SAP BW/4HANA: The End-to-End Data Warehouse

SAP BW/4HANA is the latest generation of the classic SAP BW and is based completely on the in-memory database SAP HANA. This business warehouse follows the single-point-of-truth approach and is thus the central starting point for company reporting. BW/4 is not only a new release, but a new development in its own right and brings with it many innovations as well as simplifications.

Data from heterogeneous internal and external sources can be harmonized, consolidated, and archived. SAP BW/4HANA manages all types of data, whether from SAP applications or other systems, structured or unstructured, and it provides access to all models through an open SQL interface. This business warehouse thus offers companies a harmonized view of all business areas and enables the comparison of data from a wide variety of different sources in real time. In addition, historical data in the business warehouse provides a solid basis for business planning. With a comprehensive data warehouse approach, Big Data, and machine learning capabilities, SAP BW/4HANA will accelerate your business: Maybe it’s even worthwhile for you to switch to SAP BW/4HANA today!

Compared to previous SAP Business Warehouse versions, SAP BW/4HANA offers several new features and benefits. The number of object types has been cleaned up and reduced to the HANA optimized InfoProvider and source system types. Thus, they not only exploit the full performance potential of SAP HANA’s in-memory technology, but they also simplify the formation of complex data models. The introduction of new objects also lays the foundation for the future of data warehousing because persistence can be reduced and replaced by new virtual layers. This not only saves storage space costs and reduces the effort required for projects, but it also increases flexibility and speed in modeling.

This development is additionally stimulated by the introduction of new concepts, such as field-based modeling. It facilitates the rapid implementation and testing of new use cases without having to model a large number of info objects. SAP BW/4HANA also offers the option of accessing source data in real time via remote connections and using it for reporting purposes. The modeling of data flows is now done exclusively in modern Eclipse-based interfaces. Data management and administrative tasks are carried out in the web-based BW Cockpit. BW/4HANA is also SAP’s strategic tool for on-premise data warehousing. In the current SAP road map, maintenance is guaranteed until 2040 and the solution will be enhanced with regular releases.

There are different approaches for converting an existing SAP Business Warehouse solution to SAP BW/4HANA. The different approaches all have their respective strengths and weaknesses. The best approach is therefore always selected for each company after a thorough consideration of individual requirements and special features.

Important factors include the version of the current solution and existing business and reporting requirements, as well as time and cost factors. In addition, the company’s system environment has to be considered as a whole. If, for example, the migration of the existing ERP system to an SAP S/4HANA system is imminent, this should be included in the decision. Another point is the handling of legacy systems. Especially with long-standing SAP BW solutions, the update to BW/4HANA can provide a starting point for examining existing data models and deleting data that is no longer required.

We will be glad to help you with an upgrade.

More than half of our customers pursue a pure SAP BW/4HANA greenfield approach, i.e. we start together with the customer on a newly installed system and build the data warehouse from scratch.

We are experts in data warehousing, migration, and analytics. We support you from your initial contact with the new technologies through requirements analysis and conception to the implementation of your individual data architecture. We will be happy to answer all of your questions and advise you as to how you can reap the greatest benefit from your data!