Connecting to an SAP ODATA API from a canvas app

As we announced the public preview of the SAP ERP connector, we have received a few requests from customers on how they can connect to an SAP ODATA API instead of using the RFC/BAPI interface.  Given that ODATA is essentially a REST API, the short answer is: you can build a custom connector in a matter of minutes and connect to it. Once you do that, you can build your app or flows. You can even use the built-in HTTP action to directly call the API as well.

To illustrate, I created a custom connector for the SAP Gateway Demo system, a well-known widely available demo system made available by SAP. It contains a set of ODATA Services that developers can use to try out. Note that it is a shared system. You will see data created by others, and others will be see any data you entered.

You can access this custom connector from our open source repository on GitHub. Along with the custom connector, you can also find a sample canvas app for testing. You will find detailed instructions on how to deploy the connector, how to handle Anti-CSRF tokens during updates and how to build the sample app as well.

Just like any open source repository, you can make changes and contribute to it as well. For instance, if you build a better-looking app, that is something we can use.  If you have any feedback, do write to us at sap_ecc_powerapps ( @service.microsoft.com ).