Are you considering implementing a data catalogue, data governance, or enterprise metadata management platform within your organization, and happen to be an SAP customer? You might initially think that SAP and data catalogues are an unlikely pair. However, even if you use ERP or CRM systems from vendors like Oracle or Microsoft, the insights shared in this blog are still relevant to your organization’s data catalogue journey.

Why SAP and Data Catalogs?

Integrating metadata from all the key systems your organization relies on is not just important for your data catalog; it’s fundamental to its success. When it comes to SAP and data catalogues, there are unique challenges to address.

SAP applications differ significantly from other data sources when it comes to incorporating their metadata into your data catalogue. The nature of SAP’s data landscape makes it impractical to scan its database or use APIs to access metadata. Moreover, the application database system’s metadata typically lacks the ‘business-friendly’ information you need for effective cataloguing.

But here’s the twist:

If you’re using SAP or a similar system, it likely serves as a primary application or a major one in your organization. Therefore, starting with a key system like SAP provides an excellent opportunity to tackle the daunting task of cataloguing all your data sources head-on.

Considering the sheer size of SAP, you may not need all its metadata, but you will certainly require a significant portion—potentially tens of thousands of tables. This means you’ll be testing your chosen catalog’s ability to handle substantial volumes of metadata right from the start. Identifying performance issues early is far better than encountering them six months into your project.

Moreover, if SAP serves as your System of Record, numerous other systems probably interface with it in various ways. If your objective is to document data lineage through interfaces, it makes perfect sense to commence with the primary system.

Lastly, SAP is likely one of the main systems your catalog users interact with daily. By populating the catalog with data elements familiar to them, you can secure early wins and engagement from your users.

Overcoming the SAP Metadata Challenge

However, there’s a challenge to overcome: How do you swiftly and accurately integrate SAP metadata into your data catalogue?

Believe it or not, this challenge is surmountable and can be achieved rapidly, efficiently, and with precision. The key lies in three critical factors:

1. Having an effective method for extracting ‘business-friendly’ SAP metadata.
2. The ability to select the metadata components you need, as most users prefer to curate metadata before importing it into the catalog.
3. Ensuring your catalog can seamlessly ingest the extracted and curated SAP metadata.

Safyr, for instance, empowers you to easily extract high-quality business metadata from SAP and other packaged ERP and CRM applications, making it accessible within your data catalog.

If you take away just one message from this blog, let it be this: Don’t put your trust in your catalog vendor or implementation partner. Ensure they have a clear plan for helping you extract value from your data catalog by incorporating SAP metadata.

Don’t accept vague responses like, “We can address SAP once the easier systems are done” or “Your SAP team can handle this.” Insist on a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes the integration of SAP metadata, maximizing the benefits of your data catalogue.

By choosing this path, you’ll be well on your way to unlocking the full potential of SAP as the low-hanging fruit for your data catalog, setting the stage for a more effective and comprehensive enterprise metadata management system.

This post was inspired by our partner, Silwood Technology on their blog: