Placeholder image

SAP connectivity options with Fabric

| Ulrich Christ | Bartosz Jarkowski |

Fabric Data

YouTube

Anchor

Spotify

Apple

Episode #249

Introduction

In episode 249 of our SAP on Azure video podcast we talk about data again. In previous epiosdes we talked alot about what you can do with AI, Copilot and your SAP data. We see a lot of customers that have their SAP data in Fabric and let the magic begin. However, the first step for this integration is to get the data in Fabric and today we want to summarize several options to do that. To provide us with this overview, I am glad to have Ulrich Christ and Bartosz Jarkowski with us.

Find all the links mentioned here: https://www.saponazurepodcast.de/episode249

Reach out to us for any feedback / questions:

#Microsoft #SAP #Azure #SAPonAzure #Fabric #Data

Summary created by AI

  • Holger introduced the episode and the main topic of integrating SAP data into Microsoft Fabric. He welcomed Ulrich Christ and Bartosz Jarkowski, who will provide insights on the topic.
    • Episode Introduction: Holger introduced the episode, mentioning it is the 249th episode of the SAP on Azure video podcast, dated July 9th. He highlighted the main topic of integrating SAP data into Microsoft Fabric and welcomed Ulrich Christ and Bartosz Jarkowski as guests to provide insights on the topic.
    • Guest Introductions: Holger invited Ulrich and Bartosz to introduce themselves. Ulrich Christ, a product manager in the Microsoft Data Integration team, explained his role in SAP connectivity and data integration into Azure. Bartosz Jarkowski, a program manager in the CPX and Innovate team, described his focus on helping customers extract actionable insights from SAP data and integrating it with new technologies like AI.
  • Overview of Microsoft Fabric:
  • Ulrich Christ provided an overview of Microsoft Fabric, describing it as a comprehensive software as a service platform for data. He highlighted its components, including Data Factory, Data Engineering, Data Warehouse, Data Science, Real-Time Intelligence, and Power BI, all powered by AI and unified storage layer OneLake.
    • Fabric Overview: Ulrich described Microsoft Fabric as a comprehensive SaaS platform for data, covering data integration, engineering, warehousing, science, real-time intelligence, and Power BI. He emphasized the unified storage layer, OneLake, which allows seamless data exchange without copying.
    • Components of Fabric: Ulrich detailed the components of Microsoft Fabric, including Data Factory for data integration, Data Engineering for notebook experiences, Data Warehouse for relational data, Data Science and Machine Learning capabilities, and Power BI for real-time intelligence. He highlighted the integration of AI throughout the platform.
    • Unified Storage: Ulrich explained the unified storage layer, OneLake, which underpins all components of Microsoft Fabric. This layer ensures that all workloads use the same data format, facilitating seamless data exchange and eliminating the need for data copying.
  • Data Factory in Microsoft Fabric:
  • Ulrich explained the integration of Data Factory in Microsoft Fabric, emphasizing its capabilities for data integration, data movement, orchestration, transformation, and deployment. He highlighted the unified user experience and openness to third-party tools.
    • Data Factory Capabilities: Ulrich highlighted Data Factory’s capabilities within Microsoft Fabric, including data integration, movement, orchestration, transformation, and deployment. He emphasized the unified user experience and the platform’s openness to third-party tools.
    • Integration and Orchestration: Ulrich explained that Data Factory integrates various data sources and orchestrates data workflows. It supports both UI-driven and script-oriented approaches, catering to different user preferences and skill levels.
    • Openness to Third-Party Tools: Ulrich emphasized Microsoft Fabric’s openness to third-party tools, allowing integration with existing toolsets and enabling customers to leverage their preferred technologies alongside Fabric’s capabilities.
  • SAP Connectivity Options:
  • Ulrich discussed the three main approaches for SAP connectivity in Microsoft Fabric: built-in connectors, partner ecosystem, and SAP + Microsoft integrations. He emphasized the importance of providing comprehensive connectivity to serve all standard SAP use cases and the openness to third-party tools.
    • Three Connectivity Approaches: Ulrich outlined three main approaches for SAP connectivity in Microsoft Fabric: built-in connectors, partner ecosystem, and SAP + Microsoft integrations. He emphasized the goal of providing comprehensive connectivity to serve all standard SAP use cases.
    • Built-in Connectors: Ulrich explained that Microsoft Fabric includes built-in connectors for standard SAP use cases, aiming to achieve feature parity with Azure Data Factory. These connectors are designed to be easy to set up and use.
    • Partner Ecosystem: Ulrich highlighted the role of the partner ecosystem in enhancing SAP connectivity. He mentioned collaborations with various partners to integrate their solutions with Microsoft Fabric, providing additional capabilities and flexibility for customers.
    • SAP + Microsoft Integrations: Ulrich discussed the integration between SAP and Microsoft, focusing on enabling customers to leverage both ecosystems. He mentioned ongoing efforts to enhance these integrations, particularly for larger customers with multiple analytic ecosystems.
  • Built-in SAP Connectors:
  • Ulrich described the built-in SAP connectors available in Microsoft Fabric for self-service and professional data integration use cases. He mentioned the SAP BW and SAP HANA connectors, which provide access to BW, S/4HANA analytic layer, HANA tables, views, and calculation views.
    • Self-Service Connectors: Ulrich described the self-service SAP connectors in Microsoft Fabric, including the SAP BW connector, which can be used for both BW and S/4HANA analytic layer. He explained that these connectors allow business users to connect to SAP data and perform data wrangling and transformations without IT involvement.
    • Professional Connectors: Ulrich detailed the professional SAP connectors in Microsoft Fabric, such as the SAP HANA connector, which provides access to HANA tables, views, and calculation views. These connectors are designed for more complex data integration scenarios and support advanced features like partitioning and filtering.
    • Integration with Data Factory: Ulrich emphasized that the built-in SAP connectors in Microsoft Fabric achieve feature parity with Azure Data Factory, ensuring that customers can seamlessly integrate SAP data into their data workflows within Fabric.
  • Professional Data Integration:
  • Ulrich explained the feature parity of built-in SAP connectors in Microsoft Fabric with Azure Data Factory for professional data integration use cases. He listed the SAP HANA, SAP Table, SAP BW OpenHub, SAP ECC, and SAP C4C connectors.
    • Feature Parity: Ulrich explained that the built-in SAP connectors in Microsoft Fabric achieve feature parity with Azure Data Factory, ensuring that customers can use the same advanced features for professional data integration, such as partitioning, filtering, and change data capture.
    • Connector Types: Ulrich listed the types of SAP connectors available in Microsoft Fabric, including SAP HANA, SAP Table, SAP BW OpenHub, SAP ECC, and SAP C4C connectors. These connectors support a wide range of data integration scenarios.
    • Use Cases: Ulrich discussed various use cases for the professional SAP connectors, such as integrating SAP data into data warehouses, performing complex transformations, and enabling real-time analytics. He emphasized the robustness and maturity of these connectors, which have been extensively used in Azure Data Factory.
  • Partner Ecosystem:
  • Ulrich discussed the integration of third-party solutions with Microsoft Fabric, highlighting the collaboration with partners like AecorSoft, HASAPIO, dab, Simplement, SNP, and THEOBALD SOFTWARE. He explained the proprietary data extraction capabilities and support for OneLake.
    • Partner Collaborations: Ulrich highlighted the collaboration with various partners, including AecorSoft, HASAPIO, dab, Simplement, SNP, and THEOBALD SOFTWARE, to integrate their solutions with Microsoft Fabric. These partnerships enhance the platform’s capabilities and provide additional options for customers.
    • Data Extraction Capabilities: Ulrich explained that the partner solutions offer proprietary data extraction capabilities, allowing customers to leverage specialized tools for extracting SAP data. These tools support various data formats and integration scenarios.
    • Support for OneLake: Ulrich mentioned that the partner solutions support integration with OneLake, Microsoft Fabric’s unified storage layer. This integration ensures that data extracted using partner tools can be seamlessly ingested and utilized within Fabric.
  • Open Mirroring:
  • Ulrich introduced the concept of open mirroring, which allows third-party tools to integrate with Fabric for Change Data Capture. He described the process of landing change data in a landing zone and Fabric’s mirror engine merging changes with sink tables.
    • Open Mirroring Concept: Ulrich introduced open mirroring, a framework that allows third-party tools to integrate with Microsoft Fabric for Change Data Capture (CDC). This framework enables near real-time replication of data from source systems to Fabric.
    • Change Data Capture: Ulrich explained the process of Change Data Capture (CDC) in open mirroring. Third-party tools capture changes in the source system and land the change data in a landing zone within Fabric. The mirror engine then merges these changes with the sink tables, ensuring data consistency.
    • Integration with Third-Party Tools: Ulrich highlighted that open mirroring allows third-party tools to integrate seamlessly with Fabric, providing flexibility for customers to use their preferred data extraction and replication tools while benefiting from Fabric’s CDC capabilities.
  • Open Mirroring Partner Ecosystem:
  • Ulrich provided an overview of the open mirroring partner ecosystem for SAP, mentioning the availability of five partner solutions specifically for SAP sources since May 2025.
    • Partner Solutions: Ulrich mentioned the availability of five partner solutions for SAP sources within the open mirroring framework since May 2025. These partners include AecorSoft, HASAPIO, dab, Simplement, SNP, and THEOBALD SOFTWARE.
    • Integration with SAP: Ulrich explained that these partner solutions are specifically designed for SAP data sources, providing robust and reliable data extraction and replication capabilities. The integration with open mirroring ensures near real-time data synchronization with Fabric.
    • Customer Adoption: Ulrich noted that several large customers have already started using these partner solutions to integrate their SAP data into Microsoft Fabric, leveraging the open mirroring framework for seamless data replication and synchronization.
  • SAP + Microsoft Integration:
  • Ulrich discussed the current integration options between SAP and Microsoft, focusing on SAP Datasphere Premium Outbound Integration. He explained the process of using replication flows to connect SAP source systems and land data in Azure Datalake Gen2, which can then be accessed in Fabric.
    • Datasphere Integration: Ulrich discussed the integration between SAP Datasphere and Microsoft Fabric, focusing on the Premium Outbound Integration feature. This feature allows replication flows to connect SAP source systems and land data in Azure Datalake Gen2.
    • Data Landing Process: Ulrich explained the process of landing data from SAP source systems into Azure Datalake Gen2 using SAP Datasphere. The data can then be accessed and utilized within Microsoft Fabric, enabling seamless integration between the two platforms.
    • Current Capabilities: Ulrich noted that while the current integration allows data to be landed in Azure Datalake Gen2, there is ongoing work to enhance the integration and provide more seamless end-to-end mirroring experiences for customers.
  • Future Integration Plans:
  • Holger and Ulrich mentioned ongoing discussions to enhance the integration between SAP Datasphere and Microsoft Fabric, aiming to provide a seamless end-to-end mirroring experience for customers.
    • Ongoing Discussions: Holger and Ulrich mentioned that there are ongoing discussions between SAP and Microsoft to enhance the integration between SAP Datasphere and Microsoft Fabric. The goal is to provide a seamless end-to-end mirroring experience for customers.
    • Customer Demand: Ulrich emphasized that there is significant customer demand for improved integration between SAP Datasphere and Microsoft Fabric. Customers are looking for more seamless ways to integrate and synchronize their data across both platforms.
  • Next Steps:
  • Holger and Bartosz discussed the next steps, including a future episode focusing on customer use cases and how they build interactive dashboards and use new technologies within Fabric.
    • Future Episode: Holger and Bartosz discussed plans for a future episode that will focus on customer use cases. This episode will explore how customers build interactive dashboards and leverage new technologies within Microsoft Fabric.
    • Customer Use Cases: Bartosz mentioned that the future episode will highlight specific customer use cases, demonstrating how they utilize SAP data within Microsoft Fabric to create actionable insights and enhance their data analytics capabilities.

Links

Video index

Based on and using Hugo Cookbook Theme, Font Awesome Icons and Bulma CSS. | Thanks to Recipes4AJ to get me started. | Contact me via