SAP Datasphere is ready to take over the role of SAP BW

[kenneth_dalvik]

Background

SAP BW/4HANA is the SAP data warehouse solution for on premise customer and it is supported until 2040. SAP BW have been in the market for + 20 years and I have worked with it since 2004 and that was release SAP BW 3.2 , soon after came release 3.5. Thousands of customers are successfully using the solution for business critical reporting, steering and ad hoc analysis. Thousands of customers have successfully used the platform for over 20 years. 

SAP BW have been my career for almost 20 years. We have almost had a relationship.  It has been a good relationship.  It has been prosperous. It has been secure. It has been challenging. Some relationships eventually come to an end, sometimes ugly, sometimes in good understanding.

This article gives my perspective of the way forward for SAP BW 7.5 customers.  

New Horizon

SAP Datasphere is now ready to take over the role that SAP BW have played for SAP customers. Now is the time to embrace the new horizons.

We have all heard about the new era; GenAI,  Data Mesh, Data Fabric, Data Marketplace, knowledge graphs. These are capabilities that are of great value for customers and there are no plans as of today to include these kind of capabilities into SAP BW. 

In addition to these new areas, SAP Datasphere have in the recent releases received great functionality which have taken SAP Datasphere to the next level, also for more traditional data warehouse and data foundation use cases. 

Let me describe what I mean:

• Replication flow

Replication flow offers real- time Delta enabled replication from SAP semantic object CDS views to Datasphere or to external targets.

• Tables with Local delta

Tables with delta offers performant and efficient data loads through the solution. Similar to the ADSO with change logs in the SAP BW world.

• Transformation flow with SQL

Transform and enrich your data with well-known SQL. Either graphical or scripts.

• Analytic model

Analytic model will be your semantic object that BI tools or AI/Ml models will consume. It will play the role that BW queries have played in the BW world.

• Scoped Roles

Scoped roles are the new generation role concept in Datasphere which make the role concept more robust and enterprise ready.

With these objects, SAP Datasphere secure a robust Data Foundation with enterprise qualities. Together with our partners and our innovations we are constantly enhancing the SAP Datasphere capabilities.

Planning models in Datasphere, AI, Co-pilots , SAC Compass and so much more.

Why not upgrade?

If you are a customer that has SAP BW 7.5 and are thinking of the way forward. Why spend quite a lot of money to upgrade to SAP BW/4HANA? What will it give you? Yes, longer support time. But it will not get you to the new paradigm; no AI, no Co-pilot, no SAC planning models, no Data marketplace, no Data democratization, no Data Fabric.

Why not take the opportunity to re-innovate your solutions on SAP Datasphere? Spend your innovation money wisely. Use they upgrade budet to re-innovate on SAP Datasphere and build all new use cases directly there and move existing solutions gradually. 

Now is the time move to SAP Datasphere and replace your SAP BW solutions and at the same time enter the new paradigm of data solutions from SAP.

I hope that my coming 20 years will be as good as my first, I am looking forward to it.

Thank you SAP BW

Thank you SAP BW I wish you all the best and long live SAP Datasphere!