(For SAP-BI – Business Intelligence)
SAP Business Intelligence (SAP BI), also known as SAP BW (Business Warehouse), is a powerful data warehousing and reporting platform that enables organizations to consolidate, transform, and analyze data from various sources. Two fundamental building blocks within SAP BI are InfoObjects and InfoProviders. Understanding these concepts is essential for working efficiently with SAP BI to design data models and generate meaningful reports.
This article provides an introduction to InfoObjects and InfoProviders, explaining their roles, types, and how they fit into the SAP BI architecture.
InfoObjects are the smallest information units in SAP BI and serve as the foundation for data modeling and reporting. Essentially, an InfoObject represents a business entity or characteristic that you want to analyze or report on, such as customer, product, sales region, or time.
InfoObjects are classified into different types based on their role in data modeling:
Characteristics: These represent descriptive attributes or dimensions in reporting, such as Customer ID, Product Name, or Country. Characteristics can have hierarchies and master data attributes.
Key Figures: These represent measurable numeric data such as sales amount, quantity, or costs. Key figures are typically aggregated in reports.
Units and Time Characteristics: Specialized InfoObjects that define units of measure (e.g., currency, kilograms) and time-related attributes (e.g., calendar day, fiscal period).
InfoProviders are the data containers or objects in SAP BI that physically store or provide access to data. They serve as the source of data for reporting and analysis and are built using InfoObjects.
InfoObjects define the structure of data by specifying characteristics and key figures, while InfoProviders organize and store this data in a way that facilitates efficient analysis. Essentially, InfoProviders are built by combining InfoObjects, making them fundamental to the data modeling process.
In SAP BI, InfoObjects and InfoProviders are foundational elements for building robust data models and reports. InfoObjects define the key dimensions and measures, while InfoProviders store and provide access to the data shaped by those InfoObjects. A clear understanding of these components enables SAP BI professionals to design effective data warehouses and deliver valuable business insights.
Mastering InfoObjects and InfoProviders is crucial for anyone involved in SAP BI development, reporting, or data analysis.