Direct Link adds SAP data selection and extraction capabilities to the data access, analysis, and reporting capabilities of Analytics. It allows you to connect to your SAP system and extract data for use in Analytics.
Direct Link extracts data based on queries you create by selecting tables, fields, and filters. Your SAP security authorization determines which tables you can access. You can run your query immediately and download the results to an Analytics table, or you can run the query as a background process and store the extracted data on the SAP system to retrieve later.
Creating a Direct Link query typically involves the following steps:
Connect to the SAP system and log in.
Add one or more tables to your query. If you add more than one table, you need to identify the relationships between the tables.
Select the fields to include in the query.
Add filters to limit the results returned by the query.
Submit the query to the SAP system.
Use Analytics to analyze the data produced by the query.
The following are some of the advantages and benefits your company will gain from using Direct Link:
Empowers users – Direct Link provides direct and seamless access to SAP tables and displays additional information about SAP fields and tables.
Saves time and resources – Direct Link reduces requests for customized ABAP extracts and extract programs.
Minimizes data analysis costs – Direct Link does not require any expensive middleware or hardware. The product is quick to install and easy to learn, offering a rapid return on investment.
Ensures data integrity – Direct Link provides users with read-only access to the SAP source data, which ensures that they cannot make changes to the original data.
Respects existing SAP security authorizations – Direct Link limits users to the tables in the SAP system that they have the appropriate SAP security authorizations to view and extract data from.