SAP has sharpened its data warehouse strategy. Datasphere is SAP's strategic application-driven cloud data warehouse solution and thus the focus of future investments and innovations by SAP.
Table of contents
2. is the Datasphere the successor to SAP Business Warehouse?
3. is SAP BW still fit for the future? Should I start another SAP BW project?
4. opportunities for hybrid architectures
4.2 The Datasphere for Self-Service Data Preparation
4.3 SAP BW/4HANA and Datasphere
4.4 The Datasphere for Data Warehouse Virtualization
5. digression: How are the Analytics Cloud and Datasphere growing together?
6 SAP BW/4HANA is dead? Long live BW/4HANA and Datasphere - together!
In the past, SAP BW was the established application-driven approach from SAP. Does this mean that Datasphere is the end of SAP BW and its successor?
Is SAP BW dead?
With SAP BW/4HANA, SAP HANA SQL Data Warehousing and SAP Datasphere, SAP offers three different data warehouse solutions. SAP's strategic focus is on public cloud products based on the Business Technology Platform (BTP). Further developments and future innovations can only be expected in this area. Conversely, this means that all solutions that deviate from this will no longer be developed intensively. Datasphere is SAP's strategic application-driven cloud data warehouse solution and therefore the focus of future investments and innovations by SAP.
What does this mean for SAP BW? Is SAP BW still part of SAP's strategic portfolio? Does this mean that SAP BW is dead?
No, not (yet). BW/4 HANA continues to be a strategic application-driven solution for on-premise and private cloud data warehousing. With the private cloud option, BW/4 is also part of Rise with SAP. SAP has also given BW/4 HANA a perspective until 2040. This provides a certain degree of investment security.
Is the Datasphere the successor to SAP Business Warehouse?
Due to the strategic focus on SAP's cloud offering, investments will primarily be made in the Datasphere in future. In the long term, the Datasphere can be seen as the successor to the Business Warehouse. This fits with the fact that the BW Bridge offers migration options for parts of BW systems. However, this means that companies must be ready for the public cloud. BW/4 is still strategically set for on premiseWhat does on premise mean? On premise refers to infrastructures that are physically... More and private cloud approaches.
Is SAP BW still fit for the future? Should I start another SAP BW project?
SAP BW customers who are considering modernizing their data warehouse by introducing SAP BW/4 HANA are faced with the question of whether this (still) makes sense. From our point of view, it is still a valid option to introduce BW/4 HANA. The investment is not a dead end. The drivers of this assessment are:
- SAP BW/4 HANA has been used successfully for many years and can map pretty much any data warehouse use case. It is simply mature and ready-2-use.
- This is 18(!) years and thus a (very) very long-term confirmation of investment security.
- Ultimately, the BW Bridge offers the option of transferring parts of SAP BW developments to the Datasphere. There is therefore a certain cloud perspective.
We recommend that SAP BW customers monitor the development of the Datasphere very closely. At the same time, customers should not be unsettled, but should consider the possibilities of hybrid architectures together with the Datasphere.
Opportunities of hybrid architectures with the Datasphere
We see many opportunities and advantages in combining SAP BW systems with the Datasphere. We would like to outline this using the following scenarios.
Are you interested in the opportunities of hybrid architectures with the Datasphere? Then take a look at our detailed blog article on this topic: Hybrid SAP HANA Data Warehouse Solutions at a Glance.
Accelerate Analytics
Customers can transfer data marts from classic SAP BW systems to the Datasphere. On the one hand, reporting is accelerated by replicating SAP BW data due to the move to the HANA Cloud. On the other hand, the (embedded) Analytics Cloud provides customers with a very modern front end. The aforementioned added value is achieved relatively quickly because connecting SAP BW systems is quick and easy.
The scenario is suitable for customers who have a historically grown SAP BW system and are basically satisfied with the data quality but would like to benefit from the advantages mentioned above. In addition, the SAP BW data can be expanded in the Datasphere to include data from other systems (e.g. S/4, etc.)
The Datasphere for self-service data preparation
SAP is also explicitly positioning Datasphere in the area of self-service preparation. We already see a lot of potential thanks to user-oriented data modeling. The Analytics Cloud does not offer a comprehensive data preparation option. Neither does SAP BW/4 HANA. We often find that specialist departments look for other solutions, but these are not integrated into the IT system landscape. Datasphere can therefore fill the gap very well and offers departments many degrees of freedom while at the same time integrating them into the IT system architecture. The possibility of SQL scripts and data flows from Data Intelligence also opens up several ways to implement logics. The diagram below outlines how the interaction between an EDWH, other solutions and the Datasphere can work. For example, IT can provide an IT-governed space with quality-assured data models for standard reports, etc. Building on this, we can create our own extensions in the Line of Business Spaces. In the future, we can also very well imagine the Datasphere acting as a virtual semantic layer across all systems (see Data Virtualization below).
SAP BW/4HANA and Datasphere
BW/4 HANA has weaknesses in the area of self-service data preparation. BW workspaces have never been a good option. We see many opportunities in a hybrid architecture of BW/4 HANA with the Datasphere. Technically, there are various options for integrating the solutions.
1. remote tables / database connection:
BW/4 HANA is connected here as a remote source and data can be connected in the data layer. The scenario can be implemented quickly. However, the Datasphere does not know any semantics. From the Datasphere's perspective, the BW objects are just "tables". If you only follow this hybrid approach, you have to create the semantics in the Datasphere manually - for example, define what a cost center is, etc.
2. BW/4 HANA Model Transfer:
In contrast to the simple DB connection, the BW query is connected in the model transfer connection. In addition to the necessary DB connection, the Datasphere also reads the semantics and creates the necessary objects in the business layer. This type of connection has the great advantage that manual modeling of the business layer is not necessary. On the other hand, the first option gives you more freedom in modeling if a business entity is to be defined differently from BW/4 HANA, for example by extending the BW data to an entity with external data.
3rd BW Bridge:
The latest option is the BW Bridge. The BW Bridge does not create a bridge between an existing on premise BW/4 HANA system and DataWarehouse Cloud. Rather, the BW Bridge itself is a BW/4 HANA environment that runs in the HANA Cloud and is a Datasphere feature. The BW data models are integrated into the Datasphere via a bridge space. The bridge offers the option of migrating / transferring existing BW systems to the cloud. However, it should be noted that the bridge only offers limited functionality from a BW perspective (see note 3117800). The BW Bridge gives Datasphere access to SAPI extractors of classic SAP ERP systems as well as the BI content. This allows reporting to be set up quickly. For example, in this "hybrid" architecture (we speak of hybrid as a combination of BW with Datasphere functionalities), the BW Bridge can serve as the ingestion layer for SAP ERP data, including SAP ERP semantics. Extensions can then be carried out in the Datasphere as required.
The Datasphere for Data Warehouse Virtualization
In the Datasphere, semantic entities can be defined with the Business Builder (e.g. cost center dimension, etc.). The definition of this semantic layer is purely virtual and therefore decoupled from the physical data layer.
We can therefore well imagine that the Datasphere defines company-wide semantics centrally and makes them available for reporting. From the front end's perspective, the actual data source is not important. The Datasphere's virtual layer is the central entry point. We can also imagine a combination with previous "shadow" solutions from specialist departments that are virtually integrated into the Datasphere.
According to analyses by BARC and Gartner, data virtualization is one of the major topics in which companies want to invest more heavily in the coming years against the backdrop of an architecture that is as flexible and agile as possible.
Compared to other providers (such as Denodo), Datasphere offers significantly better, and above all SAP-native, integration options with SAP cloud and on-premise products, and is therefore particularly suitable for those customers who are considering how they can take the step towards data virtualization and hybrid cloud with their existing BW/4 or S/4 systems.
What does the current SAP Data Warehouse strategy look like? Take a look at our new blog article on this topic now.
Excursus: How are the Analytics Cloud and Datasphere growing together?
When taking a strategic view of the Datasphere, the increasing integration with the Analytics Cloud should also be taken into account. In the long term, the Analytics Cloud will grow very closely together with the Datasphere. Although the Analytics Cloud is not a successor to the BEx Suite, SAP will (soon) once again be offering a complete package (we are unable to assess licensing aspects) consisting of Data Warehouse, Analytics and Planning.
SAP BW/4HANA is dead? Long live BW/4HANA and Datasphere - together!
SAP BW/4 HANA is not finished. Many of our customers are implementing BW/4 HANA systems from scratch. Customers get a very mature solution where they are sure that their project can be a success. There is a very long-term perspective and SAP roadmap. The BW Bridge also offers paths into the Datasphere for parts of the developments.
At the same time, we recommend including Datasphere in the analysis. Strategically, Datasphere is set and the focus of SAP's investments. From a strategic perspective, Datasphere can be seen as the successor to BW/4 HANA.
It may be that Datasphere is not yet suitable for every use case, but we already see many advantages in hybrid architectures together with SAP Datasphere.
The speed of Datasphere's further development is very high. The assessments of our contribution must therefore be viewed in the context of the time of creation. In a few months, an update of the estimates will be necessary.
We therefore recommend including the Datasphere in your architectural considerations.
Christopher Kampmann
Senior Manager
SAP Information Management
christopher.kampmann@isr.de
+49 (0) 151 422 05 448
