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Why SAP Integration Is Still a Headache in 2025

  • Writer: Howard Glick
    Howard Glick
  • 8 hours ago
  • 4 min read

SAP Users Are Drowning in Interfaces


It’s 2025, and despite decades of progress, SAP integration remains one of the biggest headaches in IT. According to the ASUG Pulse of the SAP Customer 2024 report, 36% of SAP customers say that linking SAP to non-SAP systems is their top integration priority. Another 33% report challenges even when integrating different SAP modules. For mid-sized enterprises, where IT resources are often limited, these struggles are more than just technical—they’re strategic blockers.


This post explores what’s broken, what businesses actually need, and why a growing number of companies are ditching middleware-heavy projects in favor of more direct, real-time SAP connectivity.


The SAP Integration Pile-Up


SAP ECC and S/4HANA are powerful platforms, but they don’t operate in a vacuum. Most businesses now rely on a mix of e-commerce platforms, CRMs, analytics tools, and mobile applications. That makes integration essential. But here’s what usually happens:


  • BI teams want real-time SAP sales data in Power BI.

  • Finance needs invoice data synced with Salesforce.

  • E-commerce platforms require up-to-date pricing and stock data.


The result? An ever-growing web of point-to-point connections, overnight batch jobs, and inconsistent interfaces. Middleware platforms like SAP PI/PO or CPI promise standardization but come with steep costs, steep learning curves, and long deployment timelines.


According to ASUG Research, a full 69% of SAP users still rely on custom code or third-party middleware to connect systems.


Why Middleware Falls Short for SMEs


Large enterprises may have the budget and internal skills to manage complex integration suites. But for SMEs, this approach rarely scales well.


Here’s why middleware-heavy projects break down for mid-sized organizations:


  • Cost: Middleware licensing, implementation, and maintenance costs can exceed the value of the integration itself.

  • Complexity: Each new system added means more interfaces to configure, test, and monitor.

  • Speed: Time-to-value is slow. Integrations can take months to complete.

  • Skills gap: SAP PI/PO and CPI require specialized developers that are hard to find and expensive to retain.


SMEs need integrations that are fast to deploy, easy to monitor, and flexible enough to evolve as business needs change.


What Modern SAP Integration Should Look Like


The modern integration strategy for SAP should focus on:


  1. Real-time APIs, not nightly batch jobs

  2. Direct connectivity with minimal layers

  3. Support for REST and JSON formats

  4. Plug-and-play functionality for SAP ECC and S/4HANA

  5. Security that aligns with existing SAP role controls

  6. Monitoring built directly into SAP for transparency


As SAP ecosystems become more connected, users are increasingly seeking:


  • Real-time integration with tools like Power BI and Tableau

  • Middleware-free approaches for syncing SAP with e-commerce platforms

  • S/4HANA migration tools that simplify data extraction

  • RESTful APIs that don’t require SAP PI/PO


These needs reflect a growing demand for simpler, more agile integration solutions.


Inside the Pain – What SAP Customers Are Saying


Based on user feedback across LinkedIn forums and SAP Community threads, the biggest complaints fall into three buckets:


  1. Poor documentation and lack of support: Developers spend hours guessing how to configure connections.

  2. Performance bottlenecks: Too many layers and translation steps lead to slow data flow and failed syncs.

  3. Lack of visibility: Middleware often operates in a black box, with limited logging or error traceability in SAP itself.


One technical lead from a manufacturing firm summed it up on a recent SAP user group panel: “We don’t want another platform to manage. We want SAP to just talk to our tools.”


The CGR Alternative: Middleware-Free SAP Integration


That’s exactly where CGR’s SAP Connector comes in. Built as a native SAP Add-on, it removes the middleware stack entirely.


Here’s how it works:


  • Exposes any SAP object—table, function module, report, or query—as a secure REST or OData endpoint.

  • Delivers JSON-formatted responses that any modern app can consume.

  • Supports both SAP ECC 6 and S/4HANA.

  • Works entirely within your SAP landscape or on your SAP Gateway, behind the firewall.

  • Requires no custom code. Just whitelist the SAP object and define your access rules.


Use Cases:


  • Display SAP stock and pricing in WooCommerce in real time.

  • Load sales orders from Google Sheets directly into SAP.

  • Extract financial data for Power BI with OData paging.


Security and control: Admins can view every API call inside SAP, define exactly what’s exposed, and ensure only authorized users or apps can access it.


Why This Matters for SMEs


For companies in the mid-market, agility is everything. You don’t always have the luxury of 12-month integration timelines or six-figure middleware budgets. CGR’s SAP Connector offers a lower-friction alternative:


  • Install in hours, not months

  • Use your existing IT team, not niche SAP PI/CPI experts

  • Start small, grow fast


CGR's team, with over 40 years of combined SAP experience, understands the pain points from the inside. Their product is designed not just for tech elegance but for business value.


Conclusion


SAP integration shouldn’t be a multi-month project. It shouldn’t require a dedicated team or middleware that costs more than the system it connects. For many SMEs, the right answer is not more platforms—it’s fewer. Direct. Clear. In-SAP.

That’s what CGR delivers.


Want to see it in action? Book a demo today and discover how the CGR SAP Connector can simplify your SAP integrations, save money, and move your business forward.

 
 
 

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