Integration of Web Templates and

Options into SAP BOBJ Analysis

Dr. Bjarne Berg

[ Agenda

Introduction
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Office Overview
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Web Overview
Web Application Designer Template integration
Pre-requisites
Resources
Inter-Operability

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

[ The Core Tools

In this session
we are looking
specifically at
the OLAP tool
previously
known as
Voyager and
Pioneer
Now known as
Analysis
*Pioneer is now SAP BusinessObjects Analysis

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

[ It All Starts with a

Query

The query is the core method for accessing BI data

through the BICS.
You can use existing queries in your Analysis tools

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

[ Agenda

Introduction
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Office Overview
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Web Overview
Web Application Designer Template integration
Pre-requisites
Resources
Inter-Operability

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

BOBJ Analysis - an OLAP tool

(not dashboard)

Analysis,
provides a
superset of
the
capabilities
in BEx
Analyzer
(Excel and
web) and
BOBJ
Voyager.
BEx Analyzer
is migrating
to this tool.
Source SAP AG, Aug.
2010

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

BOBJ Analysis - addition for OLAP

(MS Edition)

The tool has a query panel and can embed the BI analysis
in Microsoft Office applications Excel and PowerPoint
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

[ BOBJ Analysis - MS Office

BEx query views & queries can be used (both 3.5
and 7.0), but your BW system has to be on version
7.x
You need Microsoft Office 2003 or higher to be able
to use BOBJ Analysis 1.0, Edition for MS*** Only BEx
Office(preferred 2007 ed).

works as a
source in the
first MSOffice /Excel
edition (as of
Nov. 14).

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

Universe
support is
planned to be
added in 2011
8

[ Usage Scenarios - BOBJ Analysis

There are fundamentally
three types of user for the
BOBJ Analysis - Microsoft
version (ppt/xls)

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

[ BOBJ Analysis - MS Office now and future

The Excel version have many functions that
overlaps with functions inside the BEx Query
Designer.
This include, Exception and color coding, and
panel navigation

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

10

[ BOBJ Analysis - MS Office

The toolset rebranding (as of Nov. 2010):
Voyager--Pioneer--Advanced Analytics/Analysis-->
"Analysis"
BOBJ Analysis cannot be used for planning workbooks. That
is currently being scheduled for a Feb. 2011 release. This will
be based on the BW-Integrated Planning (IP) software.
The BI-4.0 version is in ramp-up 4th Quarter 2010 and
includes the "addition for OLAP" (web version). (Notice: "BI4.0" is now used in the version instead of "XI-3.1")
BOBJ Analysis - Office (Excel) will use BOBJ Publisher and not
BEx Broadcaster.

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

11

[ BOBJ Analysis - MS Office

Current limitations in the Excel version
Variant (personalization selection as in BEx) will be
added later
Report-to-report interface will be added
BW document integration is not operational yet (will
be added)
The formula editor is not available in Excel yet, but
will be in the web version (ramp-up at end of
November, 2010).

In Q3, 2011, SAP plans to have in ramp-up one

web client, covering both analysis and ad-hoc
querying. This tool will be based on the WebI
Real Experience.
Real
platform.
Advantage.

12

[ BOBJ Analysis - MS Office Pre-requisites

To run the MS-Office version (currently available):
You need SAP BW 7.x (Enhancement pack 1 or BW 7.3
preferred) - However queries defined as 3.5 will also work.
For Excel Interface you need MS Office 2003; 2007 or 2010
For PowerPoint Interface you need MS Office 2007 or 2010
BOBJ- Enterprise XI 3.1(minimum)

Sizing info is in SAP Note 1466118

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

13

[ The BOBJ Enterprise Platform -now called the

"BI platform"

BOBJ Enterprise is not required - Faster to employ.

However, there are many features in the BI
platform
Common InfoObjects (PPT and Excel-XLS) - shared
workbooks
Client side SSO

Analysis 1.1 on the BI 4.0 platform (Feb. 2011)

Introduces server side SSO
Support for common InfoObjects for pptX and xlsX
Interoperability with the web interface (edition for
OLAP), WebI and Crystal Reports based on Analysis
Views
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

14

[ BOBJ Analysis, edition for MS Office

SAP BOBJ Analysis edition for MS Office will evolve
into a complete productivity suite for MS Office
and BOBJ live office
MS Office add-ins allow multi-dimensional analysis
of OLAP sources in Excel and PowerPoint.
For the next 2-3 years it will be a premium offering
running in parallel for the old BEx offerings.

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

15

[ Other Observations
Excel/PPT version is already in General Availability
(GA) as of mid-October 2010.
Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) objects
may be added into the Analysis Office in the future
(discussions are under way at SAP - stayed tuned
for decision).
Some manual work remains: you have to use the
Information Designer to refresh the structure in the
Universe every time the InfoCube changes
(manual process as in XI 3.x)
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

16

[ Agenda

Introduction
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Office Overview
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Web Overview
Web Application Designer Template integration
Pre-requisites
Resources
Inter-Operability

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

17

[ BOBJ Analysis - for OLAP (web version)

Shares nothing with BEX web. It is a toolbox for the
web analyst
Voyager development can be ported to the "edition
for OLAP' tool. However, MS Analysis Services are
not supported yet (will be).
This web version is more interactive and shares
functionalities with BEx Query Designer

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

18

[ BOBJ Analysis - for OLAP (web version)

This tool is in ramp-up 4th Quarter 2010. (GA 1stQ
2011)
Premium offering with separate licensing
Will be interoperatible with WebI and Crystal
Reports
In the medium term, WebI and Edition for OLAP will
be merged into a single tool.

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

19

[ Lean Vs. Complete Deployment

Typically Analysis MS-version is installed in the
BOBJ Enterprise 3.1 or BI -4 environment. By doing
so, users do not need a SAP GUI and can share
workbooks, powerpoints and connections.
Smaller lean installations can skip the BOBJ
Enterprise environment and access BW directly,
but every users must have a SAP GUI installed on
each machine and connections must be made for
each client machine
Both installations use the BICS connectors

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

No Java is required on SAP

BW

20

[ BICS Query access Vs. InfoProvider

Access

If you access an InfoProvider directly, instead of

using a BEx query, you are bypassing a lot of
features. These include:
Restricted and Calculated key figures
Authorization relevant objects
Variables and custom structures
Conditions and exceptions

BEx queries have a lot of functionality

that can be leveraged in SAP BOBJ
Analysis
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

21

[ Real-Time Analysis Access

The trick to get real-time access:

Use a BEx query and set it up as a

"transient
provider" in the local BI client in the

ERP 6

system (SP-5)

This allows the BEx query to access an InfoSets

in ERP and can deliver real-time analysis in MSOffice and on the web.
Be careful, too many users
may impact ECC performance
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

22

: OLAP Universes BOBJ Enterprise XI 3.x &

[ News
Dimensional Universes in BI-4
The XI 3.1 has a Universe Designer tool and the BI-4 has a
Information Designer tool.
OLAP universes created by BOBJ Enterprise XI 3.x works in
BI-4
To use the new multi-dimensional capabilities in BI-4, you
have to use the new information design tool to create
dimensional universes .
Previously made OLAP universes cannot be edited in the new
Information Designer tool.
You can move an OLAP universe from a 3.1 repository to a
4.0 repository using the standard upgrade management tool

Key Idea: Universes in BI-4.0 are made on InfoCubes not Queries.

BICS is used for SAP-BI query access.

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

23

[ Differences in Relational & Dimensional

Universes

There are several

differences in
Relational and
Dimensional Universes.
Read more at:
http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/s
cn/index?
rid=/library/uuid/b014d61bcace-2d10-10bfNOTE: both the Universe
9be9fd577c42

Designer
(XI 3.1) and Information
Designer (BI-4) is included in the
next release.
Real Experience. Real

Source
SAP AG, Nov. 16, 2010 by Didier Mazou, Elizabeth Imm, Abdellatif Astito.
Advantage.

24

[ Agenda

Introduction
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Office Overview
SAP BOBJ Analysis - Web Overview
Web Application Designer Template integration
Pre-requisites
Resources
Inter-Operability

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

25

Web Application Designer Templates

Using web templates SAP BI users do

basic navigation on the formatted
reports by either integrating
navigation,
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

26

[ BEx Web Application Designer (WAD)

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

27

[ Web Template Integration in BOBJ Enterprise runtime

environment

(instead of BI-Java)

Future

Planned 2010

InfoView /SAP NetWeaver Portal

Analysis Web

InfoView /SAP NetWeaver Portal

Analysis Web

Workspace

Workspace
PIO Web
Tab

BEx Web
Tab

PIO Web
Tab

Analysis Designer/ SDK

Analysis Web
Server

Analysis Web Server

BI Consumer Services

BI Consumer Services

BEx Web
Templates

BEx Web
App
Designer

BEx Queries/
InfoProviders

BEx Web
Templates

SAP NetWeaver BW

SAP NetWeaver BW
Source: SAP AG, 2010

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

SAP BOE
Platform

SAP BOE
Platform

BEx Queries/
InfoProviders

BEx Web
Tab

BEx Web
App
Designer

Migration options
via Pioneer SDK
28

[ Analytical Application Development Kit replaces WAD

There will be an "Analytical Application

Development Kit" (aka "Developer Studio" and
"Zen") that will be launched as an alternative to
WAD for planning and OLAP applications.

This will be in ramp-up Q3, 2011,

and will be known as BI - 4.x

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

29

[ Developing Planning & OLAP Applications on

SAP BW

What tool to use to develop web applications

Dashboards and formatted reports
Use Crystal Enterprise and Xcelsius

OLAP and Planning Applications

Short-term: Web Application Designer (WAD) for
2010
Mid-term: Eclipse Based Planning and OLAP
applications while leveraging visualization in
Xcelsius.
Source: SAP AG, Nov. 2010
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

30

[ Agenda

Introduction
SAP BO Analysis - Office Overview
SAP BO Analysis - Web Overview
Web Application Designer Template integration
Pre-requisites
Resources
Inter-Operability

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

31

[ Pre-Requisites for web version

Connectivity:
SAP BW 7.0 SP23 (note: queries defined as 3.5 still
works)
SAP BOBJ BI-Platform 4.0 (upgrade from XI 3.1)
For MS-Analysis services: MSAS 2008 (or 2005 SP1
and SP2)

Need a browser:
Safari 4 for Macs
Explorer 7 (minimum)
Firefox 3.5 (minimum)

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

32

[ The next wave -future MS Analysis Services

support

The next generation of Analysis will integrate WebI

and will also have support for:
Drill-through as it is currently working in Voyager
Actions (event handlers)
Service based name series

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

33

[ Agenda

Introduction
SAP BO Analysis - Office Overview
SAP BO Analysis - Web Overview
Web Application Designer Template integration
Pre-requisites
Resources
Inter-Operability

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

34

[ Resources
NEW: Inside SAP BusinessObjects Advanced
Analysis. Ingo Hilgefort, Hardcover: 342 pages
SAP PRESS, 1st Edition; (Oct. 10, 2010) ISBN:
1592293719.
Alexander Peter, TechEd presentation "BI-102
SAP BusinessObjects Advanced Analysis Overview" available on sdn.sap.com

SAP Solutions at
http://www.sap.com/solutions
/sapbusinessobjects/large/bu
siness-intelligence/advancedanalytics/analysismicrosoft/featuresfunctions
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

35

[ Agenda

Introduction
SAP BO Analysis - Office Overview
SAP BO Analysis - Web Overview
Web Application Designer Template integration
Pre-requisites
Resources
Inter-Operability

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

36

[ BI 4.0 (upgrade from XI 3.1)

Interoperability
Crystal
Reports

Web
Intelligence

Analysis Edition for

OLAP

*
Semantic Layer

Analysis Edition for

MS- Office

*
Shared Query
(analysis view)

BICS (BI Connectors)

* Transient Universes
Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

37

[ BOBJ Tools Interoperability

(using 'old' names)

Source: SAP AG, Oct. 2010

Real Experience. Real
Advantage.

38

[ Downloading the software

Go to the SAP Support Portal and Click on:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)

Software Downloads
SAP Software Distribution Centre
Support Packages and Patches
Support Packages and Patches - Entry by
Application Group
SAP BusinessObjects portfolio - right side of
screen
SBOP Analysis MS Office
SBOP Adv. Analysis Office 1.0
Win32

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

39

[ Key Learnings
The MS Office (Excel/ppt) edition for BOBJ Analysis
is now available, but has some limitations.
The ramp-up for the OLAP started with BI 4.0 4th
Quarter 2011
There is no-need to convert WAD templates, they
can be consumed inside BOBJ Analysis - edition for
OLAP
More source are being added in 2011 (MSAS,
Essbase)
Long-term, this should be your strategy for OLAP
WAD will be replaced by "Analytical Application
Development Kit" (aka "Developer Studio" and
"Zen")
Real Experience.
Real with a ramp-up in Q3, 2011.
Advantage.

40

Thank you for

participating.
Dr. Bjarne Berg

Bberg@ComeritInc.com

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.

41

[ Disclaimer
SAP, R/3, ECC, mySAP, mySAP.com, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, and
other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective
logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in
several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names
mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Real Experience. Real

Advantage.