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Unlocking Value In Data Analytics: The Power Of Cloud Integration Tech

Govinda, Senior Manager at Cognizant, has 14+ years of expertise in SAP & Non-SAP Data Analytics, delivering innovative BI solutions. getty Data analytics platforms like SAP continue to be the foundation of enterprise operations across industries. From managing financial transactions and procurement to overseeing utility billing and customer service, SAP ECC and S/4HANA play a critical role in day-to-day business processes. These systems were built for data integrity, compliance and operational reliability. However, they were not designed to seamlessly support real-time data analytics or integration with cloud-based platforms. In this article, I'll explore how enterprises are overcoming the limitations of traditional data extraction by adopting data analytics platform connectors to enable secure, real-time data integration with cloud platforms. This is a topic that is particularly important to me as a senior manager in the tech space. As business leaders push for faster, data-driven decision-making, IT organizations are expected to deliver insights that go beyond traditional data analytics reporting. Cloud data platforms like Snowflake, Databricks, Azure Synapse Analytics, BigQuery and more offer elastic scalability, multi-source data blending and advanced analytical capabilities that traditional SAP systems lack. For enterprises seeking agility, combining data analytics platform foundations with these cloud data platforms' analytical horsepower is a compelling proposition. This integration, however, requires addressing architectural and operational barriers that stand in the way. Despite data analytics platforms' structured data quality, their architecture is inherently complex. Most modules rely on highly normalized tables where information is distributed across dozens or hundreds of interconnected records. For example, retrieving a single customer invoice might require joining data from multiple master data, transaction and configuration tables. This structure, while ideal for operational consistency, complicates external data access. In addition, many enterprises use custom enhancements or industry-specific solutions like SAP IS-U, which introduce proprietary fields and logic. These customizations increase the difficulty of standardizing data extraction. Security further complicates integration: these platforms' role-based authorization is highly granular, and bypassing it through external tools may introduce compliance risks. Traditional ETL (extract, transform, load) approaches have long been used to extract platform data into data warehouses. However, they suffer from several limitations in today's cloud-first environment: • They often require staging data in intermediate storage layers, increasing latency and cost. • Real-time data capture is difficult, as most rely on scheduled batch jobs. • Platform performance can degrade when large queries are executed repeatedly. • Data transformations often need to be manually maintained in both the ETL tool and target system. Moreover, many off-the-shelf integration tools lack deep awareness of analytics platforms' metadata and relationships. As a result, businesses struggle with partial, inconsistent or outdated datasets in the cloud—defeating the purpose of unified analytics. To address these limitations, organizations are turning to integration solutions. These tools are installed directly within the platform stack and are, specifically in SAP's case, certified by the provider to ensure compliance, performance and extensibility. They operate within the security and metadata framework, allowing them to read data with full awareness of business logic, table relationships and role-based access controls. A leading example of this is SNP Glue, which represents a class of solutions enabling secure, real-time data replication from SAP to cloud platforms. Rather than pulling data externally, these connectors push data from within SAP, minimizing disruption and enhancing control. While SNP Glue is a prominent example, other SAP-certified connectors are emerging with similar capabilities, reflecting a broader industry trend. Connectors like this provide a variety of benefits, including the following: • Real-Time Decision Enablement: Change data capture (CDC) and delta logic minimize load times and ensure cloud platforms reflect the latest analytics platform data. • Security And Governance: Data analytics platforms' internal role structures and authorizations are respected, maintaining enterprise-grade compliance. • Simplified Architecture: No third-party middleware or external staging areas are needed, reducing technical debt. • Support For Custom Enhancements: These tools recognize Z-tables and industry-specific modules, allowing comprehensive data coverage. In the utility industry, SAP IS-U is commonly used for managing metering, billing and customer service. However, operational reporting needs often go beyond what SAP's native tools provide. By integrating SAP IS-U data with cloud platforms like Snowflake, utilities can: • Merge meter reading data with external weather feeds to improve demand forecasting. • Detect anomalies in billing patterns to reduce fraud and revenue leakage. • Optimize field technician routing using geospatial analytics. These capabilities support real-time responsiveness, especially critical in outage management, regulatory reporting and sustainability initiatives. When connecting data analytics platforms with cloud data platforms, there are a few best practices that I would urge you to keep in mind: • Begin With A Data Strategy: Identify high-value use cases, such as forecasting, compliance or service optimization. • Establish Unified Governance: Extend your data catalog and lineage tracking to a cloud platform. • Test Incrementally: Start with a pilot on a specific module before scaling organization-wide. • Align IT And Business Stakeholders: Ensure technical capabilities map to real business outcomes. The integration of data platforms with cloud platforms is not just a technical upgrade—it's a transformation enabler. It can allow organizations to unify core business data with real-time analytics, enabling better forecasting, operational agility and customer insights. This shift is especially valuable in industries with large footprints and high data volatility. Native connectors exemplify how enterprises can modernize without sacrificing governance or performance. By reducing reliance on brittle ETL scripts and manual reconciliations, these tools empower organizations to shift from periodic reporting to continuous intelligence. With cleaner architecture and real-time access to data in cloud platforms, CIOs and data leaders can unlock new business models, drive automation and stay ahead of disruption. As digital transformation accelerates, now is the time to revisit your integration strategy and unlock the full potential of your enterprise data. In this new data economy, data analytics platforms are no longer just systems of record. With the right integration approach, they can become vital engines for innovation, analytics and enterprise-wide decision-making. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?