In the age of digital transformation, seamless integration between diverse systems is vital for businesses to function efficiently and respond to market demands. SAP Integration Suite, formerly known as SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI), plays a crucial role in connecting cloud and on-premise applications across heterogeneous IT landscapes. Among its many capabilities, one of the most powerful is the ability to build and manage RESTful and SOAP web services for secure, scalable, and real-time data exchange.
This article explores how SAP Integration Suite enables developers to create and expose both RESTful and SOAP web services, covering use cases, architecture, tools, and best practices.
RESTful Web Services are lightweight, stateless, and widely used for web and mobile applications. They use standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and are often preferred for modern, cloud-native integrations.
SOAP Web Services are protocol-based, XML-heavy, and feature-rich, with strong support for security, transaction management, and reliability. They are commonly used in enterprise environments and legacy systems.
SAP Integration Suite supports both formats, enabling interoperability between legacy and modern systems.
To build web services, you use the following key components of SAP Integration Suite:
Once deployed, the iFlow can be accessed via a generated endpoint. You can test it using tools like Postman or cURL.
Use OAuth2 or API Key for authentication, and monitor the traffic and logs in the Monitoring dashboard.
Similar to REST, you can enrich, route, or transform the message using various built-in components and external calls.
Test using SOAP clients like SoapUI, providing the WSDL endpoint and appropriate credentials.
SAP Integration Suite supports WS-Security, SSL, and username/password authentication for SOAP-based integrations.
SAP Integration Suite offers a powerful and flexible platform for creating both RESTful and SOAP web services, bridging the gap between legacy systems and modern cloud applications. Whether you're integrating mobile apps, B2B systems, or internal enterprise applications, SAP Integration Suite provides all the necessary tools, adapters, and governance features to ensure secure, scalable, and efficient communication across your IT landscape.
By following best practices and utilizing SAP’s pre-built content and capabilities, businesses can accelerate their integration projects and support continuous digital innovation.