SAP Cloud Connector serves as a secure tunnel, bridging on-premise systems with the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) cloud environment. It's your trusted intermediary for securely integrating cloud applications with your existing backend systems.
Key Features and Functionality
Here's a breakdown of the core aspects of SAP Cloud Connector:
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Secure Connectivity: Establishes an encrypted connection between the SAP BTP and on-premise systems, ensuring data privacy and integrity. It acts as a reverse invoke proxy. The cloud environment initiates connections to the on-premise environment, not the other way around. This significantly enhances security.
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Identity Propagation: Authenticates cloud users in on-premise systems. The Cloud Connector securely propagates the identity of cloud users to your backend systems, allowing seamless single sign-on (SSO) experiences.
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Access Control: Provides fine-grained control over which on-premise resources (e.g., SAP systems, databases, files) can be accessed from the cloud. You define what cloud applications can access and limit network access.
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Protocol Conversion: Supports various communication protocols like RFC, SOAP, OData, and HTTP(S), translating between them as necessary to facilitate communication between different systems.
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Easy Installation and Configuration: The Cloud Connector is designed for ease of deployment and management, offering a low total cost of ownership (TCO).
Use Cases
The SAP Cloud Connector facilitates numerous integration scenarios, including:
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Extending On-Premise Applications to the Cloud: Leverage existing investments in on-premise systems by extending their functionalities to cloud-based applications. For example, an on-premise SAP S/4HANA system can expose data to a cloud-based mobile app.
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Hybrid Cloud Integration: Connect cloud-based SAP solutions (e.g., SuccessFactors, SAP Sales Cloud) with on-premise SAP and non-SAP systems.
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Building Cloud-Native Applications: Develop new cloud applications that require access to data and services residing in on-premise systems.
Benefits
- Enhanced Security: Securely connects on-premise systems to the cloud.
- Reduced Complexity: Simplifies hybrid cloud integration scenarios.
- Lower TCO: Easy installation and maintenance reduce operational costs.
- Seamless Integration: Enables seamless data and process integration between cloud and on-premise environments.
- Identity Management: Provides identity propagation for single sign-on.
In essence, the SAP Cloud Connector is a critical component for businesses embracing a hybrid cloud strategy, enabling secure and seamless integration between on-premise and cloud environments.
