InfoProviders are the reportable entities in SAP BW, for example, InfoCubes and MultiProviders.

InfoCubes

InfoCubes are multidimensional models in SAP BW. In Spotfire, the InfoCubes become cubes (that is, data tables). Standard InfoCubes are self-contained data sets for particular business subjects or processes, such as sales, lost deals, and plans. They consist of dimensions, characteristics, key figures and navigational attributes.

MultiProviders

Because each InfoCube normally only supports an individual business subject or process, there is a need to create reports where data from different processes are joined. MultiProviders are used for this purpose. They exist as a logical definition only, so they do not physically store any data. MultiProviders are also frequently used in cases where a single InfoCube would become very large due to high data volume. MultiProviders also become cubes (that is, data tables) in Spotfire.