AI agents on SAP ECC on-premise under the SAP API Policy — what is allowed, barred and still unconfirmed

The question this card answers

A client running SAP ECC on-premise wants an AI agent to read and act on ERP data. Is that allowed, through which path, and under whose identity? This card exists because that question was put to the platform and no single page answered it. It states what SAP has published, what analysts and the trade press read into it, and what nobody has confirmed. Facts were checked on 5 November 2026. It is not legal advice: the policy is part of the contract documentation, and the client's counsel and SAP account team have the last word.

What the SAP API Policy says

SAP published the API Policy on 27 April 2026; the current text is v.4.2026a. It separates Published APIs, listed on SAP Business Accelerator Hub or in product documentation, from non-published ones, which SAP describes as internal interfaces in SAP namespaces used at the customer's own risk.

Section 2.2.2 is the clause that matters here. Except through and within the limits of SAP-endorsed architectures, data services or service-specific pathways, SAP prohibits API use for (a) interaction or integration with (semi-)autonomous or generative AI systems that plan, select or execute sequences of API calls, and (b) scraping, harvesting, or systematic or large-scale data extraction or replication. Section 3 lets SAP monitor usage, throttle, suspend or terminate access, and forbids circumventing its controls. Forrester reads the same section as covering proxies, gateways, custom code and impersonation.

Why it matters

• ECC estates are still running and their owners are being asked for AI agents now; the answer changes with the path, the interface and the identity.
• A wrong path has a contractual cost: section 3 lets SAP throttle, suspend or terminate access.
• The honest answer includes what is unconfirmed, so a consultant must separate SAP's text from analyst readings.

Key points

• SAP published the API Policy on 27 April 2026; the current text is v.4.2026a.
• Section 2.2.2 bars API use with AI systems that plan, select or execute sequences of API calls, outside SAP-endorsed pathways.
• Endorsed options reported by ERP Today: MCP Gateway in Integration Suite, SAP-provided MCP servers through Joule Studio, A2A.
• Third-party or custom MCP servers are allowed if compliant, without the same support or stability guarantees.
• Customer-namespace APIs stay permitted, unless used to circumvent the policy.
• ODP-RFC is the only interface SAP names as unpermitted so far: Note 3255746, audit through Note 3439624.
• S/4HANA API_* OData services are not present on ECC, so ECC integrations start from RFC, BAPI, IDoc or custom services.
• Cloud Connector principal propagation passes the user as a short-lived X.509 certificate; identity does not replace compliance.
• ECC's position is unconfirmed: the reference architecture lists ECC for Joule Studio Classic, KBA 3733573 is tagged on-premise not supported.

Terms used on this page

SAP API Policy

SAP's document on API availability, limits, usage and monitoring; part of solution Documentation.

Published API

An API listed on SAP Business Accelerator Hub or in product documentation.

Endorsed pathway

An architecture, data service or service-specific route SAP identifies for agentic or large-scale use.

Customer namespace

Z and Y objects a customer builds, including custom RFCs and OData services.

ODP-RFC

Remote access to the Operational Data Provisioning interface; unpermitted for customer or partner use per SAP Note.

MCP Gateway

SAP Integration Suite capability exposing APIs as governed MCP servers.

Principal propagation

Forwarding the cloud user's identity to the back end instead of a shared account.

SAP Cloud Connector

On-premise agent that opens an outbound tunnel to SAP BTP.

Sources

1. SAP API Policy v.4.2026a (PDF, sections 1, 2.2.2 and 3)
2. SAP — API Policy overview for SAP user groups (deck, published 30 May 2026)
3. ERP Today — What Customers Need to Know About SAP's API Policy (Sep 2026)
4. Forrester — SAP Is Attempting To Become The Gatekeeper Of Enterprise AI (20 May 2026, analyst opinion)
5. SAP Help — Cloud Connector: Set Up Trust for Principal Propagation
6. SAP Architecture Center — Extend Joule with Joule Studio Classic in SAP Build (updated 21 Oct 2026)
7. SAP Note 3255746 — ODP-RFC (version 11; S-user login required)
8. SAP Note 3439624 — ODP-RFC self-assessment (S-user login required)
9. SAP KBA 3733573 — tagged on-premise not supported (S-user login required)
10. SAP Business Accelerator Hub — the Published API catalogue
11. The Register — SAP user group slams 'uncertainty' in ERP giant's API policy (30 Apr 2026)
12. The Register — AI clause in new SAP API policy provokes lock-in concern (29 Apr 2026)
13. diginomica — SAP's CTO on the API policy changes, SAP Sapphire 2026
14. ERP Today — SAP API Policy Raises New Questions About ERP Integration and AI Access (May 2026)