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name: bdc-onboarding description: Use when the user is setting up SAP BDC for the first time, provisioning the tenant, onboarding admins/users, asking about BDC availability/regions/SLAs, or needs a getting-started walkthrough. Trigger phrases include "set up BDC", "onboard BDC", "BDC tenant", "BDC availability", "BDC regions", "BDC getting started", "first time BDC", "provision BDC".

SAP Business Data Cloud Onboarding Guide

Prerequisites & Entitlements

Before provisioning SAP BDC, verify you have:

• S-User ID: Required to access SAP for Me provisioning portal
• Commercial entitlement to SAP Business Data Cloud product package
• Contact person designation: Your sales account executive sends initial invitation email with 7-day validity
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Required for system owner to create bundled identity tenants
• Cloud Foundry environment: Required for BDC tenant deployment and SAP Cloud Identity Services integration

Phase 1: Tenant Provisioning

Access SAP for Me

1. Navigate to SAP for Me (https://me.sap.com)
2. Sign in with your S-User ID credentials
3. Go to Portfolio & Products
4. Locate SAP Business Data Cloud in My Product Packages
5. Access the Provisioning and Integration Dashboard

The Provisioning Dashboard

The dashboard displays:

• Overview tab: Current solutions, quota distribution, auto-provisioned SAP Business Warehouse Private Cloud Edition
• Applications tab: Where you provision solution components (SAP Datasphere, SAP Databricks, SAP Analytics Cloud)
• Solutions tab: Your existing provisioned solutions with status
• Resources tab: Resource hierarchies organized into resource groups and folders
• Customer Landscape tab: Formation configurations for system integration

Allocate Capacity Units

• Total capacity units assigned per contract are shown in the Quota Distribution card
• SAP Warehouse Private Cloud Edition receives its contractual quota automatically
• Allocate remaining units to other solutions (SAP Datasphere, Databricks, etc.) as needed during provisioning
• Note: Each solution component = 1 solution + 1 tenant within a single resource group

Phase 2: Identity Setup (SAP Cloud Identity Services)

Prerequisites for Bundled Identity

• SAP BDC tenant must be Cloud Foundry-based
• Not available for private cloud (AliCloud) or sovereign cloud (NS2)
• System owner must have MFA enabled
• System owner email must match an S-User ID (create one if needed)

Provision SAP Cloud Identity Services Tenant

1. In Identity Provider Administration Tool (identity.sap.com)
2. On your BDC tenant card, select + Add SAP Cloud Identity Services
3. Choose:
   • Provision New SCI Tenant: Auto-matches BDC tenant type (Test, Prod, etc.)
   • Use Existing SCI Tenant: Link to already-provisioned tenant
4. For new tenant: Enter administrator first/last name and email (auto-populated from your account)
5. Confirm and start provisioning (takes up to 1 hour)
6. Monitor progress bar; can close and check status later on tenant card

Configure Authentication

After SCI provisioning completes:

1. Select Configure Authentication
2. Choose User Attribute mapping:
   • USER ID: Map IdP Subject Name Identifier to BDC User ID
   • Email: Map to BDC email address
   • Custom Attribute: Map to custom field (requires manual SAML User Mapping column updates for existing users)
3. (Optional) Enable Dynamic User Creation: New users auto-created with default role upon first login
4. Validate login in test browser (private/guest mode) using provided URL
5. Confirm and finish configuration

Note: Subject Name Identifier is case-sensitive; must match exactly (user@company.com ≠ User@company.com)

Optional: Corporate IdP Federation

Configure SAP Cloud Identity Services to forward SAML authentication to your corporate IdP for centralized identity management.

Phase 3: Initial Login & Account Activation

• Owner role receives Welcome email with activation links (valid 7 days)
• Click activation link to set password; automatically logged in after
• Activation link opens via SAP for Me → BDC Resources tab → main tenant URL
• If activation expires: Use "Forgot password?" on login page with the email address from Welcome email
• If no Welcome email: Check Spam/Junk folders or contact your account executive

Phase 4: User Management & Roles

Core BDC Roles

Role	Permissions
System Owner	Provision/configure tenant, create identity services, manage MFA
BD Administrator	Create/manage users, install intelligent applications, activate data packages, manage roles & privileges
DW Administrator	Manage SAP Datasphere spaces, copy preparation/application spaces, add Modeler users to scoped roles
DW Modeler	Model data in SAP Datasphere, install data products, adjust view sources
Consumer	Read access to published analytics and data in SAP Analytics Cloud stories
Standard Role	Default role assigned to dynamically-created users; auto-created via SAML

Create Users

Users with BD Administrator role can create accounts in:

• Security → Users menu
• Assign roles and set user attributes (User ID, Email, Custom Mapping for SAML)
• For SAML-mapped users, ensure SAML User Mapping column matches your IdP Subject Name Identifier

Create Custom Roles

BD Administrators can create custom roles with specific privileges via:

• Security → Users and Roles → Create Roles
• Define granular permissions for intelligent applications and data products

Phase 5: Install Intelligent Applications

Prerequisites

• Intelligent application entitlement must be active in your global account
• At least one SAP source system tenant (S/4HANA Cloud, BW/4HANA, etc.) exists in a BDC formation
• SAP Note 3607594: Review before installing or updating intelligent applications

Install Process

1. Open SAP Business Data Cloud cockpit
2. Navigate to Intelligent Applications and Data Packages → Available tab
3. Select desired application; review documentation and data products
4. Click Install; Install Options dialog opens
5. Source System: Select SAP system providing business data (connection test runs)
6. System Alias: Auto-assigned to distinguish multi-source installations
7. Business Name (optional): Custom name appended to Datasphere spaces (up to 200 characters)
8. Install Location: Select formation containing source system
9. Click Install

Installation Details

• Status changes to Installation in progress
• Creates 3 protected SAP Datasphere spaces (import connections, replication flows, views, analytic models)
• Starts Initial & Delta load replication flows to keep data fresh
• Creates protected SAP Analytics Cloud workspace with stories
• Completion indicated by Installed status

Post-Installation Admin Steps (Datasphere)

1. Add Modeler users to preparation space scoped role
2. Monitor replication flows for data freshness
3. Configure row-level security in preparation space permissions table (max 5,000 permissions per user)
4. Run delivered task chains as scheduled
5. Add Consumer users to application space scoped role for story/dashboard access

Post-Installation Admin Steps (Analytics Cloud)

• Grant story folder access to same Consumer users
• Configure appropriate workspace permissions

Warning: Install applications sequentially, not in parallel (parallel installation consumes more resources and increases timeout risk).

Phase 6: Activate Data Packages

Prerequisites

• SAP Note 3607594: Check before activation
• Authorization from BD Administrators
• SAP Datasphere space entitlement for modeling

Activation Steps

1. Open SAP Business Data Cloud cockpit
2. Navigate to Intelligent Applications and Data Packages → Packages tab
3. Select package; click Activate
4. Status moves to Active; data products now available in Catalog for consumption

Post-Activation

• Catalog admins: Share data products to consumer spaces
• Datasphere admins: Authorize spaces to install data products
• Datasphere users: Install activated products into their modeling spaces

Optional: Data Product Generator

To replicate SAP BW data into BDC:

1. Configure Data Product Generator in source system
2. Create data subscriptions to receive incremental updates
3. Monitor refresh status in Datasphere

Phase 7: Manage Lifecycle (Updates, Deactivation, Uninstall)

Update Intelligent Applications & Packages

• SAP Note 3607594: Check for update prerequisites before each upgrade
• Status shows Update Available when new version released
• Updates include fixes, improvements, or new KPIs
• Click Update to install latest version

Deactivate Data Packages

• Used when package no longer needed or entitlement expires
• Before deactivating, check with SAP Admin whether entitlement renewal is planned
• BD Administrators perform deactivation via Packages tab

Uninstall Intelligent Applications

• Manual uninstall available when application no longer needed
• Used when entitlement has expired/terminated
• Before uninstalling, consult with SAP Administrator
• Removes all SAP Datasphere spaces and SAP Analytics Cloud content

Service Availability & Regions

Supported Regions (Controlled Release Rollout)

Current deployments across AWS, Azure, GCP hyperscalers:

• AWS: EU (Frankfurt EU10), Australia (AP10), Singapore (AP11), Tokyo (JP10), US East/Virginia (US10), Canada Montreal (CA10), Korea (AP12), Brazil (BR10), US West (US20), US East (US21), Brazil (BR20), Canada (CA20), Switzerland (CH20), Australia (AP20), Singapore (AP21)
• Azure: Europe Amsterdam (EU20), Switzerland (CH20)
• GCP: EU Frankfurt (EU30), India Mumbai (IN30), Saudi Arabia Dammam (SA30/SA31), US Iowa (US30)

Note: Solution component availability varies by region due to compliance/buildout timelines. Contact Account Executive for regional roadmap.

Browser Support

• Google Chrome: Latest version (continuous updates)
• Microsoft Edge: Chromium-based, latest version
• Exceptional instances may limit support; see browser documentation for full requirements

Compliance & Security

• BDC itself is not certified; component certifications apply to SAP Datasphere, SAP Analytics Cloud, BTP
• Data protection: Follows SAP global guidelines; see Personal Data Processing for SAP Cloud Services
• SLA: Refer to Service Level Agreement for SAP Cloud Services (covers uptime, credits, update windows)
• Maintenance windows: Check SAP Help Portal Maintenance Windows for SAP Cloud Services (search for your service)

Common First-Day Pitfalls

1. Activation link expiration: Set password within 7 days of Welcome email
2. SAML identity mismatch: Subject Name Identifier must match BDC user attribute case-sensitively
3. Missing entitlements: Verify intelligent application & data package entitlements before installation
4. Parallel installations: Install applications sequentially to avoid timeouts
5. Permissions not configured: Row-level security requires explicit permission table setup in Datasphere
6. User attribute mapping mismatch: Dynamic user creation requires matching IdP attributes with BDC User ID/Email
7. MFA not enabled: System owner requires MFA for bundled identity services setup
8. Region limitations: Not all features available in all regions; check availability table for limitations

Support & References

• SAP Note 3607594: Prerequisites for installing/updating intelligent applications
• SAP Note 3568017: Providing support user access for troubleshooting
• SAP Note 3619907: Bundled SAP Cloud Identity Services controlled release status
• Contact: Sales Account Executive or Customer Interaction Center (CIC) for provisioning assistance
• Help Portal: https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_BUSINESS_DATA_CLOUD

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References

• references/onboarding.pdf — Complete SAP BDC onboarding guide (35 pages)
• references/availability.pdf — Regions, SLAs, compliance, and browser support (4 pages)