Self-Service BI with Tableau and SAP: How to Visualize Your Data from SAP with Tableau

1. Data provision from the SAP environment
2. The connection from SAP to Tableau
3. Configuration of the SAP BW interface
4. Data Security - Authorizations from SAP in Tableau
5. Data Analysis and Visualization in Tableau
6. Possibility of data cleaning with Tableau Prep
7. Visualization of data and provision of dashboards
8. Advantages of using Tableau in connection with SAP
9. Conclusion

For the handling of all kinds of business processes, SAP is now an integral part of many companies. In contrast, recent developments in the field of Self-Service BI show that more and more specialist departments are taking the visualization and analysis of success-relevant data into their own hands. The market offers you a wide range of new BI tools which you can use to create reports and dashboards without any programming knowledge. One of the most widespread providers in this field is Tableau.

In order to ensure valid data, high performance and high acceptance by end users, there are a few things to consider. In this article you will learn how the connection between SAP as back-end and Tableau as front-end tool can be successful and what you need to pay attention to. The complete process is generally described from the data provision from the SAP environment, the interface configuration and data preparation to visualization and analysis. For more information and a more detailed look at the topic, you will also find a link to a free whitepaper at the end of the article.

Data provision from the SAP environment

SAP application areas

When developing reports, dashboards or analytical applications on SAP, the first question is which SAP system is relevant. SAP provides solutions for a wide range of use cases: From ERP systems, over CRM software to its own Business Intelligence solutions.

There are different types of data storage and data provision for these different products. For successful use of a front-end analysis tool, it is important that you first understand these structures. The focus of this article is on the SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW), due to its current relevance on the market. The SAP ERP system S/4HANA and the database technology SAP HANA are also considered in the white paper. SAP BW is first described in general terms and then in relation to data provision for external systems like Tableau.

SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW)

SAP Business Warehouse is SAP's data warehouse solution, which includes components for data management, defining user queries (OLAP), data mining, and controlling loading processes.

With SAP BW, your data is stored in ADSOs (Advanced DataStore Objects). InfoObjects are used for master data storage. If you use SAP BW together with the SAP HANA database, you can significantly reduce the query times for data. For display, these are usually prepared using InfoObjects and a query and made available. The query defines columns, rows, free features, filters, variables and their contents. It also offers you advanced options for calculating data at runtime, for example calculated or restricted key figures. Many options of a query can be changed in the executed state, the result adjusts in this case live.

⁠All SAP tools can be found on our overview page of the software manufacturer. 

The connection from SAP to Tableau

Once you have got an overview of the SAP data world, there are several possibilities to access data stored in SAP from a Tableau workbook. The most relevant and widely used connectors for this are:

• Standard interfaces from Tableau to SAP BW and SAP HANA
• The ODBC Connector accesses Calculation Views from HANA
• The OData Connector enables access to data from S/4

Before you configure the interface for the first time, a brief digression on the different connection possibilities: Tableau can establish direct or Live connections to many data sources. The data is not cached and is available in real time in the workbook. However, a live connection may also lead to minor restrictions of the data analysis functionalities in Tableau Desktop.

Alternatively, Tableau offers so-called Extracts for data provision. This is a kind of snapshot of the existing data, which is cached on the Tableau server, for example. Unlike Live connections, your data is not updated in real time, but must be updated manually or via refresh schedules at regular intervals.

The following initially describes in detail how to establish a connection from Tableau to SAP BW. Afterwards, data security, by authorizing end users in Tableau, is briefly explained. In the whitepaper you will also find a description of the connection to S/4 HANA and SAP HANA.

Configuration of the SAP BW interface

To connect with SAP BW, both the installation of the SAP GUI and the installation of the appropriate driver are required. The connection can be divided into 3 work steps:

1. Installation of SAP software:

Before Tableau is able to connect to SAP BW, you need to install some SAP software (SAP GUI, SAP Logon and Unicode RFC Libraries). You can get this through the SAP Service Marketplace, where an SMP authorization is necessary. After starting the installation file, you select the individual components for installation.

After successfully installing the SAP GUI Suite, you can create a local instance of the SAP server via the SAP logon, which Tableau will access. Using the "New" button, you can create a "New system entry" in the pop-up window, which contains the parameterization of the SAP server.

2. Installation of the SAP driver:

A driver is needed for the Tableau connector to communicate with the database. The name of the driver corresponds with the appropriate BW version and is also available via the SAP Service Marketplace.

3. Establishing the connection from Tableau to SAP BW:

SAP BW login from Tableau Desktop

After the preparations are complete, the connection from Tableau to SAP is established via the designated connector (SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse). In the pop-up window, you select the connection to the instance you created in SAP Logon earlier. Authorization is done via the SAP User (see illustration). The client and language must also be entered.

In the following window you choose Catalog and Cube or Query. Tableau is then able to visualize the data and perform further calculations.

Data Security - Authorizations from SAP in Tableau

Data security is also an important aspect in reporting and data analysis. To ensure that your visualizations and dashboards are only viewed by the people for whom they are intended, there are various authorization options.

Permissions for direct live connections to SAP

If you want to take over the rights and roles concept from SAP, a direct (live) connection of the data to Tableau is necessary. In this case, every consumer of a report is asked for his SAP password at the beginning. The data in the published dashboards on the Tableau Server can therefore only be viewed with an SAP access and the corresponding authorizations. You do not need to create any special permissions for the Tableau users.

Permissions for Extracts

If the data is stored as a (hyper-) extract on the Tableau Server, you must manually transfer the permissions from SAP to the individual Tableau users. Because here the connection to the data does not exist directly, but the data is copied and updated in a defined period, a single SAP login is sufficient when creating the extract. Every Tableau user who has permission for this report can access reports that are created based on the extract, regardless of the SAP user. In order to maintain data security, it is important that you absolutely transfer the permissions to the respective Tableau users.

Data Analysis and Visualization in Tableau

Once you have successfully established the connection, nothing stands in the way of creating performance and visually high-quality reports in Tableau for management, marketing, sales control or financial controlling. The following describes the possibilities and hurdles that arise as a result of this interaction. This includes further data preparation in Tableau Prep as well as visualization in Tableau Desktop and the provision of dashboards on the Tableau Server.

Possibility of data cleaning with Tableau Prep

Before you visualize data in Tableau, you may need to prepare it accordingly to ensure its validity and structured arrangement. If you still have unstructured data or need additional data for reporting from other sources, Tableau offers you the possibility to prepare it automatically.

Tableau Prep workflow for data preparation

With Tableau Prep, you can easily combine, prepare and share your data - thanks to a visual interface even without extensive knowledge in data processing. Recurring steps that you have manually executed in Excel, for example, can be easily automated with this. Some examples of data preparation are: deleting data, recalculating, linking, merging, grouping, (de-) pivoting, filtering or aggregating. In a graphical workflow, the individual steps are defined and recorded. You then provide the entire schema, or just the transformed data, as a basis for analyses and dashboards on your own Tableau Server.

Smaller adjustments of the data, such as changing the format (Integer, Boolean, String,...), creating hierarchies, groups and sets, or calculating new key figures, can be made directly in Tableau without such a workflow.

Visualization of data and provision of dashboards

As soon as you have finished the data preparation and all dimensions and key figures are correctly available in Tableau, you can start with the visualization. The concept for the dashboards to be created is the key to success for reporting. In dialogue or in workshops with the consumers of the reports, it is best to ask for their needs and requirements for the reports in advance.

Example of a dashboard in Tableau

When conceptualizing, it is recommended to focus particularly on dynamic and intuitive reports. Dynamic reports allow you to summarise several similar dashboards, thereby avoiding information redundancies and increasing acceptance among consumers. When implementing the concept, there are virtually no limits to visualization in Tableau. For your dashboard, you can use predefined visualizations or create completely new charts. Once you have fully created a dashboard, you can publish it on the Tableau Server and make it available to your colleagues. Here, everyone can now start interactively with the data analysis. For example, you can filter everything by clicking on the graphics. The illustration shows what such a dashboard might look like. You can find the link to the dashboard in the white paper.

Advantages of using Tableau in connection with SAP

You have various options for taking advantage of Tableau in connection with SAP, for setting up interfaces simply and efficiently. Once set up, you can combine the advantages of both systems. This addition makes sense in many cases, but always depends on your individual use case. For evaluating when the combination of both technologies makes sense, a brief look at the advantages is worthwhile:

1. Tableau Desktop allows you to visualize data by drag and drop. This self-service BI component allows you to quickly draw insights from data even without a strong foundation in IT.
2. With your own data analytics components you also create future-facing reports (forecasts, trends etc.). Furthermore, machine learning models from the Data Science are quickly integrated in Tableau via the interfaces to Python and R. This sets the course for a data-driven company.
3. For data preparation you use the integrated workflow tool Tableau Prep. With this you can, for example, prepare and merge data from different data sources without knowledge of database languages.
4. The Tableau Server platform allows you to share dashboards with colleagues - independent of the device, whether smartphone, tablet or PC. Your authorization concept determines which users are allowed to see which data.
5. The flexible licensing concept of Tableau enables you to adapt cost-effectively and dynamically to the needs of your company.

Conclusion

The possibilities for establishing interfaces show that with professional implementation, the hurdles for using both systems are very low. In combination with the advantages mentioned, the use case presented offers you great potential to realize the opportunities of digitalization.

You can react faster to external influences and, thanks to self-service BI, you are independent of other departments. Last but not least, the scalable license costs and the standard interfaces allow for quick integration. The possibility of flexibly expanding reporting with elements of data science opens up access to data-driven recommendations for action and decisions for you.

In order to successfully implement such a project, it is recommended to seek the opinion of experts with know-how in both the SAP area and the use of Tableau from the outset. This way, you set the right course from the start and can benefit from the potentials of the combination of Tableau and SAP in the long term.

In the Whitepaper you can find more detailed descriptions of the points covered in the article, among other things. In addition, possibilities for your next steps, such as the implementation of a simple pilot project, are described.