At Column5, we’ve spent decades helping SAP customers improve planning, reporting, and analytics processes by implementing solutions such as SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), all versions of SAP BPC, and associated SAP products. As a founding partner of Darwin Analytics and a proud member of the Darwin Marketplace, we are excited about SAP’s recent announcement of Business Data Cloud and its potential to drive greater data unification, AI-driven insights, and enterprise-wide planning enhancements.
SAP’s vision for Business Data Cloud aligns with market demands for seamless data integration and AI-driven analytics. More importantly, this announcement serves as further validation of Darwin Analytics as a natural complement to SAP’s evolving strategy—enhancing cross-platform orchestration, AI-driven automation, and multi-vendor interoperability.
Column5’s Perspective on SAP Business Data Cloud
SAP Business Data Cloud is a major step toward a more unified and intelligent enterprise data landscape. By integrating with Databricks, SAP is reinforcing its commitment to helping customers seamlessly manage and analyze data across their ecosystems while leveraging AI and machine learning for advanced insights.
At Column5, we see this as an important move for SAP customers looking to:
✅ Unify SAP and non-SAP data sources for better decision-making.
✅ Leverage AI-driven analytics and automation to accelerate financial planning and reporting.
✅ Reduce data silos and improve cross-functional collaboration in their enterprise planning processes.
However, while SAP Business Data Cloud is an exciting development, many SAP customers operate in heterogeneous environments where they need to leverage both SAP and non-SAP technologies to drive success.
This is where Darwin Analytics plays a critical role.
How Darwin Analytics Naturally Complements SAP Business Data Cloud
As a platform-agnostic orchestration solution, Darwin Analytics seamlessly integrates SAP solutions like Business Data Cloud, SAC, Datasphere, and BPC while also supporting non-SAP technologies such as Databricks, Google BigQuery, Snowflake, Microsoft Power BI, Anaplan, OneStream, Tagetik, Vena, and Workday Adaptive Planning.
- Seamless Cross-Vendor Integration & No Lock-In
SAP Business Data Cloud is a powerful enabler for SAP-centric customers, but for organizations needing broader interoperability, Darwin Analytics provides:
✅ Native support for SAP technologies (BPC, SAC, Datasphere, S/4HANA, Business Data Cloud, etc.).
✅ AI-driven orchestration across SAP and non-SAP platforms, including Databricks, Google BigQuery, Snowflake, and more.
✅ The flexibility to retain existing EPM, BI, and data investments without vendor lock-in.
- Process-First Approach for Better Decision-Making
Many organizations approach transformation by asking: "Which tool should we pick?" when the real question should be:
✔ "What business processes should we automate?"
✔ "What user experience do we need for each process?"
Darwin Analytics enables organizations to:
✅ Focus on business process automation rather than making trade-offs on a single tool.
✅ Ensure optimal alignment across FP&A, Consolidation, and Operations—without forcing all users into a single system.
✅ Provide end-to-end orchestration across tools and platforms, enabling seamless workflow execution.
- AI-Driven Orchestration & Faster Insights
SAP Business Data Cloud enhances AI capabilities within the SAP ecosystem, especially with Databricks integration. However, Darwin Analytics takes this a step further:
✅ Sits on top of all connected tools, enabling AI-driven process automation, anomaly detection, and intelligent recommendations across SAP and non-SAP platforms.
✅ Ensures real-time updates, synchronization, and continuous AI-enhanced workflows for faster, more agile decision-making.
✅ Provides a centralized vantage point to automate processes, view data across functional domains, and detect anomalies in real-time.
- Increased Visibility & Higher Quality Control
Darwin Analytics ensures higher data quality and consistency by:
✅ Organizing components by process instead of by tool, reducing fragmented data management.
✅ Checking metadata and transaction data across multiple platforms to prevent systemic errors.
✅ Providing real-time monitoring and process tracking, ensuring organizations can see exactly where they are in their planning cycles.
Key Benefits for SAP Customers Evaluating Business Data Cloud & Darwin Analytics
|
Feature |
Darwin Analytics |
SAP Business Data Cloud |
|
Technology Agnostic |
Works across SAP and non-SAP platforms, allowing customers to retain existing investments. |
Primarily focused on SAP’s ecosystem, requiring deeper commitment to SAP tools. |
|
Process-First, Not Tool-First |
Prioritizes business process automation over tool selection. |
Tool-centric approach requiring alignment with SAP’s predefined architecture. |
|
AI-Driven Orchestration |
Agentic AI enhances financial planning, reporting, and forecasting across multiple vendors. |
AI is built into SAP solutions, but is not optimized for cross-vendor orchestration. |
|
Enterprise-Wide Visibility & Data Quality |
Monitors and harmonizes metadata and transactions across different tools to prevent errors. |
Focuses on SAP-aligned data unification, but lacks oversight for non-SAP platforms. |
|
Avoids Vendor Lock-In |
Customers can integrate best-of-breed solutions without being locked into a single vendor’s roadmap. |
Requires deeper alignment with SAP’s evolving technology stack. |
|
Faster Time-to-Value |
Access prebuilt templates, AI automation, and marketplace solutions for quicker deployment. |
Customers rely on SAP’s roadmap for innovation and industry solutions. |
Column5’s Recommendation for SAP Customers
SAP Business Data Cloud is a significant step forward in SAP’s evolution toward data unification, AI-powered analytics, and seamless enterprise integration. At Column5, we see this as a fantastic opportunity for SAP customers to rethink their long-term planning, reporting, and analytics strategy.
However, for organizations that need:
✔ Greater cross-platform interoperability
✔ Process-driven, AI-enhanced orchestration
✔ The ability to retain and integrate existing investments across SAP and non-SAP tools
…Darwin Analytics is the natural complement to SAP’s evolving ecosystem.
As a founding partner of Darwin Analytics, Column5 is committed to helping customers implement SAP’s latest innovations while leveraging Darwin’s AI-powered orchestration platform to create a seamless, future-proof financial transformation strategy.
Next Steps: Evaluating SAP Business Data Cloud & Darwin Analytics
1️⃣ Assess your current landscape: What SAP and non-SAP solutions are you using today?
2️⃣ Define your ideal process automation goals: What workflows should be streamlined with AI?
3️⃣ Explore hybrid approaches: How can you integrate SAP Business Data Cloud while ensuring interoperability across all tools?
At Column5, we are ready to help organizations navigate this transformation with SAP Business Data Cloud, Darwin Analytics, and other best-of-breed technologies.
👉 Contact us to discuss your roadmap and explore how SAP and Darwin Analytics can work together to unlock your full potential.
📍 Visit us at www.column5.com and www.darwinanalytics.com for more insights.
