SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

reviewer1750965

Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Jan 11, 2022

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User friendly report creation but not great on the dashboarding side

Pros and Cons

"It is more user-friendly and easier to work with the report creation part, creating reports out of an established universe. Maybe a business person could liberate the existing universe and create a report on top of it, as well. So that's one cool feature."

"Most of the Apps right now are into dashboarding. This tool, for the Crystal Reports in the phase I'm primarily working on, does not have those dashboarding capabilities, like in the other advanced tools like Power BI or ClickView, and compared to them the dashboard generation is not that great."

What is our primary use case?

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is currently deployed as on-premise solution and recently the server got hosted into cloud, but it's more or less assembled as on-premise solution.

How has it helped my organization?

It was a tool that was established in its current form a very long time back, so most of the uses are familiar. The familiarity is very good with that tool. Since it is familiar, they're able to navigate and get the reports and even share the requirements needed for anything new that needs to be developed. To an extent, they know its features and capabilities. So that's one thing.

It is providing a wide range of reports in different departments. Especially for the department I'm working in, they are mostly interested in the regulation side. So they are looking for the information or properties regarding the products and getting their details on the regulation, which will help them to manage or make sure that all the regulatory standards are maintained for the information captured in the database.

What is most valuable?

It is more user-friendly and easier to work with the report creation part, creating reports out of an established universe. Maybe a business person could liberate the existing universe and create a report on top of it, as well. So that's one cool feature.

It has additional capabilities like scheduling and getting the reports in the various forms, like through the mails and through the shared locations, and all those sorts of formats, so those features are good. The user friendliness helps create the reports out of the data source available.

What needs improvement?

It's not like apps. Most of the Apps right now are into dashboarding. This tool, for the Crystal Reports in the phase I'm primarily working on, does not have those dashboarding capabilities, like in the other advanced tools like Power BI or ClickView, and compared to them the dashboard generation is not that great.

But there are other products, like SAP Analytics Cloud, all of which actually provide this information under the Business Intelligence platform. But I have not used it much because my customer has not moved onto those platforms yet. That may be one thing that may need improvement - the dashboarding side. Also sometimes the performance is not that great when getting millions of records out of it. It'll take its own sweet time to get that report refreshed.

Feature-wise, it's a slightly old technology, so I don't expect anything getting updated much in it, rather just continuing with their current thing.

I'm right now using other dashboarding tools for the dashboarding requirements. As I mentioned, it's not that capable of providing the current dashboarding requirements. I was introduced first to this tool then later to others.

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For how long have I used the solution?

I'm using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform in my current project. One of my roles is to develop the reports and universes, so I'm currently using it for that.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

On the backside, there is not much that needs to get fixed. Occasionally we used to figure out some bugs with the versions, mostly compatibility issues with the latest databases, for example with Snowflakes. But we used to get the patches for that compatibility issues. But so far I haven't seen those sorts of issues in the environment that I'm working in.

In terms of the maintenance, we have seen some server slowness or shutdowns or something like that. We have noticed it, but not much on the admin side of activities. But if we see some issues in the system then we usually reach out to SAP to see their point of view and they may be coming with a fix for it or with a solution to adjust the system parameters.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is not that scalable. I will say the scalability is medium. It's not as easy to scale it up as we need it to deploy. We have an option to cluster it with multiple servers, but it's not like it's just a configuration change. It should be repeating the process of the entire installation in a different box, and linking those up.

It is being widely used and we have people from various departments and roles. It is covering some of the finance reports and it covers from the financial side. On the VP level, they are getting some sales reports and other data, with daily refreshes on it. It is used by the analyst for day-to-day activities. It is widely used. I cannot pinpoint one specific use we set for it for the current client I'm working for.

Maybe I'm planning to increase usage. The BI platform has different components in it. The current components I'm using are mostly the Web Intelligence and the Crystal Reports. I feel like it's a little outdated, it's a little more like old technology. But under that they have an SAP Analytics Cloud platform that they're building up under the Business Intelligence itself. I guess eventually the roadmap will be inclined to that solution.

How are customer service and support?

We usually use both the forum and the support group for SAP. As I mentioned, if there are some serious issues, we are in contact with SAP, so we'll raise tech issues with them and they will come back with a fix, like connectivity to a new database. And if there are any ongoing issues that we identify in our landscape which need to be addressed, they usually get back with the fix or they usually analyze our system and give us suggestions.

We also interact with the forum. The blog forums and the social forums for this product are well established. We will get most, 60% to 70% of queries, addressed in those forums. I have observed most of the very similar issues already registered in those forum, which will be helpful for debugging or solving our issues.

Occasionally we may have to do multiple follow-ups for a product with tech support and get them to understand and then have a debate to get it fixed. That's little challenging. It'll take some time since maybe our issues are specific to a landscape, the way that we operate with this huge, massive amount of records. So at times they may not be easily open, but with more proof and if we can provide more justification, they usually pick it up. But it's not very fast, it will take some time.

How was the initial setup?

The deployment process is quite easy. We have a dedicated admin team to manage the queues of deployment. It is very easy to get that once we deploy the changes in dev, it can be easily moved across environments to different test environments and to the cloud. It also has the capability to roll back the changes if there are any issues that we identify, so I don't see any issues with the deployment process.

To set it up, provided we have all the infra support needed, it will mostly be handled by different teams, like database. From that perspective, maybe a couple of teams may be involved as repositories are mounted on top of database, but the installation side can be handled by one person. That can be possible if it is a small scale deployment with not too many clusters involved.

But if there are cluster servers and multiple servers needed to be deployed and linked, it may be worth having a considerable effort to deploy this solution. I'm mostly talking about the installation of the product. But it can be handled with a couple of people, provided we have the support from the infra team with the servers, with required specification for the server, as well as any other support needed, including admin support for the servers.

If it is standalone, a simple server installation can be completed in a day or two.

What was our ROI?

It is very widely used across different departments and it definitely serves a purpose to give insights on the data. It is surely giving the returns, but I may not be in a position to give the exact figures or how much it will be in connection with the purchase demand or purchase cost. But it is definitely a tool that is needed for the day-to-day tracking.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think the licensing depends upon the user base. If it is a limited license, the user base has some restrictions. If we need to expand our user base, I guess there needs to be enhanced licensing. At a high level I can share that, but we haven't faced it as we have the full premium license with them, but I know the starter packages are limited on the number of users. Maybe not for all licensing, but only the lowest range licensing fee may have some limitation on the number of concurrent users.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to anyone considering SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is to keep an eye on the requirement side that they need. If you are looking for a flashy dashboard with a lot of user interactions with click and dicing the graphs, I don't recommend the Business Intelligence component or the Crystal Reports. They may have to look into other products.

On a scale of one to then, I would say SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is a 7.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner

Andy Pan

BusinessObject Delivery Dev. at a government with 10,001+ employees

Nov 28, 2021

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A reliable, stable, secure, and mature tool

Pros and Cons

"BusinessObjects can handle a lot of usage on the front end, and many users can view these reports. It's a relatively stable and secure tool."

"When we implemented BusinessObjects, the setup was straightforward. After SAP bought BusinessObjects, it gradually became more and more stepwise. There are too many steps, and they take too much time."

What is our primary use case?

This tool has worked with relational databases and others since 2002, when it involved PeopleSoft and an SAP ERP-type of back end. The tool extracts the structural data onto the front end and creates reports for our interactive end-users. So the primary function of BusinessObjects is reporting or BI access.

There is a factor table in the back end and a dimensional table with a tool called IDT. IDT stands for Information Design Tool. You create a file called the "universe," which generates SQL code and sends it back to the back end relational database or another type of back end to draw data from the front end. But the universe file itself doesn't affect any storage of the data. It's only code. So based on the universe, you can do a report or multiple reports. And when you click "refresh," a package of SQL code from the universe file will be sent back to back in the database system based on the particular table in the fields. Then you get the data, package it again, and send it back to report. Crystal Reports is the reporting and intelligence component. It's the dashboard tool.

What is most valuable?

BusinessObjects is an enterprise reporting system that includes a content management system, security model, and report distribution system. They all merge nicely. These features are all integrated, and BusinessObjects can handle a lot of usage on the front end, and many users can view these reports. It's a relatively stable and secure tool.

I worked on a project with around 3,000 users around the globe. People from China, France, South America, and locally here in the United States were reporting on BusinessObjects 24 hours a day. It's a reliable, stable, secure, and mature tool for business intelligence and other functions, like standard reports. BusinessObjects has been around for nearly 30 years. A French person created it in 1994, so they've constantly improved and upgraded this tool ever since.

What needs improvement?

BusinessObjects originated in France, and then it was bought by SAP, a German company. Some things don't totally fit into the American culture of software development. For example, German software always uses detailed steps, whereas Oracle and Microsoft are very straightforward. Everything in this tool is stepwise. There are so many steps, but it is pretty good functionally.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using BusinessObjects since 2001.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

BusinessObjects is perfectly stable. I seldom have a problem. I'm an administrator who is on-call 24/7, but I rarely get a call at midnight about an issue with BusinessInsights. With some tools, I get a call at least once per week. BusinessObjects has set up a server type they call the Server Intelligence Agent. This autonomously handles the situation right away by restarting or automatically debugging to resolve the issues. The whole server doesn't shut down when there is a problem.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

BusinessObjects is scalable. At this organization, we have around 1,000 end-users working with it. At my previous job, it was upwards of 3,000 some. We are constantly increasing usage. Every month, we're raising the capacity.

How are customer service and support?

I'm the administrator, and I haven't had any significant issues, so I don't usually need specific technical support. In business usage, we don't need a lot of technical support. The developers need to create new things, so it's not support but development. I would rate SAP support between eight and nine out of 10.

How was the initial setup?

When we implemented BusinessObjects, the setup was straightforward. After SAP bought BusinessObjects, it gradually became more and more stepwise. There are too many steps, and they take too much time. For maintenance and deployment, we have a team of fewer than 10 people, including the developer.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also use Tableau and Power BI alongside BusinessObjects, but we have been using BusinessObjects the longest. In my job, I have been confused when working with some other type of tool, like Microsoft Power BI and some other type of non-structured data. This type of tool is okay, but it's not smart. It has too many steps. And at a given stage, you might make a mistake. It's not really scalable.

What other advice do I have?

I rate BusinessObjects nine out of 10. It's a mature, complete product with a long history and a decent reputation on the market. Many organizations and commercial companies are using it right now. It's reliable, scalable, and stable too. I would recommend it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Buyer's Guide

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

December 2024

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Emilio Valle

Programmer at Banco de Guatemala

Oct 14, 2024

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Helps with decision making, reliable, and make information gathering simple

Pros and Cons

"The solution can scale."

"The platform should be a bit more user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for business intelligence as more people ask for that.

How has it helped my organization?

We're a financial business, and this has helped us make important decisions.

What is most valuable?

This is the easiest way to gather information and have everything together. We have manipulated the information effectively in the way we want.

It is a stable product.

The solution can scale.

What needs improvement?

The platform should be a bit more user-friendly. There should be an easier way to use the solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for about a year. I have not used it for that long just yet.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I'd rate stability ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. I'd rate scalability eight out of ten.

We have around 50 users using the solution at this time.

Likely, we will increase usage in the future.

How are customer service and support?

I've never contacted technical support. I do not know how helpful or responsive they are in general.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I was not part of the process of selection.

How was the initial setup?

I'm not sure about the initial setup. I wasn't a part of the deployment process.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I am not familiar with the pricing of the solution.

What other advice do I have?

We have used the latest version of the solution. However, I don't know the exact version number.

New users need to understand a bit about business intelligence in order to prove the usefulness of the solution. You also need to have an idea of what you'd like to get out of the solution, and that should be decided at the outset.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Last updated: Oct 14, 2024

Vishal Khare

IT manager at Electrolux Home Products

Oct 29, 2021

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Stable, easy to use, and scalable

Pros and Cons

"We find the product to be very stable."

"It needs to be more flexible for the end-user."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution more for analysis and reporting.

What is most valuable?

The solution is very easy to use.

We find the product to be very stable.

The solution is scalable.

What needs improvement?

SAP does force users to manage it a certain way. specifically around queries, and does not integrate well with other platforms, or lacks a certain level of flexibility. It needs to be more flexible for the end-user.

For example, we have been using Cognos also for years now, however, if a user has to do a query on their own then it doesn't work. That's why we are now gradually trying to migrate to Power BI. And, while it's easy to integrate on the SAP landscape, when it comes to the flexibility for the user to create a report on their own, there isn't really an option to do that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been dealing with the solution for over ten years at this point. It's been around a decade since I started working with it. It's been a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The level of stability is very good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution can scale if you need it to as an organization.

Globally, we have almost 2,000 users on this product.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are also using Power BI.

When we moved into the SAP landscape we had two choices. We had IBM Cognos and could integrate SAP with Cognos or we go for an SAP solution which is an SAP BI that automatically integrated with SAP ECC. We chose SAP BI. However, now, we are moving more towards Power BI and moving away from SAP.

How was the initial setup?

I did not handle the implementation and therefore cannot speak to the process. I'm not sure if it's easy or difficult.

We have our own support and architecture teams and they are able to handle any maintenance necessary if it comes up. We generally have five to six people who could handle such tasks.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We pay for an enterprise license. We pay yearly when we renew our license.

What other advice do I have?

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're currently using. What we have is completely on-premise as we are still on ECC. We are using the HANA architecture, and we are still on-premise.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

I would recommend the solution to other users and companies.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Paul Grill

President & CEO at Infosol Inc

Mar 7, 2024

Once you are stable on a BusinessObjects release, it is worth staying there for a while

It is true that there are often challenges when upgrading between releases of BusinessObjects but this has always been the case as it has been for all the other BI and software application vendors too.

A few rules of thumb for BusinessObjects software are:

1. Never upgrade to an x.0 release - always wait for at least the x.1 release and even the first or second service pack of that release

2. Never attempt to perform a release upgrade if you have not done one before. Get training and experience first or use a reputable BO Consulting company

3. Experiment with the new release on a sandbox environment to become familiar with the changes and find any major issues before attempting a migration to production

Once you are stable on a BusinessObjects release, it is worth staying there for a while.

Update April 2014 : BusinessObjects BI 4.1 has been out for 8 months now and is looking like a stable release. Expect to see a lot of activity moving to this release over the next year.

Update September 2014 : BI 4.1 is now at Service Pack 4 (SP4) which corrected multiple issues in earlier service packs (SP2 and SP3). As more customers move to BI 4.1. more experience is gained and the platform improves. Main features attracting customers to BI 4.1 are improvements in Web Intelligence, Mobile Dashboard support and support of Desktop Intelligence.

Update February 2015 : BI 4.1 is now at Service Pack 6 (SP6). Both SP5 and 6 have been stable. Most BI 4.0 customers are also migrating to BI 4.1 and many more XI 3.1 customers are also migrating since XI 3.1 goes into a maintenance only support mode ( no more service packs or fix packs) after Dec. 31, 2015. The next major release BI 4.2 is currently scheduled for end of the year.

Update December 2015 : BI 4.1 SP7 has just been released. BI 4.2 is in Customer User Validation phase and will not be released until 2016. The jury is still out regarding if the quality of software updates has improved but new QA processes have been implemented by the SAP BusinessObjects development and support teams this year.

Update May 2016 : BI 4.2 SP2 was released at the end of March. There are quite a few new features including to the Upgrade Management Tool (UMT) which is used for migrating content from previous releases. It is now possible to handle incremental updates and moving certain types of content instead of all. There is also a new mechanism that allows part of the update to be performed while the system is still running. There is also a new Recycle bin feature for public folders in case you accidently delete a report. Organizations still running BusinessObjects XI 3.1 are now looking to go straight to BI 4.2.

Update October 2016 : BI 4.2 SP03 is now the latest version released at end of August. It has a lot of new features for a service pack including additional new functionality for Web Intelligence like cascading prompts for input controls, references and further enhancements to the new discussions. The Administrators cockpit has also been further enhanced to provide more options. So far, stability looks good.

Update April 2017 : SP03 has proven to be a relatively stable service pack that many BO customers have updated to. The next service pack, SP04 is now in beta and scheduled to be released in May. Again, it promises to have a bunch of new functionality for Web Intelligence including full parity between the Java and dhtml clients, an optional new UI and many new graphics

Update September 2017 : SP04 has now been available since May and there were additional quite a few code changes . The first release release had multiple issues. Some were addressed in the two subsequent Fix Packs that have been released. The general feeling was that it was not as stable as SP03. However SP04 was the first version that included SQL Server 2016 support so many customers wanted to install it.

Update February 2018 : SP05 was released in December and there were further enhancements particularly to the new optional HTML5 Fiori portal that can now be used for consuming BO reports. This first version has some issues around installation/upgrade but too early to judge its overall stability yet.

Update July 2018 : Like all the previous BI 4.2 Service Packs, SP05 had multiple issues when first released and really did not completely stabilize until Fix Pack 200 (after Fix Pack 100). It is now at Fix Pack 400 and SP06 is in beta testing and should be released soon.

Update December 2018 : SP06 is now the current BI 4.2 Service Pack update released late July. Like all the other service packs there were some initial issues and after a couple of fix pack updates, it now is quite stable. Like its predecessors it has a lot of additional functionality especially with the new Fiori HTML5 UI and Web Intelligence (more new charts like funnels, pyramids, intra-document links and more). Nice enhancements to BO Administrators Cockpit for usage/performance monitoring. Now BI 4.3 has been announced for release at end of 2019, the next service packs may be more maintenance fixes than new functionality.

Update June 2019 : SP07 was released a couple of months ago. Unlike previous BI 4.2 Service Packs this had a very small amount of new functionality and was mainly a maintenance update. Again the first version had a few issues but a fix pack has been released and customers are upgrading to it. The remaining 4.2 service packs are also supposed to be primarily maintenance updates and fixes as new functionality will be focused in the eagerly awaited BI 4.3 release now likely to be released in early 2020.

Update December 2019 : BI 4.2 SP07 remains the current release. There have been issues with some of the Fix Packs and it is best to go with the most current. The BI 4.3 open beta is due to start this month but GA is not expected until mid 2020 now. There should also be an SP08 update to BI 4.2 coming in early 2020.

Update April 2020 : BI 4.2 SP08 was released a few weeks back and despite it being primarily a maintenance release, SAP has included some interesting new features like a direct connector to Snowflake for Webi. Some early bugs in SP08 have been reported and the first fix patch 100 has just been released. There is still much anticipation for BI 4.3, the next major release due out this Summer.

Update September 2020 : BI 4.3 SP0 was released in June and has a radically different HTML6 UI that will take some getting use to. There are a lot of other new features including Webi as a data source allowing you to use universes on top of a Webi report. a few brave souls may try out an SP0 release but most will wait till at least SP2 due out mid 2021. BI 4.2 will continue as the dominant release for at least the next couple of years with SP9 coming out later this year.

Update September 2022 : BI 4.3 SP02 is now the current release with SP03 due for release in December. BusinessObjects BI 4.2 will go into Priority 1 support mode for 2 years starting Jan 1, 2023. In addition, SAP has announced the next major release after BI 4.3 which has been code-named BI 2024 and is die for release at end of 2024/beginning of 2025. This release like all previous BI 4 releases will run both on-premise and in the cloud. This effectively means the BusinessObjects roadmap is solid for at least the next 10 years which is a testimony to both the popularity and success of the product.

Update March 2024 : BI 4.3 SP04 is now the current release but since it has only been out a couple of months, not too many people are moving it to it yet. SP03 is now at patch level 900 and there have been some issues over the last year. Again, a lot of new functionality (and therefore new code) was delivered with both SP03 and SP04. The most significant was the new Data Tab mode in Web Intelligence which allows merging and transformation of data sources. You can join sources toigether with Left Join, Inner Join, Outer Join and Append. You can also profile your data and see disticts and nulls and apply simple transforms using a Replace option.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: My company is a SAP BO partner - http://www.infosol.com/about/partners/

it_user282606SAP BusinessObjects Reporting Cookbook Author at a media company with 501-1,000 employees

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Jul 30, 2015

The Free hand SQL is a none issue ,there are even better dynamic solutions for implementing free hand SQL with edit abilities even in Web intelligence 3.1

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YogendraSingh

Head-IT/SAP at Barista Coffee Company Ltd.

Feb 18, 2022

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Easy to set up, included in the SAP portfolio, and good for analytics

Pros and Cons

"We find that we can scale it as needed."

"It could be a lighter solution."

What is our primary use case?

SAP BI product is basically for analytics. If your management wants to see the complete business's structure, what is going on in terms of business, what you are doing, everything you can have gathered by SAP BI. Management does not want to check entries. They want the ledgers. They want the numbers. The numbers and ledgers can be focused on via the analytics tool. We are using this type of functionality to gather management or partners' requirements.

What is most valuable?

SAP BI includes the SAP Portfolio. It's not a different product, it's a part of the same segment. Whenever you use SAP there is functionality to check the reporting part. That is SAP BI. It is an internal process.

The product has been stable.

We find that we can scale it as needed.

SAP is quite good in terms of manufacturing, in terms of retail, in terms of oil and gas sectors because the functionality is very user-friendly and the continuity of business with this ETL application is quite good.

The solution is constantly upgraded and updated.

In terms of setting up the solution, it's easy.

What needs improvement?

We'd like to have SAP notes better incorporated.

There is a lot of patching.

It could be a lighter solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using SAP for the last 17 years or so. We've been using SAP BI for ten or 11 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have found the product to be stable and reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze. There aren't bugs or glitches.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution can scale. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so.

Not everyone in the company uses the product. SAP BI tool is used by only ten or 12 people, including the management layer - the CEO, CFO, COO, the VP of Supply Chain, and me.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good. There's no need for them to be better or faster than they already are.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex.

A complete portfolio will take about six months.

What about the implementation team?

We have an in-house team that is well versed in SAP and could handle any setup requirements.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The license is included with the SAP portfolio.

What other advice do I have?

For the last 17 years, we were using on-prem. Last year, we upgraded our SAP into HANA. From that time we have been using the cloud and updating on the cloud. We don't have any database servers. We don't have any physical hardware in my organization. We are using a cloud solution now.

I would recommend the solution to other organizations. In order to grow, you really need some sort of analysis element to help guide you, and this solution fulfills that need.

I'd advise new users to use a single solution for all the functionality to make a user-friendly solution. If you are using multiple solutions you have to integrate all the solutions together. If multiple solutions are out there, everybody is facing challenges. It's much easier to just have one solution, one point of entry. It helps align with your business needs.

Overall, I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Paul Grill

President & CEO at Infosol Inc

Jun 23, 2017

Web Intelligence really stood out in terms of new features and overall significance compared to all the other tools in the suite.

Pros and Cons

"The Dynamic HTML (DHTML) client option of Webi has been enhanced adding features that were previously only available with the Java client including conditional formatting and support of XLS as a data provider."

"There is still a lot to be done on the mobile side to make Web Intelligence truly seamless between the desktop and mobile versions and I would like to see SAP pay a lot more attention to this."

SAP just announced the release of the latest update of its BusinessObjects BI suite, namely BI 4.2 SP03, following the first release BI 4.2 SP02 back in March

In both announcements, Web Intelligence really stood out in terms of new features and overall significance compared to all the other tools in the suite. On the one hand this should not be a surprise since it is the most popular and widely-used of all the SAP BusinessObjects Analytics tools but, on the other hand over the last few years SAP has focused far more attention on its newer analytics tools.

Web Intelligence is and has always been a Business Intelligence Query, Analysis and Reporting tool. The latest functionality additions emphasize that and to call it just a reporting tool is simply a miss-classification and lack of understanding of its capabilities. Web Intelligence allows you to perform ad-hoc queries against both relational and OLAP data sources, slice and dice, drill-down, drill through, perform data discovery, create dashboard and scorecard visualizations and format amazing looking reports. It can be used on-line, off-line, on mobile (HTML5) and be published or exported to the most popular commodity formats. Many organizations use only Web Intelligence for all their BI needs or a combination of Web Intelligence and SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards (Xcelsius).

So in Web Intelligence 4.2, we have seen a ton of new functionality ranging from Shared Elements to allow you to save and reuse charts, tables and different parts of your reports (with the metadata) to Linked Elements allowing you to integrate all types of third party charts and components. This included a series of integrated geo-maps which have been further enhanced in SP03 enabling you to use latitude and longitude as data points on the map and add custom locations.

Another great Webi feature released with 4.2 was the commentary feature allowing you to collaborate around documents with context sensitive comments that are associated with just the document and stored in the audit logs or location of your choice. The commentary has been further enhanced in SP03 allowing you now to apply comments at the block level (charts or tables) and individual cell level in a table within the Webi report.

Input Controls have become popular in Webi documents for providing an easy way to interact with a document that has been options and variables. Now with Webi 4.2 SP03, cascading input controls are supported with dynamic filtering of the list of values for nested selections.

The Dynamic HTML (DHTML) client option of Webi has been enhanced adding features that were previously only available with the Java client including conditional formatting and support of XLS as a data provider, Query Panel support for UNX and support of complex filters in the Query Panel.

Other new Webi 4.2 SP03 features include Merged Variables (combine a data provider and variable into a single object), References (new object for a variable that returns the value of a specified cell in the document), choosing the image density when exporting a document to PDF or Excel and further user interface enhancements for customizing look and feel of charts, graphs and more.

I am already seeing interactive Web Intelligence reports and dashboards that I would never have guessed were created in Webi because the customization capabilities are so vast.

These are just a few of the highlights and there is even more being promised with future service packs. All-in-all, Web Intelligence has evolved into a one-stop shop for BI reporting, ad-hoc query and analysis that just keeps getting better.

On the minus side, there is still a lot to be done on the mobile side to make Web Intelligence truly seamless between the desktop and mobile versions and I would like to see SAP pay a lot more attention to this.

Also, while performance has improved with parallel query execution now being the default, there is still room for further improvement.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Paul Grill

President & CEO at Infosol Inc

May 3, 2024

Using Xcelsius dashboard instead of Qlikview

When I first started presenting Xcelsius dashboards back in 2006, I said that it should carry a warning sign stating “May Cause Xtreme Xcitement”!

Despite all the advances in technology and tools over the last decade that statement not only remains true today, but maybe should be changed to “Will Cause Xtreme Xcitement”.

In the last month, I have both seen and heard stories from companies singing the praises of Xcelsius and hailing it as the savior of BI user adoption in their organizations.

A company specializing in reporting and analysis of employee business travel was looking for a client facing BI application that would help sell their solution. The client showed me their current solution running in Qlikview bemoaning how rigid, limiting and unexciting it was to use. They then showed me an example of something they found on the web that was an animated PowerPoint dashboard much closer to what they were looking for. Of course, I recognized it as an Xcelsius dashboard embedded in PowerPoint immediately. It had been developed over seven years ago, but it still sizzled. So, we mocked up a new prototype in Xcelsius for the client and to say they loved it would be an understatement. The VP of Marketing came up with the best quote of the day when he said, “It’s alive!”

A multi-national vehicle leasing company developed a super cool Xcelsius dashboard for improving their vendor management with built-in location intelligence using the GMaps plug-in and the InfoBurst XML Data Caching for high data volume performance. They presented it at their annual sales meeting last month and it stole the show. The excitement generated was so contagious, the VP and Director responsible spent the evening at the bar designing the next dashboard together! (I can’t wait to see that one!).

A new finance director of a global software company needed a way to provide better visibility to their financial statements and reports. She remembered using Xcelsius many years ago and said it really helped then. We put a prototype together for her in a day and everyone loved it, so they are buying it next week.

So why is Xcelsius so amazing and still slaying the BI data visualization competition everywhere? There are dozens of reasons from its ease of use, animations, ability to embed in everything, fast prototyping to its “what if” scenarios and cool components. But it goes deeper than all these features which you can also find in other BI visualization tools. The real secret to the success of Xcelsius is that it was initially designed and developed by computer gamers. To develop a winning computer game, you need to engage your audience visually, make it cool and fun to use and have limitless possibilities. You can find all these elements in Xcelsius dashboards allowing you to create killer BI applications.

That is why Xcelsius dashboards is still the best show in town. Xcelsius lives!

Update Nov 2015 : Lots of activity around Xcelsius HTML5 for deployment on mobile and on desktop with dCode add-on (www.getdcode.com). Now that Xcelsius generates HTML5 output, I see it being around for many, many more years

Update April 2016 : Xcelsius continues to thrive with many organizations using and deploying it for the first time in 2016. SAP provided updates to it with latest BI 4.2 release including full support for Excel 2013

Update Sept. 2016 : Xcelsius HTML5 definitely seems to be the dashboard solution of choice and many new add-on HTML5 components are becoming available including D3 charts, flat components and query drag and drop discover.

Update Sept 2018 : Adobe announced end of life for Flash for Dec 31, 2020 and SAP announced it would no longer support Xcelsius after this date since the development client uses Flash. While some Xcelsius users are looking for a viable alternative solution, others vow to continue to use the tool regardless. There are some new Xcelsius compatible solutions in development so let's see what materializes in the coming months.

Update Feb 2019 : Xcelsius still heavily in use. Some companies looking to replace with Tableau or PowerBI but just not the same. Web Intelligence dashboards may be a viable alternative for simple dashboards .

Update July 2019 : SAP has announced it will no longer support Xcelsius after Dec. 31, 2020 to coincide with Adobe no longer supporting Flash in the browser. However, most Xcelsius users have been generating HTML5 dashboards for a number of years now and are continuing to do so and their Xcelsius HTML5 dashboards should not be affected. SAP has no equivalent follow-on product and is recommending customers move to SAC (cloud only) and rewrite their dashboards - this will require programming skills . An alternative to Xcelsius, called Squirrel, that requires no training for an existing Xcelsius developer and has a built-in XLF migration utility is due for beta release by InfoSol in October and will be GA in December.

Update Dec 2019 : Squirrel has been in beta for the last few weeks with multiple organizations and is scheduled for general release on Dec 31. Initial feedback is very positive with Xcelsius users who require no re-training to use it. They have been able to both migrate or recreate existing Xcelsius dashboards. This is great news for the Xcelsius community who now have another option when Flash goes away and SAP stops supporting Xcelsius in 2021.

Update May 2020 : Squirrel is now at version 1.3 with multiple Xcelsius customers having converted their dashboards and running with the Squirrel HTML5 versions in production. This appears to be a very viable path forward for those customers left with Xcelsius Flash dashboards that will probably no longer work starting in 2021.

Update Nov 2020 : Squirrel 1.6 which has a cloud based version and allows you to embed dashboards in PPT was just released last week. More and more Xcelsius customers have now successfully moved to Squirrel and companies like Salesforce are using it too. Xcelsius has about a month to go before Adobe and SAP stop all support.

Update June 2022 : Squirrel365 has now replaced hundreds of Xcelsius dashboards and has become the de facto follow-on solution for Xcelsius

Update May 2024 : Squirrel 365 can now be embedded in BusinessObjects Web Intelligence, Tableau and PowerBI bringing "What If" scenarios and write back capability to these traditional BI solutions

Disclaimer: My company is partners with several vendors including SAP BO.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner of SAP

Last updated: May 3, 2024

it_user255801Works

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Nov 20, 2015

I absolutely would like to hear your point of view and anything you wish to share about the app.
I would like to know things like:

1) Is SAP Crystal Dashboard Design, personal edition 2013 really the upgrade to Engage 2008?

2) How is it possible that they are asking such an outrageous amount of money for it?

3) How is it so different to the Xcelsius dashboard presentation apps they offer for under $500?. Am I missing something?

4) What justifies the kind of money they are asking? I am interested in things like, a fully updated MAP component, brand new dashboards, the possibility of a video component to insert videos, and the like. I guess it is possible that they are including some arcane stuff I don't care about, but I am ready to be surprised by you.

Thanks

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