Monday, November 13, 2017

Webinar - More SAP BI Distribution Options

In SAP BI 4.2, SP4, you can experience a broad range of distribution options from within the BI Launchpad interface. There is no need to go outside of the BI Launchpad interface for new destination types, enhanced print controls, greater encryption options, and a wider variety of format types, because they are all available right there, at your fingertips, inside the BI Launchpad interface.

Why do you need enhanced distribution? Let's consider destination types as an example.

Firstly, you need enhanced destination types to be sure that you can push, pull, print or place information to the appropriate destinations in your workflows. Appropriate destinations are the ones that ensure the information is where it is needed, and where it will do the most good.

Secondly, enhanced destination types improve your ability to govern the flow of information, ensuring that your business intelligence does not go where it shouldn't. Using enhanced destination types improves information governance, and contributes to the development of a culture of compliance.

Typically, your distribution options will consist of BI Inbox, Email, FTP Server, File System, or SFTP Server, but with the APOS Distribution Server / BI Launchpad integration, you will see a much greater variety of destination types:


SAP takes great care to promote the SAP Partner Ecosphere, because they know they will be much more agile if they do not try to be all things to all organizations. Instead, they focus on vision (the SAP BI Convergence strategy, for example), and on the core capabilities that enable that vision. If you want to use SAP BusinessObjects in a novel or unique way, well, that's what the SAP Partner Ecosphere is for.

The APOS Distribution Server / BI Launchpad integration is an outstanding example of SAP's commitment to their customers through the SAP Partner Ecosphere, and an outstanding example of the SAP Partner Ecosphere in action.

If you want to see enhanced distribution in action, please tune in for our webinar:

Register for this webinar
When: Wednesday, November 15, 2 pm EST
Enhanced Distribution & Integration
of BI Content into Business Workflows


In this webinar, Jason Young of Computer Services Inc. (CSI) joins us to describe how CSI used enhanced distribution techniques to integrate SAP BusinessObjects into their core bank processing solution.




Thursday, November 2, 2017

Webinar - Making SAP BI Administration Exciting

Well, okay, my title may be overselling BI administration a tiny bit.

In fact, as BI topics go, administration may seem one of the least exciting. But managing administration tasks well is the first step toward enabling the pursuit of all of those other, more exciting BI topics.

Many administrative tasks can be both labor-intensive and time-sensitive, meaning that you need to throw resources at the tasks to ensure timely fulfillment of service level agreements with your information consumers.

The result is a double dose of undesirable: your resource costs go up and you don't have the resources to tackle initiatives with much higher ROI. You're paying more and getting less. You're undermining your ability to deliver progressive BI capabilities to your stakeholders, and as an unintended consequence, you're robbing them of competitive advantage.

Without a progressive approach to your BI platform, your management of administration tasks may just be increasing the technical debt in that platform, and the vicious cycle continues.

Sorry, did I say I was trying to make BI administration exciting? I meant terrifying. The truth is that most BI administration teams would prefer to live in less interesting times.

On November 2, 2017, we hosted a webinar that explores ways to automate and simplify the many time- and labor-intensive SAP BI administrative tasks faced by administrators on an ongoing and recurring basis. We looked at tips and techniques for reducing, preventing and managing the many chaotic activities, events and factors that drain your administrative resources and interfere with your ability to deliver timely BI content to your information consumers.


Administrative difficulties arise from many causes, including the volume and complexity of content, growing user expectations, the proliferation of data sources, greater security, governance and compliance requirements, and the rise of user-driven content. None of these trends will make BI administration easier, but you can use the APOS Administrator solution to automate and simplify the most resource-intensive administrative tasks, and to liberate resources for progressive BI initiatives.