SAP Business Intelligence

1. BI-BW
2. Star Schema
3. On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP)
4. Basic BW Architecture
5. BW Architecture (Data Staging)
6. What is InfoCube
7. What is an InfoObject ?
8. Query And BEx
9. Business Content
10. Our Landscape



SAP Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence (BI)
Business Intelligence (BI) applications are decision support
tools that enable real-time, interactive access, analysis and
manipulation of mission-critical corporate information.

The goals for Business intelligence projects are to provide
information used to:
Support internal enterprise users in the assessment, enhancement
and optimization of organizational performance & operation.
Deliver critical business information to end-users about value chain
constituencies such as customers and supply-chain partners.

End-users can utilize the BI tools to "drill-down" and "slice and
dice" to gain a better understanding of transactional and
operational information; for example, Star Schema and OLAP
are usually used for provide this functionality.
SAP Business Intelligence
A Data Warehouse is a "Subject Oriented,
Integrated, Time-Variant, Nonvolatile collection
of data in support of decision making".
Data Warehouses tend to have these distinguishing features:
(1) Use a subject oriented dimensional data model;
(2) Contain publishable data from potentially multiple
sources.
(3) Contain integrated reporting tools.

Data Warehouse usually adopts Star Schema data
structure for optimizing the performance of data
analysis and reporting.

Data Warehouse
SAP Business Intelligence
A Star schema is optimized for data analysis as is typically required in a
Decision Support System.
A star schema has a fact table surrounded by dimension tables
Star Schema
SAP Business Intelligence
OLTP
SAP Business Intelligence
On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP):
technology used to perform updates on operational
or transactional systems (e.g., point of sale systems)
Literally, On-Line Analytical Processing. Designates a
category of applications and technologies that allow the
collection, storage, manipulation and reproduction of
multidimensional data, with the goal of analysis.
On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP)
SAP Business Intelligence
Operational System
(OLTP)
Data Warehouse
(OLAP)
Transaction Processing Query Processing
Predictable CPU Usage Random CPU Usage
Time Sensitive History Oriented
Operator View Managerial View
Stores all data Stores relevant data
Not Flexible Flexible
Efficiency Effectiveness

OLTP Vs OLAP
SAP Business Intelligence
ODS
InfoCube
Non-SAP
Data Sources
(Flat file, XML
or DBConnect)
BEx
Web
Based
BEx
Data Detail
Business Content
SAP R/3
SAP-BW
Data Sources Business
Explorer Tools
Basic BW Architecture
SAP Business Intelligence
Update Rules
R/3 OLTP System
InfoCube
Update Rules
Source
Systems
Data extract
Sales Europe
R/3 standard
extractor
Transfer Structure
Non R/3 OLTP System
Data extract
Sales Americas
3rd party
extraction tool
Transfer Structure
Communication Structure
Mapping & Transformation Rules
Business
Information
Warehouse
Server
BW Architecture (Data Staging)
SAP Business Intelligence
Info
Cube
Division
1
100
RT-0001
North
Plastics
Retail Trade
Sales
Hours worked
4,000,000
1,300,000
Key Figures
Character-
istics
Customer
group
R
e
g
i
o
n

Key Figures are stored for a unique combination of Characteristic Values
Number of dimensions is degree of granularity / summarization level of the
dataset
InfoCube: Characteristics and Key Figures
SAP Business Intelligence
InfoObject
0COSTCENTER
InfoObjects are unique across
application components !
CO
Controlling
HR
Human
Resources
KOSTL ...
Table of cost centers
Table of employees
EMPLO COST_CENTER ...
BW Extractor
DataSource
for
Cost Center
R/3 OLTP OLAP
What is an InfoObject ?
SAP Business Intelligence
Characteristics: evaluation groups like Cost Center, Product group,
Material
Have discrete values stored in their master data tables
(e.g. the characteristic Region has the values North, South, ... )
Special types of characteristics:
Time characteristics like Fiscal period, Calendar year, ...
Unit characteristics which comprise currencies and units of
measure like Local currency or Sales quantity


Keyfigures: continuously valued numerical fields like amounts and
quantities (e.g.: Revenue and Sales quantity)

Types of InfoObjects
SAP Business Intelligence
Query: Way to get data from Data providers (
InfoCube, DSO, Multi-Providers).
Business Explorer(BEx): SAP NetWeaver
provides following tools-
BEx Query Designer
BEx Web Application Designer
BEx Broadcaster
BEx Analyzer

Query And BEx
SAP Business Intelligence
Pre-Configured SAP-delivered objects allow rapid
development (DataSources, Transfer Structures,
DSOs, InfoCubes, Queries, etc.)

Based on Best Practices

Provides a good baseline for enhancements of
functionality and data models.

Business Content
SAP Business Intelligence
Queries and solution workbooks embedded in MS Excel
Excel functionality can be utilized (calculations, charts, VBA
programming, etc.)
Queries are refreshed at each run; workbooks provide pre-
calculated queries
Incorporates BW Security and, therefore, eliminates the
need for an additional layer of security at the reporting
level
Seamless integration with BEx Analyzer for the Web

Business Explorer (BEx) Analyzer
SAP Business Intelligence
ECC Dev
ECC Quality
ECC
Production
BI Dev
BI Quality
BI
Production
BEx
Transport
Data Extraction/Loading
Transport
Query
BO Dev
BEx
BO Quality
BEx
BO Production
User
Our Landscape
SAP Business Intelligence
In general
For MM:
Procurement
Inventory Management
Purchasing
Planning
Supply Chain Event Management
For Manufacturing
SD
QM(2004)
BI Standard Report format Links
SAP Business Intelligence