SAP® BW: A Step-by-Step Guide [Paperback]

Biao Fu (Author), Henry Fu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0201703661 | ISBN-13: 978-0201703665

Many large companies have now had SAP R/3 installed for several years, and have an urgent need to analyze the vast amounts of transaction data R/3 is providing them. Getting hold of vital facts and figures and turning them into useful information is a complex and time-consuming task. BW is designed to accurately and effectively support critical business decision-making. It facilitates high-performance and error-free extraction, transfer, transformation, and loading of data from a variety of data sources. This book uses step-by-step instructions with many examples to illustrate key SAP BW functions. Using a real-world business scenario as a running example, the book presents a comprehensive view of BW, from underlying concepts and basic techniques through the technology's most sophisticated capabilities. Tips, lessons, and best practices are discussed. It also covers other relevant technologies. With the clear explanations and practical techniques, SAP professionals will gain both the general understanding and specific skills they need to create effective data extraction tools needed to support decision-making processes.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

SAP BW has recently come to the fore as a valuable tool for developing data warehouses that accurately and effectively support critical business decision making. It facilitates easy-to-use and high-performance extraction, transfer, transformation, and loading of data from a variety of data sources, including such comprehensive business management systems as SAP R/3.

This practitioner's guide uses step-by-step instructions complete with a plethora of screen captures to illustrate key SAP BW functionalities. It demonstrates how SAP BW implements the fundamental star schema and solves the major challenges inherent in the creation of data warehouses: performance, reliability, and error-handling. Using a real-world business scenario as a running example, SAP® BW presents a comprehensive view of the technology, from underlying concepts and basic techniques through its most sophisticated capabilities.

Specific topics covered include:

Creating an InfoCube and loading the data

Checking the accuracy of data with BW Monitor and the Persistent Staging Area (PSA)

Creating queries to generate reports using Business Explorer (BEx)

Managing user authorization with the Profile Generator

Advanced InfoCube design techniques

Aggregates and multicubes

Working with the Operational Data Store (ODS)

Installing business content and creating an R/3 source system in BW

Loading data from SAP R/3 into SAP BW

Data maintenance

Performance tuning, including parallel query option and data packet sizing

Object transport

Although the focus is on the core SAP BW technology, this book also discusses other relevant technologies, including Basis, ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming), ALE (Application Link Enabling), and ASAP (Accelerated SAP) for BW.

With the clear explanations and practical techniques presented in SAP® BW information systems professionals will gain both the general understanding and specific skills necessary to create high quality data warehouses that support effective decision making.

0201703661B07092002

About the Author

Biao Fu is a partner with Fuguji LLC, an IT consulting firm specialized in ERP, data warehousing, business intelligence, and supply chain management. Prior to Fuguji LLC, he was a principal consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). At PwC Global Training Center, he was a solutions architect, as well as the lead instructor of SAP BW Technical Infrastructure (BWTI) class, where he was granted the Award of Excellence for his contributions to BWTI and other BW classes. He is an SAP Certified Technical Consultant and SAP Certified BW Consultant.

Henry Fu is a partner with Fuguji LLC, an IT consulting firm specialized in ERP, data warehousing, business intelligence, and supply chain management. He is an Oracle Certified Database Administrator and Oracle Certified Application Developer. He has been involved in the development and implementation of several large-scale data warehousing projects. He is a licensed professional engineer (Ontario, Canada), and has two M.S. degrees majoring in management science and engineering.

0201703661AB01142003

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (August 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201703661
• ISBN-13: 978-0201703665
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #486,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hottest SAP Book in Town !!!, August 29, 2002

By 

Shankar G.B. (CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SAP® BW: A Step-by-Step Guide (Paperback)

I am a SAP Consultant for FICO for the last few years and I have experience in Data Warehousing projects. Now I have entered into the world of SAP-BIW, with my past experience in DW. I am involved currently in a SAP-BIW project.

SAP- BIW has a Back End called 'Administrator Work Bench', which is all about Data Modelling, Data Targets which leads Info cubes, Info source and Data source. The back end process is all about gathering data from the data sources and put them in BIW thru R/3. The Front End is called 'Business Explorer' and this helps in viewing the data gathered for decision processing.

Critical points about the Book: The Book deals only in Back End processes and it does not teach about Front End, except querying (chapter 5). To know about Front End extensivley, one has to read "SAP BW Reporting Made Easy, 2.0B/2.1C" by SAP Labs Inc. Simplification Group.

Further even in Back End, it is not giving any info abt data modelling or data designing. It merely teaches how to transfer the data from Data source to BIW thru R/3. Regret that, it is not covering complicated transfers. This book is in-complete in many aspects. In other words, the book teaches the core functions required from BIW Consultant for handling the Back end processes.

Positive points: Authors deserve appreciation for having written a book needed in the crucial time, since SAP- BIW is getting implemented in many places. The book is concise and clear in whatever topics they deal with.

I should also say that this book can be useful from beginners to intermediate level. Beginners mean, those who have prior experince in SAP or in Data Warehousing but new to SAP- BIW.

Thanks for reading.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What SAP BW version ???, October 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: SAP® BW: A Step-by-Step Guide (Paperback)

Nowhere in the book, nor on Amazon detailed info nor in the "view pages inside" is mentioned that the book treats BW 2.0 and IS NOT GOOD for BW 3.1 or later.

I had to read all the buyers reviews and to find out about the BW version, only after I had the book ordered and sent to me. So Because I use 3.2 I have sent back this book. It's not up-to-date, there seems not to be a reprint for BW 3.0

So it was not useful to me. I am very disappointed.

The book can show you some tasks to do in BW 2.0 but it learns you nothing if you have other cubes to make in different SAP applications.

Also, it does not mention the transaction names behind the screens printed. Pitty, since this could have helped us when working in BW 3.0 (screens and menus can change but often the TX's remain the same)...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best overview of BW hands-on tasks, October 9, 2002

By 

"cgallisa" (St. Petersburg, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SAP® BW: A Step-by-Step Guide (Paperback)

With this book, you can seat down in front of the terminal and begin using BW right away.

On the other hand, you better have some experience building Data Warehouses prior to using BW. There might be 2 or 3 ways to build a business solution and this book is not necessarily a good source for "best practices" or architecture concepts. A good book that could complement this one is "Mastering the SAP Business Information Warehouse".