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Academy module

SAC Data Integration

SAC connection types ranked by governance, with DAC as the shared trust layer — architecture diagram for SAC Data Integration, Analytics Legends Academy module M022

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.

4 connection types ranked: Live-to-DSP-AM (preferred) · Live-to-BW (migration period) · Live-to-HANA-Cloud (rare) · imported flat (last resort). Senior pattern: new stories Live-to-DSP exclusively, quarterly connection audit, DAC inheritance everywhere. Imported flat = no governance, tolerable only for exploration. BW migration timeline driven by 2030 maintenance end.

What you will learn

  • Rank the four SAC connection types (Live to Datasphere analytic model, Live to BW/4HANA, Live to HANA Cloud calculation view, imported flat) and justify the senior default.
  • Run a connection-consolidation audit that retires unused connections and migrates BW-connected stories ahead of the mainstream-maintenance cliff.
  • Verify DAC inheritance on every connection type before go-live, and explain why a DAC bypass is a GDPR exposure.
  • Position SAC data-integration choices in day-rate terms: what a governance-first connection strategy is worth to a buyer under audit pressure.

Module overview

SAC consumes data from multiple sources — Datasphere (the right answer), live HANA, BW/4HANA, S/4HANA, file uploads, OData, third-party connectors. The senior choice is almost always: Live to Datasphere analytic model, with DAC inheritance, glossary, lineage. Other paths exist for specific reasons; document the reason or you accumulate technical debt.

The 4 connection types ranked.

  1. Live to Datasphere analytic model (preferred). DAC inheritance, governed dim/measure, glossary attached, lineage automatic. New stories should use this exclusively.
  2. Live to BW/4HANA (acceptable for migration period). Existing BW models work. Plan migration to Datasphere within the BW retirement timeline (mainstream maintenance for BW/4HANA ends 2030, per SAP's published maintenance strategy).
  3. Live to HANA Cloud calculation views (rare). Only when specific HANA-side computation can't move to Datasphere. Document deviation in ADR.
  4. Imported flat models (last resort). Static snapshots, no DAC, no glossary, no lineage. Tolerable only for one-off analyses + non-governed exploratory work.

Senior craft signal — connection consolidation. A junior accumulates 12 connections over 6 months. A senior runs a quarterly connection audit, retires anything that isn't actively used by ≥ 1 production story, and pushes new stories toward the canonical Live-to-Datasphere path.

Prerequisites

  • Review core concepts first: C019, C008, C020

Outcomes

  • Understand the core concepts behind sac data integration
  • Apply Integration in a typical SAP analytics engagement
  • Explain the core architecture and decision points for SAC Data Integration
  • Apply a repeatable implementation pattern in a 15-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.

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