How to Use Open ODS Views in SAP BW/4HANA

How to Use Open ODS Views in SAP BW/4HANA

How to Use Open ODS Views in SAP BW/4HANA

SAP BW/4HANA is a modern data warehouse solution that simplifies and optimizes the way you manage and analyze your data. One of the features of SAP BW/4HANA is the Open ODS View, which is a virtual data model that allows you to define data models for objects like database tables, database views or DataSources (for direct access), without the need to create InfoObjects.

In this blog post, you will learn what Open ODS Views are, what types of sources are supported, how to create and activate them, and how to use them in data flows or mixed modeling scenarios.

What are Open ODS Views?

Open ODS Views are flexible data models that enable you to consume, combine and physically integrate data from various sources in SAP BW/4HANA without staging. These data models allow you to access external data sources without the need to create InfoObjects, which can save time and effort in data modeling.

Open ODS Views consist of two main components:

  • Source: This is the object that provides the data for the Open ODS View. The source can be a database table, a database view, a SAP HANA Calculation View, or a DataSource (for direct access).
  • Output Structure: This is the structure that defines the fields and semantics of the Open ODS View. The output structure can have key fields or data fields, and they can have different attributes, such as data type, length, aggregation type, etc.

The Open ODS View does not have separate storage for transaction data or master data. This means that the data is read directly from the source at runtime. The Open ODS View also does not have separate master data attributes or texts. Instead, it can use existing InfoObjects as links to access master data in SAP BW/4HANA.

What types of sources are supported?

Open ODS Views can access data from different types of sources, depending on the source type that you choose when creating the Open ODS View. The following source types are supported:

  • Database Table or View: This source type allows you to access data from any schemas on the SAP BW/4HANA SAP HANA database. The connection to the relevant schema is configured in the SAP HANA source system with connection type Local SAP HANA Database Schema.
  • SAP HANA View: This source type allows you to access data from SAP HANA Calculation Views that are located in any schemas on the SAP BW/4HANA SAP HANA database. The connection to the relevant schema is configured in the SAP HANA source system with connection type Local SAP HANA Database Schema.
  • SAP HANA Smart Data Access: This source type allows you to access data from any databases that can be connected to the SAP BW/4HANA SAP HANA database using SAP HANA Smart Data Access. The connection to the relevant database is configured in the SAP HANA source system with connection type Remote Source.
  • Transformation: This source type allows you to apply transformations on data that is consumed using Open ODS Views. You can use this source type to perform data type conversions or string operations on data, for example. You need to specify a DataSource as the source and an InfoSource as the target for this source type.
  • DataSource (for direct access): This source type allows you to access data from DataSources that are located in any systems that can be connected to SAP BW/4HANA using Operational Data Provisioning (ODP). The connection to the relevant system is configured in the ODP source system with connection type ODP Context.

How to create and activate Open ODS Views?

You can create and activate Open ODS Views using the SAP BW/4HANA Modeling Tools in Eclipse. The steps are as follows:

  1. In the Project Explorer, right-click on the InfoArea where you want to create the Open ODS View and choose New > Open ODS View.
  2. In the wizard, enter a technical name, a description, and a source type for the Open ODS View. Click Next.
  3. In the next screen, you can select or create the source for the Open ODS View. Depending on the source type that you chose, you will see different options for selecting or creating the source. Click Finish.
  4. The Open ODS View is created in the inactive version and is displayed in the editor. You can make further changes to the Open ODS View properties, such as output structure, semantics, filters, etc.
  5. To activate the Open ODS View, right-click on the Open ODS View and choose Activate.

How to use Open ODS Views in data flows or mixed modeling scenarios?

Open ODS Views can be used in various ways in SAP BW/4HANA, such as:

  • Consume external data without staging: You can use Open ODS Views to access data from external sources without the need to create InfoObjects or persist the data in SAP BW/4HANA. You can use these Open ODS Views for reporting and analysis, or as part providers for Composite Providers.
  • Combine external data with SAP BW/4HANA: You can use Open ODS Views to combine data from external sources with data from SAP BW/4HANA models. You can use links to InfoObjects to access master data attributes and texts in SAP BW/4HANA, or you can use Composite Providers to join or union data from different sources.
  • Physical integration of external data (staging): You can use Open ODS Views to physically integrate data from external sources into SAP BW/4HANA. You can create DataSources for Open ODS Views and load the data into ADSOs or InfoCubes, for example.

Here is an example of a data flow that uses Open ODS Views to consume, combine and physically integrate data from different sources:

In this example, the following steps are performed:

  1. An Open ODS View (SALESORG1) is created with source type Database Table or View to access a database table that contains sales organization master data.
  2. An Open ODS View (SALESPERSON) is created with source type SAP HANA View to access a SAP HANA Calculation View that contains sales person master data.
  3. An Open ODS View (SALES) is created with source type DataSource (for direct access) to access a DataSource that contains sales transaction data from an external system.
  4. A Composite Provider (SALESJOIN) is created with type based on Join to join the three Open ODS Views by country and sales organization fields. The Composite Provider also uses links to InfoObjects to access currency and unit conversion factors from SAP BW/4HANA.
  5. A DataSource (SALESJOIN_DS) is created for the Composite Provider (SALESJOIN) to physically integrate the joined data into SAP BW/4HANA.
  6. A Data Transfer Process (DTP) is created to load the data from the DataSource (SALESJOIN_DS) into an ADSO (SALESCUBE) that stores the sales transaction data in SAP BW/4HANA.

Conclusion

In this blog post, you have learned how to use Open ODS Views in SAP BW/4HANA, what types of sources are supported, how to create and activate them, and how to use them in data flows or mixed modeling scenarios. Open ODS Views are flexible and agile data models that can help you consume, combine and physically integrate data from various sources in SAP BW/4HANA without staging.

Disclaimer: This content is generated by AI.

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