Report Development Tools 7–1
Chapter 7: Overview of Reporting in the
Business Information
Warehouse
Contents
What Is the Business Information Warehouse?..................................................7–2
Business Information Warehouse Architecture: An Overview..........................7–2
Business Information Warehouse Terminology..................................................7–8
Business Information Warehouse Reporting Environment...............................7–9
Review ...................................................................................................................7–12 7
In this chapter you will learn:
 How the Business
Information Warehouse
(BW) works as an
enterprise-wide
information hub
 The overall architecture of
the Business Information
Warehouse environment
 Important concepts and
terminology related to the
Business Information
Warehouse
Chapter 7: Overview of Reporting in the Business Information Warehouse
What Is the Business Information Warehouse?

Reporting Made Easy

As shown on the next page, there are three layers in the Business Information Warehouse
architecture:
< Business Explorer: As the top layer in the BW architecture, the Business Explorer (BEx)
serves as the reporting environment (presentation and analysis) for end users. It consists
of the BEx Analyzer and the BEx Browser for analysis and reporting activities. With its
easy-to-use graphical interface, the Business Explorer provides standard functionality
such as Microsoft Excel and Internet technologies integrated with advanced evaluation
and business tools, such as currency translation, and pre-defined report builders for
various reporting areas. For more information, page 7–4.
Chapter 7: Overview of Reporting in the Business Information Warehouse
Business Information Warehouse Architecture: An Overview

Report Development Tools
7–3

< Business Information Warehouse Server: As the middle layer, the Business Information
Warehouse server has two primary roles:

Data warehouse management and administration: These tasks are handled by the
production data extractor (a set of programs for the extraction of data from R/3
OLTP applications such as logistics, controlling, etc.), the staging engine, and the
Administrator Workbench. The OLAP processor is for multi-dimensional data views
and is preconfigured with business models derived from the R/3 System.

Data storage and representation: These tasks are handled by the InfoCubes in
conjunction with the data manager, the meta data repository, and the optional
Operational Data Store (ODS).
For more information, see page 7–5.

BEx Browser

facilitate data storage
and retrieval; database
layer to maintain the
data
Multiple information sources
include R/3 systems, non-
SAP systems, files, SAP
BW, etc.
OLAP Processor
OLAP Processor
InfoCube
ODS< Source Systems: As the bottom layer, the source systems serve as the sources for raw
business data. The Business Information Warehouse environment can include a wide
range of data sources, including R/3 (OLTP) systems, external systems, and files, as well
as the SAP BW system. For more information, see page 7–7.

Chapter 7: Overview of Reporting in the Business Information Warehouse
Business Information Warehouse Architecture: An Overview

Reporting Made Easy

7–4Business Application Programming Interfaces (BAPIs) enable communication among the
various components of the Business Information Warehouse. By using BAPIs, the
Business Information Warehouse remains open for integration with additional

InfoCatalog
InfoCatalog
Business Explorer
Business Explorer
Browser
Business Explorer
Browser
InfoCube InfoCatalog

Chapter 7: Overview of Reporting in the Business Information Warehouse
Business Information Warehouse Architecture: An Overview

Report Development Tools
7–5

What Is the Business Information Warehouse Server?
The Business Information Warehouse server is the name given to the application layer
which facilitates data storage and retrieval. It houses the following main components:
< Administrator Workbench
< Staging Engine
< Meta Data Repository
< InfoCube
< Operational Data Store (ODS)
< OLAP Processor
What Is the Administrator Workbench?
Acting as the control system of the Business Information Warehouse, the Administrator
Workbench allows the BW administrator to perform all data warehouse modeling and
maintenance tasks within a single, unified environment. The Administrator Workbench has
the following components:
< Meta Data Maintenance to allow the administrator to specify and maintain the InfoCubes,