SAP’s Business Planning and Consolidation version for Netweaver 10.1 (BPC 10.1) achieved General Availability in June 2014. With this newest release of BPC, SAP offers two models that can be deployed to meet your business needs. I will attempt to provide some clarity around the pros and cons of each model selection:
Standard Model - the architecture and function of this design is the same as the previous BPC version, BPC 10.0. The standard model is deployed within a host Business Warehouse’s protected namespace (“/CPMB/”). SAP designed this protected area to satisfy customer s who wanted to carve out a planning area for their department without having to coordinate or share resources with the greater BW (EDW) community of users. By segregating the BPC relevant transactional and master data directly within the protected namespace, the processes associated with the standard model are isolated and tightly controlled by the department running the application.
The code set of the standard model has been coordinated with the code set supporting BPC 10.0. Changes to BPC 10.0 are reflected in the BPC 10.1 Standard model, and changes to the BPC 10.1 Standard model are reflected into BPC 10.0. As a result of this code compatibility, customers can enjoy easy migrations while performing upgrades from 10.0 to 10.1 standard models.
Embedded Model– the architecture of the embedded model has similar roots to previous planning applications from SAP as well. In the case of the embedded model, the earlier versions were SAP BW Integrated Planning (BW-IP) and Planning Application Kit (PAK). This model uses a different paradigm on data access: master and transactional data from the entire host EDW environment is accessible by the application. This model allows easy access to all data within the host BW, but this data is typically shared with many other users and the control of this data is usually provided through a centralized administration group.
Migration from earlier versions of BW Integrated Planning to the embedded model is easy. However migration from earlier versions of BPC (10.0 and earlier) is typically a reimplementation.
Both models have their strengths and weaknesses. There is not one best model for all customers. Model choice should be based upon the business requirements mapped to each model’s characteristics. To help with this analysis I have assembled the following comparison matrix between the two models:
| Characteristic | STANDARD MODEL | EMBEDDED MODEL |
|---|---|---|
| Data Modeling |
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| Master Data |
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| Transactional Data |
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Security |
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| Functions |
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| SQL push down to HANA |
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| Cell Locking |
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| Additional Functions |
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| Consolidation |
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| User Interface |
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| EPM Add In |
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In addition to each model’s characteristics, SAP currently has plans to provide Standard-to-Embedded and Embedded-to-Standard data movement capability (on roadmap for future release).
Note: All “roadmap/future release” referenced items are subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reason without notice. The information in this document is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality.
Sheldon Edelstein sheldon.edelstein@sap.com
SAP Platform Solution Group