Analytics Legends The knowledge platform for SAP Analytics
Academy module

Spaces & Connections

Space topology — 4 domain spaces sharing one foundation space, one-way — architecture diagram for Spaces & Connections, Analytics Legends Academy module M002

As of 2026-08-16

Edited by , sole editor and publication director — 27 years in the SAP ecosystem. How these pages are produced, and where automation is used.

Datasphere spaces are governance + billing units, not folders. Senior pattern: 4 domain spaces (Finance/Supply/HR/Sales) + 1 foundation space, NOT 1 per legal entity. Connections route through Cloud Connector with allow-lists; never share service accounts across domains. CU baseline accrues per active space — keep total spaces small, decommission demos aggressively.

What you will learn

  • Understand the core concepts behind spaces & connections
  • Apply Spaces in a typical SAP analytics engagement
  • Recognize the 3-5 common mistakes and how to avoid them
  • Position this skill in your personal brand and rate conversation

Module overview

Datasphere spaces are the unit of governance, billing, and access — not just a folder. Get spaces wrong in week 1 and the next twelve weeks become a permanent refactor. A senior consultant designs space topology BEFORE writing the first view: one space per business domain (Finance, Supply Chain, HR, Sales), shared technical objects in a dedicated foundation space, and clear cross-space sharing contracts.

Connections are the doorways between spaces and source systems. The catalogue is small and intentional: SAP S/4HANA Cloud, S/4HANA on-prem (via DPA / SDA), SuccessFactors, Ariba, Concur, BW/4HANA, HANA Cloud, generic JDBC/ODBC, file uploads, OData, and the cloud connector for non-SAP. Pick the connection technology by latency budget and security posture, not by what the source team prefers.

Why senior craft matters here. The classic junior failure: 12 spaces named after legal entities (FR_HOLDING, DE_GMBH, IT_SPA…) with cross-space sharing wired ad-hoc. Six months in, finance reporting requires 4-way joins across spaces and CU spend triples. The senior pattern: 4 domain spaces + 1 foundation space + explicit shared dimension contracts; cross-entity reporting is one analytic model with a country dimension, not 12 spaces stitched together.

Prerequisites

  • Review core concepts first: C008, C002, C003

Outcomes

  • Understand the core concepts behind spaces & connections
  • Apply Spaces in a typical SAP analytics engagement
  • Explain the core architecture and decision points for Spaces & Connections
  • Apply a repeatable implementation pattern in a 16-minute lab format

Full module available to members. The full module adds: the decision framework · the end-to-end scenario walkthrough · the KPI scorecard · the anti-patterns · the code blocks · the knowledge check · the diagrams.

Open in the app →

Next in this track