SAP HANA SDA: The Key to Unlocking Data Across Your Landscape

Organizations in today’s data-driven world often have valuable information scattered across different databases and systems. This can make it challenging to get a holistic view of the data for analysis and decision-making. SAP HANA Smart Data Access (SDA) offers a powerful solution to this problem. Let’s explore what it is and why it matters.

What is SAP HANA SDA?

SAP HANA SDA is a native feature of the SAP HANA in-memory database platform. It allows HANA to directly access and query data from external sources without data replication. SDA works by creating “virtual tables” within HANA that map to actual tables in the external source. These virtual tables look and behave just like regular HANA tables, allowing you to perform the following:

• Query: Analyze data in the external source and combine it with SAP HANA data for deeper insights.
• Join: Combine data seamlessly from external sources with your SAP HANA data.
• Write-back (Limited): In specific scenarios, data can even be updated back in the source system.

Benefits of SAP HANA SDA

• Real-time Insights: SDA eliminates data replication delays, providing real-time access to live data from external sources.
• Reduced Data Footprint: By avoiding data duplication, SDA helps to conserve storage space and memory within the SAP HANA system.
• Simplified Landscape: SDA reduces the need for complex ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes, minimizing effort and potential errors.
• Centralized Data Governance: SDA maintains data integrity and ensures that the external source remains the single source of truth.

Common Use Cases

1. Data Federation: Create a virtual data layer on top of multiple data sources, enabling cross-source analysis without moving the data.
2. Data Archiving: Move infrequently used data to lower-cost storage or other databases, keeping SAP HANA focused on active data.
3. Big Data Integration: Analyze and combine structured data from SAP HANA with semi-structured or unstructured data from Hadoop using SDA’s connectivity options.

Supported Data Sources

SAP HANA SDA can connect to a wide range of databases and data sources, including:

• SAP Systems (ASE, IQ)
• Oracle
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Teradata
• IBM DB2
• Hadoop (via Hive)
• And more

Getting Started with SAP HANA SDA

1. Create a Remote Source: Set up a connection to the external data source in SAP HANA Studio.
2. Create Virtual Tables: Define virtual tables in SAP HANA that map to the tables in the remote source.
3. Access the Data: Query and use the virtual tables as you would any standard HANA table, unlocking seamless access to the external data.

In Conclusion

SAP HANA SDA is a valuable tool for organizations looking to break down data silos and get a more comprehensive view of their information. Its real-time access, simplified data management, and support for various data sources make it a powerful solution for modern data-driven organizations. If you’re managing multiple data sources, it’s time to explore the power of SAP HANA SDA!