I define an operational report to be a report that is:
1) Based on one source system’s data
2) Has little or global Homogenization rules applied
3) That covers just the near term horizon
Should be real-time not day old data ( reflecting current activity).
4) That SHOULD BE as fast as possible.
With this loose definition, most operational reports are ABAP programs either written by SAP or developed custom in house. Other options for “operational reporting” use BW tools:
1) Extracting the data to BW using Near real time data Acquisition (RDA)
2) Virtualizing the data for use by the BEx Query tool set using Virtual or Transient providers.
However if you have HANA (either running ECC or attached via a “side car” approach, the best new option is operational reporting using HANA Live. This does not eliminate the need to send detailed data to BW as a part of a global strategic warehouse but it minimized BW in the context of pure "Operational" Reporting.
HANA live provides SAP delivered and customer extendable “information views” that allow direct access to SAP Business Objects Reporting tools and Excel to facilitate self-service reporting on real time operational data in your Business Suite system (ECC, CRM….) . Figure 1 shows an example of one of these “views” in the process of “customer based extending”.
Figure 1: Extending a Delivered HANA Live view:
Note: “Jamali” in the name is not “normal” you might use “SD_NET_ORDER” . Jamali is the name SAP’s America’s recently stolen instructor from SAP UK
( a very shrewd deal) you might find him teaching HANA Live HA900, if you take it here in North America!
In addition, HANA live includes a web based browser application to allow the business to find and explore the delivered views that may or may not require any alterations. This ‘HANA Live” browser is shown in figure 2.
These are the basics of HANA Live, you can find much more about and read customer comments by accessing SDN.SAP.com and searching HANA Live. Once you are ready to implement we hope to see you in the SAP Class HANA Live HA900. Sign up by 12/31/2013 by calling 1-888-777-1727 and use promotion code INDIS52013 for 5 % off.
Click here to see a current class schedule:
https://training3.sap.com/v2/course/ha900-sap-hana-live-classroom-099-us-en/