Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI Client Product for SAP BW Customers

Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI Client Product
for SAP BW customers

Disclaimer

This presentation outlines our general product direction and should not be
relied on in making a purchase decision. This presentation is not subject to
your license agreement or any other agreement with SAP. SAP has no
obligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this presentation or
to develop or release any functionality mentioned in this presentation. This
presentation and SAP's strategy and possible future developments are
subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reason
without notice. This document is provided without a warranty of any kind,
either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties
of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. SAP
assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document, except if
such damages were caused by SAP intentionally or grossly negligent.

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 2

Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI Client
… one part of your overall BI Strategy

WHY is using the RIGHT client so important?
 .. It helps to address the business needs and requirements
 .. It can help to increase the adoption of your overall BI implementation
 .. It can help to increase overall business self service

… and using the WRONG client so detrimental?
 .. will lead to user dissatisfaction
 .. will lead to the “usual behavior”: exporting data, duct tape BI (Excel), untrusted information
 .. will slow down the overall adoption of your BI strategy


SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.x

Interactive
Reporting
Dashboards & Analysis
Visualization

BI Platform Search &
Reporting
Exploration

Trusted Data


SAP BusinessObjects BI Client Portfolio

SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions provide business users with access to unified
information through a broad suite of BI tools for confident decision making and
alignment across people and teams on a single, scalable BI platform

Dashboards and Interactive BI Application
Reporting Analysis Data Exploration Design
Visualization Reporting

How do I access How do I visualize How do I answer How do I How do I find How can IT create
and transform data for better ad hoc questions determine trends immediate centrally from
corporate data decision making? and interact with from complex answers to simple to complex
into highly information? historical data and business BI applications for
formatted reports possibly make questions? a larger audience
for greater better forecasts? ?
insight?


Different Needs Require Different Experience

Middle Management Placeholder Placeholder Executive
text text

Information

Business Analyst Placeholder Individual Contributor
text



Middle Management Placeholder Placeholder Executive
text text
 Analyze regional goals and  Oversee cross department / line of
strategic KPIs business performance and evaluate
different scenarios for planning and
 Analyze information to measure forecasting purposes.
the progress toward set goals and
KPIs.  Combine and review analytics with
company strategies and goals to
Information continuously improve company
performance

Business Analyst Placeholder
Individual Contributor
text
 Leverage actual and historical data  Review regular account
to create detailed planning scenarios statements to control customer
invoices and vendor accounts.
 Leverage data and tools to provide
answers ad-hoc to the management  Fulfill management requests for
and executive team so that information as simply as
decisions are based on solid possible.
information.



Your consumer is driving the business requirements

• We will focus on the consumer of reports and analytics in this presentation
• IT will always play a role as part of your BI deployment to build the foundation

Web
• Setting up BEx Queries Intelligence
Analysis • Setting up BEx Queries
• Setting up connections • Creating pre-defined
workbooks
• Building BI & Planning
Applications

Crystal IT Dashboard
Reports s
• Report Design
• Dashboard Design



SAP BusinessObjects
Dashboards

Middle Executive
Management

Analysis, edition Analysis, edition for SAP BusinessObjects Explorer SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards
for OLAP Microsoft Office

Crystal Reports

Analysis, edition
for OLAP

Business Individual
Analyst Contributor

Analysis, edition for
Analysis, edition for Web Intelligence
Web Intelligence Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office



Crystal Reports
 Consume standardized reports to review operational metrics
 Receive alerts from pre-built reports and leverage information for follow up
 Use guided interactivity for filtering and selecting the right information

Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office
 Consume and interact with information using prepared workbooks
 Analyze operational metrics inside the Microsoft Office environment
 Follow guided analysis using pre-built BI applications

Web Intelligence
 Edit pre-built reports without the need for IT or a report designer
 Use interactive reporting capabilities to access and analyze a variety of data sources
 Share reports with larger audience and make use of product interoperability



 Analyze corporate information to fulfill ad hoc requests from management
 Review actual and historic data and use information as part of planning forecasts
 Build and share Microsoft Excel based BI applications for guided analysis
Business Analyst

Analysis, edition for OLAP
 Analyze and interact with corporate data in a zero-client via the web
 Build and share multi-dimensional workspace to reach a larger audience
 Use Analysis as starting point and leverage product interoperability for details

Web Intelligence
 Use interactive reporting capabilities to access and analyze a variety of data sources
 Create and edit reports without the need for IT or a report designer
 Share reports with larger audience and make use of product interoperability



 Analyze and review corporate KPIs and measure progress towards set goals
 Share findings with upper management in form of presentations with live data
 Use actual and historical data for detailed planning scenarios to enable realistic
Middle Management forecasting

Analysis, edition for OLAP
 Analyze and interact with corporate data in a zero-client via the web
 Share prepared or private workspace with other users
 Leverage product interoperability to share findings with other BI clients

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards
 Receive an overview on corporate KPIs using easy consumable visualization
 Leverage interactive dashboards to conduct own analysis
 Navigate to detailed information to analyze further down to the root cause



 Track and analyze company wide metrics using real-time interactive dashboards
 Leverage what-if capabilities to evaluate different planning scenarios
 Provide navigation for further analysis using product interoperability
Executive

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer
 Answer ad-hoc questions anywhere, anytime using historic and real-time data
 Search and explore information by using natural words and simple visualizations
 Access large volumes of information on-premise and on device


How can Analysis, edition for Application Design help you ?

 Consume and interact with information using simplified BI templates
 Analyze information on mobile devices

Executive

 Leverage BI applications for planning and forecasting scenarios
 User product interoperability to share results with other BI clients
CREATE

CONSUME
Middle
Management

 Create BI applications and design guided navigations
 Leverage BI applications for planning and forecasting scenarios
IT

Business
Analyst

 Consume and interact with information using simplified BI templates
 Use pre-built workbooks with guided steps

Individual
Contributor


SAP BusinessObjects Analysis,
edition for Microsoft Office
Middle Management Business Analyst Individual Contributor

Multidimensional data analysis with
native Microsoft Office user experience

• Analyze and interact with data in
Microsoft Excel to discover, compare, and
forecast business drivers

• Create live data presentations with
Microsoft PowerPoint to share business
insights

• Create predefined workbooks for
simplified data analysis


SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for OLAP

Business Analyst

Multidimensional data analysis within a
web-based environment

• Analyze and interact with data through
dedicated web client to uncover answers
to business questions

• Create workspaces for private usage or
to share business insights across the
enterprise

• Run SAP BusinessObjects Analysis,
edition for OLAP with other business
analytic solutions integrated on the same
BI platform


Preview: SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for application design
Analytical & Planning Applications

Executive Middle Business Individual
Management Analyst Contributor

Rich and Intuitive design environment
for building powerful analytical and
planning BI applications

• Leverage a large set of out-of-the-box
design components and the ability to
customize using simple scripting language

• Create applications for on-premise and
on-device using the latest technology, such
as HTML5 rendering

• Create applications optimized for SAP
NetWeaver BW and SAP HANA

This presentation and SAP’s strategy and possible future developments are subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reason without notice. This document is provided
without a warranty of any kind either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.


SAP Crystal Reports


Design well-formatted, layout-focused
reports

• Create professional reports following
strict layout presentation: legal, business,
financial, and regulatory

• Build guided interactivity into reports to
enable faster decision making

• Report off any type of data source and
transform raw data into detailed data
analysis


SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence

Middle Management Business Analyst Individual Contributor

Ad hoc interactive reporting

• Access, analyze, format, and share
business insights, all in one tool.

• Create queries easily without the need to
engage a report designer

• Query on any type of data source with
built-in features focused on easy data
analysis



Executive Middle Management

Visualize complex data easily with
interactive dashboards

• Monitor key performance indicators
through library of rich visualizations

• Perform “what-if” scenario-based
analysis with interactive controls

• Drill into reports and analytics for further
data analysis


SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

Executive

Search relevant information and direct
exploration of data

• Answer investigative questions and
obtain facts quickly

• Self-service access to data without the
need for predefined report or query

• Automatic generated visualizations for
immediate insight on data



… based on product capabilities

Comparing Product Capabilities

Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Crystal Web SBOP Edition for
Reports for edition for SBOP Explorer
Reports 2011 Intelligence Dashboards Microsoft
Enterprise OLAP
Office

Highly formatted
reporting

Parameterized / Dynamic
Layout

Self – Service reporting /
Free form layout

Hierarchical capabilities

Data Visualization

Product Interoperability

Guided Navigation

Mobile Reporting


Comparing Product Capabilities – SAP Data Sources

Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Enterprise OLAP
Office

SAP ECC  * * *   
SAP ECC via Transient
Provider ECC 6 - EhP05       
SAP NetWeaver BW
(BI Consumer Services)       
SAP NetWeaver BW
(MDX)       
SAP NetWeaver BW
(Relational)       
SAP NetWeaver BWA (via
SAP BW)       
SAP NetWeaver BWA
(directly)       
SAP HANA (directly)      * 
Non-SAP Sources
      

* - New planned capability with SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0 Feature Pack 03


Comparing Product Capabilities – Hierarchical Capabilities (1/2)

Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Enterprise OLAP
Office

Hierarchical member
selection    *   
Level Based Member
Selection  * * *   
Selection based on
Nodes and Leafs    *   
Hierarchical parameters    *   
Hierarchical Charting       
Hierarchies in crosstab       
Hierarchical Report
Design       
Ad-Hoc Exchange of
Hierarchies       



Comparing Product Capabilities – Hierarchical Capabilities (2/2)

Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Enterprise OLAP
Office

Expand to Level    *   
Showing Leaves only
(lowest member)       
Skipping Levels of a
hierarchy       
Ranking data along
hierarchy       



Comparing Product Capabilities – Mobile

Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Enterprise OLAP
Office

Online Viewing       
Offline Viewing    *   
Mobile Viewing (native)       
Mobile Viewing (browser)    **   


* * - Only on Flash enabled devices



… based on your business requirements

Using Business Requirements – Financial Area

As Financial Manager for the West Coast Region of North America
I need to be able to analyze cost and profit center actuals towards
Middle Management the allocated budget along several dimensions. I need to be able to
see these measures along our company structures as well as
being able to compare information from several sources. I also
need to be able add my own calculation to answer on-demand
requests from senior management.

I would like to leverage the information inside Microsoft Excel, but
it also should be possible to use it in a browser.



What did we hear ?
 Use of hierarchies (cost center / profit center / company structures)
 Probably usage of BEx Query Structures
Middle Management
 Usage of Microsoft Excel and browser based access
 Creation of calculations on the fly
 Accessing multiple sources



Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Enterprise OLAP
Office

Usage of Hierarchies

Using BEx Query
Structures

Microsoft Excel as client

Internet Browser as client

Creating calculations

Multiple Source in one
report



 Usage of hierarchies and structures
– Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, SBOP Dashboards are able to leverage hierarchies in reports but
are lacking deep hierarchical capabilities
– Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office and Analysis, edition for OLAP provide the complete bandwidth of
hierarchical capabilities
 Creating Calculations on the fly
– Crystal Reports and SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard would require to change the underlying report
– Web Intelligence allows to create calculation but the user needs to “write formulas”
– Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office and Analysis, edition for OLAP allow to create calculations in a
very simple way without the need to create formulas
 Microsoft Excel as client to access the data
– Live Office is able to provide the information from Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence with limited
navigation
– Analysis, edition for OLAP and SBOP Explorer have no “live” integration with Microsoft Excel
– Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office provides a native integration into Microsoft Excel and Microsoft
PowerPoint



Summary
 Based on the combination of requirements from the Financial Area the recommendation
would be to use
– Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office
– Analysis, edition for OLAP

 For less hierarchical driven reports and a more consumer (less power user) type of
audience Web Intelligence might be an alternative


Using Business Requirements – Sales Area

The Sales Manager for Canada asked me to create a report
for his sales representatives that would allow them to see
their current sales pipeline. He mentioned that the
information needs to be available in the office, on the road,
Business Analyst
and on mobile devices.

He also stressed out that each sales representative needs to
be able to change the report “as they wish” so that they can
see the information by opportunity, product, week & month,
and other angles. Actual hierarchies are only used limited.

For him as Sales Manager for Canada, he mentioned it would
be a great value to be able to run some simple scenarios to
see how certain changes could impact the pipeline, for
example a change in the product cost or price.
Middle Management

… and he then also mentioned that sometimes people prefer
just to get an eMail with a PDF file.



What did we hear ?
 The information needs to be available on-premise (in the office), offline (on
the road), and on mobile devices
 Users need the ability to change the report and change the view on the
Business Analyst
data.
 Only limited use of hierarchies
 Distribution of the reports via eMail in a PDF format is also required
 For the Sales Management some simple what-if scenarios would be a great
asset



Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Enterprise OLAP
Office

Offline Capabilities

Mobile Reporting

Distribution via eMail
(Broadcasting)

Edit the report

Change the “view” of the
data

What-if scenarios



 Using the information on-premise and on the road (offline)
– Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence provide offline capabilities out of the box
– For SBOP Dashboards there are partner solutions available on SAP EcoHub
– Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office provides limited offline capabilities
 Providing mobile access to the information
– Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence provide mobile access for Blackberry and iPad / iPhone via Mobile
BI
– SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is available for the iPhone / iPad
– SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards is available on Flash enabled mobile devices
 Distribution via eMail
– Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence are integrated with the Publication capabilities from the BI Platform
– SBOP Dashboards, Analysis, edition for OLAP and Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office are not
integrated yet
– SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is always a online access



 Changing the “view” on the information
– Crystal Reports and SBOP Dashboards only provide limited capabilities to change the report for the
consumer. Such workflows have to be considered as part of the original design already
– Web Intelligence, Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office and Analysis, edition for OLAP provide rich self
service functionality for the consumer
– SAP BusinessObjects Explorer provides such capabilities, but the consumer might be limited to the
Information Space definition
 “What – if” capabilities
– A “What – if” scenario is the strength of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards
– Web Intelligence and Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office do offer limited capabilities in this area



Summary
 Based on the combination of requirements from the Sales Area the recommendation would
be to use
– Web Intelligence
– Interactive Analysis Desktop
– Mobile BI

 What – if Scenarios will be created using SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards


Using Business Requirements – Executive Area

As Executive Manager in this company I need consolidated
information, which provides me with a high-level overview on
all critical corporate KPIs. I need to be able to access this
information anytime, anywhere.
Executive
If needed I need to be able to get to the root cause and see
the detailed information.

I also can not always wait for my business analyst of IT to
send me the information when I ask them a question. It
would be good to be able to simply search for the answer by
entering my question.



What did we hear ?
 Consume highly aggregated information
 Strong data visualizations needed
Executive
 Provide the ability to drill down and navigate to detailed information when
needed
 Fast response time
 Information needs to be available via mobile device
 Allow for search and exploration



Analysis,
Crystal Analysis,
Enterprise OLAP
Office

Highly Aggregated
information

Strong data visualization

Drill Down / Navigate to
detailed information

Mobile Reporting

Search & Exploration

This BI clients are not suitable for the intended audience.



 Highly Aggregated Information
– SBOP Dashboards and SBOP Explorer are capable presenting highly aggregated information
 Strong Data Visualizations
– SBOP Dashboards and SBOP Explorer both are offering strong visualization capabilities
 Drill Down & Navigate to detailed information
– SBOP Dashboards allows to navigate to other BI clients and outside the dashboard to receive further
detailed information, as well as navigate to details in the dashboard.
– SBOP Explorer allows to see all the detailed information in a single view but has no capability to
navigate outside to receive further details
 Providing mobile access to the information
– SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is available for the iPhone / iPad
– SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards is available on Flash enabled mobile devices



Summary
 Based on the combination of requirements from the Executive team the recommendation
would be to use
– SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards
– SAP BusinessObjects Explorer
– SAP BusinessObjects Explorer for mobile devices

 In addition consider SAP NetWeaver BWA or SAP HANA for performance improvements



Phases Audience Use Case Auditing

 Who is your audience?  What are the business requirements ?  Use SAP BusinessObjects Auditing to
track the BI activity
 What are the skills of your audience ?  What is the audience doing with the
SAP BusinessObjects BI Client

information ?  Use SAP NetWeaver BW statistics to
 How is your audience using the software How are they doing this today ? track the activity on BW
right now ?
 How is your audience using the  Leverage the information in
Selecting the Right

 Remember, software right now ? combination with the IT and BW team
for performance improvements
a business analyst in sales  Create a use case on department level,
don’t try to make one use case for all
might be different to your requirements

a business analyst in finance


Key Points to Take Home

Your BI Strategy should start with the business requirements, not with the DWH

Use Cases should come from the business, not from the IT department

Users don’t need all BI client products, but will not always be satisfied with a single
product.

Make use of Product Interoperability for sharing and navigation purposes.

Remember…. There is no “silver bullet”. If in doubt – let the business decide.


Thank You!

Contact information:

Ingo Hilgefort (Ingo.Hilgefort@sap.com)
Twitter: ihilgefort

Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI Client Product for SAP BW Customers

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