BW/4HANA
BW/4HANA is SAP's next-generation data warehouse product built natively on SAP HANA, replacing classic BW's layered InfoProvider model with simplified objects like Advanced DataStore Objects (ADSOs) and Open ODS Views. This topic covers its architecture, business rationale, modeling simplifications, migration paths from BW-on-HANA/classic BW, and operational differences across on-premise and cloud-adjacent scenarios such as embedded analytics in S/4HANA.
Overview
BW/4HANA is SAP's next-generation data warehouse product built natively on SAP HANA, replacing classic BW's layered InfoProvider model with simplified objects like Advanced DataStore Objects (ADSOs) and Open ODS Views. This topic covers its architecture, business rationale, modeling simplifications, migration paths from BW-on-HANA/classic BW, and operational differences across on-premise and cloud-adjacent scenarios such as embedded analytics in S/4HANA.
Lessons in this topic
- Planning a BW/4HANA Conversion: In-Place vs Remote Conversion and Object SimplificationUnderstand the two primary conversion approaches to BW/4HANA, how classic BW objects map to simplified BW/4HANA objects, and the practical steps and risks involved in planning a conversion project.
- Modeling with ADSOs, CompositeProviders, and Open ODS Views in BW/4HANAA practical look at how to design a BW/4HANA data model using ADSOs for staging and storage, CompositeProviders for reporting-time combination, and Open ODS Views for virtual access, including transformation and DTP considerations.
- Why BW/4HANA Exists and How It Differs from Classic BWAn introduction to BW/4HANA's purpose, its simplified architecture compared to classic BW, and the core objects consultants encounter on day one.
- BW/4HANA Transfer Toolset: Conversion Paths and Object ReadinessHow the BW4HANA Transfer Toolset (also called BW4HANA Starter/Transfer Cockpit in SAP guidance) assesses, converts, and migrates classic BW objects to BW/4HANA-compatible equivalents, and what a consultant must plan before running conversion.
- What BW/4HANA Is and Why Organizations Migrate to ItAn introduction to BW/4HANA's purpose, simplified architecture, and the business drivers pushing organizations to move from classic BW to this HANA-native data warehouse.
- Modeling with ADSOs, Open ODS Views and CompositeProviders in BW/4HANAA practical look at how to design data models in BW/4HANA using Advanced DataStore Objects, Open ODS Views, and CompositeProviders, including layer design and conversion considerations from classic BW.