SAP BW Bridge

• SAP BW Bridge
  Hybrid cloud approach, designed for those still relying on SAP ECC with legacy extractors that cannot connect to Datasphere Core. BW Bridge primarily serves as a staging area for data that cannot be processed otherwise.
• BW Private Cloud Edition (PCE)
  BW on HANA or BW/4HANA hosted in a managed private cloud environment within SAP Business Data Cloud.
• Direct Migration to SAP Datasphere
  Suitable for simpler BW landscapes, bypassing BW Bridge entirely, and allowing for parallel use of your existing BW system.

If you want to find out which of the three options suits you best, check out our project experiences and our decision tree in the whitepaper.

• Existing BW assets remain usable
  BW 7.5 objects and models can be leveraged without major redevelopment.
• Seamless integration with SAP Datasphere
  Enables a hybrid approach, combining existing BW data with cloud-native innovations.

SAP BW Bridge is not just a migration tool, it serves as a strategic enabler for companies looking to modernize their analytics landscape while maintaining continuity, security, and cost-efficiency.

However, with the availability of SAP Business Data Cloud and BW Private Cloud Edition (PCE), organizations now have multiple paths to the cloud. Therefore, it’s essential to take a closer look at when BW Bridge remains a viable choice and when other solutions might be more suitable.

 ٭ extended maintenance free of charge      ٭٭ subsidized according to SAP (information without guarantee)

Governance Best Practices for BW Bridge

• Restrict BW Bridge Access: Limit access to BW developers only.
• Centralized IT Space: Use a dedicated IT Space within SAP Datasphere for global governance.
• Implement DACs: Leverage Data Access Controls for row-level data access.

Key Restrictions in ABAP Cloud Development

Only Released APIs Can Be Used

• Developers can no longer access SAP internals directly.
  Only public released APIs are permitted.

No Direct Database Access 

• Classic Open SQL and direct DB operations are not supported. Only released database tables can be accessed directly in the ABAP Cloud Coding.
• Alternative: Use CDS Views, AMDP (ABAP Managed Database Procedures), and ABAP SQL instead.

Conclusion

The transition from Classic ABAP to ABAP Cloud represents a fundamental shift in how SAP development is approached within modern cloud environments. It enforces stricter governance, API-based development, and Git-based transport management, aligning with SAP’s cloud-first strategy.

Adopting ABAP Cloud is not optional for organizations moving to SAP BTP or SAP BW Bridge. It requires:

• Skill adaptation:  Upskilling teams in CDS, RAP, and ABAP SQL.
• Process change: Implementing gCTS for transport management.
• Governance alignment: Enforcing API-based extensions and ATC checks.

However with SAP BW Private Cloud Edition (PCE) this is a different story.

• ABAP Cloud is not strictly required. BW PCE retains Classic ABAP functionality.
• Organizations can continue using SAP GUI and traditional development practices without adopting the ABAP Cloud model.
• Upskilling in ABAP Cloud is optional, unless you plan to extend BW functionality using SAP BTP or cloud-native workflows.

In essence, while ABAP Cloud is mandatory for SAP BTP and BW Bridge, it remains optional for BW PCE customers, allowing them to maintain existing ABAP practices without immediate transformation.

Successfully adopting SAP BW Bridge and SAP Datasphere requires a blended skillset, combining traditional BW expertise with modern cloud-native competencies. While SAP BW Private Cloud Edition (PCE) retains Classic ABAP workflows, BW Bridge and Datasphere demand upskilling in ABAP Cloud, SQL-based modeling, and cloud transport management.

Key Skill Areas

SAP BW Bridge

• ABAP Cloud: For custom developments in BW Bridge and BTP.
  • Not required for BW PCE, but essential if extending BW functionality to the cloud.
• AMDP:  High-performance transformations.
• BW Modeling Tools:  For Eclipse-based BW object modeling .
• BW Bridge Cockpit:  System monitoring and user management.
• gCTS (Git-based Transport):  Required for cloud transport in BW Bridge.

Migrating Queries to BW Bridge

Although SAP BW queries can be transferred to BW Bridge during migration, they cannot be executed in the same way as in a classic BW system or be used as a direct source for other data targets. Instead, they appear in BW Bridge purely as metadata.

•  Foundation for SAP Datasphere 
  The query metadata from BW Bridge can be imported into SAP Datasphere, where it serves as a blueprint for creating Analytic Models. Once the Analytic Model is generated based on your query, you can refine or enhance key figures and dimensions directly in Datasphere, tailoring them for your future reporting strategy.
• Reporting Strategy
  Decide early on how you plan to handle reporting within Datasphere and what part existing BW queries will play. It helps you determine how best to leverage existing BW logic for your future reporting and which elements (like key figures or hierarchies) should be re-created or refined in Datasphere.
• Critical Limitations with Entity Import 
   Due to a restrictive set of supported query features, the import process often fails or omits key elements, leading to manually recreate advanced key figures in Datasphere (see SAP Note 2932647). In practice, focusing automation on CompositeProviders and rebuilding complex query logic by hand tends to be more efficient 
  
  
  

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