Service Pack 9 for BPC v10 NetWeaver

Service Pack 9 for Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) 10, Netweaver version, has some notable enhancements that are worth discussing.  There are three that we are speaking of specifically:

• Support for Time Dependent Hierarchy
• Parallel execution framework is implemented
• MDX on HANA

The first enhancement will support a time dependent hierarchy.  This will enable users to see data reflected differently based on changes to master data over time. Users will be able to toggle to different versions of the hierarchy by selecting a key date within the EPM add-in.  This functionality can also be used through the web-based reporting and input forms.  Models with time-dependent hierarchy enabled allow users to select key date with both reporting UI for reports and input forms.

For more information, see Note 1800842:  “Time-dependent hierarchy for Planning and Consolidation 10.0.”  This note describes this enhancement in more detail, gives instructions on how to activate it, and discusses various settings.

In terms of performance, SP9 has added an enhancement which introduces the use of a parallel execution framework to BPC.  This processing large amounts of data in parallel within the Data Manager and Legal Consolidation components of BPC.  This enhances scalability and adds to performance by making full use of CPU, memory, and server resources. 

See Note 1792408 – “Planning and Consolidation Parallel Execution Framework,” which covers this enhancement and gives configuration parameters.

When MDX on BPC for NetWeaver (NW) was introduced there were several concerns with system performance and it was recommended to make use of BADI’s instead.  Now, however, with the use of HANA and SP9 this is no longer the case and MDX can now be utilized.

The above enhancements will truly add value to your new or existing system but it should be mentioned that with any new improvements comes possible unexpected behavior.  While these enhancements are ready to use now, with customer feedback to SAP through SAP OSS messages, these enhancements will surely mature and become an integral part of the BPC 10 NW value proposition in ongoing future release.

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