Exploring Zero Copy Connector for ERP remote tables and extraction tables

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring Zero Copy Connector for ERP remote tables and extraction tables

    The Zero Copy Connector for ERP enables ServiceNow customers to configure remote tables and extraction tables for accessing ERP system of record data. These table types link to an ERP data model and serve to retrieve ERP information with different approaches suited to specific data volume and timeliness needs. Both table types integrate ERP data into ServiceNow and support subsequent application development and reporting.

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    Key Features

    • Remote tables: Retrieve real-time ERP data by running scripts against external ERP sources. Data is accessed in-memory without local storage in ServiceNow, ensuring it reflects the current ERP state. Remote tables support viewing, processing, filtering, and aggregating ERP data like native tables and are secured by ACLs for granular access control.
    • Extraction tables: Designed for large data volumes, extraction tables perform scheduled batch ETL operations to pull bulk ERP data, temporarily store it, and load it into persistent Glide tables. This approach optimizes performance for complex reporting and reduces load on the ERP system compared to real-time queries.
    • Both table types allow selection of exposed fields, enabling exclusion of sensitive data at configuration.
    • Standard remote and extraction tables are preconfigured for common ERP areas such as sales, delivery, and procurement, with the option to create custom tables as needed.
    • ERP data accessed through these tables is usable as a data source in ServiceNow development tools including Studio, Workflow Studio, Table Builder, UI Builder, and Workspace Builder.

    Practical Use Cases

    For scenarios requiring large-scale data analysis with daily updates, such as procurement teams analyzing purchase orders across multiple SAP company codes, extraction tables enable efficient batch data loading into Glide tables for fast querying and reporting.

    Simultaneously, remote tables provide instant, real-time data access for specific lookups, such as checking the current status of a purchase order during supplier inquiries, ensuring users have the most up-to-date information on demand without storing data locally.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Real-time Accuracy: Remote tables ensure always-current ERP data without storage overhead, ideal for lightweight integrations and instant lookups.
    • Performance and Scalability: Extraction tables support high-volume, scheduled data loads that enable complex reporting and analysis with minimal impact on ERP system performance.
    • Security and Control: Granular access controls and field-level exclusions protect sensitive ERP information.
    • Flexible Integration: Ability to combine remote and extraction tables for comprehensive ERP data use cases within ServiceNow applications and workflows.

    Configure remote tables and extraction tables to work with data from the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system of record.

    In Zero Copy Connector for ERP, use remote tables and extraction tables to obtain ERP data after a model has been configured. They serve the same general purpose but are designed for different data volumes. You can use them together when a single approach is not enough.

    Infographic comparing the two types of tables: remote and extraction.

    Remote tables get their records from running an associated script against an external data source. Remote tables describe the schema for the data that you want to retrieve from an ERP system of record. Use remote tables to connect to third-party sources, or to another instance, so that you can retrieve external data and optionally cache it in the memory. You can view external data in lists or forms and process it with standard Glide scripts. You can also group, sort, aggregate, and filter the data just like you would for standard internal tables.

    Extraction tables are ETL (extract, transform, and load) data sources designed for large volumes of data. Instead of querying the ERP system in real-time, extraction tables run on a scheduled basis, such as once per day. Extraction tables pull a large batch of data from the ERP system, save it to a temporary transform table, and then load it into a Glide table using import sets. The data is then available as a persistent, queryable table. Multiple extraction tables can move to the same ERP model, and you can create as many as needed.

    Both table types are configured within Zero Copy Connector for ERP and are linked to a model that controls which fields are available. Standard remote and extraction tables are included with Zero Copy Connector for ERP automatically (for areas like sales, delivery, and procurement), and custom tables can be created as needed.

    Key benefits

    Remote tables provide real-time ERP data with no storage overhead. Because remote table data lives in memory and is never stored in ServiceNow, it is always exactly what's in the ERP system at the moment of the request. This makes remote tables ideal for looking up information and lightweight integrations where having current data is critical.

    Extraction tables provide high-volume batch processing. For large data sets where querying the ERP system on demand would be too slow or resource-intensive, extraction tables pull the data in bulk on a schedule and store it locally. This makes it fast to query, supports complex reporting and analysis, and reduces the load on the ERP system by batching requests rather than making repeated real time calls.

    Both remote and extraction tables let you select exactly which fields to expose. Sensitive fields, such as email addresses or birth dates, can be excluded at the table configuration level. All remote tables are additionally secured with ACLs, giving admins granular control over which users can see which ERP data.

    Data obtained through remote and extraction tables is available as a data source for building on top of ERP data. Use the data with applications such as ServiceNow Studio, Workflow Studio flows and playbooks, Table Builder, UI Builder, and Workspace Builder.

    Use cases

    A company wants to build a Source-to-Pay workspace that gives procurement teams visibility into open purchase orders. The data set includes hundreds of thousands of PO records across multiple SAP company codes. The procurement team needs to filter, analyze, and report on that data daily, but doesn't need it updated by the minute.

    A developer creates an extraction table linked to the Purchase Orders model. They configure a scheduled extraction to run every day, pulling all open POs for the current month from SAP and loading them into a Glide table. The procurement workspace is built on top of that Glide table, giving users fast, filterable access to PO data without hitting SAP on every page load.

    For instant needs, such as looking up the current status of a specific PO in response to a supplier inquiry, the developer also configures a remote table pointing to the same model. When a procurement team member opens a PO record and needs live data, the remote table queries SAP directly and returns the current value on demand.