Realizing the power of parameters in SAP BW and HANA - Pyramid Analytics

In previous SAP-focused blogs, Pyramid’s unique capabilities for SAP BW and HANA were discussed, including:

• ​Versatile direct access for simple and advanced calculations
• ​Sleek, self-service with drag-and-drop capability for collaboration, time intelligence, and context calculations
• ​Full dashboarding with publishing, scheduling, and security capabilities

This blog addresses Pyramid’s ability to handle BW and HANA parameters.

SAP BW and HANA Variables

SAP BW and HANA users typically manage massive datasets. The ability to dynamically query different subsets of these datasets is critical. SAP BW and HANA provide parameters and variables to inject settings at run time, changing how queries and logic are executed. This optimizes query performance by:

• ​Running on a reduced subset of data
• ​Dynamically altering the query by changing hierarchies, logic, and calculations
• ​Controlling different snapshots of the data to be queried

Challenges

Many third-party tools can handle and pass parameters to SAP BW and HANA, but often only allow a single set of variables per data model. Some cannot handle the wide variety of functionality exposed through SAP parameters and variables at all. For those that do, a separate connection to the data model or session is required each time the variable is changed. This inflexibility undermines the purpose of variables and parameters and reduces their impact on reporting.

Additionally, many third-party tools encourage users to export raw data out of SAP and reimport it into their native data stacks for better analytical functionality. This duplication of data breaches data governance and security, decentralizes the “truth,” and voids critical functionality built into the parameters and variables. As a result, many SAP customers avoid these BI vendors for BW and HANA installations.

Pyramid’s Approach

Pyramid provides a world-class self-service BI tool running directly on BW and HANA. It makes proper use of parameter and variables technology for queries, with no loss of analytic dexterity. It works for multiple users and multiple models in multiple venues. Pyramid connects dynamically to the same SAP data source, requiring only a single connection. Each time a different query needs to be run, different parameters can be passed by user, by report, per session, or any combination thereof.

Business Case

Lisa, the COO of Astra Manufacturers, manages an SAP BW system with 25 factories worldwide. Due to massive datasets, Astra implemented parameterization on their SAP BW system, allowing queries to run faster by limiting the subset of data being queried.

Mike, a BI Analyst at Astra, analyzes sales of single components across several branches or several components at a single branch. Changing data views was challenging with his existing BI tool, forcing Lisa to extract raw data and losing parameterization capabilities.

Lisa and Mike switched to Pyramid, which offered dynamic parameterization with a single data model across multiple reports and visualizations within the same dashboard or publication. Each report could remember and default to the parameter last used.

Monthly Component Report

In the Monthly Component Report, a component (e.g., Headset Ball Bearings) is selected in Pyramid using SAP BW’s variables. The selection is remembered and used automatically the next time the user accesses the report.

1. 1.Variables are accessed in the report by clicking on the Predefined Parameters icon.
2. 2.The desired component is selected for the Component Name hierarchy in a popup Parameter screen.
3. 3.The selected parameter is optionally remembered for this report for this user.

Monthly Sales Dashboard

This dashboard contains three different visualizations (two from BW and one from HANA), each with different variables selected from their respective pop-up parameter screens. A single data connection is used for all dashboards simultaneously.

1. 1.Ball Bearing Component selected from the Component hierarchy.
2. 2.New York Branch selected from the Branches hierarchy.
3. 3.March 2020 selected from the Date hierarchy.

Pyramid enables users to dynamically select multiple factories, components, or months using the same data model. This eliminates the need to create different data models and reload data for every analysis. Pyramid can automatically supply a different parameter for each branch manager to view their branch, using the same data model. It also has optional functionality to remember the last parameters selected and default them for future analysis.

Conclusion

Pyramid enables multiple data connections to SAP, with each occurrence utilizing unique parameters, taking full advantage of SAP’s parameterized design without needing to extract data into alternative engines.

Future blogs will discuss additional features unique to SAP BW that are supported by Pyramid, including:

• ​Support for ragged hierarchies, numerical formats, multiple currencies, and captions
• ​Support for time-dependent hierarchies

SAP and Pyramid Analytics

Pyramid offers a complete solution for real self-service working directly on SAP BW and HANA. By delivering best-in-class functionality and performance on SAP BW without extracting or duplicating data, Pyramid preserves the full analytic power of the SAP engines, as well as inherent security and governance.

Explore the Pyramid + SAP Blog Series to learn how Pyramid supports customers on SAP, with specific examples illustrating key functionality:

1. 1.Real self-service BI for SAP
2. 2.Self-service BI directly on SAP BW
3. 3.Collaborative analytics for SAP BW and HANA
4. 4.Time intelligence for SAP BW and HANA
5. 5.Running Totals Made Easy for SAP HANA and BW
6. 6.Dashboards and report bursting directly off SAP BW and HANA
7. 7.Realizing the power of parameters in SAP BW and HANA
8. 8.SAP BW Time-Dependent Hierarchies
9. 9.Ragged Hierarchies and Data Formats in SAP BW
10. 10.Building Calculations directly on SAP BW and HANA
11. 11.Building data models into SAP HANA