Power BI and SAP: Practical Guide for CIOs
8 min
Tunisian CIOs face dual pressure: modernize reporting without replacing SAP ERP. Power BI is often the answer — if the connection is well architected.
Recommended architecture
Three patterns dominate: DirectQuery on S/4HANA CDS views, import via SAP BW/4HANA, or Azure Data Factory pipeline to an intermediate data warehouse.
DirectQuery vs Import
DirectQuery ensures operational data freshness. Import suits C-level dashboards with nightly refresh and complex DAX models.
Data governance
Before deploying 50 dashboards, define a centralized semantic layer, business glossary and data quality rules.
ROI and time-to-value
A first finance or sales dashboard in 4 weeks is realistic with an experienced SAP BI partner.
Common mistakes
Multiplying direct connections to SAP production, ignoring DAX performance, and deploying without user training.