SAP Acquires Dremio: A New Era for Enterprise Data and Agentic AI

Most enterprise AI projects do not fail because the models are inadequate. Even the best model cannot make up for data that is fragmented across systems, locked in proprietary formats, and stripped of the business context that makes it useful. It is data readiness – not the algorithm itself – that ultimately determines whether an AI project moves beyond a pilot. SAP recognised this and on May 4, 2026, announced its intention to acquire Dremio – an open-standards data lakehouse platform. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2026.

At Apollogic, we track this space closely. Here is what the acquisition means for the future of analytics and AI in SAP environments.

What Is Dremio and What Does It Bring to the SAP Ecosystem?

Dremio is an Agentic Lakehouse platform that combines the flexibility of a data lake with the performance of a data warehouse. In practice, analysts and AI agents can query data from dozens of different sources simultaneously – without copying, moving, or running costly ETL pipelines.

Key capabilities:

• Zero-ETL data federation: data stays where it is (cloud, on-premise, legacy systems), while Dremio provides unified analytical access in real time.
• Apache Iceberg as the core: an open, industry-standard table format that lets multiple engines – such as Spark, Trino, or Flink – work on the same data at the same time, safely and without the need for separate copies.
• AI Semantic Layer: a business context layer that gives AI agents a shared understanding of what each metric or field means, eliminating misinterpretation at the source.
• Serverless architecture: infrastructure scales automatically with workload, removing fixed capacity costs.

Why Did SAP Make This Move?

SAP has always managed data within its own systems well. The challenge was everything outside them. According to Philipp Herzig, CTO of SAP SE, enterprise AI projects do not stall because the models are inadequate – they stall because the data is not ready for autonomous agents to act on. The Dremio acquisition directly addresses that bottleneck.

What this means for SAP customers:

• SAP Business Data Cloud becomes Iceberg-native: SAP and non-SAP data can coexist in one open environment – forming the foundation for building AI agents.
• Breaking down data silos: AI agents like SAP Joule gain instant, governed access to operational, financial, and external data simultaneously.
• Open standards over vendor lock-in: SAP is committing to Apache Iceberg, Apache Polaris, and Apache Arrow – open-source technologies used across the industry.

New Data Architecture: What Changes for IT and Business?

A side-by-side comparison illustrates the scale of the shift:

Impact on the SAP Ecosystem: Apollogic’s Perspective

The integration of Dremio into the SAP platform will directly affect the tools we work with alongside our clients every day:

• SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud: will gain the ability to handle real-time data across sources, bypassing structural barriers.
• SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform): will become an even more open environment for advanced AI and process automation scenarios.
• SAP Joule and AI in SAP: autonomous agents will have a stable foundation in the form of a unified SAP Knowledge Graph, improving recommendation accuracy and supporting regulatory compliance.

What’s more, our specialists are already earning Dremio certifications – so we’re ready to guide you through this change from day one.

Let’s Talk About Your SAP Environment

SAP’s acquisition of Dremio is a clear market signal: the future of successful AI deployments depends on data openness and readiness. Although the deal closes in Q3 2026, now is the right time to start planning your data architecture strategy.

Want to discuss what this means for your SAP environment?

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