Online Learning - Useful links

You might find the following sites useful  for online learning :

Information Design Tool :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6iBntoYGOQ&feature=channel

MultiSource Universe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esN0vP2JdI0&feature=channel

SAP HANA Modelling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hM83qw9tYs&feature=channel

Web Intelligence 4.0 :
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VruGK1HYVuI&feature=channel
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XF99_Ylljc&feature=channel

I will add some more as and when i find some .

Business Objects Training : Topics Covered

Hi All.. I provide training on SAP Business Objects. Following are the topics I cover. Please contact me if you would like to attend the course.


1)    Basic Business Objects course

Products covered:

BOXI 3.1 - Webinteligence, Desktop Intelligence, Universe Designer, CMC, Xcelcius, Live Office

BOXI 4.0 – Webintelligence, Information Design Tool, CMC, Dashboard, Live Office

Strategy and Architecture – an overview

1)      Core concepts of reporting.

2)      Business Objects architecture.

3)      Accessing information with Web Intelligence

4)      Viewing a Web Intelligence document in InfoView

5)      Understanding Web Intelligence core functionalities

Universe

6)      Understanding how universes allow you to query databases using everyday business terms

7)      How to develop a simple universe

Web Intelligence Report Design XI 3.1

Creating Web Intelligence Documents with Queries

8)      Building a simple query

9)      Modifying a document query

10)   Working with query properties

Restricting Data Returned by a Query

11)   Restricting data with query filters

12)   Modifying a query with a predefined query filter

13)   Applying a single-value query filter

14)   Using prompts to restrict data

15)   Using complex filters

Report Design

16)   Working in the Report Panel

17)   Displaying data in tables and charts

18)   Presenting data in free-standing cells

Enhancing the Presentation of Data in Reports

19)   Using breaks, calculations, and report filters

20)   Formatting breaks and crosstabs

21)   Using default and custom sorts

22)   Ranking data to see top or bottom values

23)   Tracking data changes

24)   Using alerter to highlight information

25)   Organising a report into sections

26)   Copying data to other applications

Formatting Reports

27)   Preparing documents for PDF and print

28)   Document formatting

29)   Formatting charts

Calculating Data with Formulas and Variables

30)   Understanding formulas and variables

31)   Creating formulas and variables to calculate data

Using Multiple Data Sources

32)   Creating a document in the Web Intelligence Rich Client

33)   Adding a new query using a personal data provider

34)   Creating multiple queries in a document

35)   Synchronising data with merged dimensions

Analyzing Data

36)   Analysing the data cube

37)   Drilling into the data

38)   Setting Web Intelligence drill options

Managing and Sharing Web Intelligence Documents

39)   Exporting documents from the Rich Client

40)   Accessing InfoView

41)   Managing documents in InfoView

42)   Sharing documents in InfoView

43)   Scheduling a Web Intelligence document

44)   Setting InfoView preferences

CMC :

45)   How to administer security in Business Objects

46)   Concepts of designing a security structure in Business Objects enterprise

BO 4.0

47)   What’s New in Business Objects 4.0 (live demo of the product and comparing the same with BOXI 3.1)

Xcelsius

48)   Core concepts

49)   Develop a dashboard using Xcelsius

Live Office

50)   Core Concepts

51)   How to develop a simple Live Office report

Questions and Answers after each session.

2)     Advanced Business Objects course

Anything you would like to cover from the Basic Business Objects course PLUS

Strategy and Architecture

1)      Business Objects architecture

2)      Business Objects infrastructure requirements and costing

3)      Business Objects installation (both 3.1 and 4.0)


Universe / Information Design Tool

4)      How to develop a simple universe using BOXI 3.1 and BO 4.0

5)      Highlight the differences between the Universe and Information Design Tool

6)      Setting up of security through universe

Note: Universe has undergone the biggest change in the last 15 years. I will discuss on the concepts and advantages of using the new tool i.e. Information design Tool.

Webintelligence

7)      Advanced Webitelligence features like linking reports and hands on experience on the new features in BO 4.0

8)      Webintelligence on SAP BW

CMC :

9)      Concepts of designing a security structure in Business Objects enterprise

10)    Design a Enterprise Security Model through CMC

11)   Monitoring performance through CMC (in BO 4.0)

BO 4.0

12)   What’s New in Business Objects 4.0 (detailed review and hands on training on Webi, CMC, Information Design Tool, Live Office)

Integration of SAP BW with BO

13)   Integration of SAP BW with BO 3.1. Pros and Cons

14)   Integration of SAP BW with BO 4.0

Questions and Answers after each session.

SAP BO Vs Non SAP BO - Clashes within Organisation

Coming Soon !!!!
SAP Practice thinks BO should be a part of their deliverable as it is a SAP product while BI practice (non SAP) thinks BO should be a part of their deliverable. This leads to conflicts in an Organisation between SAP and BI practice. Where do YOU think SAP BO should be ? Both the practice ?

BI Roadmap for SAP

There are so many products that SAP has now-a days that i even forget the name of some of the tools. So here is a list of Business Objects portfolio and the 'probable' BI tools to be used in future.

BI portfolio is divided into four main pillars :

Enterprise Performance Management - For better control of performance and better decision making. Tools that help you close the gap between strategy and operation.

• Strategy and Management (SSM)
• Planning Budgeting & Forecasting
• Consolidation
• Portfolio & Cost Management
• Spend & Supply Chain

Governance Risk and Compliance - Focuses on solution that helps you manage the risks and opportunities within your business.

• Risk Management
• Access Control
• Process Control
• Global Trade Services
• Environment health & Safety Management
• Sustainability Performance Management

Enterprise Information Management - This is the back backbone i.e. data, ETL, quality etc

• Data Integration
• Data Quality Management
• Master Data Management
• Metadata Management
• Text Analysis

Business Intelligence - Tools helps you in decision making based on data and analysis

• Reporting
• Analysis
• Dashboard and Visulization
• Data Exploration
• Predictive Analysis

Tools used in Business Intelligence :


Main Tools (These are the main reporting tool for BO landscape):
1) Crystal Reports
2) Crystal Reports for Enterprise
3) Web Intelligence
4) Dashboard
5) Analysis
6) BO Explorer

Other Tools :
7) Live Office
8) Information Design Tool (Designer)
9) Upgrade Management Tool (Migration Wizard)
10) Central Configuration Manager
11) Business View Manager
13) Data Federation Administration Tool
14) Report Conversion Tool
15) Web Intelligence Rich Client
16) Widgets
17) Remote Support Control (Monitoring tool) can you Solution Manager if you have a bigger SAP footprint in your organization.
18) Desktop Intelligence (decommissioned in BO 4.0)

I will write a separate article on each of these tools and their uses in future.

Product to Use if i am a Small BOBJ Customer

Note: All the costs are indicative costs and need to be discussed between the client and SAP to get an exact price quote.

Scenario:

• There will be approximately 5-10 users for the system. Most of the users will have report viewer/ refresher rights however some users can create adhoc reports and one or two user can administer the system.
• Instead of a tactical solution (like installing software’s on users machine) the project is looking for a more enterprise solution deployed over the internet and can be ramped up if required in future.
• Project would like to utilize the existing infrastructure available if possible and maintenance cost should be lower on the long run.
• Cost is an important factor for deciding the product selection (reporting tool) for this project.

Following are the options available if you use Business Objects:

Option 1:

Buy an enterprise ‘Edge’ license for Business Objects product suite.

Cost :

·         £10000 for license approx (NOTE this is not a SAP quoted price)

·         Extra cost for infrastructure

·         Installation and configuration cost

·         Software maintenance cost (over the lifecycle of the project)

Pros :

·         This is an fully flexible enterprise solution and is one of the best solution available in the market.

·         Most of the products in SAP BO product suite will be available if you buy this license (like Webi, crystal report, CMC, universe, dashboard etc)

Cons :

·         Cost of software procurement, infrastructure procurement, maintenance and support is high.

Option 2:

Buy “BI Ondemand” solution for SAP.

Cost (before discount): (NOTE this is not a SAP quoted price)

·         20-50 euro per month per report user

·         60-100 euro per month per developer

·         1000-2000 euro per month per administrator

Approx : 1500-3000 euro for a month based on a minimum 10 licence purchase.

Pros:

·         No need to have any infrastructure as this will be hosted on the cloud

·         No need to buy software (webi, crystal report, BO explorer etc)

·         No need to maintain software upgrades, patches etc

·         Report is available securely from anywhere if you have internet access.

·         Is scalable

·         Can be used as ‘pay per user’ basis if extra users are added in future 

BI On demand gives all the flexibility of Business Objects enterprise solution and is considered as a opex and not a capex spend.

Cons:

·         Data will be hosted in a datacentre supported by SAP. This is done by transferring data from the client system to the SAP supported data centre through secured connection.

Option 3:

Buy crystal report client product for developers. Crystal report viewer can be downloaded to view these report. Crystal report viewer is available free on SAP website.

Cost :

·         About £300 pounds per user (NOTE this is not a SAP quoted price)

·         Some software maintenance and support cost.

Pros :

·         Cheapest option available in the market

·         Can be deployed and configured on developer machines quite quickly

·         No extra infrastructure cost

Cons:

·         This is a tactical solution and not an enterprise solution

·         Adhoc report generation and report refresh is not possible.

·         Cost of development is usually higher (if Crystal report development knowledge is not already there in the Organisation)

Option 4:

Buy crystal report server product.

Cost :

·         Not sure about the exact cost but as per the rate chart it can be much higher than crystal report client product.

·         Extra cost for infrastructure

·         Installation and configuration cost

·         Software maintenance cost (over the lifecycle of the project)

Pros :

·         This is an fully flexible enterprise solution

Cons :

·         Cost of software procurement, infrastructure procurement, maintenance and support is high.