SAP Zero Copy Does Not Mean Zero Cost: What Companies Should Consider

The announcement of SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) and its associated Zero Copy capabilities has attracted significant attention across many organizations.. At first glance, the message is compelling: data no longer needs to be copied, remains at its source, and can still be used for analytics and AI. Less data movement, less complexity, lower costs. However, this is also where a common misconception often arises.

SAP Zero Copy means that no physical copy of the data is created. It does not automatically mean that providing and using the data is free of charge. SAP itself applies a consumption-based pricing model for zero-copy scenarios.

What Does SAP Zero Copy Mean?

In the context of SAP Business Data Cloud, SAP Zero Copy refers to the ability to make data products available between SAP and supported external platforms. SAP and Microsoft have announced a corresponding integration with Microsoft Fabric. Before making an architectural decision, companies should review the latest availability status and scope of functionality.

This approach offers several benefits:

• Fewer additional data copies
• Faster provisioning of existing data products
• Less synchronization effort
• Centrally defined and semantically enriched SAP data products

From a technical perspective, this is an interesting approach. From an economic perspective, however, the discussion does not end with the question of whether data is copied.

Is SAP Zero Copy Free?

No. “Zero Copy” primarily describes the technical method of accessing data and should not be confused with “Zero Cost.”

Under the new BDC licensing model, usage is billed through Capacity Units (CUs). The “SAP Business Data Cloud Connect” service is used for Zero Copy and Delta Sharing scenarios. Actual consumption depends on the service used, usage patterns, and the applicable SAP licensing terms. Depending on the scenario, Capacity Units may be incurred for providing and using the data. The SAP Business Data Cloud Capacity Unit Estimator provides an initial indication of potential consumption.

According to SAP, costs can arise for:

• Network Data Transfer
• Processing Requests (API calls)

The consumption values that apply to a specific scenario should be checked using the current SAP Business Data Cloud Capacity Unit Estimator. This makes one thing clear: even if no additional data storage is required, costs can still arise from providing and using the data. The SAP Business Data Cloud Capacity Unit Estimator shows that Capacity Units may also be taken into account for SAP Business Data Cloud Connect. Actual requirements depend on the assumptions made for the individual scenario and should therefore be calculated based on the expected data volumes and usage patterns.

Which Costs Should Companies Consider in the Long Term?

For organizations looking to establish Microsoft Fabric as their central analytics and AI platform, one question is particularly important:

Should SAP data continue to be provided through a usage-based sharing service, or would a transparent architecture with predictable costs be more suitable?

The integration with Microsoft Fabric is currently still in the rollout phase. General Availability (GA), originally announced for the third quarter of 2026, has now been postponed until the end of the first quarter of 2027. Companies should therefore check the latest availability status before making an architectural decision.

As data volumes grow, access becomes more frequent, or additional AI use cases are introduced, consumption patterns can change significantly. Organizations should therefore model different usage scenarios, regularly compare them with actual consumption, and continuously monitor the resulting costs. For CFOs, procurement teams, and IT decision-makers looking to use SAP data in Microsoft Fabric for analytics, reporting, and AI over the long term, the method of data transfer is therefore not the only consideration. What matters is whether the overall SAP-Fabric architecture can be operated transparently, predictably, and cost-effectively in the long term.

Alternative Architecture: Providing SAP Data Directly in Microsoft Fabric

In addition to Zero Copy scenarios, companies can selectively extract relevant SAP data and make it permanently available in Microsoft Fabric. This approach deliberately creates a copy of the data in OneLake, but in return makes the data available independently of the SAP source environment for analytics, reporting, and AI scenarios.

This approach can be implemented with dab Nexus. The solution makes data from SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA directly available in Microsoft Fabric. When connecting via RFC, an SAP-certified add-on is installed in the SAP system. No changes to the SAP standard are required. Alternatively, dab Nexus also supports connectivity via OData. The subscription-based licensing model of dab Nexus is not tied to the volume of data transferred or the number of records extracted. In addition to the license, however, companies should also consider the costs of operations, Microsoft Fabric, storage, and data transfer.

Predictable Costs with dab Nexus

While the Capacity Units required for SAP Business Data Cloud Connect can vary depending on usage, dab Nexus is based on a subscription-based licensing model. This allows companies to calculate their software licensing costs in advance. Depending on the architecture, additional costs may apply for operations, Microsoft Fabric, storage, and any additional licensed connections.

Open Mirroring as a Target for Data Provisioning

This approach becomes particularly interesting when combined with Microsoft Fabric Open Mirroring. This is not Zero Copy. The data is deliberately replicated to Microsoft Fabric, where it is then available for downstream analytics, reporting, and AI scenarios. According to the current Microsoft documentation, Fabric compute used for replication is not charged. However, capacity-dependent limits apply to storage.

The result:

• Data resides directly within the Microsoft environment
• AI and analytics workloads can access the data directly
• No consumption-based fees apply to data provisioning via dab Nexus

Conclusion: Comparing the Total Cost of SAP Zero Copy

SAP Zero Copy can avoid additional physical data replication. However, it does not automatically reduce costs.

SAP charges for the use of Delta Sharing through Capacity Units for data transfer and processing requests. Companies should therefore look beyond the technical architecture and evaluate the total operating costs over several years.

For companies looking to establish Microsoft Fabric as their central data platform, dab Nexus offers an attractive alternative:

• SAP-certified data extraction
• Support for SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA
• Direct SAP data provisioning in Microsoft Fabric
• Subscription-based software licensing rather than volume-based dab Nexus licensing
• Support for Microsoft Fabric Open Mirroring

SAP Zero Copy and direct data provisioning each have different strengths. The key is to determine which approach best meets the business requirements, existing platform strategy, and expected total costs.

Work with our experts to determine which approach best fits your SAP and Microsoft Fabric architecture.