¶ Creating and Managing Custom Views in SAP Data Warehouse Cloud
SAP Data Warehouse Cloud (SAP DWC) provides a versatile platform for data integration, modeling, and advanced analytics within a cloud-native environment. One of the key capabilities in SAP DWC is the creation and management of custom views, which enable users to tailor data presentation, apply business logic, and prepare datasets specifically for reporting and analytical purposes.
This article delves into the techniques, best practices, and practical tips for creating and managing custom views in SAP Data Warehouse Cloud, empowering organizations to harness their data effectively.
Custom views in SAP DWC are user-defined database views created on top of data models, tables, or other views within a Space. They allow users to:
- Combine data from multiple sources or tables
- Implement business logic such as filtering, aggregations, and calculations
- Simplify complex data structures for easier consumption by reporting tools
Views can be graphical (using the DWC modeler UI) or SQL-based, depending on user expertise and requirements.
- Created through a drag-and-drop interface in the SAP DWC Modeler
- Suitable for business users and data analysts
- Supports joins, unions, filters, calculated columns, and hierarchies
- Provides an intuitive way to design and modify data relationships without SQL
- Created using SQL scripts within SAP DWC’s SQL Console
- Offer advanced control for complex logic and performance tuning
- Enable the use of window functions, subqueries, CTEs (Common Table Expressions), and more
Start by selecting the relevant tables, views, or external sources that hold the data for your analysis.
- For Graphical Views: Use the Modeler’s canvas to drag and drop tables, define joins (inner, left outer, etc.), and add calculated columns.
- For SQL Views: Write the SQL script that defines the view logic, leveraging the full power of SQL for complex transformations.
- Filter data to focus on relevant records
- Create calculated fields (e.g., profit margin, growth rates)
- Define hierarchies for drill-down capabilities
- Aggregate data as needed (sum, average, count)
¶ Step 4: Save and Activate the View
Once your view logic is finalized, save and activate it within the Space. This makes the view accessible for consumption by downstream analytics tools or other models.
¶ Version Control and Change Management
- Use SAP DWC’s built-in Versioning feature to track changes and roll back if necessary.
- Document your views with descriptions and metadata for team collaboration.
- Optimize joins by filtering early and using indexed columns
- Avoid unnecessary calculations on large datasets
- Leverage SAP DWC’s data tiering for balancing between in-memory and disk storage
¶ Security and Access Control
- Apply role-based access control (RBAC) to limit who can view or modify custom views.
- Use analytical privileges to enforce row-level security within views.
- Design views modularly to allow reuse in multiple reporting scenarios.
- Use business layer models to abstract complex logic for non-technical users.
- Financial Reporting: Create views that aggregate financial data by period, region, and product.
- Sales Analytics: Develop views that combine customer, product, and sales data with calculated KPIs.
- Operational Dashboards: Build simplified views for near real-time operational insights.
- Data Consolidation: Merge multiple data sources into a unified view for cross-functional reporting.
Custom views in SAP DWC serve as a powerful foundation for visualization tools such as:
- SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC): Live connections to views enable real-time dashboards and storyboards.
- Third-party BI tools: Views can be exposed via ODBC/JDBC for tools like Power BI or Tableau.
- Start simple and incrementally add complexity to views.
- Document your views thoroughly for easier maintenance.
- Regularly review and optimize views for performance.
- Implement strong governance and access controls.
- Leverage both graphical and SQL views based on user skill and complexity needs.
Creating and managing custom views in SAP Data Warehouse Cloud is central to building tailored data solutions that meet business needs. Whether through the intuitive graphical interface or advanced SQL scripting, SAP DWC empowers users to transform raw data into insightful, consumable datasets. Mastering these techniques accelerates data-driven decision-making and maximizes the value of your SAP data ecosystem.