SAP BW on HANA - impressive data processing performance

What is SAP BW on HANA? What is the added value of BW on HANA? What is the difference between BW on and BW/4HANA? How does the implementation work? What does Hana stand for? Find the answers to these and other questions here.

Data integration and rapid execution of analytical concepts

Updated data, speed, agility, analytical functionality... In these times of digitalisation, the demands on a data warehouse are increasing rapidly and continuously, moving away from singular architecture and towards analytical platform networks.

Very good performance

Increased reporting and data loading performance thanks to the execution of large-scale data operations and complex transformations using SAP HANA.

Significant time-savings

Reducing the complexity of the data models through less persistence and a higher number of virtual data accesses.

Improved speed

Increase in agility and speed in the implementation of new requirements.

A variety of perspectives

Development of analytical applications that go beyond reporting - also using resources from SAP BW on HANA (e.g. HANA Analytics, predictive analytics, text analysis, sentiment analysis and big data connectivity).

 

BW on HANA
BW ON HANA

What is SAP BW on HANA?

Business Warehouse on HANA is an SAP solution that addresses the requirements of a data warehouse system with genuine efficiency and significantly accelerates the successful execution of analytical concepts. This is made possible by a number of factors, including open and modern user interfaces, simplified implementability and impressively high performance.

SAP BW on HANA is not just a business warehouse with SAP HANA as the database. It has come to represent a new type of in-memory platform for analytical systems. The functional maturity and the predictable technological stability of the HANA-specific components from SAP BW 7.4 SP11 allow you to make strategic investments without hesitation. This in turn opens up new and efficient levels of data modelling and analysis with SAP BW.

Your contact person for data warehousing
Paul Vatter Head of the Data Warehousing Competence Centre at s-peers AG
Paul Vatter
Head of Consulting

Frequently asked questions about SAP BW on and BW/4HANA

SAP-BW is the abbreviation for an SAP business warehouse package that provides extensive evaluation and reporting options for various types of data.It is made up of a combination of databases, database management tools and analysis and reporting functionalities.

The exact meaning of the abbreviation HANA is the subject of constant discussion in professional circles. The formulation "high-performance analytic appliance" is a popular one and directly describes the core function of SAP Hana. Since SAP HANA accesses an in-memory database, processing over 100 million data records is no longer a problem.

An Open ODS view is a BW metadata object that provides a structural description with attributes (fields) and data types. It represents a view of a source and adds analytical metadata to this source. Supported data sources are objects that describe their data in a structure with attributes and data types (such as database tables), views or BW DataSources.

In SAP CDS VIEWS, CDS stands for CORE DATA SERVICES. HANA CDS enables data models and various applications to be developed directly in HANA.

For more information, see our Wiki page entitled: "What are CDS views?".

The main difference between BW/4 and BW on HANA is in the administration. With BW on Hana, work is still often processed in SAP GUI.

A general summary would be to say that BW on HANA is a bridge between "old BW" and new "HANA-optimised BW". SAP BW on HANA integrates itself into both systems, for example by supporting alternative databases, Eclipse environments and InfoCubes.

However, SAP BW/4HANA is not a completely new development and there is therefore no obligation to change releases. It is, however, an option as SAP BW/4HANA is bulit on a solid software foundation.

Click here for more information about BW/4HANA.

As well as the differences between the individual BW variations, another issue for companies is how to switch to BW/4HANA. It all depends on the current situation, but when switching from BW on to BW/4HANA, the changeover to the new system is no more complex than an upgrade from one service package to another.

For example, if a company has not yet installed a business warehouse, BW/4HANA is installed as a fresh system, and involving what is known as a "greenfield approach".

You can read more about the associated "System conversion to SAP BW/4HANAseminar" here.

How long does the implementation process take and what are the individual steps?

The implementation process depends on various factors and usually takes four-to-eight weeks. It consists of the following steps:

Step 1

Objective

Step 2

Requirements

Step 3

Analysis of current situation

Step 4

Design

Step 5

Implementation

Step 6

Coaching

The top four BW on HANA benefits - see for yourself!

In-memory function

In-memory function provides quicker data access

State-of-the-art info-provider

Particularly "lean" info-providers, known as "open ODS views", are available

Simplicity

Simple data modelling thanks to new info-providers 

Planning security

SAP BW 7.5 on HANA is the first step in a potential migration path towards BW/4HANA. Advance planning will give you sufficient time until maintenance expires in 2027. Maintenance is also guaranteed until 2027.

KNOWLEDGE

Useful information

Wiki: Eugen interviewed about BW Bridge

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