InfoProviders 
Definition
An InfoProvider is an object for which queries can be created or executed in BEx. InfoProviders are the objects or views that are relevant for reporting.
Use
InfoProviders are metaobjects in the database that can be uniformly seen as data providers within a query definition, and whose data can also be reported uniformly. The type of data retrieval, the degree of detail or "proximity" to the source system in the dataflow diagram differs from InfoProvider to InfoProvider. These differences do not affect Reporting. In Reporting, these are objects containing data that is suitable for evaluation using a BEx query.
Structure
The term InfoProvider encompasses objects that physically contain data:
· InfoObjects (characteristics with attributes or texts).
A characteristic is thus an InfoProvider if it has master data and is assigned to an InfoArea. It must be explicitly defined as an InfoProvider in the InfoObject maintenance.
On the other hand, they can also be objects that do not physically store data, but which display logical views, such as:
· InfoSets
· Virtual InfoCube with Services
Generally, it can be stated that all types of InfoCubes are also InfoProviders.
The following graphic gives an overview of BW objects that can be used in reporting. They are divided between pure data targets containing data and InfoProviders that only display logical views and do not contain any data. In the BEx, the system only accesses one InfoProvider. It is not important here how the data is modeled.
