| Challenge: |
|
This Global Media and Entertainment Company decided to
utilize SAP’s Business Warehouse (BW) to develop the
majority of its business critical reports – both operational
and analytical – for its 30,000 reporting users. This
allowed the Enterprise to both reduce requirements for custom
ABAP development and the overall cost of ownership of the
SAP system, which maximized their return on investment.
One of the primary concerns with this decision was to ensure
the same level of data protection and control on the BW
system as on the R/3 modules (including HR) and other component
systems (CRM, EBP, BCS, and SEM-BPS). |
| Solution: |
|
To ensure a successful and controlled enterprise BW reporting
system, The Hermosa Beach Consulting Group (HBCG) utilized
a “least privilege” security methodology and
standardized roles across all component systems. So, for
example, if on the R/3 system a user is a Financial Analyst,
then a user also is a Financial Analyst on the BW system;
transactions and workbooks are logically grouped together
and assigned to roles regardless of the component system
in which they exist. BW reports were then grouped appropriately
to these roles. To minimize on-going maintenance demands
on the security team, simple roles were used to group reports
shared by multiple job functions and assigned to composites,
which defined a user’s job responsibilities within
the system.
Similarly, the data-security model had to be replicated
from its source system. For example, if a user is running
a CO report on the BW system, that user would be limited
to access only the Cost Centers to which he or she is authorized
on the source R/3 system. Within HR, users not only had
to be limited by appropriate organizational elements, but
employee master data, (e.g., wages, birth date, SSN, and
other personal information) had to be limited to align with
their R/3 InfoType access.
Once the data-security model was defined for BW reporting,
processes and procedures were implemented to ensure that
BW development efforts remained in-line with security. Security
standards were set by InfoCube, including specifications
for mandatory input variables for secured fields and integration
test standards for security. |
| Result: |
|
BW was implemented as an enterprise-wide reporting tool
with security and controls that mirrored those of the Company’s
core systems. BW is critical to the client’s financial
periodic close processes, as well as day-to-day reporting
for all of the R/3 modules, including HR, as well as BCS,
CRM, EBP, and SEM-BPS. User access is limited in BW reporting
identically as they are in the source system from which the
information is extracted. |
