Migrating SAP Business Objects from Oracle to Snowflake: A Smooth Transition

If you’ve been working with SAP Business Objects (BO) for reporting and your data is currently in Oracle, you might be familiar with the Universe Design Tool (UNV). Maybe you’re already ahead, using the Information Design Tool (UNX)—which is great because SAP will discontinue UNV by 2028.

But here’s the real challenge: If your company is planning to migrate to Snowflake, only UNX universes will be supported. So, what happens if you have thousands of reports running on UNV? The thought of converting them manually can feel overwhelming.

Don’t worry! In this guide, I’ll walk you through an efficient, automated approach to migrating BO universes and reports from Oracle to Snowflake data, with less manual work and maximum agility. Let’s get started!

Understanding the Problem: UNV vs. UNX and the Future of Business Objects

What is SAP Business Objects (BO)?

SAP Business Objects is one of the most widely used reporting tools for Business Intelligence. It helps companies analyze their data and make informed decisions using dashboards and reports.

What is a Universe in BO?

A universe is a semantic layer between your reports and the database. It allows users to query data without writing SQL by selecting objects from a user-friendly interface.

BO has two universe formats:

• UNV (Universe Design Tool – UDT) → Old format, being discontinued in 2028.
• UNX (Information Design Tool – IDT) → Newer format, required for Snowflake compatibility.

Why is This Important for Your Migration?

• If you’re using UNV, you must convert it to UNX.
• Snowflake only supports UNX universes.
• Migrating manually is time-consuming, especially with thousands of reports.

Migrating Business Objects reports from Oracle to Snowflake is like upgrading an old train system to high-speed rail.

• Old system (UNV on Oracle) → Like a slow diesel train, reliable but outdated and inefficient.
• UNX migration → Replacing old tracks with modern rails, allowing smoother, faster connections.
• Moving to Snowflake → Now, imagine replacing the train with a high-speed bullet train! 🚄

The infrastructure changes, but the passengers (your data and reports) remain the same. And once you’re on Snowflake, you’re traveling faster, with less maintenance and more flexibility.

Would you rather keep chugging along with a steam engine, or ride the data snowflake express?

Step 1: Convert UNV Universes to UNX

Instead of recreating everything from scratch, SAP BO has a built-in conversion tool that allows you to convert UNV to UNX with just a few clicks.

Here’s How to Do It:

1. Create a Migration Folder
   • Inside BO, create a new folder for converted universes. This will keep things organized.
   • Make a copy of your UNV universe and place it in this folder.
2. Use the Information Design Tool (IDT) to Convert
   • Open Information Design Tool (IDT).
   • Connect to your BO repository.
   • Navigate to the migration folder and locate your copied UNV universe.
   • Right-click on the UNV universe → Select “Convert to UNX”.
3. Let the Tool Do Its Job
   • The system will automatically convert UNV into a new UNX version.
   • No errors? Great! You now have a UNX universe ready for reporting in BO.

Step 2: Migrate Reports from UNV to UNX

Once the UNX universe is created, you need to update all your reports to use the new universe. But what if you have thousands of reports? Doing this one-by-one would take forever.

Manual Approach for a Single Report

If you need to convert just one report:

1. Go to Your Reporting Migration Folder
   • Copy your report there and create a new version of it which you rename it with “_CONV” at the end (e.g., Sales_Report_CONV).
   • This lets you compare old and new versions easily in the same folder.
2. Change the Data Source
   • Open the _CONV report in BO.
   • Click the top “…” icon to switch the universe.
   • Select “Universe” → “Select Other Source”.
   • Choose the converted UNX universe from Step 1.
3. Set Up the Mapping Strategy
   • A popup will appear asking for a strategy to map objects.
   • Keep the default settings and ensure “Match Name” is selected.
   • Save it.
4. Run the Report and Compare the Data
   • Execute the _CONV report and compare it with the original version.
   • If everything matches, you’re good to go!

Step 3: Automate Report Migration in Bulk

What About the Thousands of Reports Left?

Doing this for every single report manually isn’t realistic. Luckily, SAP BO has a batch automation feature that allows you to migrate all reports in a single process.

How to Automate the Migration:

1. Create a Folder for Reports
   • Copy all reports using the old UNV into a dedicated folder.
2. Run the BO Batch Tool
   • Specify the location of the UNV universe.
   • The batch process will automatically update all reports to point to the new UNX universe.

This process saves hundreds of hours of manual work and ensures consistency across all reports.

Step 4: Preparing for Snowflake Migration

Once all reports are successfully migrated to UNX, the final step is transitioning the database from Oracle to Snowflake.

Key Considerations for a Smooth Database Migration:

• Ensure Snowflake has the same database views as Oracle.
• Test all reports before cutting over to Snowflake data.
• Optimize performance by leveraging Snowflake’s indexing and query optimization features.

If done correctly, switching from Oracle to Snowflake should only require updating the database connection without modifying reports.

Bonus: Clean Up Unused Reports!

Migration is a great opportunity to do housekeeping. Identify unused or outdated reports and remove them to keep your system lean and efficient.

For more information about Legacy Data: The Urgency of Migrating from Legacy Data Solutions to Modern Data-Driven Architectures

Future-Proofing Your BO Reporting with Snowflake

Migrating from UNV to UNX, and then from Oracle to Snowflake, can feel overwhelming, but with the right approach, it doesn’t have to be.

✅ Use SAP BO’s built-in tools to automate the UNV to UNX conversion.
✅ Leverage batch automation to migrate thousands of reports with minimal effort.
✅ Ensure Snowflake has the correct database views for a seamless transition.
✅ Take this chance to clean up unused reports and optimize performance.By following this strategy, you’ll modernize your power business intelligence environment and evolve to the future of data snowflake processing.