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The SAP BI platform also makes use of drag-and-drop functionality, which allows users to discover and analyze data coming from different sources.
SAP BO is a front-end-based business intelligence platform that integrates data from multiple back-end sources and stores it at the application level.
Different Types of SAP Business Objects-Business Intelligence Tools
SAP Business Objects™ Business Intelligence includes a variety of reporting and analytics platforms that can be used to simplify various functions.
Let's take a look at some of the most critical applications. Main software Products and Applications of SAP Business Objects Business Intelligence
Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports is an SAP analytics and reporting application that can be used to benefit both small and medium-sized businesses and individual customers.
You can create dynamic reports from a variety of data sources and save them in a variety of formats. Access can be made from mobile devices, web portals, or applications allowing offline and online reporting.
Crystal Reports is the most well-known tool in the BOBJBI environment. It has been around for quite some time. Crystal Reports was first introduced to me in 2000 by SAP BW, which was using it as a preferred third-party tool.
Crystal Decisions, its original owner, was acquired by Business Objects in 2002. The partnership between Crystal & sap reporting tools didn't grow as planned, and the integration between Business Objects and Crystal Reports was stopped.
We can now use the Crystal Reports functionality and format to assist with standard formatted reports after the 2007 acquisition of Business Objects from SAP.
Both the SAP BI Report Designer and Crystal Reports in BOBJ Report Designer have been a part of our experience. We feel that SAP is moving in the right direction.
Crystal Reports is a robust and perfect reporting system that can produce standard formatted reports for government agencies and any other reports required by stakeholders. Crystal Reports would be our first choice if we had to compare one thing the ability to make changes to the query that supports the formatted reports.
Crystal Reports is the primary reporting tool commonly discussed by business users as the formatted reports from this component. Crystal Reports has many layers of integration. However, the components that deal with the user interface and server setup for the distribution of reports, as well as other activities that allow users to share formatted reports, are the other components.
Crystal Reports can be used with your database solutions to help analyze and interpret data. Crystal Reports is easy to use, but it also provides the tools necessary to create complex or specialized reports.
Crystal Reports can produce reports from SAP or non-SAP data sources. Crystal Reports allows you to log in quickly and get started. Built-in wizards will guide you through building reports and performing everyday reporting tasks.
Crystal Reports offers many of the same features as other reporting tool sets (such as formulas, cross-tabs, sub-reports, and conditional formatting), but the main difference is Crystal Reports' formatting capabilities.
Web Intelligence
SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence, also known as Web, is another critical web browser. It performs analysis and generates formatted reports.
The reports can be sent to SAP BO. You can also send these Web Documents in Excel or PDF.
One of the most well-known components of the BOBJ group is the Web Intelligence reporting toolset. This section outlines the capabilities of the Web reporting tool and the configuration details.
While we won't be reinventing the wheel by creating a new component for reporting, we can use another toolset, the BOBJ, to provide all the functionality and add-ons. The Web Intelligence component offers two major connectivity options for BW.
- OLAP universes
- SAP BusinessObjects Data Federator enables you to create relational universes
You can see the best business practice for WebI by using OLAP universes and BW. This will be the most commonly implemented software solution in the SAP customer base.
Query as Web Service
The Query as a Web Service tool (QaaWS) is a helpful tool that allows users to create and publish web services. Apart from other software applications, you can also use the web service within Crystal Reports or SAP Business Objects Dashboards.
Query as a Web Service is a technique in the Business Objects solutions which allows you to create and publish web services.
Web services can then be used to combine data between a Business Objects Universe (Xcelsius Dashboard) and a Business Objects Universe (Business Objects Universe). QAAWS Client Tool provides an intuitive interface that allows dashboard developers to create universe queries and then publish them as
Business objects web services An Xcelsius Dashboard can use and present the data once a web service has been published.
QAAWS, in its essence, is an integration device between a Business Objects Universe dashboard and an Xcelsius Dashboard.
SAP Business Objects Dashboards: Xcelsius
SAP Business Objects Dashboards allow users to create customized dashboards by using reports. This tool can include widgets, interactive charts, gauges, and widgets.
Xcelsius is a flexible and customizable data visualization software program that allows the creation of engaging and informative dashboards from a variety of data sources within an organization at its core.
Xcelsius also includes graphical interfaces, real-time methods, and a set of tools for guided analysis.
This analysis tool takes dashboarding to a whole new level. It provides all functionality required to create a dynamic dashboard.
It is also straightforward to use and understand. However, the system still needs to be configured correctly to allow the various indicators to access the correct information.
Xcelsius 2008 allows you to create interactive visual models based on highly aggregated data. It is easy to use by business users because it uses a point-and-click design environment. Xcelsius 2008 visualizations can be created without programming skills, but it is necessary to have some knowledge of dashboarding.
SAP Lumira
SAP Lumira, another essential application tool, helps users find business data and create custom-built dashboards and analytics apps.
It is up to you to search for and visualize the data.
SAP BO Explorer
SAP BusinessObjects Explorer can be compared to SAP Lumira because it allows users to search for large amounts of data from many sources.
You can also create visualizations of data and share them via various channels using this self-service data discovery tool.
This component is the newest in the SAP Business Intelligence suite. SAP Business Objects Explorer replaces SAP Business Objects Polestar.
To communicate its value, SAP changed the name of Business Objects Polestar from Business Objects Explorer. Business Objects Explorer is an accelerated version of SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse. It combines intuitive information search and exploration with high performance and scalability that SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse Accelerator makes possible (BWA).
The inability to quickly manipulate structured and unstructured data was one of the significant problems with other reporting tool sets.
This problem is solved by combining BusinessObjects Explorer with BW Accelerator. BusinessObjects Explorer allows the business user to work quickly with data and generate answers to the questions they are asking.
The analyst does not need to wait for the BI IT team to compile the data into a query. At this point, all data must either be sap bw business objects integration This component will eventually be able to navigate against both types of data simultaneously, but it has to be one or the other for now.
SAP BusinessObjects Explorer can link directly to the BW InfoCubes using the BW Accelerator. This allows for a high-speed search through the information without using either universes or BEx queries.
Some of the BW Accelerator implementations I have been involved with saw a significant increase in query performance, from taking several minutes to pull data and display it to generating reports in a matter of seconds. Your query will perform faster if the BW Accelerator is directly compared to a reporting component. If you are a power user who is familiar with the structure of BW data sources (BW InfoCubes), SAP BusinessObjects Explorer can be used to create Information Spaces.
These are sets of related objects selected from the SAP BW Accelerator index available for Explorer. To generate the required metadata by Explorer's search engine, new Information Spaces must be indexed once. The exact process is used by the BW Accelerator to improve performance against BEx queries.
BW Accelerator Indexes can be consumed directly so that users always have the most current, up-to-date values from the underlying BW InfoCube. Information consumers and analysts can search and explore Information Spaces and create personal exploration views of data.
They can then share the information with a group to generate additional information to help them drive business.
BOBJ Explorer's functionality is different from other Ad-Hoc reporting tools. It is used primarily to analyze and sort data mining information.
There are also a few context menus and formatting functions. BOBJ Explorer can be accessed in the same way as a search engine screen. However, other trusted enterprise reporting tools offer a variety of reports that you can execute.
The Explorer has most of the essential functions. You can generate queries and reports, use charts and graphics to show the information, and some navigational functions.
However, the Explorer's primary purpose is to help you find information and answer your questions quickly. Although parameters can be used to distribute the data, the information is presented as it is for analysis.
Read More: The 7 Pros of SAP Business Intelligence
Business Objects Explorer allows you to query on terabytes and instantly generate an answer for a customer. You can also talk to the customer while on the phone and not need to return to them with information on shipping costs, prices, or product costs.
Your business analysts can quickly discuss issues and get answers to questions with this reporting tool and do not need to go through the lengthy process of requesting a change from the BW IT department. This tool can also reduce the workload of the BW IT department. Business and power users can access information instantly and create and test their reports immediately.
BOBJ products have a user interface that is intuitive and simple to use.
SAP BO Universe
Before we get into the benefits, let's briefly discuss what SAP BO Universe actually is. It is the core component of SAP BO.
It contains the various metadata layers that integrate the client-side data layer with the server side.
Business Objects Universes are middleware devices that contain a business representation of a database warehouse, data marts, or other reporting systems.
The universe allows the user of Business Objects access to data without needing to know the details of the database logic or where the physical data is stored. The universe is built around common business terminology, which describes the business environment. This allows the user to query and retrieve the exact data they require intuitively.
The universe, also known as a "semantic layer," is an intermediary between a data source or database and dependent reports, queries, or dashboards.
The universe can be used as a data source for Web Intelligence or Xcelsius dashboards. It is also optional for Crystal Reports. A universe can also be created using the Business Objects designer.
It doesn't matter if you don't know the source of the data. It is also unnecessary to be familiar with data storage and database structure.
This is because the universe doesn't store data, but it does provide information about objects which then creates SQL queries that retrieve the actual data.
The Benefits of SAP Business Objects Business Intelligence Platform
Although the SAP Business Objects business suite has been around for over a decade, it is still relevant today. It's a powerful tool that provides business intelligence and reporting with the help of viable applications.
This allows SAP to create a comprehensive Extract-Transform load along with Data Services.
The Best Analytics Reporting Software
SAP BO's Web Intelligence tool makes it one of the most popular queries and best analytics reporting tools. What does it mean for a business enterprise to be called? This means they can address multiple rows in one report.
They can also create document scenarios from different universes or data sources. You can also create highly customizable reports and advanced analytics documents, as well as hybrid dashboards with more than 150 functions
High-Scalable Architecture
SAP BO has the advantage of scalable architecture, allowing SAP experts to easily adjust document users with the help of server clustering or cloning.
SAP HANA Connection
SAP BO allows users to leverage its in-memory data or SAP HANA. Big data can be used to predict the future quickly.
SAP Design Studio
Business users can create dashboards and interactive reporting tools using SAP Design Studio. This sophisticated design tool uses a BICS connection to connect to SAP HANA and communicates using the SQLDBC language.
Design Studio must work with the SAP HANA and NETWEAVER BW platforms. Programming on the server side is also possible.
Robust Security and System Administration
SAP BO allows you to manage security within the Central Management Console (CMC), which provides more comprehensive protection of the BI data solutions.
The CMC also manages the servers.
The Business Objects Universe's Benefits
BO Universe, which is an integral part of SAP Business objects software, provides access to all data sources. It is the most reliable data source for reporting because of its many features and functionalities.
Offerings Tools For Each Case
SAP BusinessObjects, as we have discussed earlier, offers many tools and applications that can be used to perform various tasks.
SAP Design Studio, for example, provides extensive analytics and powerful OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) applications and dashboards that can be used with iPad or HTML-5 UI support.
SAP Predictive Analysis, which leverages SAP HANA cloud advantages, allows for the visualization of future scenarios.
Other essential tools include SAP Lumira and Web Intelligence.
Sap Data Services
It helps you to organize all information in a way that is easy to remember.
Enterprise BI Launchpad
It allows users to access their reports, storyboards, and dashboards via a browser. This browser is also known as BI Launchpad.
Mobile BI
SAP BusinessObjects BI platform offers mobile BI as an option. This allows users to view reports and insights from their smartphones and tablets.
The SAP BO Mobile Server 4.1 is synchronized with SAP BO.
Additional Advanced Features
SAP Business Objects offers additional advanced features in addition to the previously mentioned advantages. These includes
- Supports SAP HANA studio native applications.
- It provides better data connectivity with support for more than 140 data sources, as well as connectivity to MongoDB and NoSQL DBMS.
- For advanced memory and hardware, 64-bit technology is used.
- Supports native SAP HANA database Business Warehouse
- Extended SAS Business Intelligence Suite includes Software Development Kit (SDK) and mobile BI software. This allows you to create custom mobile apps for platform deployment.
SAP BO: Role of Total Cost of Ownership
- This is a cloud offering that provides cloud-based BI options and complete support for SAP BI clients from a single tool.
- It provides embedded monitoring and parallel patching in real-time.
- This innovative tool allows you to audit how users use the product.
SAP Business Objects BI: Essential Components
These are the major components of SAP BO BI:
- Reporting.
- Data Discovery and Visualization.
- Building an Application and a Dashboard.
- Administration and deployment.
You should also note that various SAP BO applications play a role in supporting these components. SAP Crystal Records and SAP BO Web Intelligence can be used for reporting.
SAP BO Design Studio is required to create SAP dashboards and applications.
Major Operating Systems that Support SAP BO
SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite can be used on any primary operating system, including Windows, Linux, and Unix. Also, you will need to have a valid SAP BO BI license, such as SAP Lumira Mobile BI, SAP Lumira Server, and SAP HANA views running Lumira
Closing Thoughts
As you can see, SAP Business One's reporting features are very versatile. Combining that with analytics capabilities and dashboard technologies gives you complete visibility that supports you in making wise business decisions.
Additionally, SAP Business One can be integrated into practically any analytical toolbox. We know the ins and outs of the system so we can develop the perfect ERP analytics solution for your firm.
Do you want to know more about SAP Business One and what it can do for you? Let's talk now.
