In today’s data-driven enterprise landscape, the ability to access, analyze, and visualize business data in real time is vital. SAP BusinessObjects (SAP BO), a powerful suite of front-end applications for business intelligence (BI), and SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW), a robust data warehousing platform, can be seamlessly integrated to deliver comprehensive analytical capabilities. This integration allows organizations to harness the full potential of their data for informed decision-making.
¶ Understanding SAP BusinessObjects and SAP BW
SAP BusinessObjects provides tools for reporting, querying, analysis, and visualization. Key components include:
- Web Intelligence (WebI)
- Crystal Reports
- SAP BO Dashboards
- Analysis for Office
SAP BW, on the other hand, is a data warehousing solution that aggregates data from multiple sources into a centralized repository for structured reporting and analysis. It uses InfoProviders, DataStore Objects (DSOs), and Cubes to model and store data.
- Unified Reporting Platform: Users can access BW data directly from BusinessObjects tools without the need for data duplication.
- Enhanced Data Governance: Integration leverages BW’s metadata and security settings, ensuring consistency and compliance.
- Real-Time Insights: Live connectivity enables near real-time data access for dynamic reporting.
- User Empowerment: Business users can explore and visualize BW data using intuitive BO interfaces.
SAP offers several ways to integrate BusinessObjects with SAP BW:
- A native connection method from SAP BO to BW.
- Used primarily by Analysis for Office, Web Intelligence, and Crystal Reports.
- Benefits: High performance, support for hierarchies, variables, and BW-specific features.
- Universes are semantic layers in BO that abstract complex data structures.
- Tools like Information Design Tool (IDT) can create UNX universes over BW queries.
- Suitable for users needing abstraction and reusability.
- BO tools can consume BEx (Business Explorer) queries, which are predefined views of BW data.
- WebI and Crystal Reports can read these queries with BICS.
- For scenarios where data needs to be replicated or transformed.
- Often used in hybrid landscapes or when combining BW data with non-SAP sources.
- Define a BEx Query in SAP BW.
- Publish the BEx Query to make it accessible via BO.
- In SAP BI Launchpad or Web Intelligence, select the BW BEx query as a data source.
- Create Reports using the intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
- Apply Filters, Variables, and Formatting as required.
- Schedule or Publish the report to relevant stakeholders.
- Model Efficiently in BW: Clean, optimized queries enhance performance in BO.
- Leverage Caching and Aggregation: To improve response times for large datasets.
- Maintain Consistent Metadata: Use BW metadata in BO to preserve naming conventions and calculations.
- Ensure Security Synchronization: Use SAP authentication to enforce consistent access controls.
- Monitor and Tune Performance: Use tools like BO Monitoring, RSDDSTAT, and ST03N.
¶ Common Challenges and Solutions
| Challenge |
Solution |
| Poor performance |
Optimize BEx queries; avoid complex calculations at runtime |
| Compatibility issues |
Ensure SAP BO and BW are on compatible versions; apply patches |
| Missing metadata |
Refresh BEx query metadata in BO |
| Security mismatches |
Align SAP roles and BO access rights |
The integration of SAP BusinessObjects with SAP BW offers a powerful framework for enterprise reporting and analytics. By leveraging the strengths of both platforms—robust data warehousing from BW and flexible, user-friendly reporting from BO—organizations can empower users at all levels to make timely, data-informed decisions. Following best practices and understanding the integration mechanisms are key to maximizing the value of this synergy.