Innovation in the Cloud: My Experience with SAP and Open Source
I’ve been working with SAP technologies for a while now, and one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how much the world of enterprise software has evolved —especially around open source. Years ago, I assumed SAP was purely proprietary. Today, it’s fascinating to see how much open-source thinking has shaped SAP’s cloud solutions and partnerships with major players like Microsoft Azure and Databricks. In this post, I want to share my own take on why open-source matters in the SAP ecosystem, and how I’ve seen it help companies move faster in the cloud.
Why Open Source in Enterprise?
Before diving into the SAP details, let’s talk about why open source is such a big deal for enterprises in general. Open source is more than just free code; it’s a way of collaborating that brings together developers, architects, and companies from around the world. In my experience, it helps us avoid reinventing the wheel, fosters more robust solutions (since many eyes are on the code), and encourages rapid innovation. For a large organization, these benefits can be transformative: you can quickly adopt proven libraries, focus on differentiating features, and even influence the direction of popular open-source projects that matter to you.
The SAP Cloud Shift
When SAP introduced its cloud platform—now known as SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)—I was pleasantly surprised to see how open source was embedded right from the start. The platform runs on major hyperscalers (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud), and supports open-source technologies like Kubernetes. That means if you already have experience with containers or microservices, you can bring that knowledge directly into SAP BTP without having to learn a bunch of proprietary tools.
An Example: Running on Microsoft Azure
One of the neat things I’ve seen recently is how well SAP BTP integrates with Microsoft Azure. If you’re running Kubernetes clusters in Azure (via Azure Kubernetes Service, or AKS), you can also deploy SAP-related open-source projects—like Kyma (for event-driven extensions) or OpenUI5 (for building web apps)—right on Azure. You still get the robust security and support you’d expect from both SAP and Microsoft, but with the flexibility to use open-source components that fit your team’s needs. For anyone juggling multiple systems, it’s a relief to see a common thread of open standards across different platforms.
Databricks + SAP: A Real-World Boost
Another collaboration I find exciting is SAP’s partnership with Databricks. If you haven’t worked with Databricks yet, think of it as a powerful data and AI platform originally built on Apache Spark. By combining SAP’s enterprise data with Databricks’ data engineering and machine learning capabilities, teams can unlock advanced analytics use cases—like predicting inventory shortages or optimizing logistics in real time.
Here’s a simple example: Imagine you have sales data sitting in your SAP S/4HANA, ECC systems, and you also have a bunch of external customer behavior data stored in Databricks. In the past, you might have spent weeks manually exporting and merging that data. Now, with the SAP–Databricks integration, you can connect these two worlds more smoothly. That means you can run big data analytics or train machine learning models on your SAP data (plus non-SAP sources) in one environment. It’s a game-changer for companies looking to add AI-driven insights to their everyday operations.
Embracing an “Open-First” Mindset
So, why does this matter for us as developers, architects, or IT managers? In my opinion, it means we get the best of both worlds: the stability and deep industry expertise of SAP, combined with the creativity and rapid iteration that open source brings. We’re no longer limited to a single vendor’s ecosystem or forced to wait for proprietary solutions. If there’s a cool open-source tool out there that helps solve a problem—maybe it’s a new UI framework or a machine learning library—we can often integrate it directly into our SAP environment without jumping through hoops.
For leadership teams and CXOs, this open-first approach can reduce costs, speed up project delivery, and attract top engineering talent (since developers love working with modern, open tools). It also means less risk of vendor lock-in, because open standards and open APIs make it easier to pivot when market conditions or business priorities change.
Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing, I’ve learned from working with SAP in the cloud, it’s that open source has become a key ingredient in how we build enterprise solutions. Whether you’re running large-scale SAP workloads on Azure, tapping into Databricks for AI, or experimenting with new open-source projects like Kyma, you have more freedom to innovate than ever before. This synergy between SAP and open source makes it easier to connect different parts of your IT landscape, collaborate across teams, and ultimately deliver better results for your organization.
I’d love to hear your thoughts: have you tried any open-source projects with SAP BTP? How was your experience with Azure or Databricks? Feel free to share your insights, successes, and even horror stories. After all, that’s what open source is all about—sharing what we learn, so we can keep pushing technology forward together.
Cheers,
Amit Lal
Innovation in the Cloud: My Experience with SAP and Open SourceI’ve been working with SAP technologies for a while now, and one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how much the world of enterprise software has evolved —especially around open source. Years ago, I assumed SAP was purely proprietary. Today, it’s fascinating to see how much open-source thinking has shaped SAP’s cloud solutions and partnerships with major players like Microsoft Azure and Databricks. In this post, I want to share my own take on why open-source matters in the SAP ecosystem, and how I’ve seen it help companies move faster in the cloud.Why Open Source in Enterprise?Before diving into the SAP details, let’s talk about why open source is such a big deal for enterprises in general. Open source is more than just free code; it’s a way of collaborating that brings together developers, architects, and companies from around the world. In my experience, it helps us avoid reinventing the wheel, fosters more robust solutions (since many eyes are on the code), and encourages rapid innovation. For a large organization, these benefits can be transformative: you can quickly adopt proven libraries, focus on differentiating features, and even influence the direction of popular open-source projects that matter to you.The SAP Cloud ShiftWhen SAP introduced its cloud platform—now known as SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)—I was pleasantly surprised to see how open source was embedded right from the start. The platform runs on major hyperscalers (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud), and supports open-source technologies like Kubernetes. That means if you already have experience with containers or microservices, you can bring that knowledge directly into SAP BTP without having to learn a bunch of proprietary tools.An Example: Running on Microsoft AzureOne of the neat things I’ve seen recently is how well SAP BTP integrates with Microsoft Azure. If you’re running Kubernetes clusters in Azure (via Azure Kubernetes Service, or AKS), you can also deploy SAP-related open-source projects—like Kyma (for event-driven extensions) or OpenUI5 (for building web apps)—right on Azure. You still get the robust security and support you’d expect from both SAP and Microsoft, but with the flexibility to use open-source components that fit your team’s needs. For anyone juggling multiple systems, it’s a relief to see a common thread of open standards across different platforms.Databricks + SAP: A Real-World BoostAnother collaboration I find exciting is SAP’s partnership with Databricks. If you haven’t worked with Databricks yet, think of it as a powerful data and AI platform originally built on Apache Spark. By combining SAP’s enterprise data with Databricks’ data engineering and machine learning capabilities, teams can unlock advanced analytics use cases—like predicting inventory shortages or optimizing logistics in real time.Here’s a simple example: Imagine you have sales data sitting in your SAP S/4HANA, ECC systems, and you also have a bunch of external customer behavior data stored in Databricks. In the past, you might have spent weeks manually exporting and merging that data. Now, with the SAP–Databricks integration, you can connect these two worlds more smoothly. That means you can run big data analytics or train machine learning models on your SAP data (plus non-SAP sources) in one environment. It’s a game-changer for companies looking to add AI-driven insights to their everyday operations.Embracing an “Open-First” MindsetSo, why does this matter for us as developers, architects, or IT managers? In my opinion, it means we get the best of both worlds: the stability and deep industry expertise of SAP, combined with the creativity and rapid iteration that open source brings. We’re no longer limited to a single vendor’s ecosystem or forced to wait for proprietary solutions. If there’s a cool open-source tool out there that helps solve a problem—maybe it’s a new UI framework or a machine learning library—we can often integrate it directly into our SAP environment without jumping through hoops.For leadership teams and CXOs, this open-first approach can reduce costs, speed up project delivery, and attract top engineering talent (since developers love working with modern, open tools). It also means less risk of vendor lock-in, because open standards and open APIs make it easier to pivot when market conditions or business priorities change.Final ThoughtsIf there’s one thing, I’ve learned from working with SAP in the cloud, it’s that open source has become a key ingredient in how we build enterprise solutions. Whether you’re running large-scale SAP workloads on Azure, tapping into Databricks for AI, or experimenting with new open-source projects like Kyma, you have more freedom to innovate than ever before. This synergy between SAP and open source makes it easier to connect different parts of your IT landscape, collaborate across teams, and ultimately deliver better results for your organization.I’d love to hear your thoughts: have you tried any open-source projects with SAP BTP? How was your experience with Azure or Databricks? Feel free to share your insights, successes, and even horror stories. After all, that’s what open source is all about—sharing what we learn, so we can keep pushing technology forward together.Cheers,Amit Lal Read More Technology Blogs by Members articles
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