In this post we'll discuss a few recent developments in the SAP HANA space, including new features available in the recent versions of SAP BW on SAP HANA. My objective here is not to write a How-To Document (there are way too many how-to docs available from SAP), but rather to start a discussion. While there are many new features/functionalities introduced with the latest version, there is one in particular that I found very interesting. That feature is Operational Data Provisions (ODP)
Operational Data Provisions (ODP)
What is ODP and how is it going to change the way SAP BW modeling is done today, specifically in the area of extraction/data staging? Reading through some of the SAP presentations on SAP BW 7.4 and the online help documents, I have discovered that the ODP is not a new concept. It was actually available prior to SAP BW 7.4. So, does that mean the application of ODP has been broadened with the latest version? SAP BI Data Services (DS) had the option of using Operational Data Provisioning for consuming data from an ECC source. What’s new in 7.4 is that now it supports SAP BW as a Provider (i.e. Source) and as a Consumer (i.e. target).
How ODP Changes SAP BW Modeling
Basically there are three layers (1) A Provider, (2) Operational Data Provisioning (with Operational Delta Queue) and (3) a Consumer. It is a unified technology for data provisioning and consumption with benefits such as
- Extract once deploy many architectures for sources
- Unified Configuration and monitoring
- Highly Efficient Compression that enables data compression rate up to 90%
- Intelligent parallelization options in high volume scenarios
Table Replication to SAP BW with SLT
Moreover, it supports trigger based table replication to SAP BW with SLT. A new source system type “ODP-SLT” is now available for “SLT Real-Time push in operational Delta Queue (ODQ)” and “Direct Update to SAP BW InfoProviders”. The benefits include:
- simplified data flow
- flexible recovery options
- consumption of ODQ by multiple subscribers
- reduced data latency
- PSA becoming optional
Now that becomes even more interesting. This is certainly going to help in many ways and change the way we have been doing data modeling in SAP BW. I am waiting to get an opportunity to use/implement these new concepts in a real life scenario and share my experiences with you all.
I look forward to your response/comments to keep the discussion going.
