SAP Target Data & Reporting Architecture: S/4HANA & BDC

Target Data & Reporting Architecture

SAP ECC → S/4HANA | BW/BO → SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC)

Defining the future-state SAP data and analytics landscape to support enterprise reporting and decision-making

Confidential | May 2026

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Executive Summary

The current SAP reporting landscape is fragmented, manual, and multi-source — spanning SAP ECC, BW/BO, and downstream tools, with significant Excel-based effort for month-end and management reporting.

The S/4HANA transformation requires a fundamental shift in analytics approach — not a like-for-like rebuild of ECC Z-reports, in line with clean-core principles.

Recommended target state:

S/4HANA as System of Record

Embedded Analytics for operational insight

SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) as System of Insight — replacing BW/BO for strategic, historical, and cross-domain analytics.

Why Change?

Structural limitations in the ECC + BW/BO landscape

Manual Data Stitching

Reporting relies on multiple extracts (profit centre, cost centre, project hierarchies) manually stitched together outside SAP.

Limited BW/BO Capability

Used primarily as a query engine with limited analytical capability and single-hierarchy constraints.

Month-End Complexity

Month-end packs require Power BI and Excel intervention, increasing risk and effort.

Technical Debt Risk

Replicating ECC Z-reports in S/4HANA violates clean-core principles and creates long-term technical debt.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

SAP Analytics Design Principles

These principles anchor the target architecture

Clean Core First

Avoid custom ABAP/Z reporting in S/4HANA. Extend analytics outside the core where needed.

Right Data in the Right Place

S/4HANA for transactional integrity. Analytics platforms for insight and scale.

Shift from Reports to Insights

Focus on business questions, drill-down, and automation — not report replication.

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ARCHITECTURE OVERVIEW

Target-State Architecture Overview

High-level logical view — SAP-only

SAP Source Systems

ECC → S/4HANA

Embedded CDS / ODP

S/4HANA Embedded Analytics

Fiori Analytical Apps

Replication / Data Products

SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC)

Data Sphere + SAC

Enterprise Reporting & Analytics

S/4HANA = System of Record

BDC = System of Insight & Analytics Convergence Layer

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S/4HANA ROLE

Role of S/4HANA in the Target State

S/4HANA is not a data warehouse

Acts as

The authoritative financial and operational record for the enterprise

Standard Fiori Apps

Embedded CDS Views

Best Suited For

Operational reporting

Near-real-time insight

Drill-down to transaction detail

Not Suited For

Large-scale historical analytics

Complex cross-domain calculations

Heavy analytical modelling

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EMBEDDED ANALYTICS

Embedded Analytics — S/4HANA

When to use it

Finance Operational Reporting

P&L, balance sheet, variances

Daily / Period Close Monitoring

Real-time operational tracking

Self-Service Exploration

Within SAP Fiori, no exports needed

Design Guardrails

Use standard CDS views first

Limited extensions only — no bespoke customisation

No heavy logic or custom ABAP reporting

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PLATFORM EVOLUTION

Evolution from BW/BO to BDC

Why BW/BO is no longer the strategic answer

Query-centric design with limited flexibility

Limited hierarchy support

Growing adaptation effort for S/4HANA + RISE

STRATEGIC EVOLUTION

The strategic replacement

Consolidates analytics capability in one platform

Aligns with SAP's forward data strategy

Supports scale, historical data, and advanced analytics

BDC PLATFORM

SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC)

BDC as the System of Insight

Historical Reporting

Retains and surfaces multi-year transactional history without impacting S/4HANA performance.

Cross-Process Analytics

Unifies data across finance, supply chain, HR, and other domains in a single analytics layer.

KPI Calculation & Trend Analysis

Calculates complex KPIs, ratios, and period trends independent of ERP load.

Decouples analytics from ERP transaction load

Enables a single trusted analytics layer while keeping S/4HANA clean

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INTEGRATION PATTERN

Data Flow & Integration Pattern

S/4HANA

Transactional data originates here

Analytical Replication (one-way)

BDC

Analytical storage, modelling & insight

Reports & Dashboards

Enterprise Consumers

Finance, Operations, Management, Board

No reverse dependency — BDC does not write back to S/4HANA core

Scalable Retention

Multiple Hierarchies

Analytical Modelling Without ERP Impact

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PLATFORM SEGMENTATION

Reporting Segmentation by Platform

Reporting Need

Platform

Operational, real-time reporting

S/4HANA Embedded Analytics

Financial close monitoring

S/4HANA

Management & board reporting

BDC (SAC)

Historical trend analysis

BDC

Complex KPIs & scenario modelling

BDC

S/4HANA

System of Record

BDC

System of Insight

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KEY DESIGN DECISIONS

Key Design Decisions (KDDs)

Open decisions requiring stakeholder alignment

KDD 01 — BW/BO Rationalisation

How far to rationalise BW/BO during the S/4HANA transition, and what to decommission vs. migrate.

OPEN

KDD 02 — Embedded vs. BDC Split

Which reports remain embedded in S/4HANA vs. which move to BDC as data products.

OPEN

KDD 03 — Data Retention Strategy

Data retention split between S/4HANA (operational) and BDC (historical), and governance ownership.

OPEN

KDD 04 — Phasing & Migration Waves

Phasing approach aligned to S/4HANA migration waves and programme timeline.

OPEN

BUSINESS BENEFITS

Benefits of the Target Architecture

Reduced Manual Effort

Eliminate Excel-heavy month-end processes and manual data stitching

Improved Self-Service Analytics

Business users access trusted data directly without IT dependency

Clean-Core S/4HANA

No Z-reports or custom ABAP — full compliance with clean-core principles

Future-Proof Analytics Stack

Aligned with SAP's product roadmap and long-term data strategy

Clear Separation of Record vs. Insight

S/4HANA owns transactions, BDC owns analytics — no overlap or ambiguity

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SUMMARY

Summary

S/4HANA transformation is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise SAP analytics

Rebuilding ECC reports in S/4HANA would lock in legacy complexity — this must be avoided

Recommended SAP-only target state: S/4HANA for transactions & embedded insight | BDC as the strategic analytics platform

This architecture aligns with SAP strategy, clean-core principles, and enterprise reporting needs

S/4HANA

System of Record

Embedded Analytics

Operational Insight

SAP BDC

System of Insight

Confidential | May 2026

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