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Business Data Fabric

What Is a Business Data Fabric?

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Table of Contents
3 What Is a Business Data Fabric

4 The Future Will Be Built on a Business

Data Fabric

6 The Architecture of a Business Data Fabric

9 The Real-World Value of a Business

Data Fabric

12 Transform Your Business with

SAP Datasphere

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What Is a Business Data Fabric?
A business data fabric is a dynamic and
integrated data management architecture
that enables real-time data connectivity
across systems and applications. With a
technology strategy based on a business
data fabric, your business can establish
a harmonized and unified view of your
organization’s data.

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The Future Will Be Built on a Business Data Fabric
Data fabric solutions significantly democratize and By readying data for analytics, AI, and machine learning
automate data management processes, helping make applications, the data fabric architecture provides a
data accessible to stakeholders whenever and wherever robust foundation for cutting-edge business intelligence
they need it. These solutions streamline the data, especially initiatives. This can lead to the generation of powerful
in complex distributed architectures, transforming it into a insights and foster data-driven decision-making within
readily usable form. This involves processes of unifying, your organization.
cleansing, enriching, and securing the data, which are
critical in enabling data integrity and compliance with
regulatory requirements.
A data fabric creates a foundation
In other data platforms, when data is extracted from
for data-driven decision-making
core systems, much of its original context, such as
metadata and business meaning, is lost. A business based on unified, cleansed,
data fabric preserves this context, helping ensure your enriched, and secure data.
data remains meaningful and relevant for decision-
making, regardless of its origin.

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 The Future Will Be Built on a Business Data Fabric

Adopting a business data fabric approach allows you FABRIC AND MESHES
to not only use your data effectively, but also scale your Understanding the distinction between these three terms –
data fabric, business data fabric, and data mesh – is critical for
systems more easily. It equips you with the agility to
appreciating the unique capabilities and benefits of each.
adapt to rapidly changing markets, which helps create
competitive advantage and sustainable growth. A data fabric is an integrated data layer enabling consistent
management across various systems and applications with real-
Such a model underlines the value of a business data time access and automation.
fabric as a tool that facilitates more-seamless data
A data mesh decentralizes data architecture, advocating for data
management, augments data accessibility, supports
autonomy with teams owning and managing their data through micro-
data security, and creates actionable insights. It ultimately services and APIs, which reduce reliance on a single data platform.
empowers businesses to remain resilient in a data-driven,
rapidly evolving market landscape. A business data fabric enhances this data architecture by retaining
business logic and context within data, helping ensure a compre-
hensive and reliable view for faster, more-informed decision-making.
A business data fabric maintains the business context of data,
reducing the need for reestablishing lost information because of
extraction and replication. This better ensures stakeholders and
data consumers have swift, trusted access to comprehensive
data, regardless of its storage location or design.

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The Architecture of a Business Data Fabric
DISCOVER A DATA STRATEGY FOR MODERN Real-Time Data Management
BUSINESS A business data fabric provides real-time access to
The business data fabric is designed to manage and live operational data, eliminating the need for time-
streamline data throughout an organization, all while consuming, error-prone extraction processes. It helps
keeping the business context intact. It’s made up of ensure data is organized, secure, and high quality,
several key components (see the figure). including tasks such as data integration, data gover-
nance, and data security.
Data Integration
Integration acts as a bridge, linking various data storage Data Modeling and Semantic Layer
systems such as databases, applications, and sensors This layer creates a common description of content
to a central location. It enables disparate datasets to be across different systems to tell the data story. It does this
analyzed from a single vantage point. through a model that describes the data and metadata,
alongside a semantic layer representing the established
business terms. A business data fabric can model
semantics from the very source of your operational
data to your most advanced analytics and data science.

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 The Architecture of a Business Data Fabric

Data Processing and Analytics Integration with Various Tools

This is the phase where data is processed and analyzed A business data fabric doesn’t lock you into a single tool set.
to derive insights. It involves tasks such as data ware- It allows you to expand your data fabric with cutting-edge
housing, data streaming, and data visualization. A business solutions and services from leading vendors, enhancing
data fabric also leverages predictive analytics, AI, and text capabilities such as data governance or advanced
analytics on operational data, enhancing decision-making machine learning.
and enabling adaptive, self-learning business processes.
Each of these components is interconnected and works
Data Management Automation together to deliver the powerful advantages of a business
As an architectural feature, automation helps manage data fabric. They create an environment where data flows
data efficiently and consistently. It reduces errors, saves without obstruction, is understood clearly, and informs
time, and improves data quality by automating tasks such the most intelligent and most relevant business decisions.
as data integration, data governance, and data security.

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 The Architecture of a Business Data Fabric

Figure: Business Data Fabric Architecture

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The Real-World Value of a Business Data Fabric
SEE POWERFUL, READY-TO-USE DATA IN ACTION
The business data fabric delivers direct, impactful advantages to businesses of various sizes across industries.
By offering the following benefits, a business data fabric provides businesses with a robust and flexible infrastructure
that enables them to leverage their data in strategic ways, facilitating more informed decision-making and
providing a foundation for future growth.

Elimination of Data Silos How to Use It

Centralized data management, a core feature of the
Bring supply chain data into your data analytics platform
business data fabric, removes data silos and enhances
without data duplication. With the elimination of data
cross-functional collaboration. This supports a more
silos, you’re better prepared to use predictive analytics
holistic, informed approach to decision-making while
to proactively manage supply chain disruptions.
ensuring data security and management efficiency.

More-Confident Decision-Making How to Use It

The ability to gain real-time insights into the data land-
Harmonize real-time data from your supply chain system
scape enables faster, more proactive decision-making.
with historical sales data to quickly adjust and prioritize
This can give companies a competitive edge in rapidly
regions for inventory replenishment.
changing business environments.

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 The Real-World Value of a Business Data Fabric

Reliable and Actionable Data How to Use It

By providing a single, comprehensive view of an organi-
zation’s data, a business data fabric makes data more Instead of losing critical signals in your supply chain
meaningful and actionable. This helps businesses data when performing analytics – such as the changes
leverage their data more effectively and encourages in customer behavior and current rates – maintain this
data-driven decision-making. context to keep your data products business-ready.

Efficiency and Accuracy Through Automation How to Use It

Automation minimizes the potential for human error
and speeds up analysis and action. Automate updates of new or changed data from your
supply chain without additional work or maintenance
or the need to create a workaround for capturing
change data.

Scalability and Agility How to Use It

The adaptable nature of a business data fabric supports
businesses as they grow and change, allowing for quick Scale performance capabilities to suit changing conditions,
adjustments and maintaining performance at scale. such as altering promotions during holiday seasons to
maximize sales.
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 The Real-World Value of a Business Data Fabric

Improved Governance How to Use It

A business data fabric gives businesses better control
Better ensure that marketing data related to campaign
over their data and greater insight into its uses, helping
performance in different locations is viewable only in
ensure it is compliant, consistent, and secure. This
the appropriate regions, such as making European data
results in improved risk management and a reduction
available to a German data analyst but not to a U.S. data
in compliance-related issues.
analyst.

Leveraging AI for Business Insights How to Use It

The AI-ready infrastructure of a business data fabric
enables advanced analytics, enabling businesses to After harmonizing data for proactive, predictive manage-
uncover deeper insights and improve forecasting. This, ment of supply chain disruptions, use AI to detect anomalies
in turn, helps businesses remain competitive and and outliers which can be excluded from the analysis.
responsive in their markets.

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Transform Your Business with SAP® Datasphere
The SAP® Datasphere solution is the foundation for a business data
fabric. It enables data professionals to deliver more-seamless and
scalable access to mission-critical business data. Use the solution
to provide meaningful data to your data consumers – with
business context and logic intact.

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 Transform Your Business with SAP Datasphere

“The business data fabric architecture enables us to bring SAP and

non-SAP data together in the seamless and self-service way we’ve
been envisioning. SAP Datasphere provided us with a solution
to build a harmonized layer, or business data fabric, across
SAP and non-SAP, cloud or on-premise data sources,
making the best use of our existing investments in
SAP, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce, and Oracle.”
David Johnston, Chief Information Officer, Messer Americas

See how Messer uses SAP Datasphere.

LEARN MORE
Take a tour of SAP Datasphere to discover
new capabilities as part of the guided
solution experience.
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Studio SAP | 88469enUS (23/08)
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