You implement BI to optimize operational efficiency. What do you do to optimize BI efficiency?
Today at 2 pm EST, Ian Treleaven follows up his earlier Platform Architecture and Sizing for SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 webinar with a practical session in which he leads you through a detailed sizing exercise and demonstrates some specific techniques for achieving performance and reliability.
Register for today's webinar: SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 Sizing Cases & Demos.
For a thorough grounding in SAP BI 4 platform architecture and sizing issues, view a recording of Ian's earlier webinar session.
2013 is winding up, but our SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 migration focused webinar series continues into 2014 with great topics and great subject matter experts. Coming in the new year:
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All of the webinars in the series have been well attended and well received. If you missed any of the earlier sessions, you can view these recorded webinars at your leisure.
The earlier sessions included:
We're busy firming up dates, guest presenters and topics for further sessions. If there are any topics you'd like to see us tackle in this webinar series, please feel free to let us know in the comments below.
What: Guide to the SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 DCP Webinar
When: Nov. 21, 2013, 11 am EST
Eighth in a series of SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 migration-focused webinars
View other webinars in the series
Guest presenter:Thomas Kuruvilla, Solution Manager, SAP
With SAP BusinessObjects BI 4, Desktop Intelligence has been designated End of Life, and customers wishing to upgrade to BI 4 need to start planning the conversion from Desktop Intelligence to Web Intelligence. In recognition of the time and resources needed for this conversion, SAP has released the Desktop Intelligence Compatibility Pack (DCP) with SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1.
The DCP allows organizations with a large Desktop Intelligence investment to leverage that investment while realizing the benefits of BI 4.1 and planning an orderly conversion to Web Intelligence.
SAP's Thomas Kuruvilla joins us to discuss how to use the DCP to facilitate your organization's migration to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 while leveraging your existing Desktop Intelligence objects and content.
On the agenda:
· Migrating your Desktop Intelligence reports to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1
· Connecting Desktop Intelligence 3.1 desktop clients to an SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 CMS
· Planning the conversion from Desktop Intelligence to Web Intelligence
Fred Walther, Manager of Solution Consulting at APOS Systems, will also be on hand to show you how APOS Migration Accelerator products can help you simplify and automate Desktop Intelligence use in SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1.
Please join us for this informative webinar.
When: Oct. 31, 2013, 10 am / 4 pm EDT - Tomorrow
Sixth in a series of SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 migration-focused webinars
Guest presenter: Henry Kam, Solution Manager, Crystal Reports & BI Platform, SAP
Tomorrow's webinar is the sixth in our series of migration-focused webinars.
SAP Solution Manager Henry Kam joins us to discuss the features and benefits of Crystal Reports in SAP BusinessObjects 4.1. Find out what's new for the standard in pixel-perfect reporting.
The discussion will include topics such as:
Join us.
APOS announced today the release of its Migrator for SAP Crystal Reports product. This product has been designed specifically to simplify and automate labor-intensive and time-intensive SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 migration tasks.
Using this product, you can scan your system for objects in SAP Crystal Reports 2011 and 2013, select them, specify new database connections in bulk, and convert them in bulk to objects in SAP Crystal Reports for enterprise. The Migrator also gives you the option to replace the existing report, rename the new reports, or move the new reports to a different folder.
The APOS Migrator for Crystal Reports is a new addition to the line of APOS Migration Accelerator products.
If you're at SAP TechEd Las Vegas this week, drop by and see us at Booth #103.
We have a new line of Migration Accelerator products to help you take care of the time-intensive and labor-intensive tasks in your SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 migration plan, including:
Talk to our technical experts at SAP TechEd Las Vegas to find out how these products can simplify many of your most resource-intensive migration tasks.
APOS announced today the release of its Storage Center for Migration product. This product has been designed specifically to simplify and automate labor-intensive and time-intensive SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 migration tasks.
Using this product, users can back up and archive objects on the source system and restore them to the target system running SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 solutions while avoiding interruption to either system. It also lets users export instances to neutral formats such as PDF or XLS and restore that format to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 solutions instead of, or in addition to, the original format. This is useful for converting report instances from the source system before restoring them in a format that can be viewed by all users in SAP BusinessObjects 4.1 solutions.
The new product builds on the proven technology and success of the APOS Storage Center enterprise archive, backup, and selective restore solution for SAP BusinessObjects
Our migration focused webinar series continues tomorrow with a session on SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 Web Intelligence. We've been very pleased by how well received this series of webinars has been. To date, we have had webinars on the new semantic layer, on how to build the business case for BI 4, and on the planning aspects of migration.
All of these earlier webinars are available to view on demand.
Tomorrow, on Oct. 10, 2013, SAP Solution Manager Gregory Botticchio joins us to discuss the features and benefits of Web Intelligence in SAP BusinessObjects 4.1. The new Web Intelligence includes many new and incremental features to improve performance and productivity. We will discuss:
During the course of this session, we will touch on:
There will be many labor-intensive tasks during migration. Minimizing the resources you have to dedicate to such tasks will be key to developing a manageable migration plan. We have a number of products to help. See our BI 4 Upgrade Resources page.
Now available: APOS Migrator for Web Intelligence. Scan your system for Web Intelligence reports, select them, specify the new UNX universe to use, and repoint the reports in bulk. Optionally convert the existing UNV universe to a new UNX universe and repoint the Web Intelligence reports to the new UNX universe in a single operation. You also have the option to replace the existing reports, rename the new reports, or move the new reports to a different folder.
The APOS User Migrator for SAP BI 4 is a freeware application that lets administrators migrate named users to concurrent users, or concurrent users to named users, in bulk conversion operations. This freeware is especially useful if you are changing from a named user model to a concurrent user model during your migration to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.
Your content management strategy will be key to your migration success. The APOS Storage Center enterprise BI archive, backup and selective restore solution is a dependable and time-tested solution for SAP BusinessObjects.
Now available: APOS Storage Center for Migration, a product designed specifically to help you migrate your content seamlessly to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1. APOS Storage Center for Migration lets you archive reports and instances, save instances to multiple formats (including neutral formats), and works in conjunction with the DCP to help you leverage your Desktop Intelligence investment in BI 4.1.
We had a number of interesting questions and answers during our webinar sessions on September 19. Here they are for your convenience:
Q: If we are migrating from 4.0 to 4.1, should we export and import the content or does simply running the Upgrade Package serve the purpose of upgrading the server?
J.C. Raveneau: You would apply 4.1 on top of your BI 4.0 server. No need to move content around.
Q: Will the documentation be available on SAP for this presentation?
APOS: APOS will send you a link to a recording of the webinar tomorrow.
Q: Is there a white paper that describes the differences in best practices between 3.x and 4.x?
J.C.: You should go to www.sapbusinessobjects.com and get a personalized report generated. This will give you many good details.
Q: We use Java JDK extensively to automate our reports based on prudential specific calendar dates. We also use Java JDK to streamline/automate our deployment of reports so our tech staff does not have to interact with designer tools and keep track of which folders, categories, reports and universes. This is automated through JDK in XI r3.1. Will we still have functionality through JDK in BI 4.1?
J.C.: All SDK functionalities are there in BI 4, but there may be changes in the model so code adjustments are probably needed. Check http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-40754.
Q: Does BI 4.1 support installations on virtual servers?
J.C.: Yes. Check http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-41308.
Q: What about Crystal reports using Business Views. Will they also get upgraded to CR 2011?
J.C.: Yes.
Q: Do you have any comments regarding why we would want to go to 4.0 vs. 4.1 (or vice versa)?
J.C.: 4.1 is the latest and greatest. We have good feedback on stability. I would choose 4.1.
Q: While migration from 3.1 to 4.0, does the Upgrade Management Tool automatically convert UNV to UNX formats? Is it recommended to migrate Web Intelligence universes as UNV and continue to use Designer? And maybe after ensuring system stability, convert them to UNX?
J.C.: UNVs remain fully functional in BI 4 and not converted. Conversion can happen in a second stage either manually, or with the tool offered by APOS. The recommendation is to keep UNV as is in your upgrade project. Then upgrade to UNX to benefit from the new capabilities.
Q: Do we have to manually change each Web Intelligence report to point to UNX format if we convert UNVs at a later point?
J.C.: Check here: http://www.apos.com/content/bi4-webi-repointer
Q: Does the Upgrade Management Tool form SAP carry the instances from 3.1 to 4.0 automatically?
J.C.: Yes, if you select to do so in the UMT.
Q: Without using APOS Web Intelligence Converter, I am assuming that if we need to point Web Intelligence reports to UNX format, it needs to be done manually, and that there is no tool available from SAP?
J.C.: Correct.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome.
Galigeo and APOS Systems have announced that Galigeo has acquired the assets, staff, and activities of the Location Intelligence division of APOS. The acquired solution will be included in the Galigeo portfolio of Location Intelligence Solutions under the name "Galigeo-APOS LIS."
APOS and Galigeo are working together to make the transition for current APOS LIS customers completely seamless.
The July edition of the SAP Community Network BI News is out. This month's newsletter focuses on strategies for creating an information-driven culture in your organization, and includes articles on the following topics:
...and more. Worth a look.
Q: BI 4.0 comes with a migration tool, so what value do APOS solutions and Migration Accelerator productsbring to the table?
Fred Walther, APOS: When you use the BI 4 migration tool, you move the content from your XI 3.1 environment to your BI 4 environment, but you are moving it as is. Converting UNV universes to UNX universes is another task altogether, and APOS Migration Accelerator products can help you convert universes in bulk, and repoint Web Intelligence reports to the new universes. APOS well managed BI solutions also allow you to compare your old system with your new, and to bulk-manage security, objects, schedules and instances.Okay, that was a bit of a softball, and right in Fred's wheelhouse, to continue the baseball analogy.
Great question from one of our "The Business Case for Upgrading to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4" webinar attendees:
Q: What is the biggest challenge in migrating from 3.1 to 4.x you've seen?
...and a great answer from our guest presenter, SAP's Saskia Battersby:
Saskia Battersby, SAP: In general, the biggest challenge is understanding the size and complexity of the migration project. BI 4 contains many changes which complicate the migration process, but which are necessary for the future of BI within your organization. It is important to come to terms with the scope of the migration project during the planning stage, to use all of the resources at your disposal, and to work with experienced partners to increase your prospects for an effective and efficient transition to BI 4.
...and also from APOS Systems' Fred Walther:
Fred Walther, APOS: One specific challenge is the migration of large amounts of content. Sometimes migration of a large number of instances is not practical, so it is important to have a strategy and solution in place to archive those instances, and to be able to retrieve them selectively as needed, whether for operational or compliance purposes.
For more help in planning, preparing and achieving an efficient migration, see our migration webinar series.
A number of great questions were raised and answered at our recent webinar on formulating your business case for upgrading to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4:
Q: What BusinessObjects reporting is available on iPad? WebI? Xcelsius? To what extent is this supported?
A: SAP BusinessObjects Mobile 5 supports all of the content types. Explorer is now included, as well as Dashboards (Xcelsius), Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, and Design Studio
Q: What are the new features of the UNX universe format?
A: The ability to handle multi-dimensional data sources and changes to the way data federation is done are some of the key new features. For more information, review our earlier webinar, "The SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 Semantic Layer & Migration," in which SAP's Pierpaolo Vezzosi provides a detailed discussion.
Q: Are all components of Dashboards/Xcelsius supported on the iPad? In earlier versions of 4.0, several components were not supported (e.g.: spreadsheets).
A: More connectivity options (i.e., not just UNX) have closed the gap considerably between what is available via the Web and via Mobile.
Thanks to SAP's Saskia Battersby and Deepa Sankar for being our guest presenters in this webinar, and for providing some insightful answers to our webinar attendees' questions.
Migration is this year's big story for the SAP BusinessObjects community. For more help in planning, preparing and achieving your migration, see our migration webinar series.
There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know.
There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know.
But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know.
APOS Systems recently released a product that converts UNV universes to UNX universes in bulk. The story of its development involves close collaboration between APOS and SAP's product management team, as well as innovation for the benefit of the entire SAP BusinessObjects™ community.
KOM Networks and APOS Systems today announced the integration of APOS Storage Center and the KOMpliance™ secure storage solution.
APOS Storage Center automates SAP® BusinessObjects™ archive, restore and migration processes allowing rules-based management of the document lifecycle while maintaining document integrity. KOMpliance patented technologies create secure WORM storage volumes using any HDD or SSD storage infrastructure enforcing data-at-rest security, data retention, authorized access and data integrity.
APOS has just released a BI 4.0 UNV to UNX bulk conversion tool. The UNV to UNX Bulk Converter allows you to scan your system for existing UNV universes, select them, and convert in bulk to UNX universes.
For more BI 4.0 upgrade resources visit the APOS BI 4.0 Upgrade Resources page.
If you didn't have a chance to attend our recent Intelligent Data Access Controller (IDAC) webinar, you missed some great insights on BI data governance -- how you can gain greater control over your BI platform through increased visibility into data connectivity, better security through awareness of data access, and more accountability through sensitive data audit.
It's no surprise that BI data governance is becoming a hot topic. As BI assumes a more critical role in business decision support, it gains access to more and more enterprise data sources -- sources which inevitably contain sensitive operational, competitive, and personal data.
In a perfect world, your security model and corporate policies would be enough to protect your sensitive data. Data access would be restricted to trusted individuals, and those individuals would follow corporate policies on disclosure. But, according to Symantec, 33% of criminal breaches to your data security involve a malicious insider (PDF). Further, in 75% of those breaches, data is stolen by individuals with authorized access.
Clearly, it is not enough to design your security model well and set it in motion. You need to remain vigilant. You need to monitor data access proactively. You also need to be seen to be doing so -- as a deterrent to misuse of data access, and frequently also to comply with the letter and spirit of regulatory requirements.
Learn more about what you can do to improve BI data governance:
View a 3 min. video preview of the webinarThe time to gain control of those processes and activities is now, because you face growing complexity in your SAP BusinessObjects data access and data accountability requirements. In addition to internal query performance challenges, there are audit and monitoring requirements mandated by regulatory compliance. There is no question that these issues represent substantial risk to your organization's success and security.
One of the most commonly used adjectives for the BI platform manager and BI administrator occupations is "challenging," and understandably so. If BI is your responsibility, over time you will likely face more data, more data sources, more information consumers, and less time to deliver an increasingly complex array of information products.
Even in the best-designed and most highly optimized deployment, these factors will combine to create anomalies in your day to operations. How do you get a handle on query performance issues? How do you track access to sensitive data within increased query activity? These are not merely questions of efficiency. They are questions of risk management and regulatory compliance.
The APOS Intelligent Data Access Controller (IDAC) is a data source agnostic solution for SAP BusinessObjects that can vastly improve the ability of BI platform managers, administrators and technicians to exert control over data and data access across multiple applications, operating systems, and data sources and types. This solution helps you manage and audit data access and activity across technologies, while improving system performance, information security, data privacy, and regulatory accountability.
This white paper provides an in-depth discussion of query performance and sensitive data auditing issues, and how you can use APOS IDAC to achieve greater efficiency and manage risk.
Download the white paper:
Data Access, Audit, and Accountability with the APOS Intelligent Data Access Controller (IDAC)
View a 3-minute preview of the webinar.
