In the era of cloud-native applications, Kubernetes has emerged as the standard for orchestrating containers at scale. However, managing Kubernetes clusters in an enterprise environment requires more than just provisioning and scaling—it involves security, monitoring, extensibility, and integration with business systems. SAP Kyma, built on Kubernetes, provides a powerful framework to manage clusters and extend SAP solutions through microservices, serverless functions, and APIs.
This article explores how SAP Kyma enables developers and DevOps teams to efficiently manage Kubernetes clusters, while integrating and extending SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform) capabilities.
SAP Kyma is an open-source runtime built on Kubernetes that enables users to develop, run, and manage microservices and serverless functions. It integrates core Kubernetes services with essential components like:
It is available as Kyma Runtime on SAP BTP, offering enterprise-grade Kubernetes management for SAP-centric applications.
SAP BTP Kyma Runtime provides fully managed Kubernetes clusters. You can:
You don’t have to worry about low-level cluster maintenance—Kyma Runtime abstracts this complexity.
Kyma integrates a Service Catalog that allows seamless consumption of SAP and non-SAP services. It supports:
This simplifies managing dependencies and enables service reuse across microservices.
Security is central to Kyma’s architecture:
This layered security model ensures compliance and data protection in line with enterprise standards.
Kyma supports eventing using:
You can connect events from SAP systems (e.g., "Sales Order Created") to microservices or serverless functions running in Kyma.
Kyma ships with an integrated observability stack:
This helps DevOps teams monitor cluster health, debug issues, and optimize performance.
Kyma allows deploying serverless functions that scale dynamically. These are ideal for lightweight workloads, automation scripts, or event-driven tasks. Managed by Knative under the hood, functions can be:
For managing Kubernetes manifests and applications, Kyma supports:
GitOps-based management enables declarative configuration and consistent deployments across environments.
A common use case for Kyma in Kubernetes management is extending SAP S/4HANA:
SAP Kyma Runtime on SAP BTP empowers enterprises to manage Kubernetes clusters with confidence. It abstracts much of the operational complexity, allowing teams to focus on building innovative solutions that extend SAP systems and integrate with modern cloud-native services.
By combining Kubernetes’ scalability with enterprise integration capabilities, Kyma bridges the gap between traditional SAP landscapes and modern application development.