Integrating SAP

Summary Lede :

Enterprise systems often operate in silos, forcing users to switch contexts and applications to complete business tasks. By connecting SAP’s robust business processes with Microsoft Copilot Studio agents, organizations can now bring critical operational data and transactions directly into Microsoft 365 and Teams—where people already collaborate. This integration enables AI-driven, conversational interactions with SAP systems, eliminating the need to switch applications and accelerating decision-making and productivity across the enterprise.

Bringing SAP data and actions directly into Copilot Studio agents puts your operational truth in the same place people already collaborate — Microsoft 365 and Teams — so users don’t have to switch tools or context when they need to look up a sales order, check ATP, raise a vendor query, or submit an approval. This “in‑the‑flow‑of‑work” approach is now practical thanks to:

(1) SAP APIs (OData, RFC/BAPI) made accessible and governable via SAP Integration Suite API Management and/or Azure API Management, and

(2) native SAP connectors and agent publishing pipelines in Copilot Studio and Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Integrating SAP with Copilot Studio agents is straightforward using first‑party connectors (SAP OData and SAP ERP) that support secure, scalable connectivity patterns (including Entra ID SSO and on‑premises data gateway). By exposing SAP APIs through API Management, you can enforce security policies, apply principal propagation to preserve SAP authorizations, and avoid overloading core systems. Once connected, you can build low-code agent flows that call SAP tools and publish agents to Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot for easy user access. This approach reduces friction, improves adoption, and accelerates decision-making by keeping users in their primary collaboration environment.

Why integrate SAP into Copilot Studio?
Keep people in the flow of work (no app‑switching)
Publishing your Copilot Studio agents into Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams enables business users to ask questions like “Show undelivered sales orders for Contoso this week” directly in chats, channels, or Copilot Chat—without needing to open SAP GUI or a separate portal. This reduces friction, improves adoption, and shortens cycle time for everyday decisions.

Use enterprise‑grade connectors and governance—safely
Microsoft provides two first‑party SAP connectors: SAP OData (for S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, Concur, etc.) and SAP ERP (RFC/BAPI/IDoc for NetWeaver‑based systems). These support secure connectivity patterns (including Entra ID SSO through Azure API Management) With API Management (SAP Integration Suite APIM and/or Azure API Management), you can surface SAP APIs with throttling, policy‑based security, and a consistent developer experience—critical to avoid overloading core systems and to apply SSO/principal propagation at scale.

Scale with Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility
Copilot Studio agents can be published to Microsoft 365 Copilot and extended with actions/connectors. IT can approve and manage agents centrally, and makers can add SAP tools (via connectors) to ground responses in real data. This aligns SAP extensions with Microsoft 365 governance and discoverability.

Tangible productivity upside
Microsoft highlights customers building SAP‑aware copilots to accelerate routine tasks and collaboration, with broad AI adoption already underway. While ROI varies by scenario, the direction of travel is clear: combining SAP process data with Microsoft 365 context reduces handoffs and speeds decision‑making.

What to integrate: high‑value SAP scenarios for agents
1) Sales order intelligence : List orders by status, customer, or date; drill into header/line details; share to channel; trigger follow‑ups. (OData: SalesOrderSet; RFC/BAPI alternative via SAP ERP connector).

2) Product and ATP lookups : Search by category, price, or material; confirm availability; propose substitutions. (OData entity sets from SAP Gateway or S/4HANA).

3) Business partner and supplier checks : Find suppliers/customers by name, city, or role; fetch contact details.

4) Approvals and postings : Kick off approvals or post to SAP via BAPIs (e.g., create SO, post time) using the SAP ERP connector through the on‑premises data gateway.

5) Analytics on HANA as knowledge : For read‑only Q&A on curated HANA data sets, use Copilot Studio’s SAP HANA knowledge source (real‑time reasoning without copying data).

6) Incident and ticket management : Integrate with SAP Solution Manager or ITSM systems to create, update, or query tickets.

7) HR and expense queries : Access SuccessFactors or Concur data for leave balances, expense status, etc. (OData services).

8) Custom workflows : Build tailored processes that combine SAP data with Microsoft 365 actions (e.g., notify a team in Teams when a high‑value order is delayed).