2770 SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards Xcelsuis Versus SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio Comparison and Features

Jehangir Khan
SAP Business Objects Dashboards (Xcelsuis) Versus SAP Business

Objects Design Studio: Comparison and Features
Session # 2770
OVERVIEW
Overview:
Who we are at Houston Independent School District (HISD) & What we do.
Better understanding of Each Tool and its Functionality

SAP Dashboard Design : Functionality & Pros and Con
SAP Design Studio
: Functionality & Pros and Con
SAP Dashboard Design vs. SAP Design Studio Tool Comparison-Work

Sheet in regards to Performance, development, compatibility and
many other areas.
Basis of HISD Tool Selection :Criteria Based on the following
Easy of Use Aesthetics/Understanding our Customers,- Resources/Skillsets,- SAP Future Road
Map,- Integration, Performance, Flexibility, ease of delivery,- Mobility.
Key Learning's
OVERVIEW
7TH LARGEST School District in U.S

More than 300 Campuses
LARGEST School District in Texas
More than 215000 Students, & 29000
Employees
$1.89 billion bond to Build
More than 1.5 BILLION
Schools
General Fund Budget
OVERVIEW
HISD: SAP BW & Enterprise Portal

OVERVIEW
Reporting and Analytics
OVERVIEW
A very common question from our USERS is about which dashboarding tool is
better SAP Dashboards (formerly Xcelsius) or SAP Design Studio.
The SAP recommended tools are SAP Dashboards and most

recently Design Studio (1.5)
Ever since SAP added SAP Design Studio to its offerings, this has become a
constant debate in the dashboarding community and among our users
There are lot of Pros and Cons within each tool, we will discuss the Pros and Cons,
SAP Strategy, Roadmap and Future innovations and Functionality for each Tool.
Every project is unique , depending on skillsets, resources, audience, Timeline and
Functionality needed ,we will discuss which tools will be a better fit for
Organizations and BI Projects within each Organization.
At this point SAP is supporting both tools, but the question will be , what is SAP
Future Strategic Plan and Road map, both the tools have Pros and Cons, but
organizations need to align themselves with SAPs Future Road MAP.
OVERVIEW
SAP Dashboard Design (formerly Xcelsius)

Enterprise readiness
.
Dashboards
4.1 provides the technology and tools required
to deploy dashboard solutions to large enterprises
Data access and simplified authoring

SAP Business Objects Dashboards designer
simplifies data connectivity and binding to visual
components
Improved performance and scalability
New cache and processing servers

Enhanced performance with cached query results
Platform cluster architecture for linear scalability
Improved dashboard navigation response time
Common semantic layer

Common query panel for all data sources
Universe access to relational and OLAP sources
Hadoop support
Monitoring and auditing
Monitor dashboard performance through platform process metrics

Analyze dashboard user activity with platform auditing
Multilingual support
Dashboard solution targeted to large audiences in multiple languages
Design a single globalized dashboard that displays numbers and text
in user preferred locale
Interactive
Track operations in real time
Access from desktop, web and mobile
Plan scenarios with what-if analysis
SAP landscape integration

Direct access to SAP NetWeaver BW via BICS hosted by
SAP BI platform
Parameterize dashboard content with BEx variables
Direct data binding
Bind query result objects to charts and tables
Bind query conditions to prompt component
Drag-and-drop design
Use a library of controls to visualize complex data
Create visually compelling dashboards with drag-and-drop
and free-form design

Dashboards
for mobile
.
Integrated into SAP Business Objects Mobile

Access dashboards offline last data refresh cached
Support for iPad & android Touch screen interactivity
Tooltip: long tap, selection: tap, zoom: pinch, scroll in
chart: swipe Authored using Dashboards designer
Author once and deliver to desktop, web and mobile
Most commonly used visualizations and controls
Mobile preview
Support Excel formulas, data insertion
Compatibility panel listing components and features not
available for mobile Connectivity
Query panel based connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BW,
SAP HANA, and third party relational data sources
(UNX)
Extended data access methods; i.e. query as a web
service connection and FlashVar connector

PROS
CONS
Delivered Templates and different types of

.
components available
No Customizations to delivered templates and

components , extra work around required for
customizations
Quick Deployment with excel Data
HTML 5 Or Mobile Development can slow you

down
Flex SDK : Advanced Flex SDK for Custom Add

Ons
No Support for Data Connectivity in SDK
Built in Component for Printing
No Export Options
Excel formulas can easily be leveraged to

create new rows or columns for tables or
graphs
Global variables not supported like in Design

Studio
No Programming Required
Slow when initializing Flash
Webi reports can be utilized to stage data and

increase dashboard performance
Loose the ability to leverage the underline BEx

security.
Multiple publishing options including BOBJ

enterprise, SAP BW, standalone SWF File,
Microsoft Office integration, PDF
Limited ability to handle datasets greater then

2,000 records
SAP Design Studio

SAP Business Objects Design Studio :enables application designers to create
analysis applications and dashboards based on SAP NetWeaver BW, SAP
HANA and universe data sources
Use cases
Create dashboards and sophisticated BI applications for any device, without low-level
programming skills and the ability to customize components with JavaScript and
CSS.
Seamless enterprise data connectivity

Full OLAP support on SAP BW and SAP HANA
3rd party sources through Universe (UNX)
Rich components for Analytics and layout

Design Paradigms: WYSIWYG Layout, Drag & Drop
Pivot Table (Crosstab), Charts, Geo Map, Filters, Inputs
Layout Containers, support of dynamic and pixel-precise layouts
Standard apps for data exploration and self-service scenarios
Standard theme for Fiori-style apps
SAP Design Studio

PROS
CONS
Integrates seamlessly with new Business

Suite on HANA (Fiori Applications)
HANA and Fiori- Launchpad know how

required
Can handle much larger data sets of 2,000

plus rows
Multiple installation configurations that may

need BASIS resources
Better Performance , great HTML 5

Rendering, lightweight and quick to load
Needs Java Scripting Skillset
Printing done through scripting Supports

export to Excel
Time Delay, get stuck sometimes.
Can Publish to SAP HANA Platform
Needs some level of HANA Platform

Skillset
Support for Debugging and logging
Needs to Install Monitoring features on the

BI Platform.
Easy Filtering of components, Global

variables can be stored at runtime, Ability
to display a subset of initial query results
without refreshing the query itself.
Require programming skills for more

complex applications
Tool Comparison Worksheet

Dashboard Design Xcelsius
Design Studio
Bookmarks
Saved navigations states are called

scenarios and are local to users /device
Saved navigations states are called

bookmarks and can be shared with other
users.
Performance
High Initial load times, voluminous

data/calculations in excel can affect
performance
HTML5 rendering helps in better

performance
Lightweight and quick to load.
Analysis Office and Analysis
Not Compatible
Analysis Office and Analysis OLAP can

automatically create Design Studio
applications
Platforms
BEx Query (BICS), Query as a Web service,

BOBJ Universe, XML data, LiveOffice
Design Studio supports all 3 platforms: BI

Platform, SAP NetWeaver, HANA
Design Studio supports UNX Universes
(Relational, single source) , as well as BEx
Queries, BW Cubes, and HANA data
SAP Fiori Integration
Limited
Embedding of Design Studio applications

in SAP Fiori Launchpad
Scripting
Options
Excel spreadsheet
JavaScript and CSS coding
Mobile
HTML5 (Limited), BOBJ Mobile

Complex Bex Structures not supported on
Mobile
HTML5, BOBJ Mobile

Can Support crosstabs on Mobile
BEx Support
Limited support for Complex BEx

Structures
Better hierarchical awareness

Support for BEx Query Structures
Dimensions Filters and Filter Panels
Navigation in Filter Panel similar to BEx
Basis of HISD Tool Selection

Below are the factors which were used in deciding which tool HISD will use
in the upcoming Implementations.
1. Easy of Use : Aesthetics/ Understanding our

Users
2. Resources/Skillsets Needed
3. Mobility
4. Integration : Different Sources of Data
5. Performance Limitations and Expedite Delivery
6. SAP Future Road Map

HISD Key factors in Deciding Dashboards Design or Design Studio:
1. Easy of Use :Aesthetics/Understanding our Users
Flash
Business Objects Dashboards

There are much more visual options available and the components look
much more prettier versus Design Studio. With Flash makes it more
Visually Appealing
Design Studio:
With New Templates in 1.5, still lacks luster and appeal effect , but has
upper hand over customizations and scripting

Flash Use by SAP Dashboard Design
.
Graphs and charts WITH Flash animation

Flash Use by SAP Dashboard Design
Graphs and charts WITH Flash animation

Customization with CSS Script and JAVA Scripts by SAP Design Studio
Customization with CSS Script

Creating Quick Mock ups: SAP Dashboard Design
Creating Mockups :
Dashboard Design : Ability to quickly produce a functional mock-up with MOCK UP , Excel can be used in
creating mock up data and then Binding the data.
Quick Mock
Up using Excel

Creating Quick Mock ups: SAP Design Studio
Creating Mockups :
With Design Studio, you need to have a data source set up before you can produce a prototype/mock-up.
Mock Up not Easy,

Needs Data Binding

Interface: SAP Dashboard Design
SAP Dashboard Design has more

of a traditional Microsoft Internet
Explorer interface for interacting
with components

Interface: SAP Design Studio
SAP Design Studio has an interface

very similar to that of the Eclipse
editor.
The eclipse interface is good where it
is consistent with the Information
Design Tool and provides developers
with a software development
background an interface that they are
comfortable with.

Themes & Templates: SAP Dashboard Design
Themes
Colors
Flash
Excel

Themes & Templates: SAP Design Studio in 1.5 Version

Conclusion
Conclusion: Looking at visual effects/Flash , easy of use , ability to create quick mock
ups , easy interface, delivered themes/templates
There is no one tool fits all strategy as both Products are supported by SAP
HISD has decided going forward all Big Projects , IT will govern all delivered Dashboards,
with Design Studios new Functionality delivered via Templates ,
So definitely the tool of choice will be Design Studio
HISD also classified users into casual/end Users and Power Users, so where quick mock
up, less scripting, easy interface is required those Power USERS are given the option to use
Dashboard Design for Adhoc Dashboards with an Ad Hoc A* Naming Convention.
Dashboard Design been out there for long time, therefore some power users are already
familiar with the interface and excel functionality, hence Ad Hoc Development of
dashboards was done using Dashboard Design.
This Could change as SAP Road Map IS SHIFTING TOWARDS Design Studio

Design Studio (Programming, CSS, JavaScript
Dashboard Design (Delivered Templates)
With Design Studio more skill Resources are needed, as Design Studio App can be
customized by using CSS/HAVA SCRIPTS

Conclusion
While SAP Dashboards and Design Studio are both awesome tools , but they require
different skillsets.
SAP Dashboards (Excel and flash development)
Design Studio (Programming, CSS, JavaScript
The skill sets available to you will be key to which tool you choose, so here in HISD we
looked at what skill sets are we had ..
If you have a lot of experience with CSS and JavaScript then Design
Studio is the Choice of Tool
With this Skillsets you will be available to customize most the design Studio
Application
If you do not have any previous programming experience but have

worked with Excel functions and formulas then
SAP Dashboards could be your starting point

3. Mobility
SAP Dashboard Design:
Have the ability to publish some components in HTML5, the list is rather limited
SAP Design Studio:
Publishes all content in HTML5
If mobility is a big factor, or there is a big push to start using
mobile apps in the future, then Design Studio will provide much
more options and flexibility
Design Studio has built-in iPad support!

3. Mobility
Even now, there are a lot of
components and properties
that are not supported.
SAP Design Studio:
Design Studio on the other
hand isnt built on Adobe Flex
architecture, so we dont have
to worry about converting from
flash to HTML5

3. Mobility
Conclusion
Conclusion: Looking at compatibility , flash limitations, HTML 5 , Browser Support and

compatibility with HAND HELD Devices
HISD has decided going forward all mobile deployments/Developments for Dashboards ,
will be done by using Design Studio
HISD tool of choice will be Design Studio FOR ALL Mobile Deployments

4. Integration
Type of Sources of Data
Which Tool supports all 3 platforms: BI Platform, SAP NetWeaver BW, HANA ???????
SAP Design Studio Integration with SAP HANA
Enhanced Data Connectivity
New HANA Provider
Based on go-to architecture for HANA analytics (e.g. http
as protocol, direct connectivity to HANA calculation
engine)
Recommended to use going forward
Current HANA provider will be maintained, but not
developed further (new HANA calculation engine
capabilities will not be exposed)
Universe (UNX)
Now support of all underlying databases for single-source
universes

4. Integration
SAP Design Studio Integration with SAP Lumira
Export to Lumira
End-user / analyst can export
Crosstab data as a Lumira file
(.lums)
Lumira file can be opened in
SAP Lumira desktop for further
data manipulation, exploration
and visualization

4. Integration
SAP Design Studio Integration with SAP Fiori

4. Integration
Conclusion
What is HISD integration strategy with what source of Data , is it SAP BW,
SAP HANA or BI Platform
SAP Dashboard Design
SAP BW (BICS) or BW queries is supported
SAP Dashboards have the ability to consume SAP BusinessObjects enterprise data
Query as a Web Service (QaaWS)/LiveOffice (staged WebI data)
SAP Design Studio

Design Studio supports all 3 platforms: BI Platform, SAP NetWeaver BW, HANA
Design Studio can be Exported to Lumira for Data Exploration
Design Studio Integration With Fiori
This was critical as SAP HANA is the Future and SAP Fiori , therefore long
term strategy and going forward District strategy is going to be SAP
Design Studio.

5. SAP Road MAP
SAP Roadmap Decision also dictates which tool will be going forward the tool of
choice for the District.
Based on that HISD makes decision that which tool one should invest their time,
money and Resources.
SAP Business Objects Design Studio is the Going Forward solution for
dashboards and application development
SAP Business Object Dashboards will continue to have incremental updates
SAP Business Objects Design Studio will contain the new features and
innovations going forward.
SAP will continue to support the SAP Business Objects Dashboards & SDKs that
are available

.
5. SAP Road MAP
Conclusion
BEx Web and Dashboards continue to be maintained by SAP, no enforced migration
Customers choose time and extent of content migration to Design Studio
Most used capabilities of both BEx Web Applications and Dashboards are planned in Design Studio
Combined functionalities of both predecessor product, net new capabilities and use of state-of-the-art
technologies make Design Studio a premium alternative
Architecture of Design Studio is different from any predecessor product, to overcome architectural
limitations from the past. Hence, automatic migration of BEx Web Templates and Dashboards is not
possible
SAP Business Objects Design Studio will be the going-forward solution

for dashboards and will contain the new features and innovations.

6. Performance Flexibility and Expedite Delivery
Performance
SAP Design Studio:

Design Studios biggest appeals is its ability to handle very large sets of data
Design Studio has the ability to handle much larger data sets then
SAP Dashboards
If you are querying over 1,000 rows of data you should really be using Design Studio
Design Studio also has the ability to display subsets of the initially queried data and change
charts and tables without having to execute the query again
SAP Dashboards binds the queried data to the cells in an Excel
spreadsheet or the component itself
This limits the amount of data it can handle and can greatly
affect the dashboards performance
This gives SAP Design Studio an upper hand when dealing with
large data sets and Better in Performance.

Expedite Delivery
. Dashboard Design also Delivers Pre Packaged DASHBOARDS , this is delivered via BI
SAP
Content Ext (Its Add on and need to be installed along with BI Content
This can expedite the delivery of Dashboards

Limitations
Ability to trigger multiple actions from 1 event
Ability to automatically execute the event push button whenever the Cities dropdown
changes
.
SAP Business Objects Dashboards:
Limitation another Trigger Query needs to be called that will push the same data from the event
push button to the appropriate location.
SAP Design Studio:
However as you can see in Design Studio, it is very easy to accomplish multiple actions on 1
event with Script Editor

Limitations
Selectors
Multiple selection
SAP Business Objects Dashboards:
SAP Dashboard Design Limitation to do multiple selection.
SAP Design Studio:
SAP Design Studio its much easier to do multiple selection.

.
Conclusion
From Performance perspective no doubt SAP Design Studio has UPPER HAND.
From Functionality/Limitations again SAP DESIGN Studio is the tool of Choice
To expedite delivery BI Cont. Extension is a good head start for SAP Dashboard design, but looking at
other factors SAP Design Studio is the way to go.
Therefore District Decision based on Performance

Limitations and Expedite Delivery
SAP Design Studio is the tool of choice.
KEY LEARNINGS
Design Studio supports all 3 platforms: BI Platform, SAP
NetWeaver, HANA
Design Studio supports UNX Universes, as well as BEx Queries,
BW Cubes, and HANA data
Analysis Office and Analysis OLAP can automatically create
Design Studio applications
Design Studio integrates with partner charting extensions
Design Studio supports real-time streaming via Sybase ESP, HANA,

or BW
Design Studio supports online dashboard composition by end
users
KEY LEARNINGS
Design Studio for Mobile apps
Design Studio can handle much larger data sets
Embedding of Design Studio applications in SAP Fiori

Launchpad
STAY INFORMED
Follow the ASUGNews team:
Tom Wailgum: @twailgum
Chris Kanaracus: @chriskanaracus
Craig Powers: @Powers_ASUG
SESSION CODE
2770

2770 SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards Xcelsuis Versus SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio Comparison and Features

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Jehangir Khan

SAP Business Objects Dashboards (Xcelsuis) Versus SAP Business

Better understanding of Each Tool and its Functionality

SAP Dashboard Design vs. SAP Design Studio Tool Comparison-Work

7TH LARGEST School District in U.S

HISD: SAP BW & Enterprise Portal

The SAP recommended tools are SAP Dashboards and most

SAP Dashboard Design (formerly Xcelsius)

Data access and simplified authoring

Improved performance and scalability

New cache and processing servers

Common semantic layer

Monitoring and auditing

Monitor dashboard performance through platform process metrics

SAP landscape integration

SAP Dashboard Design (formerly Xcelsius)

Integrated into SAP Business Objects Mobile

SAP Dashboard Design (formerly Xcelsius)

Delivered Templates and different types of

No Customizations to delivered templates and

Quick Deployment with excel Data

HTML 5 Or Mobile Development can slow you

Flex SDK : Advanced Flex SDK for Custom Add

No Support for Data Connectivity in SDK

Built in Component for Printing

Excel formulas can easily be leveraged to

Global variables not supported like in Design

Slow when initializing Flash

Webi reports can be utilized to stage data and

Loose the ability to leverage the underline BEx

Multiple publishing options including BOBJ

Limited ability to handle datasets greater then

SAP Design Studio

Seamless enterprise data connectivity

Rich components for Analytics and layout

SAP Design Studio

Integrates seamlessly with new Business

HANA and Fiori- Launchpad know how

Can handle much larger data sets of 2,000

Multiple installation configurations that may

Better Performance , great HTML 5

Needs Java Scripting Skillset

Printing done through scripting Supports

Time Delay, get stuck sometimes.

Can Publish to SAP HANA Platform

Needs some level of HANA Platform

Support for Debugging and logging

Needs to Install Monitoring features on the

Easy Filtering of components, Global

Require programming skills for more

Tool Comparison Worksheet

Saved navigations states are called

Saved navigations states are called

High Initial load times, voluminous

HTML5 rendering helps in better

Analysis Office and Analysis

Analysis Office and Analysis OLAP can

BEx Query (BICS), Query as a Web service,

Design Studio supports all 3 platforms: BI

SAP Fiori Integration

Embedding of Design Studio applications

JavaScript and CSS coding

HTML5 (Limited), BOBJ Mobile