A policy that has been documented since 2017 is now technically enforced. This article explains the issue, its impact, and why the Qlik portfolio remains a strong, and largely unaffected, path forward.
On June 9, 2026, SAP released a security patch that technically blocks all third-party applications from calling ODP-RFC, SAP’s Remote Function Call interface for the Operational Data Provisioning framework. Any data extraction tool that relies on this interface will stop working once the patch is applied. Several Qlik connectors are in scope. Most are not. This article explains the difference, and why the Qlik portfolio is well-positioned to navigate the transition.
The issue
SAP Note 3255746: A Long-Standing Policy, Now Enforced
Operational Data Provisioning (ODP) is SAP’s internal framework for data extraction between systems. ODP-RFC is the Remote Function Call interface through which external applications access this framework. It became widely used by third-party data integration tools — not because SAP authorised it, but because SAP did not technically prevent it.
“The ODP data replication API is restricted to SAP applications and not open to 3rd party ETL tools.”
SAP’s actual position has been unambiguous since at least 2017. For nearly a decade, this policy was documented but not enforced. Third-party vendors, including some Qlik connectors, relied on ODP-RFC in production environments. That period has ended.
In April 2026, SAP published SAP Note 3439624, a self-assessment tool allowing organisations to audit their current ODP-RFC usage. On June 9, 2026, SAP released a security patch that technically enforces the restriction described in SAP Note 3255746: it validates every caller of the ODP-RFC interface and aborts calls from non-SAP applications. This is not a new policy. It is the technical enforcement of an existing one.
Scope: The patch applies to on-premise and private cloud ABAP-based systems: SAP ECC, S/4HANA, SAP BW, and BW/4HANA. SAP public cloud environments using HTTP/OData connectivity are not affected.
Timeline
Key Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 2017 | SAP ODP Technical FAQ first documents the restriction: ODP-RFC is for SAP applications only, not third-party ETL tools. |
| April 13, 2026 | SAP Note 3439624 released. Self-assessment tool to identify unauthorised ODP-RFC usage across ABAP source systems. |
| June 9, 2026 | Security patch released. Technically blocks all third-party ODP-RFC calls once applied. Patch rollout typically requires 4–8 weeks of change management per system. |
| June–Dec 2026 | Time-limited revert available. SAP allows temporarily re-enabling ODP-RFC, but explicitly states this is “at the customer’s risk.” The security vulnerability remains active. Not a long-term solution. |
| December 2026 | Revert option removed permanently. No fallback path available after this point. |
Solution
Your Path Forward with Qlik
For every affected connector, the migration destination is already inside the Qlik portfolio. There are four available paths. Which one fits depends on your current SAP landscape, data volumes, and latency requirements.
1. SAP Extractor Connector
The SAP Extractor Connector in Talend Cloud Pipelines reads directly from SAP standard business content extractors — the same SAPI delta mechanisms that have been used for SAP BW extraction for years. It preserves full application-layer semantics, including all existing delta logic built into SAP standard extractors.
Best suited for: Organisations with existing SAP BW extractor investments who want to preserve extraction logic. Scheduled and incremental batch scenarios on ECC and S/4HANA.
Help: Talend Cloud Pipelines — SAP Extractor Connector
2. ODP OData
The Extractor Connector in Talend Cloud Pipelines also supports the ODP OData API — the HTTP-based alternative to ODP-RFC that SAP itself lists as the recommended open path in its April 2026 FAQ. It provides access to SAP standard extractors, ABAP CDS Views, and BW sources, with built-in delta handling through the ODP framework, over a compliant web service interface.
Performance: Bulk throughput is lower than ODP-RFC for initial full loads. For incremental CDC, performance in practice is comparable. The delta payload is small and HTTP overhead is negligible.
Best suited for: Application-layer extraction with SAP CDS Views, BW sources, or standard extractors via a fully compliant interface. Moderate-to-large volumes in incremental mode.
Help: Talend Cloud Pipelines — Extractor Connector (ODP OData)
3. Trigger-Based CDC
Trigger-Based CDC in Qlik Replicate captures changes at the SAP HANA database level — entirely below the SAP application stack. It has no dependency on ODP, extractors, or any SAP application-layer interface. Qlik Replicate automatically installs three database triggers per source table (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) and a tracking table in the HANA database.
Best suited for: S/4HANA and ECC on HANA. Near-real-time replication. Qlik’s recommended CDC method for HANA-based SAP environments.
4. Log-Based CDC
Log-Based CDC in Qlik Replicate reads changes directly from SAP HANA redo and backup logs — the fastest CDC option with the smallest system footprint. No objects are installed in SAP. Qlik Replicate fully supports this as a production capability. SAP HANA’s architecture presents inherent technical challenges for log-based replication (no supplemental logging, no key fields written to logs, no unique row ID) — Qlik Replicate addresses these through built-in engineering workarounds. This should be evaluated carefully from a governance standpoint in each environment.
Best suited for:
- S/4HANA / ECC on HANA: High-volume and real-time scenarios on S/4HANA or ECC running on SAP HANA. Note that HANA-specific constraints apply (no supplemental logging, no key fields in logs, no unique row ID).
- ECC on non-HANA databases (Oracle, DB2, SQL Server): ECC running on Oracle, DB2, or SQL Server. In this case log-based CDC operates directly on the underlying database engine and none of the HANA-specific constraints described above apply.
Which option is right for you?
Use the guide below to map your current situation to the recommended Qlik approach.
| Your SAP Landscape | Data Requirement | Recommended Approach |
|---|---|---|
| ECC / S/4HANA Existing SAP BW extractor investments |
Batch / incremental | SAP Extractor Connector |
| ECC / S/4HANA CDS Views, BW sources, or standard extractors |
Batch / incremental, fully SAP-compliant | ODP OData |
| S/4HANA or ECC on HANA | Near-real-time CDC | Trigger-Based CDC |
| S/4HANA on HANA (high volume) or ECC on Oracle / DB2 / SQL Server |
Real-time, high-volume CDC | Log-Based CDC |
Conclusion
The SAP ODP-RFC enforcement is not an isolated event. It is part of a broader pattern in which SAP is tightening governance over how its data is accessed by third-party platforms. For organisations already invested in Qlik, the practical impact is manageable: the affected connectors are clearly identified, and the migration paths stay within a portfolio they already own.
The more important takeaway is strategic. Data extraction from SAP has never been a solved problem, and any architecture that relies on a single access method will face this kind of disruption again. The organisations that navigate it best are those who treat their SAP extraction layer as something to design deliberately, not something that just happens to work until it stops.
Contact us
Do you have questions about your current SAP extraction setup, or do you need guidance on which migration path fits your environment? element61 is here to help.
- We can: Assess which of your current Qlik Talend Cloud or Talend pipelines are affected by the ODP-RFC patch
- Map your existing connectors to the right migration path
- Design a transition plan that fits your SAP landscape and timeline
- Implement and validate the migration within the Qlik portfolio
FAQ
SAP Note 3255746 states that the ODP data replication API is restricted to SAP applications and not open to third-party ETL tools. That policy has been documented since 2017 but was never enforced. On 9 June 2026 SAP released a security patch that validates every caller of the ODP-RFC interface and aborts calls from non-SAP applications. The policy is unchanged; only the enforcement is new.
Operational Data Provisioning (ODP) is SAP's internal framework for data extraction between systems, and ODP-RFC is the Remote Function Call interface through which external applications reach that framework. It became widely used by third-party integration tools simply because SAP never technically prevented it, not because SAP authorised it. That grey zone has now closed with the June 2026 patch.
The patch applies to on-premise and private cloud ABAP-based systems: SAP ECC, S/4HANA, SAP BW and BW/4HANA. SAP public cloud environments that use HTTP/OData connectivity are not affected. If you extract from an ABAP source system through ODP-RFC today, your pipelines will stop working once the patch is applied to that system.
August 2017: the SAP ODP Technical FAQ first documents the restriction. 13 April 2026: SAP Note 3439624 delivers a self-assessment tool to identify unauthorised ODP-RFC usage. 9 June 2026: the security patch is released, with a typical rollout of four to eight weeks per system. June to December 2026: a time-limited revert is available. December 2026: the revert option is removed permanently.
No. Several Qlik connectors are in scope, but most are not, and for every affected connector the migration destination already sits inside the Qlik portfolio. That is the practical good news: organisations invested in Qlik Talend Cloud or Qlik Replicate do not need a new vendor, only a different access method. element61 can assess which of your pipelines are affected - contact us if you need more information.
There are four: the SAP Extractor Connector and ODP OData, both in Talend Cloud Pipelines, and Trigger-Based CDC and Log-Based CDC, both in Qlik Replicate. Which one fits depends on your SAP landscape, your data volumes and your latency requirements. In our projects, we typically combine batch extraction for application-layer semantics with database-level CDC for real-time workloads.
The SAP Extractor Connector reads directly from SAP standard business content extractors, using the same SAPI delta mechanisms that have driven SAP BW extraction for years. It preserves full application-layer semantics, including the delta logic built into standard extractors. We recommend it for organisations with existing SAP BW extractor investments running scheduled or incremental batch scenarios on ECC and S/4HANA.
ODP OData is the HTTP-based alternative that SAP itself lists as the recommended open path in its April 2026 FAQ. The Extractor Connector in Talend Cloud Pipelines supports it, giving access to standard extractors, ABAP CDS Views and BW sources with built-in delta handling. Bulk throughput is lower for initial full loads, but for incremental CDC performance is comparable: the delta payload is small and HTTP overhead negligible.
Trigger-Based CDC captures changes at the SAP HANA database level, entirely below the SAP application stack, so it has no dependency on ODP, extractors or any application-layer interface. Qlik Replicate installs three triggers per source table - INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE - plus a tracking table in HANA. It is Qlik's recommended CDC method for near-real-time replication on S/4HANA and ECC on HANA.
Log-Based CDC reads changes directly from SAP HANA redo and backup logs. It is the fastest option with the smallest footprint and installs no objects in SAP. HANA's architecture does present inherent challenges - no supplemental logging, no key fields in logs, no unique row ID - which Qlik Replicate addresses through built-in engineering workarounds. We advise evaluating it carefully from a governance standpoint per environment.
Map your landscape to your data requirements. ECC or S/4HANA with existing BW extractor investments and batch needs point to the SAP Extractor Connector. CDS Views or BW sources needing full SAP compliance point to ODP OData. Near-real-time on HANA points to Trigger-Based CDC. High-volume real-time, or ECC on Oracle, DB2 or SQL Server, points to Log-Based CDC.
We assess which of your current Qlik Talend Cloud or Talend pipelines are affected by the ODP-RFC patch, map each affected connector to the right migration path, design a transition plan that fits your SAP landscape and timeline, and implement and validate the migration inside the Qlik portfolio. Reach out to our Qlik and SAP integration specialists.
