Open Analysis Interfaces
Purpose
SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence provides an open architecture in many areas: You can extract data from various systems into a BW system and evaluate this data for your reporting using various front-end tools.
SAP Business Explorer, the front-end component of SAP Business Warehouse, provides flexible reporting and analysis tools to support strategic analysis and decision making in your organization.
The following interfaces are available to connect third-party front-end tools:
- OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO)
- OLAP BAPI (Business Application Programming Interface)
- XML for Analysis (XML/A)
- Easy Query
- OData
Features
The following table provides an overview of the various interfaces:
| Criterion | OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO) | OLAP BAPI | XML for Analysis (XML/A) | Easy Query | OData |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Protocol |
COM(Component Object Model) protocol |
RFC (Remote Function Call) protocol |
HTTP/SOAP protocol |
SOAP, RFC, (OData) |
OData |
| Query Language |
MDX |
MDX |
MDX |
Service-Specific Entry Parameters |
Service-Specific Entry Parameters |
| Data provision |
Data is formatted in generic form. Processing of data is flexible, but therefore complex as well. |
Data is formatted in generic form. Processing of data is flexible, but therefore complex as well. |
Data is formatted in generic form. Processing of data is flexible, but therefore complex as well. |
Data and some metadata from the standard view of a defined query is in typed format. Data can be processed very easily. |
|
| Communication |
Stateless |
Stateless |
Stateless |
Stateless |
|
| Client-Side Requirements |
Drive installation on clients (see Integration and Installation). |
SOAP client proxy must be generated on the basis of the WSDL description. |
SOAP client proxy must be generated on the basis of the WSDL description. |
||
| Platform Dependency |
For MS Windows platform only |
Every platform supported by SAP |
Every platform |
Every platform |
Every platform |
The following overview illustrates the options for accessing BW data using interfaces.
Restrictions
Platform Dependency
The interface used depends on the platform: OLE DB for OLAP requires MS Windows, OLAP BAPI requires an SAP platform. XML for Analysis, Easy Query and OData are non-platform dependent.