Connecting remote systems to import data

In addition to creating live connections, you can also create connections that allow you to import data into SAP Analytics Cloud. In these types of connections that you make to access remote systems, data is imported (copied) to SAP Analytics Cloud. Any changes users make in the source data do not affect the imported data.

To establish connections with these remote systems, you need to install some additional components. For example, you must install SAP HANA Cloud connector to access SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) for Netweaver. Similarly, SAP Analytics Cloud agent should be installed for SAP Business Warehouse (BW), SQL Server, SAP ERP, and others. Take a look at the connection figure illustrated on a previous page.

The following set of steps provide instructions to connect to SAP ERP. You can either connect to this system from the Connection menu or establish the connection while creating a model. In these steps, we will adopt the latter approach.

1. From the main menu, go to Create | Model.
2. Click on the Use a datasource option on the choose how you'd like to start your model page.
3. From the list of available datasources to your right, select SAP ERP.
4. From the Connection Name list, select Create New Connection.
5. Enter a name for the connection (for example, ERP) in the Connection Name box. You can also provide a description to further elaborate the new connection.
6. For Server Type, select Application Server and enter values for System, System Number, Client ID, System ID, Language, User Name, and Password. Click the Create button after providing this information.

1. Next, you need to create a query based on the SAP ERP system data. Enter a name for the query, for example, sales.
2. In the same dialog, expand the ERP object where the data exists. Locate and select the object, and then choose the data columns you want to include in your model. You are provided with a preview of the data before importing. On the preview window, click on Done to start the import process. The imported data will appear on the Data Integration page, which is the initial screen in the model creation segment and is discussed in subsequent chapters.