BDEx Connect exposes the functionality of our Customer-Centric Hub as an OData Service. This enables external systems outside of SAP IS-U to leverage the real time, customer centric information available in BDEx. Typical applications of this could be to integrate BDEx with SAP C4C or external non SAP systems.
This means that regardless of technology, platform or application, BDEx Connect provides answers to questions about customers (or accounts, or other Master Data objects) using the universally-accepted and browser-friendly language of HTTP without the need for complex interfaces, file formats or even operational scheduling.
With BDEx Connect, common questions such as:
Q. ‘What open work needs to be resolved for this Customer?’
Q. ‘What is the current open balance of the Customer’s Account?’
Q. ‘What was the last bill sent to the Customer?’
become simple HTTP requests instead:
> GET: BusinessPartnerSet(‘[BP Number]’)/ToWorkRequests?
> GET: ContractAccountSet(‘[CA Number]’)/ToOpenBalanceFromCA?
> GET: BusinessPartnerSet(‘[BP Number]’)/ToLastInvoiceFromBP?
BDEx Connect possesses an Entity Model replete with technical objects designed to expose the capabilities of BDEx functionality as well as more Business-oriented objects that encapsulate common functions and services normally expected of SAP Utilities implementations.
In this way we provide access to features such as full Master Data Context building from a single Master Data Object reference, whilst at the same time being able to answer specific Business questions using familiar entities, attributes and navigational properties that are simple to understand.
Similarly, we can provide a set of Customer-related Note texts from a range of sources stored deep within the entire SAP Estate (e.g. SAP IS-U and SAP CRM) by processing a single HTTP request: GET: MasterDataObjectSet(‘[MD Object Type][MD Object Key]’)/ToNotesFromMDObj?
How this OData Service is exposed in the Client’s System Landscape is also entirely flexible, thus allowing for various degrees of data security to be met without compromise.
SAP Gateway provides an open, REST-based interface that implements simple access to SAP systems via the Open Data Protocol (OData) released under the Microsoft Open Specification Promise (OSP) for querying and updating data.
OData builds on broadly known and used industry standards such as Atom Publishing Protocol (AtomPub), XML, and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), which makes it easier to understand and use.
It’s consistent with the way the web works and follows its core principles, allowing for a new level of data integration and interoperability across traditional platform and manufacturer boundaries.
It’s easy to understand and extensible, and provides consumers with a predictable interface for accessing a variety of data sources.
In short, OData can be seen as Online Database Connectivity (ODBC) for the web. It opens up the silos of traditional IT and increases the value of data by allowing for easier and broader data access.
The diagram below shows how SAP Gateway can act as a single solution that replaces all other point-to-point solutions:
You can find a User Experience Explorer website dedicated to SAP Gateway here.
The SAP Help Portal for SAP Gateway can be found here.
The SAP Community Network for SAP Gateway can be found here.
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