamless integration between SAP HANA, cloud apps, and third-party services.
- Supports adapters for various protocols (SOAP, REST, IDoc, JDBC).
¶ e. SAP Fiori and UI5 Applications
- Develop SAP Fiori/UI5 apps hosted on SAP Cloud Platform accessing SAP HANA data.
- Provides responsive user experience with real-time data access.
- Can leverage SAP BTP’s capabilities for authentication and lifecycle management.
- Set Up SAP Cloud Connector: Configure connection to on-premise SAP HANA.
- Expose SAP HANA Artifacts: Create calculation views, tables, or stored procedures to expose data.
- Create OData Services: Using SAP HANA XS Advanced or SAP Gateway.
- Develop Cloud Applications: Use SAP Business Application Studio or other IDEs on SAP BTP.
- Configure Security: Set up OAuth or SAML authentication.
- Deploy and Monitor: Deploy apps on SAP Cloud Platform and monitor via BTP cockpit.
- Secure Data Transmission: Use encrypted communication (HTTPS/TLS).
- Minimize Data Transfer: Use calculation views and filters to fetch only needed data.
- Leverage Caching: Cache frequently accessed data in the cloud app.
- Monitor Performance: Use SAP Cloud Platform tools for tracing and performance monitoring.
- Automate Deployments: Use CI/CD pipelines supported by SAP BTP.
Integrating SAP HANA with SAP Cloud Platform unlocks the potential of hybrid cloud architectures, enabling organizations to innovate rapidly while leveraging their existing SAP investments. By combining SAP HANA’s real-time data processing with SAP BTP’s cloud-native services, businesses can build scalable, secure, and intelligent applications tailored to their needs.
Understanding the integration options and following best practices will ensure a smooth and effective journey to a modern SAP landscape.