Overview of BI Reporting Frontends

Created By Cynara Kidwell http://www.cynarasap.com 1/25/2010

BI Reporting Architecture
Web-I Reporting

BI Web

BEX

Integrated Planning (IP)

BOBJ Universe

BI Query Business Information Warehouse Data Repository

SAP BI
3rd Party Source Systems

BPC BPC Planning

SAP ECC

SAP Transactional Data Repository EDI

Existing Frontends

BEX Analyzer BI Web Reporting

BEX Analyzer
Tool Summary: Included default BI reporting tool for excel frontend

Platform

Key Capabilities

Excel

Gaps

Reporting with dynamic navigation functionality (drag-and-Drop of rows and columns, filters, sorting, visual hierarchies, etc..) Views can be saved offline as refreshable excel workbooks Supports Plan Data Entry

Recommended For:

Not always intuitive Can have long load times and long waits between navigation steps Advanced formatting not available
Excel power users

BI Web
Tool Summary: Included BI reporting tool for web reporting

Platform
Web

Key Capabilities
Intuitive reporting functionality (drag and drop, filters, sorting, visual hierarchies, etc) Easy access to saved data views via hyperlink Faster than BEX Analyzer Automatic access to already created BEX queries

Gaps
Not a lot of custom formatting options No offline capabilities Time lag between navigation steps

Recommended For:
Users who want to access reports with little/no training Users on older machines Users exporting very long datasets

Newly Acquired Frontends

Business Objects Web Intelligence (WEBI)

Interactive reporting Print Perfect Reporting Dashboarding Business Planning

Crystal Reports

Xcelcius

BPC

Business Objects Web Intelligence (WEBI)

Tool Summary: New standard for interactive web based reporting and analysis for BI Platform

Key Capabilities

Web based custom frontend Easy formatting of data Offline Reporting Supports complex formulas Instantaneous navigation after initial load Technical limitations for dataset size, # report dimensions, and offline download size Long running initial loads Very limited hierarchical viewing functionality Power users who want advanced formatting and offline capabilities

Gaps

Recommended For:

Xcelcius
Tool Summary: Dashboard creation tool

Platform

Key Capabilities

Excel or powerpoint Extremely easy to use Very flashy Jump through to WebI reports Dataset must come from excel file

Gaps

Supports only very simple datasets

Can be generated by Webi

Recommended For:

Limitations on multiple dropdown selectors, etc.. Limit on amount of data reports can hold

Executive users wanting very clear, easy to use dashboards

Crystal Reports
Tool Summary: Print perfect formatted reports.

Platform

Key Capabilities

Excel or Web

Gaps

Extreme formatting of reports (exact spacing of margins, rows, columns, fonts, bullet types, etc..) Can use Webi or BEX datasource Can be used to print-format existing BEX queries Client side tool, can be owned by business Training needed, tool can be complexed Reports are very inflexible Power users who want to create print-ready reports with little to no flexibility

Recommended For:

BPC

Tool Summary: New primary BI tool for planning and forecasting, built on top of BI data for forecast simulation and creation.

Platform

Key Capabilities

Excel

Gaps

Easy construction of planning scenarios and planning functions High Transparency of planning function data changes Future platform for BI planning Integration work required with BI Cannot easily support all possible dimensions for drilldown as other BI tools No web access Planning and forecasting especially where complex equations and models must be developed

Recommended For:

Whats coming next.

Pioneer

Combine BusinessObjects expertise for innovative UIs with SAP know-how for advanced OLAP clients

Take the best of both worlds and add substantial new innovations on top

OLAP analysis for SAP NetWeaver BW, SAP BusinessObjects EPM solutions, and 3rd Party OLAP

Migration Path for BEX Analyzer and BI Web reports

Tight Microsoft Office integration, guided OLAP analysis, and predictive analysis services

Safe existing investment + accelerated new innovations