SAP BTP connectivity helps organisations connect cloud applications with on-premise systems and private cloud services while managing connection settings centrally.
For businesses operating across several environments, it provides a consistent way to handle the technical connections that applications need to perform their work.
Those connections can involve different addresses, authentication methods and network routes. Building and maintaining that logic separately in each application adds complexity. SAP’s unified connectivity capabilities bring together centralised configuration, secure access to private networks and tools that simplify how applications use those connections.
Manage connection settings centrally with SAP Destination service
A destination is a configuration that describes how to reach a target system. It holds details such as the system’s address, the protocol, the authentication method and the route the connection should take.
SAP Destination service manages these configurations separately from the applications that use them. This allows connection settings to be administered centrally and shared between authorised applications.
The service can also handle supported authentication flows, including obtaining OAuth access tokens. Developers can use the resulting token to make a request without implementing the full token-retrieval process themselves.
Administrators can manage destinations through SAP BTP cockpit or programmatically through APIs and automation tools. Destination fragments provide additional flexibility by allowing selected settings to be varied while reusing a base destination.
For IT teams, the benefit is a clearer separation between business functionality and connection configuration. Applications can refer to a defined destination while administrators manage how that destination reaches the target system.
Connect cloud applications to systems in private networks
SAP Connectivity service and SAP Cloud Connector work together to provide access to systems that sit inside private networks.
Cloud Connector runs within the private network and establishes an encrypted tunnel to the cloud-side connectivity components. Administrators define which internal systems and resources cloud applications can access. For supported HTTP scenarios, access can be restricted to particular paths.
This supports connections to systems such as SAP S/4HANA without requiring the target system itself to have a public internet endpoint.
Several Cloud Connectors can connect to the same SAP BTP subaccount. Location identifiers distinguish them, allowing a destination to direct a request through the appropriate connector.
The approach brings private-system access into the same centrally managed connection model, while retaining control over the resources made available.
Use private connections to supported cloud services
SAP Private Link service provides another option for systems and services hosted in hyperscaler accounts, including supported Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud environments.
It uses the cloud provider’s native private networking capabilities to establish connections between selected SAP BTP services and selected services in the customer’s account. Traffic stays within the provider’s network rather than travelling over the public internet.
Private Link therefore addresses connectivity to supported private cloud services, while Cloud Connector provides access to systems within private networks through its tunnel-based approach.
Availability depends on the provider, region, runtime and target service. Supported cross-region connections also depend on the underlying hyperscaler’s capabilities.
Simplify application access with Transparent Proxy
Transparent Proxy brings these capabilities together for applications running in Kubernetes environments, including SAP BTP, Kyma runtime.
The application sends a request using a destination’s name. Transparent Proxy retrieves the relevant configuration, works with the other connectivity services to handle supported authentication requirements and routes the request towards its target.
That target might be a public service, a private SAP system reached through Cloud Connector, or a cloud service reached through Private Link.
For example, an application can request business partner information from SAP S/4HANA through a configured destination. The connectivity components handle the route and authentication, allowing application code to concentrate on the business request.
Where the target interface remains compatible, changes to connection details can be managed through configuration without rewriting the application’s connection logic. Applications still need to account for the target system’s API and any protocol-specific requirements.
Reduce manual certificate administration
Certificate management is another part of maintaining these connections.
SAP Destination service supports both uploaded certificates and certificates generated through the service. Automatic renewal can be enabled for supported SAP-generated certificates, reducing the need for repeated manual updates.
The target system’s trust configuration matters. Accepting renewed certificates without reconfiguration depends on how that system validates them, including whether it trusts the issuer and subject rather than a specific certificate.
Cloud Connector also supports automatic renewal of its subaccount connection certificate when the required settings are enabled in both Cloud Connector and SAP BTP cockpit.
These capabilities reduce recurring administration while keeping certificate handling within the connection-management process.
Support AI applications with controlled connectivity
AI agents also need access to enterprise systems to perform tasks. The same connectivity capabilities can support those interactions by handling routing and authentication through established platform components.
In the Transparent Proxy approach described above, target-system credentials can remain outside the application. This reduces the amount of sensitive connection logic that developers, including those using AI coding tools, need to create and maintain.
It supports a wider approach to secure development on SAP BTP, with access rules and connection settings managed explicitly alongside application requirements.
Discuss your SAP BTP connectivity priorities with On Device Solutions
Centralised configuration, controlled private access and consistent connection handling give organisations a more manageable foundation for applications across hybrid environments.
On Device Solutions (ODS) is an SAP Gold Partner with SAP BTP expertise spanning system integration, business process automation and application development. We help organisations connect SAP and third-party systems as part of their wider business processes.
Reach out to explore your SAP BTP connectivity priorities with an ODS specialist.
