SAP Gateway primarily enables the creation and exposure of OData services for SAP’s ABAP-based backend systems. However, many enterprises have heterogeneous landscapes where data and processes reside not only in SAP ABAP systems but also in non-ABAP systems such as Java applications, databases, cloud platforms, or legacy systems. To enable seamless integration across these diverse systems, SAP Gateway supports connecting to non-ABAP systems using connectors.
This article explores how SAP Gateway connects to non-ABAP systems, the available connectors, and best practices for designing OData services that bridge SAP with non-ABAP backends.
SAP Gateway can interact with non-ABAP backends via several mechanisms and connectors:
SAP Gateway can consume external OData or SOAP services using the OData Consumer proxy or SOAP Consumer proxy generated in the SAP backend. This allows Gateway to forward requests or aggregate data from external sources.
Step 1: Create OData Service in SEGW
Customers) but implement data retrieval logic via HTTP calls.Step 2: Implement Data Provider Extension
GET_ENTITY or GET_ENTITYSET.METHOD customers_get_entityset.
DATA: lo_http_client TYPE REF TO if_http_client,
lv_url TYPE string,
lv_response TYPE string.
lv_url = 'https://api.nonabapsystem.com/customers'.
CALL METHOD cl_http_client=>create_by_url
EXPORTING
url = lv_url
IMPORTING
client = lo_http_client
EXCEPTIONS
argument_not_found = 1
plugin_not_active = 2
internal_error = 3
OTHERS = 4.
IF sy-subrc <> 0.
" handle error
ENDIF.
lo_http_client->send( ).
lo_http_client->receive( ).
lv_response = lo_http_client->response->get_cdata( ).
" Parse JSON response and map to OData entities
CALL METHOD /iwbep/if_mgw_conv_srv_runtime~deserialize
EXPORTING
iv_content_type = 'application/json'
iv_data = lv_response
IMPORTING
eo_data = er_entityset.
ENDMETHOD.
Step 3: Map External Data to OData Model
Connecting SAP Gateway to non-ABAP systems using connectors enables organizations to build integrated, flexible, and scalable solutions that unify data from diverse systems under a single OData API layer. By leveraging HTTP connectors, proxy consumption, or middleware platforms, SAP Gateway serves as a powerful enabler for enterprise digital transformation across heterogeneous landscapes.