OneLake Delta Lake Architecture for SAP Data Federation

Enterprise data strategies are evolving rapidly as organizations embrace cloud platforms, AI-driven insights, and real-time analytics. Yet for many enterprises, SAP systems remain the backbone of operations, holding critical data across finance, supply chain, procurement, and customer processes. While this data is essential for decision-making, it often remains fragmented across multiple systems and environments.

As organizations move toward intelligent, data-driven operations, the ability to unify SAP and non-SAP data has become a strategic priority. Leaders need faster access to trusted data that supports analytics, automation, and AI initiatives. This shift has made modern data lake architectures increasingly relevant. OneLake with Delta Lake is emerging as a powerful foundation for federating SAP data while maintaining governance, scalability, and performance across the enterprise.

The Challenge of SAP Data Silos in Modern Enterprises

Most enterprises operate multiple SAP environments that have evolved over time. ECC systems, S/4HANA platforms, and legacy data warehouses often coexist with modern cloud applications and analytics tools. While each system serves a purpose, the data they contain is frequently isolated, making it difficult to gain a unified view of business operations.

Key challenges organizations face include:

• SAP data spread across ECC, S/4HANA, BW, and multiple business systems, creating fragmented visibility
• Heavy reliance on batch extraction and replication that introduces latency in reporting and analytics
• Duplicate data storage across platforms, increasing infrastructure and maintenance costs
• Inconsistent data definitions and synchronization issues that affect reporting accuracy
• Limited real-time integration with AI, analytics, and modern cloud platforms
• Complex governance and compliance requirements across distributed data environments

What OneLake and Delta Lake Bring to the SAP Ecosystem

Modern data platforms are designed to address the limitations of fragmented enterprise data. Microsoft OneLake provides a unified storage layer that enables organizations to manage and access data across multiple sources from a single environment. When combined with Delta Lake architecture, it offers a scalable and open foundation for managing structured and unstructured data.

Delta Lake introduces reliability and performance enhancements that are particularly valuable for enterprise data environments. It supports real-time and batch data processing while maintaining consistency, version control, and schema enforcement. This makes it well suited for handling complex SAP datasets alongside other enterprise data sources.

Together, OneLake and Delta Lake create a unified environment where SAP data can be accessed, analyzed, and governed more effectively. Instead of maintaining separate storage and analytics environments, organizations can bring data together in a controlled and scalable architecture that supports both operational reporting and advanced analytics.

OneLake Delta Lake Architecture for SAP Data Federation

A OneLake Delta Lake architecture enables SAP data to be federated across the enterprise without excessive duplication or complex integration layers. Data from SAP systems can be ingested into OneLake through secure connectors and integration services, allowing it to coexist with data from other enterprise platforms.

Delta Lake structures this data into reliable, query-ready formats that support analytics, reporting, and AI workloads. By maintaining a unified storage and metadata layer, organizations can access SAP data alongside non-SAP datasets without moving or replicating information unnecessarily. This federation approach improves performance while reducing storage and maintenance overhead.

The architecture also supports governance and lineage tracking, ensuring that data remains traceable and compliant with enterprise policies. Security and access controls can be enforced consistently across the environment, enabling organizations to scale data access while maintaining control.

For IT and data teams, this architecture simplifies the integration of SAP data into modern analytics and AI initiatives. Instead of building multiple pipelines for different use cases, they can rely on a unified platform that supports real-time insights and advanced processing.

Business Impact of Unified SAP Data Architecture

Adopting a unified data architecture built on OneLake and Delta Lake delivers measurable business value across the enterprise.

• Improved decision-making through real-time access to consistent, trusted SAP and enterprise data
• Reduced data duplication and infrastructure complexity across analytics environments
• Stronger governance and compliance through centralized data management and lineage tracking
• Faster adoption of AI and advanced analytics by providing a scalable data foundation
• Better cost optimization by consolidating storage and processing into a unified platform

For business leaders, this translates into faster insights, improved operational visibility, and greater confidence in data-driven strategies.

Key Considerations for Enterprise Adoption

Adopting a OneLake Delta Lake architecture for SAP data federation requires alignment across technology, governance, and business priorities. Enterprises should focus on a few critical considerations to ensure long-term success.

• Data governance and security alignment: Ensure SAP data remains protected through strong identity controls, encryption, and unified governance across cloud and enterprise platforms.
• Integration with existing SAP landscapes: Evaluate how ECC, S/4HANA, BW, and non-SAP systems will connect to a unified data architecture without disrupting operations.
• Phased implementation strategy: Prioritize high-impact use cases first to demonstrate value quickly while minimizing migration risks and complexity.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Align SAP, data, cloud, and analytics teams to design an architecture that supports both operational and strategic data needs.
• Choosing the right implementation partner: Deep expertise across SAP, cloud, and modern data platforms is essential for building a scalable and governed data federation strategy.

The Future of SAP Data Federation and Intelligent Enterprises

As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, the ability to unify SAP data with modern analytics and AI platforms will define competitive advantage. OneLake Delta Lake architecture provides a foundation for intelligent operations by enabling organizations to access trusted data in real time while maintaining governance and scalability.

In the years ahead, SAP data federation will play a central role in supporting AI-driven decision-making, automation, and predictive insights. Organizations that invest in modern data architectures today will be better positioned to adapt to evolving business demands and technological advancements.

MSRcosmos helps enterprises design and implement scalable data architectures that integrate SAP, cloud, and AI platforms seamlessly. By aligning OneLake and Delta Lake capabilities with enterprise data strategies, MSRcosmos enables organizations to unlock the full value of their SAP data while building a resilient and future-ready data foundation.