Agfa's journey towards an integrated data platform

with "BW on HANA"

Eric Van Kerckhoven – Business Process Analyst @ Agfa

Gunther Van Eyck – BI Consultant @ Cubis

Agenda

What we won’t answer today (a.k.a. things you’ve heard before)

o What is HANA?

o What new objects are available?

o How do the new objects work exactly?

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What we will answer today (a.k.a. what you want to know)

o How to start with mixed BW-HANA scenario’s?

o What choices did Agfa make along the way, and why?

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Agenda

Agfa System Setup Architecture Flow (Re)design

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Parent Company CC and GSS

Agfa-Gevaert GroupBelgian

CompaniesAgfa-Gevaert NV

Agfa Healthcare NVAgfa Graphics NV

GSSAgfa ICSGlobal HR/Purchasing/Logistics

CC = Corporate CenterGSS = Global Shared Services

Technology Optimization: For Graphics, Healthcare and Specialty Products alike, Agfa ICS drives optimization to the

enterprise by aligning our client’s technology and operations strategies. Our professionals endeavor to improve client technological

capacities while cultivating operational efficiency, effective service delivery and optimal cost savings.

World’s first large-area flexible OLED

Graphics HealthCare Specialty Products

HANA @ Agfa

2015 2016 2017 2018

StartSAP HANA ProgramBring all SAP systems to HANA

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HE BW on HANA

SP & GS BW on HANA

Mixed data flowpreparation- Auth. & Transport- HANA Studio- Team Training

Mixed data flow building

BW on HANA optimizations

SP ECC on HANA

HE ECC on HANA

SYSTEM SETUP

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First, we made a choice…

• Let’s start with what we know and graduallyincorporate HANA in the modeling strategy– Keep using BW to bring in the data

– Keep using BEx as the data access point (for now)

BW-HANA mixed scenario’s

• Advantages– Leverage historic efforts in BW/BEx

– Authorizations via BW

– Masterdata via BW

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Step 1: Authorizations

• BW Authorizations for development with HANA Studio (ADT+BWMT)– Involved objects: S_RFC, S_TCODE, S_ADT_RES

– SAP_BC_DWB_WBDISPLAY [OR] SAP_BC_DWB_ABAPDEVELOPER can be used as template, but they contain far too much!

– Don’t forget to add /sap/bw/modeling/* for BWMT

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Step 1: Authorizations

• BW Authorizations for the new BW Objects

– Added auth.

• Composite Provider – Local S_RS_CPRO (Local & Ad-Hoc)

• Composite Provider – Central S_RS_HCPR (Central – NEW)

• Open ODS View S_RS_ODSV

• Advanced DSO S_RS_ADSO

– Not (yet) added auth.

• Semantically Partitioned Object S_RS_LPOA

• Hybrid Provider S_RS_HYBR

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Step 1: Authorizations

• HANA Content Authorizations for generated views

– Transaction RS2HANA_ADMIN

– Program RS2HANA_AUTH_RUN is scheduled hourly on all BW systems via a process chain

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Step 2: Install HANA Studio

• Use a Landscape XML file and SSO to distribute logon-information easily

• Add ADT (ABAP Development Tools) including BWMT (BW Modeling Tools) via https://tools.hana.ondemand.com/

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Check for updates

regularly!

Step 2: Install HANA Studio

• Perspectives– HANA

• System-based• Package structure• Table, view, procedure, …

– BW• Project-based• InfoArea structure• aDSO, CompositeProvider, …• Attach HANA system

– ABAP • Project-based• Package structure• Programs, CDS, …

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Step 3: Structuring Content

• Think about naming conventions– New BW Objects– HANA Objects

• Think about the package structure– Packages are an important concept for the HANA authorization setup– A good structure will provide clarity and easy navigation for others– In BW we typically use only 1 package (ZBW, ZBI, Z<SYSID>) because:

• Infoareas are used for structuring data-flow objects• Roles are used for structuring report access

Discuss between Business/BW team/Basis team first, as each might have a different ‘viewing angle’ Cubis templates are available as starting point

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Step 3: Structuring Content (Agfa)

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Transportable Content

Modeling

Reporting

Local Content

Generated Views

Testing Ground

InfoAreas

Roles

User-ID’s

Step 4: Transports

• Import/Export

• HANA Native (HALM)

• CTS+ (extension of CTS to allow non-ABAP objects)

– HANA Transport Container (HTC)

– HANA Transport for ABAP (HTA) (possible from 7.4 SP11)

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Step 4: Transports

HANA Transport for ABAP (HTA)1. Use transaction SCTS_HTA to choose the objects you want to transport2. Business as usual

– Transporting individual objects is possible– No need for a Delivery Unit– No need for a Transport Container

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ARCHITECTURE

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LSA(++)

User centric, specific, volatile, flexible

Data centric, general, steady, consistent

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HANA Impact

Virtual Objects

(comp. provider, calc. views)

Persistent Objects

(aDSO)

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✓ Shorter development timeso Quick changeso No reloadso More freedom w.r.t. types/formats

✓ JOINS are easy and obvious for others✓ Add objects (historically) without

reloading

✓ Data is static/reliable for a chosen period

✓ Very complex business-logic can still beeasier/clearer in ABAP

Calculations depend on ‘time-of-load’

Persistence of the result is mandatory(regulation)Snapshot dataPerformance issues

Calculations depend on ‘time-of-reporting’

Results consume a lot of spaceResults deliver redundant data

Reasonsto use…

Don’t usewhen…

Virtual Persistent

FLOW (RE)DESIGN

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Flow (re)design

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HANA HANA

DSO cube multiprovider

aDSO composite provider

Datasource

Flow (re)design

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HANA HANA

aDSO composite provider

ext HANA view calculation view

Datasource

Flow (re)design

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HANA HANA

composite provider

calculation view

aDSO

Table/View

Example – Picking Flow

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HANA HANA

Picking Transport Costs

filters & calculations

join

Example – ABAP translation

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Lessons Learned

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SAP GUI > Only shows BW objects1

HANA views convert BW datatypes2

date, time > NVARCHARfloating point > DOUBLE(numeric char > NVARCHAR sometimes)

order of operations?

join > filter | filter > join

function REPLACE_INVALID_CHARS

HANA equivalent?

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Lessons Learned

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Conversions of objects can’t be reversed7

convert flow > interpret the logic, in stead of literal translation6

Always link HANA-fields back to InfoObjects (when applicable)5

Re-use of MasterdataRe-use of VariablesRe-use of Authorisations

Still some bugs / teething troubles8

A paradigm shift needs a change in mindset

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Challenge yourself to actively think about ‘other options’2

Look out for opportunities to (re)design1

When (major) changes are requested to existing flowsWith each new business request

Do we need to do this in ABAP?Is this something we want to do virtual or persistent?

…

Questions...

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Thank You

cubis