Many companies use traditional data warehouses for reporting. Still, these are often not suitable for comprehensive and timely analysis, as they can only integrate all available data sources with additional burdens and delays. For critical studies, a cloud-based data warehouse such as SAP cloud data warehouse is required.
Traditional data warehouses are only able to process large amounts of data slowly due to their technical architecture. In an application data warehouse, authorized users rely on the databases and have to struggle to extract data from the structure.
This requires more work and often results in the use of fewer data resources. However, with a fast application repository, reports can be run. Such data warehouses could be more rapid due to low data transfer rates. Using such data warehouses to produce reports may result in words that are shorter or contain more information. SAP Cloud Data Warehouse provides a solution for this.
A few years ago, companies were using HANA in-memory technology as a technical solution to speed up databases. Still, more was needed to solve the problem of getting access to all the data they needed in a timely manner. Today, professionals can consolidate and evaluate all the data they need quickly and easily with a range of cloud data warehouse tools.
Consolidate All Your Data
Businesses can benefit from having a DWC as a central data warehouse. DWC offers connectivity to pre-defined and sometimes highly specialized databases such as SAP Business Warehouse (WBW), Google Cloud Storage, Microsoft Azure, Data Lake, and Oracle. DWC also offers standard open connections such as Prodata, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and Java Database Connectivity (JDBC).
In principle, cloud data warehouses can be linked to any data source. New external sources of information on different market topics, such as EU events or social crises, can be integrated into reports, meaning that words can be produced faster and in more detail. In addition, information can be formatted into customized reports or presentations and archived in the cloud data warehouse. Decision-makers can access raw data to get the information they need.
Additional Visualization Options for Professionals
SAP DWC eliminates the need to migrate data and simplifies the modeling of existing data so professionals can create reports faster and more creatively. While traditional data warehouses include data modeling tools, DWC allows professional users to use visualization tools to complete the modeling.
This gives expert users more visual options for report creation, rather than having a limited set or having to wait for IT support to create additional models. The result is faster reporting. Only then can ad-hoc analysis be performed on the generated data.
All user groups can be mobile. For example, expert users can use data preparation functions without being restricted by IT processes. It can also connect to the data room and access the HANA database directly. They can then use SQL to create new database structures and integrate them into existing logic. IT staff familiar with SQL can now use SQL to create reports. In addition, business users and IT staff can work together. Business users first create pieces and then pass them to IT for modeling.
Now Let’s Look at The Data Line by Line
The technical basis for SAP DWC is the SAP Cloud environment (BTP – Business Technology Platform) and the in-memory HANA database. The HANA in-memory database aggregates data and enables speedy reporting, while DWC relies heavily on columnar memory instead of traditional row memory, which reads data records line by line. This means that queries on large datasets can be executed faster; instead of sending data to logic, logic can be applied directly to the data. The result is faster and more transparent reporting.
The Business Technology Platform is the second pillar of the cloud data warehouse, allowing rapid expansion. With SaaS (Software as a Service), technical and professional resources can be expanded quickly as needed without initial training.
DWC resources can be delivered efficiently to any device via a web browser, so they do not need to be installed on every computer in the workplace. As the cloud solution is now hosted off-site rather than in-house, there is no need for in-house IT staff to provision and maintain the system. SAP also sees BTP as an essential strategic resource for the company’s future investments, so users can expect a range of enhancements that can be implemented immediately and with a short upgrade cycle.
However, as DWC did not apply for this platform, it could not host the programs it created. However, this is not necessarily a disadvantage. The company should have analyzed the situation, presented ideas, especially “shoulder-to-shoulder,” and developed programs using standard interfaces on the BTP technology platform. This would allow users to use both programs at the same time.
For example, debugging one program does not affect the other. Self-programmable applications also allow the development of open technology that can be implemented in almost any programming language.
There Are Several Ways of Implementation
There are several ways to implement DWC on a computer:
First, you can easily extend your existing financial and reporting environment. Second, depending on the situation, you can connect other data sources to DWC or through an existing data warehouse.
If the cloud data warehouse is the new central access point for all the necessary resources, the old reporting environment can continue to exist. Users can access data directly, for example, through integration with the SAP business warehouse. They can also access databases in real time without having to manage them in the cloud. The cloud data warehouse acts as a node connecting all other access points.
A complete migration to the cloud data warehouse is also planned. For example, when migrating from the SAP Business Warehouse, modeling, and connectivity can be integrated into the cloud data warehouse using the BW bridge. There are no radical changes, but the same concept applies.
Overview
Cloud Data Warehouse enables companies to organize their finances more flexibly. Reports can be optimized, simplified, and linked directly, and data sources can be extended, allowing professionals to create their reports based on more reliable information. Ad hoc analysis is also possible, allowing companies to react quickly to market changes. Some pre-programmed methods are available for partial analysis. There are, however, a number of ways to ensure a partial or gradual transition so that the mode to cloud data warehouse is manageable in the current economic climate.
