Case study: Videotron's journey with Wiiisdom: Navigation between UNV and UNX and database migration

Case Study:
Vidéotron’s Journey with Wiiisdom:
Navigating UNV to UNX and Data base
Migrations
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The State of
Analytics Governance
2024
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Ghassan Zghaib
BI System Architect, Vidéotron
• BusinessObjects (18+ years)
• Tableau (7 Years)
• SAS (7 Years)

OUR COMPANY : VIDÉOTRON IN A FEW WORDS
Videotron is a major Canadian telecommunications company. A fully-owned sub
sidiary of Québecor Media Inc, Videotron is an integrated communications compa
ny active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access s
ervices, telephony and wireless telephony.
For many years now, Videotron has built a solid reputation thanks to its state-of-th
e-art wireline and wireless networks, investing millions of dollars annually. Videotro
n's network covers areas where more than 90% of Quebec's population is located, o
ffering customers outstanding service while maintaining a high level of service reli
ability.
Thanks to its advanced technology, Videotron stands out through the expertise of i
ts employees and the quality of its products and services. Its mission is to provide it
s customers with the very best possible experience, while remaining one of the mo
st successful companies in the industry.

Our environment:
● >30,000 Documents
● >90 Universes
● Bobj Version 4.2 SP8
The Scope of our projects
Our objective:
● #1 Goal: Moving from UNV to UNX
● #2 Goal: Modernization project: database migration
● #3 Goal: Upgrade from 4.2 to 4.3
Our challenges:
● Limited IT resources (manpower and budget)
● Limited support from business users
● Who likes testing! (Ahh no one, Houston we have a problem)
Our timeline: EOY 24

● UNV Universes is end of priority 1 support with the end of 4.3 at the end of 2025
● UNX Universes were introduced 11 years ago
● Converting UNV Universes to UNX does not magically repoint the documents
● Process is very long and work intensive (ensure to have a backup and Test Test Test)
● Affected content in SAP Business objects for UNV to UNX: Webi
Note: Multi Source Universes will no longer be supported after 4.3
Moving from UNV to UNX

Moving from UNV to
UNX is a manual
process
• SAP BusinessObjects has limited bulk capabilities
• Manually repointing 1 document takes 12-
15 minutes
• Testing 1 Document based on customer inputs: 30
min for basic testing and 2+ hours for full testing
• Business does not want to be involved in
the testing, but they expect it to be 100%
accurate. Who likes testing?
• Must convert all documents if you don't know
which ones are used.
• Manual work still required if Custom SQL
• Can't validate if all documents have
been repointed
Note: Estimated over 3-year of Work full time for
1 person @Videotron

Videotron's feedback
● It is clunky
● It is slow
● Configuration issues
● Clustered environment issues
● Default mapping logic does not support Videotron's scenarios
● Many reports were not repointed. Ratio never exceeded 20%
● Ran into a special issue for which I had to open a ticket with SAP. Needless
to say, SAP couldn’t solve it and I was asked to try a newer version
● Had to postpone the UNV to UNX migration until we could invest in a proper solution
● No backup in case of issues
● No easy way to test
● No possibility to document what was moved
UNV to UNX Automation Framework

© 2023. Wiiisdom. All Rights Reserved.
UNV to UNX Migration Framework
Backup Audit Clean-up
Convert Re-point Validate
1 2 3
4 5 6
Efficiently convert your UNV to UNX in 6 steps

✓ Assessment: Define best methodology to Convert
and Repoint
✓ Backup: Rollback any failed conversion
✓ Locate and archive unused content based on
metadata
✓ Convert UNV to UNX Universe
✓ Repoint Documents from UNV to UNX in bulk
✓ Check Converted Repointed count
✓ Regression testing reports to ensure accuracy
UNV to UNX with
Wiiisdom's 360Suite

● Different Deployments require different approaches to repointing, e.g.
○ One Department at a time – all Universes
○ One Universe/ One Department
○ One Universe at a time – System-wide
○ ...
● Driven by Project requirements, 360Suite supports your specific scenario
Different Deployment, different needs
Repoiting Strategies

Testing Strategies
● A - Test all Public Documents
● B - Test Random samples
● C - Test based on Metadata (usage, power users, Strategic..)
Different Deployment, different needs

● 15 minutes vs 95% time save
● Scale: 1,000 reports 31 Working days, 10,000 reports 310 days
● Testing: Up to 2 hours per document vs few minutes per document
● Trust and time savings. Don't lose the Business' trust
● Without 360Suite impossible to do
UNV to UNX ROI

Measure your total project cost

UNV to UNX Wiiisdom Resources

Database Migration to Snowflake
● UNV-UNX
● UNX DB2 ➟ UNX Snowflake to reduce Operational costs and improve performance
● Many changes in SQL syntax due to DBMS change
● Testing is critical to ensure report accuracy and trust
● Notes:
○ SAP BusinessObjects needs to be in 4.2 SP8 at minimum to be compatible
with Snowflake.
○ Universes need to be in UNX. In the case of Videotron some universes were in UNX in
DB2, but Syntax still needed to be updated and reports tested.
Modernization Project at Videotron

Snowflake performances at Vidéotron

DB Migration Manual process
● Ensure Universes and Objects are all UNX and "Snowflake ready"
● Document Universes' objects
● Modify Universes' Objects (UNX) 1 by 1
● Manual testing
Note. Project has been even more challenging as developers that had built Universes who had
understanding of Universes and business rules are no longer there. As a result, it is critical to map the
Universes.

Database Migration with 360Suite
Modernize your data stack efficiently and without risks
● Step 1: Backup
● Step 2: Assessment of objects to be updated to understand metrics and business rules
● Step 3: Extract in bulk Universe object definitions
● Step 4: Update object SQL
● Step 5: Bulk import modified objects
● Step 6: Test Webi documents to ensure they return proper data, good performance
● Step 7: Document the testing and share the results with the Business to maintain trust
Pro Tips:
● Before finishing the project, Implement a naming convention by involving the Lines of Business.
● Additionally, have them tag the sensitive objects according to their sensitivity: SOX, PII, HIPAA, etc. These
tags can be monitored after the project for auditors, etc.

Update UNX with 360Suite

Update UNX with 360Suite
SQL
ObjectTypes
Names Descriptions

www.wiiisdom.com/360suite/
DB Migration Framework - Lift & Shift
- Inventory
- Impact analysis
- Usage analysis
- Continued
assessment
- Control and
monitor
costs
- Continued
validation
- Data regression
- Connectivity
- Performance
PRE-MIGRATION
ASSESSMENT
VALIDATION
1
DATA
MIGRATION
2 3 4
DAY-TO-DAY
MAINTENANCE

DB Migration Framework
- Inventory
- Impact Analysis
- Usage Analysis
- Owner
- Tables
- Columns
- Measures
- SELECT
BACK-UP your
environment
before making any
changes
- Connections
- Repointing
BULK Repoint
impacted
documents
- Webi
- Crystal Reports
- Archiving
- Data Regression
- Connectivity
- Performance
- Continued
assessment
- Control and
monitor costs
- Continued admin
& tests
PRE-MIGRATION
ASSESSMENT
1
DATA
MIGRATION
2
BACK-UP
3
UNIVERSE
UPDATE
4
DOCUMENT
UPDATE
5
VALIDATION
6
DAY-TO-DAY
MAINTENANCE
7

360Suite Key Differentiators
● Manual task in SAP BusinessObjects to update one-by-one.
360Suite Will do that in Bulk and spare your team 90% of time
● Ability to document and compare Universe changes:
Unfeasible in SAP BusinessObjects. Leverage its metadata to run BI-on-BI.
● Ability to test Reports:
It is impossible to test your documents in SAP BusinessObjects. Run blind or spend 30mn to 2
hours to manually test them.

Automated
Regression Testing
Report Bursting &
Scheduling
Metadata Exploration,
Audit & Impact Analysis
Version and Lifecycle
Management
Security, Administration
& Bulk Update
Monitoring, Alerting,
Actions
Backup, Promotion &
Disaster Recovery
Universe
Management Tool
Project Creation

AUTOMATED
TESTING
LIFECYCLE
MANAGEMENT
CONTINUOUS
MONITORING
Wiiisdom Delivers:
Analytics
Governance

Thank you!
Contact us for more information
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Visit Us:
www.wiiisdom.com

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