In a move set to redefine enterprise data management, Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) and SAP SE have announced a strategic collaboration that merges the Snowflake AI Data Cloud with SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC). The partnership aims to help enterprises connect mission-critical business data with AI-powered innovation—without duplication, friction, or governance gaps.

The centerpiece of this collaboration is the SAP Snowflake solution extension for SAP Business Data Cloud, which will make Snowflake’s unified data and AI platform directly available to SAP BDC customers. This new offering brings together SAP’s semantic business data models and Snowflake’s AI and machine learning capabilities, creating a shared foundation for data-driven transformation across industries.

A Unified, Zero-Copy Data Fabric

At the heart of the collaboration lies zero-copy data sharing—a breakthrough that allows SAP and Snowflake customers to work with data seamlessly across both ecosystems. Enterprises can now access, analyze, and share semantically rich SAP data in Snowflake without duplication, ensuring full governance, real-time performance, and reduced total cost of ownership.

“By tightly integrating SAP and Snowflake, we’re making it simple for enterprises to connect their critical business data with the power of seamless AI app and data agent development at scale,” said Christian Kleinerman, EVP of Product at Snowflake. “This zero-copy model enables faster innovation, more secure collaboration, and unified AI development across enterprise systems.”

Bringing Openness and Choice to the Data Cloud

The SAP Snowflake solution extension embeds Snowflake into the open data ecosystem of SAP BDC, expanding its Business Data Fabric with modern AI, analytics, and collaboration features. The result is an AI-ready data foundation that harmonizes SAP and non-SAP data, empowering organizations to build context-rich AI models and applications that are grounded in trusted business data.

According to Irfan Khan, President and Chief Product Officer for SAP Data and Analytics, “Bringing Snowflake to SAP Business Data Cloud empowers customers with openness and choice. Together, we combine SAP’s decades of leadership in business applications with Snowflake’s modern data platform to deliver a unified, enterprise-ready experience.”

What Enterprises Can Expect

With SAP Snowflake, organizations gain access to a powerful suite of capabilities:

• Unified Data Fabric: Combine SAP and non-SAP data in real time for analytics, AI, and machine learning workflows—all within a governed, zero-copy environment.

• AI Acceleration: Use semantically rich data to train AI models and build intelligent agents with stronger context and accuracy.

• Faster App Development: Build and deploy intelligent business applications grounded in mission-critical data for faster time-to-market and innovation scalability.

• SAP BDC Connect for Snowflake: A bidirectional integration that allows existing Snowflake users to access SAP data instantly—without replication or latency.

Industry Adoption: AstraZeneca Leads the Way

Early adopters like AstraZeneca are already realizing the potential of this partnership. “Data and AI are central to achieving our mission,” said Russell Smith, Vice President of ERP Transformation Technology at AstraZeneca. “Our collaboration with SAP and Snowflake enhances our ability to access and analyze real-time data. Every minute matters when developing life-changing medicines, and this partnership helps accelerate that mission.”

A Step Toward the AI-Driven Enterprise

By combining SAP’s deep domain expertise with Snowflake’s scalable AI data platform, the two companies are reshaping how enterprises leverage data. The integration offers a future-proof architecture for intelligent applications—one that’s flexible, governed, and built for the generative AI era.

For enterprises navigating the intersection of data, analytics, and AI, the SAP-Snowflake partnership marks a significant milestone—one that transforms siloed business data into a unified engine for innovation.

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