SAP Lumira Desktop – a possible way to connect SAP Netweaver

   Since its first release in May 2012, SAP Lumira Desktop (originally SAP Visual Intelligence) has been continuously enhanced with new types of connectivity: 

• SAP HANA – online consumption and offline data manipulation
• Personal files – excel and csv
• Direct access to SQL Server sources
• BI 4.0 and now BI 4.1 universes

   The next question coming from the largest majority has then been the connectivity to SAP Netweaver: “can we connect to SAP BW queries, does SAP Lumira support the SAP BW hierarchies?” Being part of the organization in charge of the internal adoption of Analytics at SAP (SAP Runs SAP), I have myself heard this question from our Business Community and it was very important to find possible ways to fulfill this requirement.

   The purpose of this blog is not to answer these questions but to present a possible way to connect to SAP Netweaver from SAP Lumira Desktop…

Presentation of the solution  

   With the introduction of the Universe Query connector, it is possible to leverage the SAP BusinessObjects semantic layer in SAP Lumira, whatever the type of data source.

   This applies to the universes created on top of SAP BW Infoproviders via a Data Federator connector. Here is a representation of the data chain:

   In this model, SAP Lumira surfaces the data structure generated at the universe level. In particular, the Data Federator connector reaches directly the relational data layer and bypasses the OLAP engine. As a result, it does not expose the hierarchies from SAP BW, nor the other metadata like Calculated / Restricted Key Figures, Variables, Currency/unit conversion.

How to proceed?

• First step is to identify / to create the Infoprovider in SAP BW: Infocube of Multiprovider.

• Second step is to create a SAP BusinessObjects universe connection within a  SAP BusinessObjects platform BI 4.1, via Information Design Tool (IDT). You must create a connection of type “Data Federator” as described in the screenshot below:

• After Export of the Universe to the SAP BusinessObjects platform, the fourth step is to create a new connection in SAP Lumira, using the type “Universe Query” – and select the necessary objects from the universe.

• You can then explore the data in SAP Lumira and use the full set of functionality related to the Data Manipulations, Data Enrichment and Data Visualization.

   Below are examples based on a scenario where the data come from the SAP ERP HCM, extracted into SAP Netweaver and visualized in SAP Lumira via the procedure described in the previous steps.

For more information about :

   – Data Federator connector > Data Federator