In a modern, data-driven enterprise, valuable insights often lie beyond the boundaries of internal systems. To unlock the full potential of analytics and decision-making, organizations must integrate external data sources—such as third-party platforms, public datasets, or partner systems—into their core analytics infrastructure.
SAP Data Warehouse Cloud (SAP DWC) is designed with this need in mind, offering a flexible and scalable platform that supports seamless integration of external data sources alongside native SAP systems. This article explores how to efficiently connect, manage, and analyze external data within SAP DWC to enhance business insights and decision-making.
While SAP DWC provides deep integration with SAP systems like S/4HANA and BW/4HANA, external data integration enables:
- Enriched Analysis: Combine internal business data with third-party data (e.g., market trends, weather data, or social sentiment).
- Operational Efficiency: Create unified dashboards by consolidating data from various cloud applications like Salesforce, Google Analytics, or AWS.
- Enhanced Customer Intelligence: Incorporate data from CRM, support systems, or e-commerce platforms to improve customer 360 views.
SAP DWC supports both live and replicated data integration from a wide range of sources, including:
- Cloud Applications: Salesforce, Google BigQuery, Amazon Redshift, Microsoft Azure, Snowflake
- Databases: Oracle, MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL
- File-based Sources: CSV, Excel, Parquet via data upload or external storage like Amazon S3
- Web APIs: REST APIs and OData services
- SAP and Non-SAP Applications: Ariba, SuccessFactors, non-SAP ERP systems
This approach allows SAP DWC to access external data in real-time without replicating it.
- Tools: SAP Smart Data Access (SDA), SAP Smart Data Integration (SDI)
- Benefits: Real-time access, reduced storage requirements
- Use Case: Real-time dashboarding on external CRM data
Here, data from external sources is physically replicated into SAP DWC for performance and consistency.
- Tools: SAP Data Intelligence, SDI Flowgraphs, File Uploads, API-based ETL
- Benefits: Better performance for complex analytics, historical data analysis
- Use Case: Monthly imports of market intelligence reports into DWC for trend analysis
SAP Data Intelligence can act as a powerful bridge for ingesting, transforming, and orchestrating external data flows into SAP DWC.
- Supports pipelines, machine learning enrichment, and complex data transformations
- Ideal for hybrid landscapes and multi-source orchestration
Example: Integrating a PostgreSQL database
-
Create a Connection
- Navigate to Connections in SAP DWC
- Choose connection type: Relational Data Lake, PostgreSQL
- Enter credentials and network details
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Establish a Remote Table or Replicate Data
- Use Data Builder to create a graphical view
- Import remote tables or replicate for performance
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Model the Data
- Use SAP DWC’s Business Layer to join with SAP data sources
- Add semantic layers for business users
-
Consume via SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC)
- Build dashboards with enriched data from both internal and external sources
¶ Security and Governance Considerations
- Authentication: Use secure credentials or OAuth tokens
- Data Privacy: Ensure GDPR and compliance alignment when handling external PII
- Data Lineage: Track data sources and flows using metadata management tools
- Access Control: Define user roles and spaces in SAP DWC to limit access
- Use Virtualization Where Possible: Avoid unnecessary replication to save storage and improve performance
- Automate Data Loads: Schedule data updates using SAP Data Intelligence or built-in scheduling features
- Monitor Data Quality: Apply validation rules and profiling for external datasets
- Document Integrations: Maintain clear documentation of source systems, connection details, and data usage
¶ Real-World Use Case: Retail Demand Forecasting
A global retail company integrates:
- SAP S/4HANA sales and inventory data
- External weather data via a public API
- Social media sentiment analysis from a third-party platform
Using SAP Data Intelligence, the data is processed and enriched, then modeled in SAP DWC. The combined dataset feeds into predictive models and dashboards in SAP Analytics Cloud, helping the company optimize demand forecasts and inventory levels.
Integrating external data sources into SAP Data Warehouse Cloud is not just a technical capability—it's a strategic advantage. By blending external and internal datasets, businesses can unlock richer insights, support more accurate predictions, and deliver a 360-degree view of operations and customers.
With SAP DWC’s support for flexible connections, data federation, and integration via tools like SAP Data Intelligence, the possibilities for innovation and intelligence are virtually limitless.