If you work in the SAP ecosystem, it is virtually impossible that you haven’t heard about OData in recent months. It is mentioned in project meetings, listed as a requirement in job postings, and serves as a core piece in any conversation about migrating to S/4HANA or the Cloud environment.
However, for many consultants, especially those with functional profiles—OData still sounds like a technical “black box.” Why does SAP place so much emphasis on this standard? How does it differ from traditional integrations? And, above all, why is it key to the future of your projects?
Here, we break down the essentials of this technology directly, without unnecessary jargon or complex code.
The Problem with Traditional Integrations
To appreciate the value of OData, we must first look back. In classic SAP versions (ECC), connecting the ERP with external systems or creating custom screens typically require complex tailored developments (the well-known custom Z programs, RFC calls, or data exchange files like IDocs).
This model had two major drawbacks:
- Low flexibility: If the external application needed an additional data field, code modifications were required within SAP.
- Rigid systems: Every integration was “craftsman-built,” which is a greatly complicated system upgrade.
What Is OData and Why Does It Change the Game?
To put it simply, imagine OData as a la carte restaurant menu:
- In a traditional integration, SAP served a fixed “daily set menu”: you received all the packaged data, whether you needed it or not.
- With OData, the external system reviews the “menu” (the service metadata) and orders only the specific ingredients it needs (filtering by date, requesting just three specific fields, or paginating results).
This “à la carte” querying capability makes communication between systems considerably faster, lighter, and more efficient.
Where Is It Used Within SAP Today?
OData is not a passing trend; it is the backbone of user experience and connectivity across SAP:
- The foundation of SAP Fiori: Every time you open a Fiori app and see tables filtering in real time or interactive charts, an OData service is powering that screen behind the scenes.
- External connectivity (SAP BTP and Web): If you need to connect SAP with an e-commerce platform, a mobile app for field technicians, or a cloud platform, OData is the standard channel to send and receive information securely.
- An ally of the Clean Core strategy: By using standard OData services or those based on official SAP views, you ensure that integrations will not break the system when upgrades or patches are applied.
What Does This Mean for Your Professional Profile?
The shift toward OData marks a clear evolution in market demand for consultants:
- For functional consultants: It is no longer enough to design business processes within the standard system; understanding how data is exposed externally is now essential to defining efficient integrations alongside technical teams and clients.
- For technical consultants: Development centered on traditional tables is giving way to semantic data modeling (CDS Views) and OData service creation—a profile in high demand across current digital transformation projects.
Understanding OData logic enables professionals to speak the same language as integration architects and contribute a strategic perspective to any SAP modernization project.
