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Customers who currently use an SAP BW system (non-BW/4) will have to deal with migrating to SAP BW/4 HANA in the coming years. Support for SAP BW 7.5 will end in 2027 (as of March 2, 2020). The introduction of SAP BW/4 HANA brings with it many changes, including changes to data warehouse modeling. Therefore, it is not a simple release update and should be well planned in advance. In discussions with our customers, we often encounter many questions about the migration to SAP BW/4.
In this article, we would like to provide an overview and answers to frequently asked questions.
Overview of migration
SAP BW/4 HANA brings a lot of changes to data modeling (including a reduction in modeling objects and source systems). You can find a good overview here.
“Many roads lead to Rome”—in keeping with this saying, there are many paths that lead to an SAP BW/4 HANA system. Below, we provide an overview of the possible approaches:
1) In-place conversion
- Migration to SAP BW 7.5 and installation of BW/4 HANA Starter Add-On
- Gradual migration of existing data models to BW/4 HANA-compatible objects
- System conversion to SAP BW/4 HANA
- Min. SAP BW 7.5 SP5 powered by HANA
2) Remote conversion
- SAP BW/4 HANA will be newly installed and operated in parallel with the old system until it is replaced.
- Selective transfer and migration of data models, including data (e.g., requests), to a new system
- Minimum SAP BW 7.3 (in Any DB)
3) Shell conversion
- SAP BW/4 HANA will be newly installed and, until it replaces the old system, will run in parallel with it.
- Selective transfer and migration of data models to new system (without data)
- Minimum SAP BW 7.0 (on any database)
In our article Your Road2SAP BW/4 HANA, we have described the respective approaches and the derivation of a Road-2-BW/4 HANA in detail.
The official SAP Conversion Guideis also a very good source for many detailed questions.
Existing SAP BW systems will reach the end of their support period by 2027 at the latest. A migration to SAP BW/4 HANA should take place before then. Depending on your BW version, you still have some time, provided you are very satisfied with your BW system. We recommend using this time to define the right strategy and target architecture. This will determine the migration strategy, which has a significant impact on the effort required. We have several customers who wanted to take this opportunity to “clean house” once and for all. These customers often pursue brownfield or greenfield approaches. Naturally, the time required to implement a new data warehouse spans several years. After all, the year 2027 will be here before we know it.
Important key data to note:
31.12.2020
- SAP BPC for Netweaver: Version SAP SBOP PC 10.0 FOR SAP NW
- SAP BW Accelerator: Version SAP BW ACCELERATOR 7.2
- SAP BW for Netweaver (ABAP): Versions NetWeaver 7.0x, 7.3, 7.31, and 7.40
31.12.2027
- SAP BW for Netweaver: Version Netweaver 7.5
- SAP BW Bex: SAP BW NetWeaver 7.5 version
- SAP BPC for Netweaver: SAP SBOP PC 10.1 FOR SAP NW
- SAP BW Accelerator: Version SAP BW ACCELERATOR 7.2
31.12.2027
- SAP ECC 6.0 → ERP that is not S/4 HANA → Customers must actually complete the transition before 2027
A BW 7.0 system can be migrated as part of a shell conversion. See also the question: What options are available for migrating to SAP BW/4 HANA?
The simplification list is an overview of the changes brought about by BW/4 HANA. The changes are described for each object type, and it is also clearly indicated whether there is a migration approach.
The question is understandable but cannot be answered in general terms. The question can only be clarified individually in relation to your situation. The decisive factors for selecting the migration approach are your initial situation and the goal you are pursuing with your SAP BW/4 HANA migration. We have developed a structured approach for deriving your Road-2-BW/4 HANA:Your Road2SAP BW/4 HANA.
Technical details regarding migration
Yes! With the help of SAP Readiness Checks, BW modeling and add-ons can be tested for BW/4 compatibility. The tests provide a good impression of what needs to be migrated on the system and whether it is supported.
This is explained quite well in chapter 3.11.2 "Installing Pre-Checks" in the SAP Conversion Guide.
Most objects can be migrated—but not all of them. You can see which objects can be migrated here.
The following list provides an overview of the most important restrictions (as of March 2, 2020) when migrating objects. For the list, please click here.
The complete list can be found in the Simplification listand is updated on an ongoing basis.
No, SAP BW Analysis Process Designer (APD) is no longer supported by BW/4 HANA. APD will be deleted during migration. There is no 1:1 functional replacement for APD. APD scenarios will have to be implemented differently in the future.
Details: see SAP Note 2444220.
No, the variable exits are performed via BAdI implementations.
Details: see SAP Note 2458521.
No, BW 3.x data flows are not supported by BW/4 HANA. Before migration, the data flows must first be converted to BW 7 data flows.
Topics besides BW data modeling
Yes, migration to BPC 11 is supported.
It should be noted that BPC 11 is also a new product in terms of licensing, i.e., an additional license must be purchased.
BW/4 HANA generally no longer supports BEx. Although BEx queries can be migrated, all other objects cannot.
Details: see SAP Note 2444138.
For visualization, you are therefore forced to obtain and connect a separate front end. On a positive note, BW/4 HANA has become more open to non-SAP BI tools. You have the choice of whether or not to use SAP solutions. That is why we are increasingly supporting manufacturer-neutral BI tool selection processes.
Christopher Kampmann
Head of Business Unit
Data & Analytics
christopher.kampmann@isr.de
+49 (0) 151 422 05 448
