How imec democratizes enterprise data analytics with SAP Datasphere
From the chips in your smartphone to innovations transforming health, mobility, agritech, energy, and beyond: imec is literally shaping the future. To continue leading in cutting-edge R&D, the company needed sharper insights into the revenue, cost, and profitability of its projects.
Together with Flexso, imec integrated SAP Datasphere into its Business Technology Platform (BTP) architecture as the central platform for all SAP data. By leveraging standard SAP accelerators, imec could build ready-to-use data products that empower business teams with advanced analytics.
Moving data and analytics to SAP BTP
In 2023, imec used SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) for live reporting on SAP S/4HANA. Together with Flexso, they defined a reporting roadmap to take things to the next level. This roadmap introduced a strategic shift toward SAP BTP for data and analytics.
Flexso then supported imec in putting that roadmap in action. More specifically, we helped them to:
- Integrate SAP data into a broader data and analytics ecosystem, making information easily accessible via a single portal.
- Simplify the complex SAP data model while preserving context by using SAP accelerators.
- Unlock the full potential of SAP process data.
- Empower business teams to access and analyze data autonomously.
Launching a Proof of Concept with SAP Datasphere
Following its business reorganization in January 2024 to adopt a more project-driven approach, imec required a new financial operating model in SAP S/4HANA to support this transition.
"Our business was lacking deep insights into the revenue, cost, and profitability of our R&D projects, which made it difficult to manage investments effectively," says Roeland Muyldermans, ICT Manager at imec. "To tackle this, we needed a core finance model enriched with sales data, project details including capacity and planned activities, and employee data."
"This was the perfect opportunity to experiment with SAP Datasphere", explains Luna Verhasselt, SAP Analytics Expert at Flexso. "Using a free-tier tenant on BTP, we began running a Proof of Concept with SAP Datasphere. The POC focused on building a basic finance model with limited custom fields, while testing integrations with various front-end tools. We also set up outbound integration with imec’s corporate data platform on Azure."
"Starting with a POC allowed us to 'fail fast': quickly pinpoint what worked and where to iterate, before committing to a full-scale rollout."
Implementing Datasphere as a business data fabric
As a result of the successful POC, imec decided to implement SAP Datasphere as the central platform for all the organization’s SAP data. The goal was twofold: to lay the foundation for a robust enterprise data architecture and to develop ready-to-use data products that empower business teams with advanced analytics.
Imec leveraged SAP Datasphere accelerators – particularly the Finance Foundation – to accelerate development and ensure reliable data modeling through consistent use of SAP semantics. This approach allowed imec to enrich the standard SAP finance model with imec-specific logic, making data more accessible, understandable, and actionable for business users.
Becoming a truly data-driven company
Imec’s business teams now enjoy much deeper insights into the profitability of their projects – powered by analytics directly on SAP data models. The enriched finance model and tailored visualizations have significantly increased business autonomy, enabling users to explore and analyze data independently, faster, and with greater confidence.
"Thanks to the new setup, our teams can work with analytics that truly reflect the way we run our projects, helping us make better, faster decisions."
Looking ahead, imec plans to extend data modeling in SAP Datasphere to additional SAP modules – including Sales and Distribution (SD), Materials Management (MM), Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), and SuccessFactors – to further expand reporting capabilities. The finance model will continue to evolve as new business requirements and reporting needs come up. At the same time, imec is exploring how SAP Business Data Cloud and Databricks could further strengthen its enterprise data architecture.
About imec
Founded in 1984 and known as "the chip lab of the world", imec is the world's largest independent research and innovation center for nanoelectronics and digital technology. For over 40 years, imec has combined world-class R&D with impactful local collaborations involving businesses and governments. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, the company operates globally, with offices across Europe, the USA, and Asia.
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