Enhancing Biotech Data Management through SAP: A Comprehensive Review of Data Ingestion in SAP BW/4HANA

Abstract

The importance of data-centric decision-making has amplified the role of enterprise data warehousing solutions, leading to an increased demand for the ingestion of data from diverse sources in recent times. SAP BW/4HANA, an on-premises packaged data warehousing solutionfrom SAP offers advanced and flexible data ingestion capabilities to integrate heterogeneous data sources into a unified repository. This paper explores the various data ingestion mechanisms available in SAP BW/4HANA. It reviews the native SAP HANA-based Operational Data Provisioning framework that enhances extraction efficiency. The paper also examines the different source system types supported, including Operational Data Provisioning, SAP HANA, Big Data, and flat files. Additionally, it analyses the batch, real-time and hybrid ingestion patterns facilitated by SAP BW/4HANA. Data provisioning directly with SAP HANA database using tools like SAP Data Services is also discussed. Recommendations are provided for efficient data ingestion based on real-world implementation experience. The insights presented will equip technical teams with comprehensive knowledge regarding ingestion architectures in SAP BW/4HANA aligned to their integration and analytics requirements. By leveraging appropriate ingestion strategies, organizations can optimize the performance of their SAP BW/4HANA implementation and accelerate data-driven business innovation.