Forum Discussion
How get data directly from SAP ECC
I would say BW or HANA are not the approach we want to use ... the Power BI connectors for these sources are already defined. But they require ETL/staging to bring the desired data from ECC to BW or HANA.
The need is for DIRECT access to ECC data, ideally using SAP-sanctioned API's.
Up until last year, Power BI had a "BObj Universe" connector, which would be a desireable. But this connector was removed due to licensing issues (so I hear).
I think there is a market for this if someone would develop it.
Pete
Do you have the Netweaver Gateway installed? The one used for fiori apps. It is a free SAP product. You just need to install it. You can write simple report function modules in ECC (say for sales or inventory data) and then map them through the gateway. Super simple. Then you've just created a REST oData feed that can be consumed in PowerBI. Straight Up...now BW garbage, cubes, all that muck and no Hana required. I've done it numerous times...only downfall is if you are trying to read too much (like financials for five years).