Time aspects in SAP business information warehouse
Michael Hahne · 2026
With the Business Information Warehouse (BW) the SAP AG entered the business intelligence market.* Application components and services for decision support are summarized under the term mySAP Business Intelligence, its main component for persistent data storage is the Business Information Warehouse. Many SAP solutions are based upon the BW as core technology component following the paradigm of multidimensionality enabling numerous analytical applications. Data modelling and the capabilities of the underlying data model have a significant influence on acceptance and abilities of such systems. Possible solutions are limited by the data model. Main points in modelling multidimensional data structures are the possible hierarchical dimension structures and the treatment of structural changes in dimensions. The latter point is determined by reporting demands and discussed as time aspects in data warehouse literature. This article focuses on the possibilities of SAP Business Information Warehouse to handle dimension structures, especially changing dimensions.