SAP released the SAP BW Bridge at the end of 2021. Is this an SAP BW/4HANA system in the Business Technology Platform? Does this mean that SAP BW now has a cloud perspective? What is the BW Bridge? We provide answers to these and other questions.
What is the BW Bridge?
BW Bridge is primarily a service that can be added to SAP Datasphere. When the service is booked, an SAP BW/4HANA environment (BW Bridge) is provided based on the Business Technology Platform. The core application of Datasphere accesses the data models of BW Bridge via an automatically generated space called "BW Bridge Space." The figure below outlines this relationship:
The functionality of BW Bridge is limited to data management and data integration from SAP systems. Analytical functions such as queries are not possible. SAP Note 3117800 contains detailed information on the supported functions. Another important limitation is the restriction to SAP ODP extractors. It is not possible to connect files or Smart Data Access sources.
Does this spell the end for SAP BW?
Strategically, SAP is focusing primarily on SAP Datasphere, as illustrated in the following figure:
Does this mean that SAP BW is now at an end? No, not (yet). Although SAP's focus is very clearly on SAP Datasphere, SAP BW/4HANA can still be the answer for customers who do not (yet) want to move to the public cloud. In addition, SAP BW/4HANA is very well proven and can be the basis for large and complex enterprise data warehouse solutions. SAP has also given BW/4HANA a perspective until 2040. This provides a certain degree of investment security.
Prospects for SAP BW customers
SAP BW Bridge gives SAP BW customers the option of migrating parts of SAP BW to BW Bridge, thereby preserving their past investments. This gives customers greater flexibility, as they can move to the public cloud at their own pace.
Technically, migration in BW Bridge works similarly to a technical migration of an SAP BW system to BW/4HANA – remote and/or shell conversion are possible.
Customers should not expect a complete migration of a complex SAP BW system. Not all objects can be migrated, and some data models will inevitably have to be rebuilt.
What does BW Bridge mean for the Datasphere?
The BW Bridge offers advantages not only from the perspective of SAP BW customers. Datasphere gains access to SAP BW's long-proven BI content via the BW Bridge. This allows SAP ERP-centered data models to be set up very quickly, with the BW Bridge acting as an integration layer.
outlook
In the future, BW Bridge will also be able to access Datasphere data models. This will enable significantly more migration scenarios, because input aDSOs from non-SAP systems can in principle be migrated and their source connection maintained via Datasphere.
Conclusion
The BW Bridge is primarily an opportunity to migrate SAP BW systems completely or in parts to the Datasphere. If SAP expands the range of functions even further as planned, it offers a lot of potential. At the same time, customers should not expect to be able to technically migrate their entire systems, including mixed scenarios with HANA Calculation Views. It will not be possible without manual work.
Christopher Kampmann
Head of Business Unit
Data & Analytics
christopher.kampmann@isr.de
+49 (0) 151 422 05 448
