At first sight, not a lot, would you say. SAP is the archetype of proprietary software, with a proprietary and incredibly complex database schema, lots of proprietary APIs, a complex and expensive certification cycle… and yet, like open source data integration, it helps large enterprises with mission critical business needs.

But where SAP and open source data integration really come together is when SAP users need to integrate SAP with other applications and databases. Some would argue they shouldn’t have to, since SAP is the Information System. Well, that’s the theory, and it’s not true - the all-singing, all-dancing ERP that does not require any other application beside it, is nothing but a myth.

This is where Talend comes into play. We have made two important announcements in this space:

• First, a partnership with Pipeline Software, the SAP Integration Experts, to leverage Pipeline Software’s Transporter solution and help customers integrate data between SAP and other business-critical applications.  It provides access to SAP through SAP’s BAPI/RFC layer.
• Second, we just announced the availability of a set of connectors for MaxDB, the SAP database - providing Talend users with access to SAP data through the database layer. These connectors were developed in partnership with the Open MaxDB Group, which speaks highly of their suitability for this technology.

After all, SAP and open source data integration have a lot more in common than what people might think!

Yves