The Google Cloud Cortex Framework, a set of reference architectures, packaged services, deployment templates, and accelerators for analytics and AI/ML, has enabled organizations to reap the full benefits of cloud innovation and bring about their desired business outcomes while removing much of the hassle and expense associated with complex cloud projects.

Yet, before a company can leverage Cortex Framework, data professionals need to move their business-critical data into a place where it can easily use cloud analytical services — a process that is not without complexity. To ensure a speedy and successful implementation, enterprises will require a solution to manage complex, high-volume data needs, such as Fivetran — a Google Cloud Cortex Framework foundational partner.

The Cortex Framework offers companies the means to begin leveraging data, so they can drive important business decisions without dedicating time, money, and valuable attention to building custom solutions from scratch. 

SAP meets the cloud

Not surprisingly, Google Cloud Cortex Framework debuted with a sharp focus on helping businesses expand analytical SAP use cases into Google Cloud. SAP’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is seemingly ubiquitous in business. According to SAP, more than 90% of the world’s 500 largest enterprises rely on the software maker’s ERP to power vital business processes.

The company’s ERP suite has continuously evolved from the era of data centers into the present cloud era, and because of that, as well as its wide applicability and flexibility, managing SAP data can be complex. For example, a current SAP ECC installation can feature a jaw-dropping 135,000+ database tables. 

Another significant hurdle is that performing the best data analysis often requires the integration of ERP data with non-ERP data from a host of different sources, such as marketing, website analytics, IoT, and social media. 

Replicating for BigQuery

Fivetran simplifies the process of SAP data replication into BigQuery, Google’s fully managed, serverless warehouse. For this, Fivetran automatically creates tables using compatible data types, and both the initial data loading and subsequent incremental updates take advantage of best practices to efficiently process changes without a big footprint on the source system. Whether the source is master data (e.g., customers, materials), reference data (e.g., document types, customer groups), or transaction data (e.g., billing documents, material movements), Fivetran can identify which data needs processing and which remains unchanged, thereby simplifying downstream workflows. Additionally, it can enhance ERP-sourced data through out-of-the-box Fivetran features. For example, it can convert physical deletes in the SAP source into soft deletes in BigQuery, enabling further processing of this data later.

How Fivetran makes the magic happen

The SAP ERP for HANA connector utilizes application-based replication, initiating both the initial sync and incremental CDC through an SAP NetWeaver remote function call. It is compatible with SAP RISE Private cloud, supporting both Enterprise or Runtime database licenses.

For an SAP ERP source, Fivetran supports:

• CDC from SAP systems running on SAP HANA, like SAP ECC and S/4HAN.
• Decoding long-text tables
• Full support for custom Z-tables and columns
• Optional SAP date to target date conversion
• Support for discerning archive deletes from other application deletes

This is all delivered from the Fivetran Managed Service Platform, which means you don’t need to worry about creating or maintaining these pipelines.

In essence, the partnership between Google Cloud Cortex Framework and Fivetran helps organizations accelerate business outcomes, simplify operations, and enable efficiencies that surpass what existing processes allow. 

A cloudy future is a bright one 

The race to bring about digital transformation will continue to heat up. The cloud has become a critical part of this process, making it one of business's most important technological trends. Considering that most new analytical environments are deployed in the cloud, moving to the cloud is a key part of leveraging data for insight.

Once you’ve used Fivetran to move SAP data into BigQuery, you can immediately start analyzing the data and surfacing insights leveraging Cortex Framework. Google has equipped BigQuery with the ability to provide large-scale analytics through built-in BI and machine learning capabilities. 

By providing infinite scalability and combining that with a low-risk, pay-only-for-what-you-use model, BigQuery and Google Cloud Cortex Framework provide an attractive value proposition for companies that want to leverage their SAP data. 

Learn more about how Fivetran can help you supercharge your SAP data and achieve broader insights for your business.