Introduction
ERPL is a suite of extensions for DuckDB, specifically designed to seamlessly connect to SAP’s standard interfaces. Our primary goal is to simplify the creation of scalable data pipelines and analytics solutions atop core enterprise data. We achieve this by providing a simple, SQL-based interface to SAP systems, enabling users to leverage DuckDB’s exceptional performance and native integrations. For the curios, ERPL stands for “(E)nterprise (R)esource (P)lanning (L)oader”.
Our target audience are data engineers, data analysts, and data scientists who want to leverage the power of DuckDB to build scalable data pipelines and analytics solutions on top of SAP data. We also target SAP consultants who want to use DuckDB as a data exploration tool for SAP systems.
DuckDB is an open-source, in-process OLAP database championed by the DuckDB community and DuckDB Labs. Its standout feature is its exceptional performance, transforming regular laptops or single servers into powerful analytical data warehouses. Furthermore, it boasts extensive native and third-party integrations, granting users access to a diverse ecosystem of data tools, languages, and libraries. On top it is super easy to use and install. For more information, please refer to the DuckDB website.
It’s essential to clarify that DataZoo, the company behind ERPL, operates independently of DuckDB Labs. We’re a dedicated team of data engineers and scientists with a deep passion for data and analytics. While we have no official affiliation with DuckDB Labs, we wholeheartedly support their project and aim to broaden its potential applications and success.
ERPL’s Connection to SAP Ecosystem
The SAP ecosystem is expansive and multifaceted, encompassing numerous products and services. Several standard interfaces are particularly significant for data analytics. In this section, we’ll outline these interfaces and delineate ERPL’s relationship with each.
SAP RFC
The RFC interface serves as a foundational way to connect with SAP systems. Originating with SAP Netweaver’s early R/3 days, this proprietary binary protocol facilitates calls to both remote-enabled function modules (BAPIs) and remote function modules (RFMs) within SAP systems. Being foundational, the RFC interface underpins many of SAP’s higher-tier protocols. In this sense we provide also a simple interface to read SAP tables and views in a scalable way.
Our open-source DuckDB extension is freely available and serves as the bedrock for all other ERPL extensions. To delve deeper into its usage, please consult the RFC extension documentation.
SAP BICS
BICS, or Business Intelligence Consumer Services, is a proprietary interface tailored for connections to SAP Business Warehouse (BW) systems. Rooted in the RFC interface, it’s instrumental in executing queries on SAP BW systems and underlies products such as Analysis for Office (AO) and SAP BusinessObjects.
We’ve developed a DuckDB extension that facilitates connections to SAP BW, allows navigation through BW metadata, and enables query manipulation and execution. For an in-depth look at its application, refer to the BICS extension documentation. Although this extension is currently work in progress, it will transition to a subscription model, available at a reasonable monthly rate.
SAP ODP
Operational Data Provisioning (ODP) is an SAP-native protocol designed for data extraction and replication. Integral to products like SAP Data Services and SAP Data Intelligence, this interface is present in SAP BW, SAP ERP, and SAP S/4HANA systems.
Our extension functions as an ODP client, establishing connections to SAP BW, SAP ERP, and SAP S/4HANA systems and enabling data extraction and replication from ODP sources for integration into DuckDB. For comprehensive insights into its capabilities, see the ODP extension documentation. Similar to the BICS extension, while it’s presently work in progress, it will soon be available as a subscription-based service at a fair monthly cost.
Documentation Structure
Our documentation is structured as following:
Getting Started
In the section Getting Started you will find a step-by-step guide on how to install and use the ERPL extensions. This section applies to als flavors of ERPL, regardless whether you are using the RFC, BICS or ODP extension. The only difference is, that you have to install from a different location and enter provide a license key for the BICS and ODP extension.
Extension References
We future provide a reference for each extension. The reference is structured as follows:
On RFC we provide SQL commands to connect to SAP systems and execute remote function modules (RFMs) and remote-enabled function modules (BAPIs). As a special goodie we provide extra functionality to scalably read SAP tables.
On BICS we provide SQL commands to connect to SAP BW systems and execute queries on SAP BW InfoProviders. This also explains how the multidimensional data from BW is mapped to a stateful SQL interface.
The ODP extension is still in progress