From SAP BW to Datasphere and Business Data Cloud: what changes for your analytics
SAP Business Data Cloud brings Datasphere, SAP Analytics Cloud and BW together in a single offering. We explain what it means if you run SAP BW today.
For years, SAP BW has been at the heart of reporting for many companies running SAP. Today, SAP’s data strategy is built around SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC), an offering that brings together several familiar components:
- SAP Datasphere, the cloud data warehouse that preserves the business context of SAP data.
- SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) for dashboards, analytics and planning.
- SAP BW private cloud edition, to move existing BW systems to the cloud without rebuilding them from scratch.
- SAP Databricks, for data engineering, data science and combining SAP and non-SAP data.
Do I have to abandon my BW?
Not immediately. One of SAP’s key messages is that BDC allows you to modernise BW progressively: the existing system can be moved to the private cloud and its data exposed as data products for use in Datasphere or other tools, without a full migration on day one.
Even so, keep an eye on the lifecycle of your BW version. Older releases (BW 7.x on traditional databases) have end-of-maintenance dates approaching, and BW/4HANA is the version with the longest support horizon.
Questions worth asking
- Which parts of my BW really add value? Many systems accumulate models and data loads that nobody uses.
- Do my users need self-service? Datasphere and SAC make it easier for the business to explore data without always depending on IT.
- Do I combine SAP and non-SAP data? If so, the BDC architecture (with Datasphere and Databricks) can greatly simplify integration.
- What licences do I have? Each component has a different licensing model, so it is worth reviewing before deciding.
A practical approach
We recommend starting with an inventory of your BW system (models, data loads, queries, users) and defining a phased target architecture. That way BW can keep running while new use cases are built in Datasphere and SAC, without disrupting day-to-day reporting.
At Responsive we work with BW 7.x, BW on HANA, BW/4HANA, Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud, and we help you chart that path.
- #BW/4HANA
- #Datasphere
- #Business Data Cloud
- #SAC
This article is for information purposes only. SAP dates and conditions may change; always check official SAP information or contact us to review your specific case.