BI300 SAP NetWeaver BW with SAP BusinessObjects Web

Intelligence 4.0 using the new SAP BEx direct access

Yann Delacourt

Product Management

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 2

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. 3

Table of contents

Introduction of the BEx Direct Access

Benefits for SAP BW Customers

What it is Not

Web Intelligence in the Suite

Recommendations

Limitations you need to know

Deployment Best Practice

Roadmap Web Intelligence on BW

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 4

Introduction to the new BW Access with Web IntelligenceDirect BEx Access

Web Intelligence BI 4.0 introduces significant changes to access BW

Changed from an authored universe paradigm to a direct access (no universe)

Existing BEx queries can be reused to significantly reduce the TCO

Direct BEx access (aka BICS) puts the focus on performance and future evolutions

Relational

Sources3.x Universes

Web Services

Excel

MSAS

4.0 Universes

Web IntelligenceWeb & Desktop Clients

BEx Queries

SAP

BW

DSO

Relational

Sources

BEx

Queries

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 5

Benefits for SAP BW CustomersDirect BEx Access

The Direct BEx access protects your investment in BEx while adding Interactive Reporting &

Analysis capabilities

Reuse the Business Logic which is already deployed and adopted by your users community

A simplified deployment leads to a lower TCO as opposed to a deployment from ground-up with universes

Compared to the previous version (Web Intelligence 3.x), performance is significantly improved

More BEx features are exposed in Web Intelligence

Delivers the proper experience (ex: hierarchies as opposed to column based reporting)

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 6

What it is NotDirect BEx Access

The Direct Bex Access does not derail Web Intelligence from its original value proposition.

Web Intelligence is not an OLAP analysis tool. Prefer to use Analysis Office or Web in BI 4.0

BEx query + Web Intelligence = Interactive Analysis off BW

As opposed to the BEx queries for Analyzer which target the OLAP analysis needs

Both editions of SBO Analysis are the OLAP analysis offerings in BI 4.0

Interactive Analysis is focused on low-end analysis capabilities for the non-specialist on all type of data

sources

BEx query + Analysis = OLAP Analysis off BW

Focused on high-end analysis workflow for OLAP sources as opposed to interactive analysis

Comparable to Analyzer in the BEx Suite for BW

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 7

Web Intelligence in the SuiteDifferent Questions, Different Needs

D I F F E R E N T N E E D S

Dashboards

Reporting

Interactive

AnalysisOLAP

AnalysisData

Exploration

How do I visualize

key performance

indicators for better

decision making?

How do I answer ad

hoc questions and

interact with shared

information?

How do I find

immediate answers

to business

questions?

How do I uncover

trends from

historical data and

make possible better

forecasts?

How do I turn data

into pixel-perfect

formatted reports for

greater insight?

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 8

RecommendationsDirect BEx Access

It is recommended to assess properly the BEx queries to be reused with Web Intelligence. Those which fit Analysis may not fit Web Intelligence.

A number of Limitations can prevent the reusability of some BEx query features

At this point, it either has no consequence for making a Web Intelligence report

Or it will make the data inconsistent to be reused for reporting

The system prevents users to be exposed to inappropriate queries

It is necessary to republish the BEx query which will be reused in BI 4.0 (for all clients)

BEx query Designer will then check a number of unsupported features that can affect the reuse in all BI 4.0 clients

The Web Intelligence documentation describes the limitation and their effect.

Be ready to build some queries for Web Intelligence (same applies for Crystal reports and Dashboards)

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 9

Republish the BEx queries to be reused in BI 4.0BEx Query Designer

The system delivers an

assessment of the

compatibility2

In the Query properties,

check the ―Allow External

Access‖ flag, then publish the

Query1

Note: the flag is under section OLE DB for OLAP . However, OLE DB isn’t used for the

Direct access (it’s BICS). The same flag is used for several purposes.

You can adapt the query or keep

the unsupported features. WebI

will remove most of them

automatically.

(See the details ahead)3

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 10

Republish the BEx queries to be reused in BI 4.0BI 4.0 clients & BI Launch Pad

All BEx Queries are visible to the end users. Only the ones check can be consumed

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 11

Limitations you need to know

Features Description Recommendation

Saved Variant Some organizations have popularized the use

of saved variant. The consequence is that

queries are highly parametized (lots of

variable)

Build specific queries and make reports highly

interactive to reduce the need for saved

variant.

Query Condition Top n/Bottom n, KeyFigures > #, etc … Removed from the query. Result is different.

Alternative is to put the condition in the Webi

query if possible.

Local Calculation Result Row/Col & Sub-Total are computed

differently in Web Intelligence

No need to rebuild the BEx query. Webi will

ignore the calculation. Alternative is to

calculate locally in Webi.

%GT, %RT, %CT, SUMGT, SUMRT, SUMCT,

LEAF

Calculation will be different in webi. Can lead

to misinterpretation of the data

Avoid such function, do not publish a query

when such function is found while publishing

the query.

Alternative is to calculate in webi.

Refer to the Web Intelligence documentation for all the details

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 12

Deployment Best PracticeDirect BEx Access in BOE platform

You can further optimize the Web Intelligence deployment within the BOE platform. It depends whether Web Intelligence has a predominant use over others services

Reduce the number of server to fit only the Web Intelligence needs

Central Management Server (CMS)

InputFileRepository

OutFileRepository

WebIntelligence Processing Server

Adaptive Processing Server with DSLBridge Service (PJS).

Isolate the DSLBridge service to a single PJS server

Create a new PJS server

Add a new DSL Bridge Service to the new created PJS server

Remove the DSL Bridge from all other APS

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 13

SBO Web Intelligence – Product Strategy

4.0

Planned

Future

Continuous Innovation Optimization

Hana Support Improved BW Integration

Significant Productivity & Usability

Improvements

Performance, Quality & Standards

New Semantic Layer

Significant Investments in BW installed

baseWebI on iOS (iPhone, iPad)

Rest Web Services

Leverage In-Memory (Hana)

Business Suite Integration

Analysis Automation

Strengthened Self-Service

Demo

FeedbackPlease complete your session evaluation.

Be courteous — deposit your trash,

and do not take the handouts for the following session.

Session ID: BI300

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 16

Further Information

SAP Public Web:

SAP Developer Network (SDN): www.sdn.sap.com

Related SAP Education and Certification Opportunities

http://www.sap.com/education/

Related Workshops/Lectures at SAP TechEd 2011

BI205, All You Always Wanted to Know About SAP Business Intelligence 4.0 and SAP NetWeaver Integration

Thank You!

Q & AYann Delacourt – Product Management

Yann.delacourt@sap.com