InfoProviders 
Definition
Generic term for BI objects into which data is loaded or that display views of data. This data can normally be evaluated using BEx queries.
Use
InfoProviders are metaobjects in the data basis that can be seen as uniform data providers within a query definition and whose data can be reported on in a uniform way. The type of data staging, the degree of detail or "proximity" to the source system in the dataflow diagram differs from InfoProvider to InfoProvider. However, this makes no difference in reporting, where they appear as objects that provide data that can be evaluated using a BEx query.
The following graphic shows how InfoProviders are integrated in the dataflow:
Structure
The term InfoProvider encompasses objects that physically contain data:
● InfoObjects as InfoProviders
Staging is used to load data into these InfoProviders.
On the other hand, they can also be objects that do not physically store data but which display logical views, such as:
● InfoSets
Aggregation
levelsThe following graphic gives an overview of the BI objects that can be used in reporting. They are divided into InfoProviders that contain data and InfoProviders that only display logical views and do not contain any data. In BEx, the system only accesses one InfoProvider. It is not important here how the data is modeled.
