GENERIC EXPOSURE OF ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING DATA USING A CLOUD-BASED, ON-DEMAND SERVICE

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a data request from a consumer in a cloud-based, gateway services environment, the data request for backend data stored in a backend system apart from the cloud-based, gateway services environment;

generating a request for a service to handle the received data request, the request including component data request parameters;

transmitting the generated request to a service repository to retrieve an appropriate service definition based upon the component data request parameters;

instantiating, using a computer, an instance of a generic data provider based upon a returned service definition;

retrieving a model of the returned service definition, the model describing a data structure of at least one data entity provided by the service defined by the service definition; and

retrieving runtime data from the backend system using the retrieved model of the returned service definition.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, parsing the received data request into the component data request parameters.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the returned service definition specifies a generic data provider.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving a model further comprises:

requesting destination information for the backend system; and

retrieving metadata from the backend system to create a metadata document.

5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

retrieving language support texts from the backend system; and

rendering the metadata document.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving runtime data further comprises:

requesting destination information for the backend system; and

retrieving runtime data from the backend system.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising converting the runtime data into a consumer supported data format for transmission to the consumer.

8 . A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions executable by a computer to:

receive a data request from a consumer in a cloud-based, gateway services environment, the data request for backend data stored in a backend system apart from the cloud-based, gateway services environment;

generate a request for a service to handle the received data request, the request including component data request parameters;

transmit the generated request to a service repository to retrieve an appropriate service definition based upon the component data request parameters;

instantiate an instance of a generic data provider based upon a returned service definition;

retrieve a model of the returned service definition, the model describing a data structure of at least one data entity provided by the service defined by the service definition; and

retrieve runtime data from the backend system using the retrieved model of the returned service definition.

9 . The medium of claim 8 , further comprising instructions to parse the received data request into the component data request parameters.

10 . The medium of claim 8 , further comprising instructions to determine whether the returned service definition specifies a generic data provider.

11 . The medium of claim 8 , wherein retrieving a model further comprises instructions to:

request destination information for the backend system; and

retrieve metadata from the backend system to create a metadata document.

12 . The medium of claim 11 , further comprising instructions to:

retrieve language support texts from the backend system; and

render the metadata document.

13 . The medium of claim 8 , wherein retrieving runtime data further comprises instructions to:

request destination information for the backend system; and

retrieve runtime data from the backend system.

14 . The medium of claim 8 , further comprising instructions to convert the runtime data into a consumer supported data format for transmission to the consumer.

15 . A computer-implemented system comprising:

a memory configured to hold a service repository; and

a processor interoperably coupled with the memory and configured to perform operations to:

receive a data request from a consumer in a cloud-based, gateway services environment, the data request for backend data stored in a backend system apart from the cloud-based, gateway services environment;

generate a request for a service to handle the received data request, the request including component data request parameters;

transmit the generated request to a service repository to retrieve an appropriate service definition based upon the component data request parameters;

instantiate an instance of a generic data provider based upon a returned service definition;

retrieve a model of the returned service definition, the model describing a data structure of at least one data entity provided by the service defined by the service definition; and

retrieve runtime data from the backend system using the retrieved model of the returned service definition.

16 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising instructions to parse the received data request into the component data request parameters.

17 . The system of claim 15 , further configured to determine whether the returned service definition specifies a generic data provider.

18 . The system of claim 15 , wherein retrieving a model is further configured to:

request destination information for the backend system; and

retrieve metadata from the backend system to create a metadata document.

19 . The system of claim 18 , further configured to:

retrieve language support texts from the backend system; and

render the metadata document.

20 . The system of claim 15 , wherein retrieving runtime data is further configured to:

request destination information for the backend system; and

retrieve runtime data from the backend system.

21 . The system of claim 15 , further configured to convert the runtime data into a consumer supported data format for transmission to the consumer.