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Databricks and Microsoft have recently announced an extension of their multi-year partnership, aiming to empower organizations to harness data and artificial intelligence (AI) more effectively. This collaboration builds upon their existing relationship, introducing deeper integrations and new product developments designed to facilitate intelligent business transformation.
A significant aspect of this partnership is the introduction of native integrations between Azure Databricks, Azure AI Foundry, and Microsoft Power Platform. These integrations are intended to provide a unified, open, and governed platform for data and AI on Azure Databricks, enabling organizations to innovate more rapidly. Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and CEO of Databricks, emphasized the importance of this development, stating, "We are entering a new era where every application will be intelligent, and every business will be data-driven."
Another notable development is the upcoming release of SAP Databricks on Azure. This initiative aims to integrate Databricks' data intelligence platform within SAP's Business Data Cloud, combining SAP's expertise in mission-critical processes with Databricks' data engineering capabilities. Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, highlighted the potential impact, noting that this collaboration "unleashes the full value of enterprise data for Business AI."
The extended partnership also focuses on continuous improvements to the Azure Databricks platform to meet the evolving demands of AI. This includes enhancements to interoperability across the Azure ecosystem, from Azure AI Foundry and Power Platform to SAP. Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft, underscored the significance of these efforts, stating, "By deepening our long-standing partnership with Databricks and enhancing interoperability, we are delivering significant value to enterprise and IT developers."
In addition to these developments, Databricks has announced the launch of SAP Databricks, a strategic product that natively integrates the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform within the newly launched SAP Business Data Cloud. This partnership aims to combine SAP's business data with Databricks' platform for data warehousing, data engineering, and AI, all governed by Databricks Unity Catalog.
Furthermore, SAP has introduced SAP Business Data Cloud, a solution that unifies all SAP and third-party data throughout an organization, providing a trusted data foundation for impactful decisions and reliable AI. This solution harmonizes data from mission-critical applications with data engineering and business analytics capabilities, paving the way for next-level innovation and insights.
These collaborative efforts between Databricks, Microsoft, and SAP signify a concerted push towards enabling organizations to leverage their data assets more effectively, fostering innovation, and accelerating the adoption of AI-driven solutions.

Source: Technology Record https://www.technologyrecord.com/article/databricks-extends-multi-year-partnership-with-microsoft-to-help-organisations-harness-data-and-ai/