Possible ways to extract data from SAP Reports (Transaction Data) to ADLS Gen2

Question

Hello,

I want to extract SAP ECC transaction data into ADLS Gen2. I have multiple transaction codes (T-codes) for generating reports, such as ME5A and ME2N, and I want to fetch the data from these reports into ADLS. However, it seems that Azure Data Factory (ADF) does not provide a direct way to extract data from SAP reports, as its connectors are designed to fetch data directly from SAP tables.

Given this limitation, I am exploring the best possible ways to automate this extraction process without manual downloads. Here are the options I have considered:

1. Python Scripting:
   • Using Python scripts on a dedicated VM to automate the extraction of SAP reports.
2. Theobald Software:
   • Utilizing Theobald's Xtract Universal for Azure to extract data from SAP and load it into ADLS Gen2.
3. SAP Data Services (SAP DS):
   • Employing SAP Data Services to extract data from SAP ECC and load it into ADLS Gen2. While this may serve my purpose but for non-SAP sources I will again have to look for another extractor shooting up my cost.

Could you provide guidance on these options or suggest any other solutions that would allow me to automate the extraction of SAP ECC transaction data into ADLS Gen2 using the specified T-codes for report generation?

Answer 1

Hello Sulagno Roy,

Greetings! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Platform.

Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics pipelines provide several SAP connectors to support a wide variety of data extraction scenarios from SAP.

The following table shows the SAP connectors and in which activity scenarios they're supported as well as notes section for supported version information or other notes.

Data store	Copy activity (source/sink)	Mapping Data Flow (source/sink)	Lookup Activity	Notes
SAP Business Warehouse Open Hub	✓/−		✓	SAP Business Warehouse version 7.01 or higher. This connector doesn't support SAP BW/4HANA.
SAP Business Warehouse Open Hub	✓/−		✓	SAP Business Warehouse version 7.01 or higher. This connector doesn't support SAP BW/4HANA.
SAP Business Warehouse via MDX	✓/−		✓	SAP Business Warehouse version 7.x.
SAP CDC		✓/-		Can connect to all SAP releases supporting SAP Operational Data Provisioning (ODP). You can use the connector with most SAP ECC and SAP BW releases, as well as SAP S/4HANA, SAP BW/4HANA and SAP Landscape Transformation Replication Server (SLT). Regarding prerequisites for the SAP source system, follow SAP system requirements. For details on the connector, follow Overview and architecture of the SAP CDC capabilities
SAP Cloud for Customer (C4C)	✓/✓		✓	SAP Cloud for Customer including the SAP Cloud for Sales, SAP Cloud for Service, and SAP Cloud for Social Engagement solutions.
SAP ECC	✓/−		✓	SAP ECC on SAP NetWeaver version 7.0 and later.
SAP HANA	✓/✓		✓	Any version of SAP HANA database
SAP Table	✓/−		✓	SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) version 7.01 or later. SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) version 7.01 or later. SAP S/4HANA. Other products in SAP Business Suite version 7.01 or later.

This article outlines how to use the copy activity in Azure Data Factory to copy data from SAP Enterprise Central Component (ECC). For more information, see Copy activity overview.

SAP Data Services is a powerful ETL tool that can extract data from SAP ECC and load it into ADLS Gen2. It offers extensive capabilities for data transformation and integration. However, as you mentioned, it might increase costs if you need to handle non-SAP sources separately. Alternatively, you can also consider Bryte Flow or Theobald's Xtract Universal. These tools are designed to simplify the extraction process and provide robust support for SAP data sources.

Hope the above information helps! Please do let us know if you have any further queries. I’m happy to assist you further.

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