SAP CPI (Cloud Platform Integration) – Managing State in Cloud Integrations
In cloud-based integration scenarios, managing transient or persistent data across multiple message processing steps or across different integration flows is a common challenge. Unlike traditional on-premise middleware, cloud integration platforms such as SAP Cloud Platform Integration (SAP CPI) operate in stateless environments by design, which means that message processing is independent and ephemeral by default.
To support scenarios where data must persist beyond a single message or session—such as caching reference data, storing intermediate states, or maintaining counters—SAP CPI offers Persistent Data Storage capabilities.
This article explores what persistent data storage means in SAP CPI, why it is important, and how to effectively use it in your integration scenarios.
Persistent Data Storage refers to the capability to save and retrieve data that outlives the lifespan of a single message processing instance. It allows integration flows to:
SAP CPI provides persistent storage through its Data Store Operations (DSO) and other storage artifacts that enable durable key-value data storage.
Some use cases where persistent storage is critical include:
SAP CPI provides a dedicated Data Store artifact where you can perform the following operations within an integration flow:
You can create a Data Store in the SAP CPI tenant, and use the Data Store Operations step inside your iFlow to interact with it.
Suppose you want to count how many messages have passed through your iFlow.
Persistent Data Storage in SAP CPI is a powerful feature that enables stateful and advanced integration scenarios in an otherwise stateless cloud environment. By leveraging Data Store Operations and best practices, integration developers can implement caching, message correlation, counting, and other patterns that require data persistence across messages and flows.
Understanding how to effectively use persistent data storage will expand your ability to design robust, scalable, and intelligent integration solutions on SAP Cloud Platform Integration.