Integration of SAP Cloud for Customer and SAP ERP

SAP Cloud for Customer (C4C) is a comprehensive cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution developed by SAP, designed to help organizations improve their customer interactions and relationships. As a cloud-based solution, SAP Cloud for Customer provides businesses with a scalable, secure, and flexible platform to manage customer relationships across various channels.

When using a cloud-based CRM system like SAP Cloud for Customer, it is essential to synchronize both master data—such as customer accounts, product information, or employee records—and transactional data between the cloud environment and the connected on-premise SAP ERP systems. Master data replication is critical to maintain a consistent and unified view of business processes.

In addition, transactional data may also need to be replicated. For instance, sales orders created in the cloud CRM can be integrated into the on-premise SAP ERP system. Alternatively, during a sales interaction with a customer, real-time access to up-to-date pricing information may be required. Ensuring continuous synchronization between the cloud and on-premise systems is crucial for operational efficiency and data accuracy. This necessitates the implementation of robust integration scenarios that facilitate seamless data flow between systems, thus ensuring consistent, real-time information exchange.

SAP ERP Integration with SAP Cloud for Customer Technical Overview:

The integration between SAP Cloud for Customer (C4C) and SAP ERP is a typical example of cloud-to-on-premise integration, where cloud-based and on-premise environments exchange data. Various approaches and configurations can be applied in such integration scenarios. However, this discussion will focus on a common and effective setup that ensures data integrity and system compatibility using secure communication protocols and middleware components.

In the proposed architecture, the SAP Cloud for Customer application operates within the SAP cloud network, and the integration middleware—usually Cloud Integration (a component of SAP Integration Suite)—also resides in this cloud environment. In contrast, the connected on-premise application (in this case, SAP ERP) runs within the customer's internal IT environment, i.e., the on-premise landscape. All components in this setup communicate over the network using HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure), ensuring encrypted data transmission.

However, when data flows across different network boundaries, special attention must be paid to the connections between the SAP cloud network and the customer’s on-premise environment. One key security requirement for such connections is that components in the customer’s environment should not be directly accessible from the public internet. To address this, when data or messages are transmitted from the SAP cloud network to the customer’s on-premise SAP ERP system, a secure intermediary component within the customer’s environment must manage the termination and re-establishment of Transport Layer Security (TLS) sessions. This intermediary component can be a reverse proxy or SAP Connectivity Services. It handles incoming TLS requests, terminates these sessions, and establishes new connections to securely direct communication to the on-premise system.

In the opposite direction, when the on-premise SAP ERP system sends messages to the Cloud Integration component in the SAP cloud network, the request usually passes through a proxy server or transparent proxy. In this case, the proxy routes the request without terminating or modifying the existing TLS session, thus ensuring a secure and uninterrupted connection.

The Cloud Integration component acts as a message broker between SAP Cloud for Customer and SAP ERP, enabling communication via various connectivity options. For the interface between SAP ERP and Cloud Integration, the most commonly used protocols are Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) adapter or IDoc adapter (which also uses the SOAP protocol). Similarly, the connection between Cloud Integration and SAP Cloud for Customer typically uses the SOAP adapter to ensure secure data transmission and service orchestration.

Example Adapter Configurations Used in Cloud Integration System:

To complete this section, we'll briefly show how the connections in the scenario can be configured on the Cloud Integration side in a production environment. Below, we share screenshots of four adapters used in the Cloud Integration system.

The following screenshot shows an example of a SOAP (1.x) sender adapter used for the connection between SAP Cloud for Customer and Cloud Integration. This scenario covers messages sent from SAP Cloud for Customer to Cloud Integration.

In the Address field, an endpoint address must be defined so that SAP Cloud for Customer can call the iFlow deployed on the Cloud Integration tenant. This endpoint is critical to ensure the iFlow is properly called during the integration process.

The WSDL URL field defines a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file. This file contains the necessary information for Cloud Integration to process messages. It provides detailed descriptions of the services and protocols used for data transmission, assisting in the correct handling of messages during integration processes.

The screenshot below shows an example of a SOAP (1.x) receiver adapter used to establish the connection between Cloud Integration and SAP Cloud for Customer. In this scenario, communication occurs in the reverse direction—i.e., messages are sent from Cloud Integration to SAP Cloud for Customer.

In such an integration process, the SOAP receiver adapter ensures that messages are securely and reliably delivered to SAP Cloud for Customer. This adapter in the Cloud Integration platform plays a crucial role in routing messages to the designated endpoints. It receives the message, directs it to the relevant services, and securely transmits it to the SAP Cloud for Customer system, ensuring smooth data flow between systems.

SOAP receiver adapters are particularly used in enterprise integration scenarios to ensure reliable data communication. This adapter plays a key role in processing message formats according to standards and interacting with services in SAP Cloud for Customer.

In the Address field, you must specify the service address in the SAP Cloud for Customer system. This address defines the destination to which messages will be routed during the integration process and plays a critical role in configuring the connection to SAP Cloud for Customer.

You can contact us for information about our SAP Integration Consulting services.