Data Fabric
Data & Cloud Services
In a nutshell
Data Fabric is an architectural approach for modern data platforms that seamlessly connects, manages, and delivers data from various systems and sources. The goal is to provide users with unified access to data, regardless of where the data is physically stored. A Data Fabric combines data integration, governance, metadata management, data catalogs, and data delivery into a single architecture.
Unlike traditional data warehouse approaches, the focus is not on the centralized storage of all data, but rather on its intelligent interconnection and utilization.
Why is Data Fabric important?
In many companies today, data is spread across numerous systems, such as SAP ERP, SAP BW, CRM systems, data lakes, cloud applications, IoT platforms, and other external data sources. This results in data silos, redundant data sets, and differing perspectives on the same business objects. At the same time, the demands on analytics, planning, self-service, and AI are increasing.
This is exactly where Data Fabric comes in. Instead of consolidating all data onto a single platform, Data Fabric creates a common layer for integration, governance, metadata, and data access. Data can remain in different systems, but is made available to users and applications as if it were part of a single data landscape.
This approach becomes particularly relevant in the context of modern data and AI initiatives. AI applications require access to data from a wide variety of sources. At the same time, governance, security, and data quality must be ensured. A data fabric helps to reconcile these requirements.
SAP has also made this concept the centerpiece of its future data strategy. SAP views the SAP Business Data Cloud as an evolution of the Business Data Fabric, which integrates data products, semantic models, analytics, and AI on a common foundation.
How does celver AG provide support?
Many companies are currently hearing terms like “data fabric,” “data mesh,” “data products,” and “business data cloud” and are wondering which of these concepts are actually relevant.
celver AG helps companies develop modern data architectures in a pragmatic way and define the target architecture that best suits their needs. We treat SAP and non-SAP systems equally and develop solutions that support analytics, planning, and AI over the long term.
Typical questions from our customers include:
- Do we even need a data fabric?
- What role do data products play?
- How do Data Fabric and Data Mesh differ?
- How do we integrate SAP and non-SAP data?
- Which platforms align with our strategy?
- What role do SAP Business Data Cloud, Databricks, and Microsoft Fabric play?
- How can we lay the groundwork for future AI applications?
Our focus is not on individual technologies, but rather on a sustainable data architecture that supports business units, IT, and future AI use cases alike.
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
"Data Fabric" primarily refers to the technical architecture for integrating and utilizing data.
Data Mesh, on the other hand, describes an organizational model in which business units take responsibility for their own data products.
In modern data platforms, both approaches are often combined.
No. Data Fabric is not a product, but an architectural concept. Various platforms support the implementation of a Data Fabric, such as SAP Business Data Cloud, Databricks, or Microsoft Fabric.
Data products are often the core building blocks of a data fabric. They provide data in a domain-specific, reusable format for analytics, planning, and AI.
AI applications require data from a wide variety of sources. A data fabric helps ensure that this data is available, consistent, and manageable, thereby creating an important foundation for analytics and AI applications.
SAP positions the Business Data Cloud as an evolution of the Business Data Fabric. The goal is to provide harmonized data products and to integrate analytics, planning, and AI on a single platform.
