Many enterprises face a critical challenge these days: their most valuable business processes are trapped between legacy on-premise and cloud systems. While full-cloud migrations offer flexibility and scalability, many businesses still rely on stable, deeply integrated on-premise systems.

The question that arises here is: Should you move everything to the cloud or maintain a hybrid setup with on-premise systems? The solution isn't choosing one but connecting both efficiently.

SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) provides the solution to this integration challenge. It enables a hybrid architecture that preserves your on-premise investments while unlocking cloud capabilities.

Let’s explore how to architect robust hybrid integrations using SAP BTP.

Why Choose Hybrid Integration?

Hybrid Integration Architecture is an IT setup that enables systems running in the cloud and those hosted on local company servers (on-premise) to connect, share data, and operate as a unified environment.

Many organizations face a practical challenge: how to innovate with modern cloud technologies while still relying on critical systems that run on-premise. Replacing legacy infrastructure overnight is not always realistic. The reason is high cost, complexity, regulatory requirements, or existing customizations.

That’s where hybrid integration becomes a strategic solution.

Hybrid integration enables companies to enhance the value of their existing on-premises systems by connecting them with cloud applications and services. It creates a bridge that supports data sharing, process automation, and real-time collaboration across environments.

This setup is especially beneficial during digital transformation, where some business functions move to the cloud faster than others. Choosing hybrid integration with tools like SAP BTP also ensures that organizations maintain control over sensitive data while gaining the flexibility to scale, innovate, and adopt new capabilities at their own pace.

Hybrid Integration Architecture Examples:

Hybrid integration can take many forms depending on a company's systems, industry, and business goals. Below are several practical examples that show how cloud and on-premise systems can work together through Hybrid Integration Architecture using SAP BTP:

1. Integrating On-Premise SAP ERP with SAP Analytics Cloud

A company keeps its SAP ECC or SAP S/4HANA system on-premise but connects it to SAP Analytics Cloud using SAP BTP connectivity and data provisioning tools. This allows real-time reporting and dashboards without moving core ERP data to the cloud.

2. Connecting Salesforce (Cloud) with SAP S/4HANA (On-Premise)

Using SAP Integration Suite, organizations can integrate Salesforce with on-premise SAP systems to sync customer records, sales orders, and account data in real-time across both platforms.

3. Exposing On-Premise APIs to Cloud Applications Securely

With SAP Cloud Connector, on-premise services like pricing engines or inventory systems can be securely exposed to cloud apps running on SAP BTP, enabling hybrid workflows without compromising security.

4. Building Cloud Extensions for On-Premise SAP Systems

A business can use SAP BTP Extension Suite to create custom Fiori apps or mobile solutions in the cloud that connect to an on-premise SAP backend, without altering core system logic.

5. Synchronising Master Data Across Hybrid Landscapes

Using SAP Master Data Integration (MDI) on BTP, companies can manage and sync master data like customers, vendors, and materials across on-premise systems and multiple cloud applications.

6. Automating Business Workflows Across Cloud and On-Premise

With SAP Build Process Automation on BTP, companies can automate processes like purchase approvals or invoice matching, where part of the data comes from on-premise systems and part from cloud services.

7. Sending IoT Data from Devices to On-Premise Manufacturing Systems

SAP BTP’s event and messaging services can be used to route IoT data collected in the cloud to on-premise systems like SAP MII (Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) for real-time insights and control.

Real Life SAP BTP Hybrid Architecture Use Case:

Pfizer uses a hybrid IT setup that combines on-premise SAP systems with cloud services through SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). Their core SAP applications run on IBM Power10 servers, which are known for high performance and energy efficiency. At the same time, SAP BTP allows Pfizer to build new apps, automate workflows, and connect systems in the cloud—without changing their main ERP systems.

This setup helps Pfizer keep its most critical systems stable and secure on-premise, while still gaining the flexibility and innovation benefits of the cloud. With over 50,000 users across more than 130 countries and 37 manufacturing plants, Pfizer needs a system that is both powerful and easy to scale. SAP BTP helps make that possible by enabling cloud extensions and seamless integration with on-premise data.

Benefits and Applications of Hybrid Integration with SAP BTP

Hybrid integration with SAP BTP is more than just connecting systems; it is about enabling innovation without disruption. By bridging cloud capabilities with trusted on-premise landscapes, organizations gain the flexibility to modernize at their own pace.

Whether it’s extending core business processes, improving time-to-insight, or unlocking new digital services, SAP BTP provides the tools and architecture to drive measurable business value across hybrid environments.

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Below are some of the core benefits and applications of adopting hybrid integration using SAP BTP:

1. Greater Business Agility

SAP BTP empowers businesses to respond faster to market changes and customer needs by enabling rapid integration of new cloud services with existing on-premise systems.

Whether it's launching a new customer portal, onboarding a third-party service, or automating a business process, SAP BTP's Integration Suite makes it easier to connect disparate systems without starting from scratch.

Visual tools, prebuilt integration content, and support for APIs and events allow teams to move quickly from idea to execution.

2. Flexible and Scalable Architecture

One of the key strengths of SAP BTP is its ability to scale with business demand. Organizations can extend existing investments in on-premise SAP systems while leveraging cloud-native scalability for workloads that require elasticity.

For example, a business can run a lightweight extension app in the SAP BTP Cloud Foundry environment while keeping the core transactional engine on-premises. Only scaling each layer as needed. This flexibility ensures efficient use of resources across both environments.

3. Enhanced Security and Regulatory Compliance

Hybrid integration often involves transferring sensitive data across cloud and on-premise boundaries. SAP BTP addresses this with enterprise-grade security, including SAP Cloud Connector, Identity Authentication, API Management, and role-based access controls.

These tools help enforce secure, policy-based connectivity while ensuring compliance with regional data regulations (such as GDPR or HIPAA). Traffic control measures and bandwidth governance further protect system performance and reduce risk during data-heavy operations.

4. Stronger Collaboration Between IT and Business Users

SAP BTP facilitates better alignment between IT departments and business units by offering low-code/no-code tools within its Extension Suite and Integration Suite.

Business users can contribute to integration projects using intuitive design tools, while IT teams retain governance and oversight. This collaborative approach accelerates project timelines and fosters innovation by enabling domain experts to participate directly in solution development.

Key Considerations Before Choosing Hybrid

Before adopting a hybrid architecture, organizations should weigh some essential factors:

1. System Landscape Complexity

Hybrid setups often include multiple cloud environments (public, private, multi-cloud) alongside legacy on-premise systems. Mapping and managing the dependencies across these environments is more complex than managing a single environment.

A clear inventory of existing systems, interfaces, and workloads helps define what needs to remain on-premise and what can move to the cloud.

2. Security and Compliance

Transmitting data between cloud and on-premise systems raises valid concerns about access control, encryption, and data sovereignty.

SAP BTP provides tools like the Cloud Connector, Destination service, and API Management to enforce security policies. Still, organizations must align these tools with their internal IT governance and compliance frameworks.

3. Integration Lifecycle Management

Integrations are not "set-and-forget." As business processes evolve, interfaces, mappings, and authentication methods need updates. Hybrid architectures require a robust approach to monitoring, versioning, and maintaining integrations across both environments.

SAP Integration Suite provides lifecycle features such as version control, test automation, and monitoring dashboards that work across hybrid setups.

Latency, Bandwidth, and Performance

Latency can become a challenge in hybrid setups, especially for time-sensitive processes like real-time reporting or transactions. It’s important to identify early which tasks need instant responses and which can run with delays. This helps guide the use of event-driven patterns, caching, or queuing.

Bandwidth is another key factor. In hybrid integrations using SAP BTP, limited bandwidth or traffic spikes can slow down critical services. Tools like Linux’s tc (Traffic Control) allow admins to set bandwidth limits and prioritize traffic, helping maintain performance during peak loads.

Conclusion

Hybrid integration architecture enables organizations to get the best of both worlds: the stability of on-premise systems and the innovation of the cloud.

SAP BTP, with its integration, connectivity, and extension services, provides the foundation to build secure, scalable, and flexible hybrid landscapes.

Choosing the right pattern, API-led, event-driven, data sync, or orchestration, depends on your business case. By following best practices in security, governance, and monitoring, you can ensure that your hybrid architecture remains robust and future-ready.

SAP BTP is not just a middleware layer. It’s a strategic platform that enables enterprise agility across hybrid environments. With careful planning and design, it can bridge the gap between where your systems are and where your business wants to go.