Share SAP data into SAP Databricks

Each SAP application in your landscape automatically appears in your SAP Databricks account as a provider. You can share SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) data products to SAP Databricks and use them in notebooks, the SQL editor, and AI/ML products.

Make SAP data available in SAP Databricks

After an active SAP data product is shared to SAP Databricks, SAP Databricks users can access it.

To share data products to SAP Databricks, you must have the permissions described in SAP's documentation on permissions.

To make an SAP data product available in SAP Databricks:

1. In the BDC Catalog, request access to the data product.
2. After your request is approved, share the data product to SAP Databricks. For instructions, see SAP's documentation.

After the data product is shared, it's available as a catalog in Unity Catalog.

You can then use these data products in notebooks, the SQL editor, and AI/ML products. After you create assets in SAP Databricks, you can publish them back to SAP as data products.

SAP BDC semantic metadata

SAP table and column names can be difficult to read. For all SAP BDC shares in a catalog, semantic metadata is automatically ingested into Unity Catalog at the table level when a table is accessed, so table and column comments, primary and foreign keys, and SAP governance tags are available in Unity Catalog. Any changes made in SAP BDC are reflected in Unity Catalog.

SAP BDC is the source of truth for semantic metadata. Metadata synced from SAP BDC is read-only in SAP Databricks. OpenSharing recipients of SAP BDC shares cannot directly access or query the semantic metadata.

note

If you don't see the latest metadata in Catalog Explorer, click Refresh Table to trigger ingestion.

SAP semantic types ingested

The following semantics from SAP BDC are ingested into Unity Catalog:

SAP semantic metadata	Description
Table and column comments	Descriptions of the purpose of each table and column.
Primary keys	Primary key defined in SAP BDC, synced as Unity Catalog primary key constraints.
Foreign keys	Foreign key relationships between tables within the same share. Foreign keys that reference tables in a different share are not supported.
SAP governance tags	System tags in the sap.PersonalData.* namespace that classify personal and sensitive data. See SAP governance tags.

SAP semantic metadata	Description
Table and column comments	Descriptions of the purpose of each table and column.
Primary keys	Primary key defined in SAP BDC, synced as Unity Catalog primary key constraints.
Foreign keys	Foreign key relationships between tables within the same share. Foreign keys that reference tables in a different share are not supported.
SAP governance tags	System tags in the sap.PersonalData.* namespace that classify personal and sensitive data. See SAP governance tags.

SAP governance tags

SAP BDC syncs governance tags in the sap.PersonalData namespace as system governed tags on tables in Unity Catalog. These tags classify whether SAP BDC data contains personal or sensitive information.

important

Do not manually assign, modify, or delete tags in the sap.* namespace. These are system-reserved values that are automatically assigned by the SAP Databricks system when SAP BDC shares are added to a catalog. If you assign them manually, Databricks might clear or remove them later.

To govern access based on these tags, create attribute-based access control (ABAC) policies that reference them.

The following tags are synced. For more information about SAP personal data annotations, see the SAP CSN Interop specification.

SAP tag	Unity Catalog system tag	Applied to	Description
@PersonalData.entitySemantics	sap.PersonalData.entitySemantics	Tables	Indicates whether the table represents a data subject, such as a person or organization. Allowed values include DATA_SUBJECT, DATA_SUBJECT_DETAILS, or OTHER.
@PersonalData.fieldSemantics	sap.PersonalData.fieldSemantics	Columns	Indicates the role of the column in relation to personal data, such as an identifier, consent ID, or retention date. Allowed values include DATA_SUBJECT_ID, DATA_SUBJECT_ID_TYPE, CONSENT_ID, and more. For a complete list of allowed values and what they mean, see SAP CSN Interop specification.
@PersonalData.isPotentiallyPersonal	sap.PersonalData.isPotentiallyPersonal	Columns	Indicates whether the column might contain personal data. Default value is true.
@PersonalData.isPotentiallySensitive	sap.PersonalData.isPotentiallySensitive	Columns	Indicates whether the column might contain sensitive personal data. Default value is true.

SAP tag	Unity Catalog system tag	Applied to	Description
@PersonalData.entitySemantics	sap.PersonalData.entitySemantics	Tables	Indicates whether the table represents a data subject, such as a person or organization. Allowed values include DATA_SUBJECT, DATA_SUBJECT_DETAILS, or OTHER.
@PersonalData.fieldSemantics	sap.PersonalData.fieldSemantics	Columns	Indicates the role of the column in relation to personal data, such as an identifier, consent ID, or retention date. Allowed values include DATA_SUBJECT_ID, DATA_SUBJECT_ID_TYPE, CONSENT_ID, and more. For a complete list of allowed values and what they mean, see SAP CSN Interop specification.
@PersonalData.isPotentiallyPersonal	sap.PersonalData.isPotentiallyPersonal	Columns	Indicates whether the column might contain personal data. Default value is true.
@PersonalData.isPotentiallySensitive	sap.PersonalData.isPotentiallySensitive	Columns	Indicates whether the column might contain sensitive personal data. Default value is true.

Use SAP BDC metadata in SAP Databricks

After you add an SAP data product to a catalog, synced metadata is available across SAP Databricks. Because SAP table and column names are often difficult to interpret, the synced comments, key constraints, and tags help you understand and work with SAP data more effectively.

• Catalog Explorer: View comments, key constraints, and tags in the table and column details. You can filter columns by searching for the contents of their comments, making it easier to find relevant columns.
• SQL: Use DESCRIBE TABLE EXTENDED to view table and column comments and key constraints. Query INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_TAGS to view SAP governance tags.
• Genie Agents: In a Genie Agent that includes SAP BDC tables, users can ask questions in natural language without needing to understand SAP naming conventions.
• Governance: Use synced SAP governance tags in ABAC policies to control access to sensitive data.
• Audit logs: Metadata sync events, including tag assignments, comment updates, and constraint changes, are recorded in audit logs. Use audit logs to track when SAP BDC metadata was ingested or updated in your catalog.