SAP BW/4HANA is SAP’s next-generation data warehouse solution built natively on the SAP HANA platform. One of the core innovations of SAP BW/4HANA is its ability to integrate with diverse data sources using data virtualization, offering real-time insights without the need for persistent data storage. This approach significantly enhances agility, reduces data redundancy, and simplifies data architecture.
This article explores the concept of data virtualization in SAP BW/4HANA, its benefits, how it is implemented, and practical use cases in modern enterprise data landscapes.
Data virtualization is a data integration technique that allows users to access and query data without needing to move or replicate it into a physical repository. Instead, data is accessed in real-time from the original source using virtual views.
In the context of SAP BW/4HANA, data virtualization enables seamless access to external systems—such as SAP S/4HANA, SAP Datasphere, cloud applications, or third-party databases—without loading the data physically into the BW system.
Open ODS Views
Open ODS Views provide a virtual modeling layer that allows SAP BW/4HANA to consume external data sources directly. These views do not require InfoObjects or traditional BW data modeling structures.
CompositeProviders
CompositeProviders can combine data from various sources, including InfoProviders and Open ODS Views. They allow for complex virtual data models by integrating virtual and persistent data.
SAP HANA Smart Data Access (SDA)
SDA enables real-time data access from remote sources (e.g., Hadoop, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server) using virtual tables. SAP BW/4HANA uses SDA to read data on-the-fly without moving it.
SAP Smart Data Integration (SDI)
SDI allows both virtual and real-time replication of data. It includes flow graphs, transformations, and the Data Provisioning Agent (DP Agent) for integrating with cloud and on-premise sources.
Using Open ODS Views on top of CDS Views in SAP S/4HANA allows real-time reporting in SAP BW/4HANA without duplicating transactional data.
Virtual access to cloud platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Google BigQuery) using SDI lets organizations enrich BW/4HANA reporting with external business data.
Combining persistent InfoProviders and virtual Open ODS Views in a CompositeProvider allows flexible and performant hybrid models suitable for both operational and strategic analytics.
Data virtualization is a powerful capability in SAP BW/4HANA that aligns with modern data warehousing strategies. It helps organizations become more agile, reduce costs, and make faster, data-driven decisions by leveraging real-time access to diverse data sources. When implemented with the right balance between virtualization and persistence, it significantly enhances the value of SAP BW/4HANA in enterprise analytics ecosystems.
Author: [Your Name]
Date: [May 2025]
Category: SAP BW/4HANA – Data Integration & Virtualization