How to Separate Master Data and Transactional Data in SAP BW/4HANA Modeling
SAP BW/4HANA is a modern data warehouse solution that leverages the power of SAP HANA to provide high-performance, flexible, and simplified data modeling and analysis. One of the key aspects of SAP BW/4HANA modeling is the distinction between master data and transaction data. In this blog post, we will explain what these two types of data are, why they are important, and how to separate them in SAP BW/4HANA modeling with examples.
What is Master Data?
Master data is the data that represents the business objects that contain the most valuable, agreed upon information shared across an organization. For example, customer data, product data, supplier data, employee data, and geo data are typical master data types. Master data has a high level of statics, which means that it rarely changes and is mostly valid in the long term. Master data is used by several divisions of a company and is highly relevant for all business processes. It is also used as a criterion in statistics and data evaluations. Moreover, transaction data is dependent on master data – no transaction data without master data. For these reasons, master data is generally kept long-term.
What is Transaction Data?
Transaction data is the data that is periodically updated asynchronously over time as new information becomes available. It is the data that reflects the business events or activities that occur in an organization. For example, sales orders, invoices, deliveries, payments, and stock movements are typical transaction data types. Transaction data is dynamic data that is used by specific departments. Its relevance is limited to a certain period of time. For the mentioned statistics, it provides the facts behind the master data criteria. Transactional data is renewed and replaced regularly.
Why Separate Master Data and Transaction Data?
Separating master data and transaction data is important for several reasons:
- It improves the quality and consistency of the data. By separating master data and transaction data, you can ensure that the master data is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. You can also avoid duplication and redundancy of the master data across different systems and applications. This will help you to avoid errors and inconsistencies in the transaction data that depend on the master data.
- It enhances the performance and scalability of the system. By separating master data and transaction data, you can optimize the storage and processing of the data. You can store the master data in a compressed and aggregated form, while storing the transaction data in a detailed and granular form. You can also partition and distribute the transaction data across different servers or nodes to improve the load balancing and parallel processing. This will help you to handle large volumes of transaction data efficiently and effectively.
- It facilitates the analysis and reporting of the data. By separating master data and transaction data, you can enable different types of analysis and reporting on the data. You can use the master data as dimensions or attributes to slice and dice the transaction data. You can also use the master data as hierarchies or classifications to drill down or roll up the transaction data. This will help you to gain insights and intelligence from the transaction data.
How to Separate Master Data and Transaction Data in SAP BW/4HANA Modeling?
SAP BW/4HANA provides various modeling objects to separate master data and transaction data in SAP BW/4HANA modeling:
- InfoObjects: InfoObjects are the smallest units of information in SAP BW/4HANA. They are used to define the characteristics (master data) and key figures (transaction data) of a business object. For example, customer number, product name, sales quantity, and revenue are InfoObjects. InfoObjects are stored in InfoObject catalogs that group them according to their business relevance.
- Open ODS Views: Open ODS Views are virtual objects that allow you to access any source of master or transactional data without persisting it in SAP BW/4HANA. They are used to integrate external or internal sources of master or transactional data into SAP BW/4HANA modeling without creating InfoObjects or Advanced DSOs. For example, you can create an Open ODS View on a table or view in SAP HANA or on a file or web service from an external system.
- Advanced DSOs: Advanced DSOs are persistent objects that store master or transactional data in SAP BW/4HANA. They are used to persist, transform, harmonize, and consolidate master or transactional data from different sources into SAP BW/4HANA modeling. For example, you can create an Advanced DSO on a source system such as SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA or on an Open ODS View or another Advanced DSO.
- CompositeProviders: CompositeProviders are logical objects that combine master or transactional data from different sources into a single view. They are used to join, union, or aggregate master or transactional data from different sources for analysis and reporting purposes. For example, you can create a Composite Provider on one or more Advanced DSOs or Open ODS Views or other Composite Providers.
Examples of Separating Master Data and Transaction Data in SAP BW/4HANA Modeling
Let’s look at some examples of how to separate master data and transaction data in SAP BW/4HANA modeling using the above-mentioned modeling objects:
- Example 1: You want to create a data model for analyzing the sales performance of your products by customer and region. You have the following sources of data:
- A table in SAP HANA that contains the transactional data of sales orders, such as order number, order date, product ID, customer ID, quantity, and amount.
- A file that contains the master data of products, such as product ID, product name, product category, and product price.
- A web service that contains the master data of customers, such as customer ID, customer name, customer address, and customer segment.
- Create InfoObjects for the characteristics and key figures of the sales orders, such as order number, order date, product ID, customer ID, quantity, and amount.
- Create an Open ODS View on the table in SAP HANA that contains the transactional data of sales orders. Map the fields of the table to the corresponding InfoObjects.
- Create an Advanced DSO on the Open ODS View to persist the transactional data of sales orders in SAP BW/4HANA.
- Create an Open ODS View on the file that contains the master data of products. Map the fields of the file to the corresponding InfoObjects.
- Create an Advanced DSO on the Open ODS View to persist the master data of products in SAP BW/4HANA.
- Create an Open ODS View on the web service that contains the master data of customers. Map the fields of the web service to the corresponding InfoObjects.
- Create an Advanced DSO on the Open ODS View to persist the master data of customers in SAP BW/4HANA.
- Create a CompositeProvider on the Advanced DSOs that store the master data and transactional data. Join them by using the product ID and customer ID as join keys. Add the relevant characteristics and key figures to the output of the CompositeProvider.
- Example 2: You want to create a data model for analyzing the profitability of your projects by project manager and department. You have the following sources of data:
- A source system such as SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA that contains the transactional data of projects, such as project ID, project name, project manager ID, department ID, start date, end date, budget, and actual cost.
- An internal table that contains the master data of project managers, such as project manager ID, project manager name, project manager email, and project manager phone number.
- An internal table that contains the master data of departments, such as department ID, department name, department location, and department head.
- Create InfoObjects for the characteristics and key figures of the projects, such as project ID, project name, project manager ID, department ID, start date, end date, budget, and actual cost.
- Create an Advanced DSO on the source system that contains the transactional data of projects. Map the fields of the source system to the corresponding InfoObjects.
- Create an Advanced DSO on the internal table that contains the master data of project managers. Map the fields of the internal table to the corresponding InfoObjects.
- Create an Advanced DSO on the internal table that contains the master data of departments. Map the fields of the internal table to the corresponding InfoObjects.
- Create a CompositeProvider on the Advanced DSOs that store the master data and transactional data. Join them by using the project manager ID and department ID as join keys. Add the relevant characteristics and key figures to the output of the CompositeProvider.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we have explained what master data and transaction data are, why they are important, and how to separate them in SAP BW/4HANA modeling with examples. We have also shown how to use various modeling objects such as InfoObjects, Open ODS Views, Advanced DSOs, and Composite Providers to separate master data and transaction data in SAP BW/4HANA modeling. By separating master data and transaction data, you can improve the quality, performance, scalability, and analysis of your data warehouse solution.
We hope you have found this blog post useful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!
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