In today’s world of data-driven processes, businesses face quite a few challenges in trying to harness the full potential of their data and find a robust, scalable solution that revolutionizes the way they view, analyze, manage, and integrate data across different sources and teams.
Enter the SAP Datasphere, formerly known as the SAP Data Warehouse Cloud (DWC).
By seamlessly integrating data from various sources, empowering business users through self-service analytics, and leveraging a cloud solution for improved data flow, the Data Warehouse Cloud offers unparalleled agility, flexibility, and insights to drive informed decision-making and facilitate better business outcomes in the long run.
This article will offer a comprehensive overview of the SAP Data Warehouse Cloud and its key components and capabilities, as well as where our team of SAP consultants can offer support.
Read on to learn more!
What is SAP Data Warehouse Cloud?
The SAP Data Warehouse Cloud (SAP DWC), now known as the SAP Datasphere, is a cloud-based data management platform designed to help companies manage and analyze their most important data efficiently and cost-effectively.
With core components and capabilities of the SAP Datasphere, companies are enabled to bring together business-critical data from separate sources into a single business data fabric architecture, making it easier to optimize business processes and make quicker decisions.
Understanding the Foundation of Business Data Architecture
While data consumers and SAP and non-SAP data, including all the data in applications, on-premise and cloud data warehouses, and relational databases, are key components of a successful business data fabric architecture, SAP DWC makes up the most important part –the foundation.
Without a strong foundation, the business data fabric architecture would not be able to function properly, even if the other components were configured, set up, and operating as expected. Here are a few of the main capabilities of SAP Data Warehouse solution that make it a non-negotiable aspect of the entire business data fabric architecture for all business users…
- Data discovery: This component includes business content, recommendations, and the data marketplace to improve the ability of business users to access and view new data sources for better visibility and performance across their entire enterprise.
- Data consumption: From data federation to replication, app integration, and everything in between, SAP DWC makes it easier for user groups to consume data quickly and efficiently as needed to complete tasks and manage their SAP applications.
- Data governance: With efficient management capabilities for metadata, lineage, catalog, and privacy information, companies are enabled to provide secure and authorized access to data, keeping operations safe and compliant over time.
- Self-service tools: Virtual data products that give users the ability to manage information and complete tasks whenever and wherever they’re needed can help teams improve productivity and efficiency across the board.
- Processing functions: With advanced data warehousing functions and business semantics, users have access to both analytic and relational data models, making it easier to efficiently manage data throughout any business department.
- Transformation: Data orchestration tools allow users to transform their data into required formats for each business layer or data model across the enterprise and leverage data ops to improve the efficiency of data management processes across teams.
Main Components of the SAP Datasphere
The SAP Data Warehouse Cloud comprises a comprehensive suite of key components designed to empower businesses with efficient data management and analytics capabilities and drive business development and growth.
Let’s take a closer look at a few key components of SAP Datasphere Architecture…
Data Builder
The Data Builder provides multiple options for transforming, integrating, and strategically linking data via a CSV import, SQL-based view, or graphic view in a user-friendly interface.
This component also allows users to create tables and views to prepare important data for stories, drag and drop objects for better visibility, and leverage entity-relationship models to access, analyze, and make connections between artifacts across the graphical interface.
Business Builder
The Business Builder tool in the SAP Data Warehouse Cloud helps companies model objects in the business layer more efficiently, making it easier for any business user to create business entities and fact models as the foundation for various consumption models across teams.
With this tool, users can define business models separately from the physical data layer to improve top-down visibility and protect data models from unauthorized access through advanced authorization scenarios across the solution.
Story Builder
The Story Builder allows users to connect their SAP Data Warehouse Cloud with the fully-integrated SAP Analytics Cloud for better data management and visualization across systems.
This component simplifies the creation of reports for specific data across the enterprise and improves visibility for key figures in the comprehensive data model, improving data integration from different source systems and connections between the SAP DWC solution and the SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC).
Space Management
A “space” in the SAP Datasphere refers to a small data warehouse for a specific business segment, providing a secure area where system administrators and team members can access, transform, and model data and collaborate with other users without needing to shear the data.
Spaces enable specific business users to integrate and model their data more efficiently and create story dashboards that improve visualization and connection between data sources and user groups across different business departments and areas of the organization.
Explorer
The Explorer component helps users find existing data models quickly and efficiently and maintain well-defined data modeling functions with metadata, including information regarding the purpose, tags, and teams associated with each data source.
Data Access Control
With advanced user authentication controls and defined role concepts, the SAP Data Warehouse Cloud provides secure access and more effective controls for functional data access across teams.
Connections
The Connection component provides the functionality needed for users to seamlessly connect SAP Datasphere capabilities to external, non-SAP sources to improve visibility, accessibility, and collaboration across the board.
Data Integration/Flow
With SAP Datasphere capabilities, users are enabled to access data from multiple different sources, including both on-premise and cloud solutions in the SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Business Technology Platform and beyond.
Parameters for each connection between systems can be configured for the specific connection type, name, and description of each object.
Model Import
The Model Import component allows users to import metadata from existing sources, including SAP BW/4HANA and the SAP S/4HANA cloud, instead of having to rebuild them manually.
This tool makes it easier to create connections between each source system and leverage Business Builder capabilities to import source metadata from each connection.
Remote Table
With this tool, users can improve table creation, import source tables directly from the source, and create advanced views for each table, enhancing visibility and connection across each source and table in the system.
Users can also receive a snapshot, schedule a replication, or request a copy of the data change in real time to maintain consistency and compliance across their data management functions.
Strategic SAP DWC Partnerships for Better Integration
With strategic partnerships to support business data fabric architecture and facilitate more efficient integration of SAP and non-SAP data across systems. Here are a few examples of partnerships between SAP DWC and other solutions for a unified data architecture…
- Databricks: Partnership with the Databricks platform integrates SAP data with the complete context of the Databricks Data Lakehouse platform for improved integration.
- Confluent: Integration with Confluent’s data streaming platform helps companies set their data in motion across teams, departments, and systems.
- Collibra: With future-proof data privacy, governance, and compliance initiatives, companies can integrate their data without worrying about security and authorization.
- DataRobot: By connecting with DataRobot capabilities, businesses are empowered to leverage augmented intelligence and automated machine learning tools for enhanced functionality and collaboration across the board.
How Can We Help?
Whether you need help implementing a new SAP data warehousing solution across teams, an extra hand enhancing the availability of SAP BW Bridge for improved connectivity between your solutions, or anything else related to data storage, warehousing, and management, Surety Systems is here to help.
Our team of senior-level SAP consultants has the technical skills and functional expertise needed to help your company facilitate more efficient data management, improve collaboration between teams, and make the most of your SAP investments in the long run.
Getting Started with Our Team
Interested in learning where our team of SAP consultants can fit in your organization? Ready to get started with a new SAP Data Warehouse solution, but don’t know where to begin?
Contact us today for more information about our SAP consulting services!
