Utilizing Business Objects Frontend Tools with SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP NetWeaver Know How Network Call

Tanner Spaulding SAP NetWeaver RIG Americas, Business Intelligence September 3, 2008

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 2

Business Objects and SAP NetWeaver Leader in Business Intelligence

User-Centricity
Business User

SAP NetWeaver BI Business ready Business Objects Information Discovery & Delivery Integrated Best for SAP application centric environment Extended Value with Business Objects BIP Business Objects Information Management All people All information Open business intelligence platform

Task Workers

SAP NW BI Accelerator

MDM

SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence

IT Analysts SAP-Application Centric

Source Agnostic

Openness
SAP 2007 / Page 3 2008

SAP NetWeaver and Business Objects BIP Roadmap - Strategic Focus on Premium Offering
2008
PREMIUM

2009

2010

Enterprise Reporting

Crystal Reports

Crystal Reports

Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports for SAP NetWeaver BI

BASE

BEx Report Designer

BEx Report Designer

BEx Report Designer

PREMIUM

Ad-hoc Query & Reporting Analysis

Web Intelligence Voyager

BEx Web Analyzer BEx Analyzer (Excel)

Web Intelligence Pioneer

BEx Web Analyzer BEx Analyzer (Excel)

Web Intelligence Pioneer

BEx Web Analyzer BEx Analyzer (Excel)

BASE PREMIUM

BASE

Dashboards

Xcelsius
Web Application Designer

Xcelsius+
Web Application Designer

Xcelsius+
Web Application Designer

Data Quality & Master Data Management

Data Quality

Data Quality

Data Quality Master Data Management+

Master Data Management

Master Data Management

Products not explicitly mentioned here continue on their existing roadmap. Examples (not a complete list) are SAP NetWeaver BI (EDW), SAP NetWeaver BIA, SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment & VC, BusinessObjects Rapid Marts, etc. Business Objects
SAP 2007 / Page 4 2008

SAP

Business Objects Resources

Business Objects Support Site

http://support.businessobjects.com Wealth of information including, Product Guides, Product Overviews, Install Guides, Supported Platforms information, Samples, etc..

Help @ SAP
http://help.sap.com > Business Objects top level navigation tab

Business Objects Developer Community DIAMOND

http://boc.sdn.sap.com Business Objects version of SDN Communities, Beta Product downloads, Webinar information, E-Books, Developer Conference 2007 slides, Free Trial downloads, more!... You can use your SDN & BPX User ID & Password to login Recently moved to SDN (hosting) and will be further integrated later

SDN
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/businessobjects Check out the blogs and forums there is already some great content posted

SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence Roadmap FAQ

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/webcontent/uuid/402bb884-72dd-2a10-c5b29633b9fa26db

SAP 2007 / Page 5

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 6

Business Objects Enterprise Server Architecture & Connectivity to SAP

The Business Objects Enterprise (BOE) technical architecture is composed of a set of tiers optimized for specific tasks and operations. The five tiers are: Client: web browser and rich clients Application: Java web application servers and tools Intelligence: system server processes Processing: data analysis and report generation Data: source repositories

SAP 2007 / Page 7

Integration Kit for SAP SAP ERP/ECC Reporting

Native API access

Full support for Infosets, Tables and ABAP Functions/Queries No additional metadata setup required

No ABAP programming required Leverage SAP security directly

End-to-end single sign-on Small amount of configuration required Ease of maintenance and IT admin

No SAP upgrade required

Support all SAP R/3 versions since 4.6c Support for SAP ECC 5.0 & 6.0

SAP 2007 / Page 8

Integration Kit for SAP SAP NetWeaver BI Reporting

Built on a unique SAP NetWeaver BI API leveraging OLAP BAPI

SAP-developed and supported

Fully leverages SAP Business Explorer user interface

Use BEx query panel, directly from within Crystal Reports

Fully integrated into SAP NetWeaver BI lifecycle*

Store Crystal Reports in the SAP NetWeaver BI repository Capture and Transport Crystal Reports in an SAP Change Request

Leverage SAP security directly

End-to-end single sign-on Ease of maintenance and IT admin Leverage existing roles

SAP 2007 / Page 9

Additional Requirements for BusinessObjects Integration Kit for SAP Integration requirements and considerations:
SAP GUI needs to be installed on the BusinessObjects Enterprise (BOE) server and on the PC for Crystal Reports 2008 and for Designer to build Universes SAP Java Connector has to be installed on the BOE server (utilized for connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BI) Configure the BusinessObjects BW Publisher to allow you to publish Crystal Reports from SAP NetWeaver BI to the BOE server Import the transport files delivered with the Integration Kit for SAP into the SAP NetWeaver BI system Some modifications to authorizations in SAP NetWeaver BI Roles will be required For administrative transaction access unique to Business Objects (i.e. transaction /CRYSTAL/RPTADMIN) No Role adjustments will be required for data access to InfoProviders or Queries (leverages existing security configuration) Before you can enable ticket-based Single Sign On between SAP and the BOE server, you must set up SAP to accept and create logon tickets.

SAP 2007 / Page 10

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 11

Voyager: OLAP data analysis with enhanced UI experience

Voyager is a web-based OLAP client with an advanced & highly intuitive user interface based on WEB 2.0 technology Where can Voyager add value? Excellent visualization capabilities advanced Charting engine Market leading user experience Open data access to various OLAP engines Enables analysis of multiple OLAP sources in one workspace Where can Voyager add value for SAP NW BI customers Voyager is recommended in scenarios where customers require ONE tool that can work on arbitrary OLAP engines Voyager is recommended for scenarios where the user experience is key and only standard OLAP capabilities are required Voyager is not recommended in scenarios where SAP-specific OLAP capabilities are required (advanced hierarchy handling, constant selection, RRI, NW BI currency & unit conversion, advanced exception handling etc.)

SAP 2007 / Page 12

Voyager: OLAP data analysis with enhanced UI experience

Voyagers Ajax UI Multiple OLAP connections, chart sliders... Multiple pages, data analysis...

SAP 2007 / Page 13

Voyager Connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP NetWeaver BI Connectivity Direct Access to SAP NetWeaver BI Queries & InfoCubes / MultiProviders via OLAP BAPI

SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP 2007 / Page 14

Central Management Console: Voyager Connections to SAP NetWeaver BI sources

SAP 2007 / Page 15

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 16

Business Objects Web Intelligence

BusinessObjects Web Intelligence is the leading end user reporting-and-analysis tool.
Where can Web Intelligence add value? In the area of ad-hoc reporting Easy-to-use interface for end user reporting Powerful query features Leverage business friendly semantic layer to hide complexity Customer requirements Self-service reporting and analysis, autonomy from IT Simple user interface, designed for the masses Combine data from SAP and non-SAP data in a single report, including data from XLS, CSV, and Text files Rich feature set Connectivity to SAP Sits on top of Business Objects Enterprise Universes Universes connect to SAP NetWeaver BI via OLAP BAPI Access objects: BEx Queries & SAP NetWeaver BI InfoCubes or MultiProviders
SAP 2007 / Page 17 2008

WebI Connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP 2007 / Page 18

Central Management Console: WebI Universes

OLAP Universes on BEx Queries

SAP 2007 / Page 19

Central Management Console: WebI Universes

OLAP Universes on InfoCubes

SAP 2007 / Page 20

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 21

Enterprise Reporting with Crystal Reports

Where does Crystal Reports add value?

In the area of highly formatted reporting
Such as management reports or legal reports

It enables the creation and modification of formatted reports:

On top of SAP NetWeaver BI Leveraging the solid data warehousing foundation

Report off of all sources of information in your organization

Customer Requirements
Highly formatted management reports Operational and tactical applications with low interaction rate (view static and parameterized reports) Professional report layout (one-to-many approach) Form-based, print-optimized reports Develop powerful data mash-ups

Connectivity to SAP ERP/ECC and SAP NetWeaver BI

For ERP/ECC - InfoSets, SAP Queries, Tables, Cluster Tables, Function Modules Open SQL Driver - Access ODS Objects SAP NetWeaver BI OLAP Kit
Connect to multidimensional SAP NetWeaver BI InfoCubes or MultiProviders & BEx Queries.

SAP 2007 / Page 22 2008

Crystal Reports connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP ECC

SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP 2007 / Page 23

Crystal Reports Creating a SAP BW MDX Query Connection (1)

SAP 2007 / Page 24

Crystal Reports Creating a SAP BW MDX Query Connection (2)

SAP 2007 / Page 25

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 26

Interactive Visualization with Xcelsius

Xcelsius is an environment to design and consume highlyinteractive, flash-based dashboards in PDF, documents, presentations and NetWeaver Portal,
Where can Xcelsius add value?
In the area of data visualization Intuitive design environment, enabling you to easily create professional-looking models quickly using skins, maps, charts, gauges, and selectors. Add visualization to Crystal Reports End user personalization

Customer Requirements
Fast to deploy dashboards on SAP and/or non-SAP data Empower Business Users who are not savvy using analysis tools Simplify BI information with innovative & intuitive visuals

SAP Connectivity
Via Live Office Crystal Reports can be connected to Xcelsius Via Query as a Web Service (QaaWS) which leverages Business Objects Universes

SAP 2007 / Page 27 2008

Xcelsius Connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP ECC

SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP 2007 / Page 28

Xcelsius 2008 Data Manager Query as a Web Service Connectivity

SAP 2007 / Page 29

Xcelsius 2008 Data Manager Query as a Web Service Connectivity

SAP 2007 / Page 30

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 31

MS Office Integration with Live Office

Live Office allows the deployment and access of BI reports & dashboards within Microsoft Office PowerPoint , Word & Excel Where can Live Office add value?
Live Office integrates refreshable BI data within documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. The result is an Office document you can share with others for secure, collaborative decision-making. Using intuitive wizards and toolbars, easily connect to and select data from a Crystal Report or Web Intelligence document Once the data is placed into your MS document, you can format, reorganize, and perform calculationsall while using familiar features in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Customer requirements
Seamless integration of BI into Microsoft Office Easy self-service & sharing of BI data embedded into MS Office documents
SAP 2007 / Page 32 2008

Live Office Connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP ECC

SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP 2007 / Page 33

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 34

Query as a Web Service Overview

Query as a Web Service is an intuitive, wizard based Web Service definition tool Allows BI content to be delivered to any user interface that can process Web Services
In the case of this presentation the user interface discussed is an Xcelsius visualization

IT or Business Users define their own query from a universe, and then easily and securely publish that query as a standalone web service Enables Crystal Xcelsius to aggregate multiple disparate data sources into a trusted BI view

SAP NetWeaver BI
SAP 2007 / Page 35

Query as a Web Service Connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP NetWeaver BI

SAP 2007 / Page 36

Query as a Web Service Publishing a query on an OLAP Universe (Step 1)

SAP 2007 / Page 37

Query as a Web Service Publishing a query on an OLAP Universe (Step 2)

SAP 2007 / Page 38

Query as a Web Service Publishing a query on an OLAP Universe (Step 3)

SAP 2007 / Page 39

Query as a Web Service Publishing a query on an OLAP Universe (Step 4)

SAP 2007 / Page 40

Query as a Web Service Publishing a query on an OLAP Universe (Step 5 - Deploy)

SAP 2007 / Page 41

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Xcelsius Live Office Query as a Web Service

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 42

Universe: What purpose does it serve?

The Universe serves as a Semantic Layer between the Frontend Reporting Tool (i.e. Web Intelligence) and the backend data source (i.e. SAP NetWeaver BI)
Extend OLAP access to a wider audienceWeb Intelligence, Xcelsius Enterprise, Polestar and Live Office users

Allows for Dimensions and Measures (InfoObject Characteristics and Key Figures) to be represented in meaningful business terms
Technical Names are not exposed to the end user Commonality of business terms can be implemented so there is consistency across all Universes (regardless of data source!)

Enhancing the Cube

Add calculated measures, calculated members, sets to enhance the functionality without changing the SAP NetWeaver BI Query Add additional parameters (SAP variables) Enable filters, prompts, and data formatting

SAP 2007 / Page 43

OLAP Universes Connecting to an SAP NetWeaver BI Source Object

Universes can connect to the following objects in BI:
InfoCubes MultiProviders
Can be a MultiProvider built on any source InfoProvider (Cube, DSO, InfoSet, etc)

Business Explorer Query

Can be a query on any source InfoProvider (Cube, MultiProvider, DSO, etc) Must be released for external access (Release for OLE DB for OLAP option in the Advanced tab in query properties) Features of BEx Queries such as Navigational Attributes, Calculated Key Figures, Restricted Key Figures, Variables, etc can be leveraged

(See xi3_sap_olap_universes_en.pdf for specifics on supported features)

SAP 2007 / Page 44

Two Basic Elements of Universes

Classes Logical grouping of objects Customers and all associated information for customers Objects Components that map to data Three types of objects Dimensions are components that you analyze Details are further descriptions for the dimension Measures are quantifiable figures Access of data is restricted through the Universe based on the objects available

SAP 2007 / Page 45

OLAP Universes: Recommendations & Considerations

The recommended approach is to create a query (or set of queries) on InfoCubes or MultiProviders that are in scope for Ad-Hoc Analysis, and then create an OLAP Universe on each of them Utilizing a BEx Query as the basis for the Universe allows for functionality such as Navigational Attributes, Calculated Key Figures, Restricted Key Figures, Variables, etc to be leveraged This setup also allows for performance optimizations to be made by hard-coding characteristic restrictions (thus limiting data), or reducing the characteristics and key figures which can be displayed in WebI or other frontend tools utilizing Universes (i.e. to prevent Line Item data from being displayed) Understand the BEx Query definition and even the Universe Design does not directly impact the performance of a WebI Report* Rather, the design of the WebI Report and the InfoObjects (Dimension or Measure) included in the report will impact performance *However, limiting the InfoObjects (Dimension or Measure) available in the Query or Universe will influence performance (by virtue of the fields not being available in the WebI Report)

SAP 2007 / Page 46

OLAP Universes: Recommendations & Considerations

Typically the default OLAP Universe generated based on BI metadata (InfoProvider or Query based) should be customized in order to make it more user friendly and business flavored
This is really the whole purpose of having the semantic layer of the Universe in between the user and the backend source of the data (i.e. making it as straight forward and user friendly as possible no technical names)

Take into consideration the MDX Restrictions and unsupported Query features
Review OSS Notes 820925 & 838800 for specific features which are not supported Review the MDX Specification for details on MDX Syntax and functionality

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms145506.aspx

SAP 2007 / Page 47

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Live Office Xcelsius

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 48

Demo: Creating an OLAP Universe and Utilizing it in a Web Intelligence Report

DEMO

SAP 2007 / Page 49

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Live Office Xcelsius

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 50

Summary

Business Objects IDD Frontend Tools will further enable: BI data to reach the masses IT autonomy, and reduce the need of IT involvement to meet business reporting requirements A Unified Frontend Reporting Solution to be implemented, reducing overall TCO and increasing business user satisfaction and adoption Understand the connectivity methods of the Business Objects IDD Frontend Tools Consider the recommendations provided when creating OLAP Universes Understand the value each of the Business Objects IDD Frontend Tools can add when integrating them with SAP NetWeaver BI Choose the right tool for the right purpose based on business requirements Recognize the need for a solid Data Warehouse foundation upon which Reporting Solutions are built and delivered Leverage the strong backend capabilities of SAP NetWeaver BI to build the foundation upon which will allow BI data to reach the masses Understand that (most) of the same performance optimizing techniques leveraged to improve BEx Query performance can also be leveraged to improve performance in the Business Objects IDD Frontend Tools BI Accelerator, Aggregates, a solid Data Model, Logical Partitioning, etc

SAP 2007 / Page 51

Agenda

Overview Business Objects Connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BI

Architecture Overview Voyager Web Intelligence Crystal Reports Live Office Xcelsius

OLAP Universes and SAP NetWeaver BI Demonstration Summary Q&A

SAP 2007 / Page 52

Thank you!
Tanner Spaulding SAP NetWeaver RIG Americas, Business Intelligence tanner.spaulding@sap.com

SAP 2007 / Page 53

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SAP 2007 / Page 54