Integrating SAP Business Objects Xcelsius and Web Intelligence reporting with SAP NetWeaver BW and SAP NetWeaver

Portal
Presented By: Mustansir Saifuddin October 20, 2010
Session ID: BI212

Agenda
The new face of BI . With BOBJ Available Tools and Integration Points Project Approach and Resource Requirements BEX Queries and OLAP Universe Deploying a Dashboard Portal Integration and SSO The Experience

SAP Landscape with Business Objects

SAP NetWeaver Portal EPM EPM GRC GRC Any Portal, Any Destination Metadata Management, Information Lifecycle Management

Information Access

SAP NetWeaver
SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Live WEBI Office SAP NetWeaver Portal Crystal Xcelsius Reports Pioneer Explorer SAP BEx

SAP BusinessObjects POA

Lifecycle Management

ECC
Enterprise Applications
Financials Operations Human Resources Logistics
Data Quality Management For SAP/CRM Real-time Validation Duplication

SAP NetWeaver Master Data SAP Bex BW Accelerator Governance Queries Excel Analyzer BW SAP NetWeaver SAP NetWeaver Master Data Master Data Governance Business Web Analyzer Accelerator Management Data Warehouse Content SAP NetWeaver Extractors Business Warehouse
Federator

Information Foundation

Corporate Services
CRM SCM

Process Open HUB Data Data Master Integration Management Quality

Data Profiling SRM PLM

Data Services ETL/DQ

Data Federator

3rd-Party Databases and Applications SAP Business Suite 3rd-Party Databases and Applications
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Why Business Objects

Now part of the SAP Business Intelligence suite of tools Tight integration with SAP BW and ECC More Reporting Options Better Presentation Layer User Friendly Tools Intuitive User Interface

Serving Different User Base

Meets the needs of different user base within the organization: Executives and Managers Business Analysts Information Consumers

Agenda
The new face of BI . With BOBJ Available Tools and Integration Points Project Approach and Resource Requirements BEX Queries and OLAP Universe Deploying a Dashboard Portal Integration and SSO The Experience

Tools and Usage

Tools
Web Intelligence Crystal Reports

Usage
Adhoc Query, Reporting and Analysis

Enterprise Reporting Dashboard/Visualization Advanced Analytics Discovery and Exploration

Xcelsius
Pioneer Explorer

Integration Points and Architecture Components

Xcelsius

Live Office

Query as a WebService

Crystal Reports

Web Intelligence (Webi)

OLAP Universe

SAP BW

BEX Query
Direct Access Infocube
Multi Provider

More Streamlined Connectivity BEX to Xcelsius

Xcelsius

BI Consumer Services BICS Connectivity Query as a WebService Technical Requirements: Live Office
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.01 (SAP enhancement package 01), Service Pack 05 Web Intelligence (Webi) Crystal Reports SAP BusinessObjects Xcelsius Enterprise 2008 Service Pack 02 SAP Frontend 7.x installed on the client OLAP Universe with BI Add-Ons SAP BW

BEX Query
Direct Access Infocube
Multi Provider

Building Blocks
BEX Queries (Source) Universe (Semantic Layer) Universe Connection to BW

Webi Reports (Presentation Layer)

Live Office Connections Xcelsius (Dashboard)
Infoview (BOBJ Portal)

Enterprise Portal
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Agenda
The new face of BI . With BOBJ Available Tools and Integration Points Project Approach and Resource Requirements BEX Queries and OLAP Universe Deploying a Dashboard Portal Integration and SSO The Experience

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Project Approach
Start with a Proof of Concept (POC) Define Scope (both for POC and full implementation)
Number of KPIs to be captured in POC KPIs required for the go live Identify any Drill Down Reports

Use Production or Production Like Data Identify your Audience

Senior Management C level Executives Others

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Resource Requirements
Team Requirement and Collaboration:
BI/BOBJ Architect and Project Manager Identify BW Resource(s) Pick the Business User/SME to guide the project Team Basis Resource: Knowledge of Business Objects Environment SAP Integration Kit Enterprise Portal support Business Objects Developer(s)

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Agenda
The new face of BI . With BOBJ Available Tools and Integration Points Project Approach and Resource Requirements BEX Queries and OLAP Universe Deploying a Dashboard Portal Integration and SSO The Experience

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Use of BEX Queries as a Source for BOBJ

BEX queries have a one to one relationship to a BOBJ Universe
This is identified as an OLAP Universe

In order for the Universe to access the BEX query

Check the Allow External Access checkbox in query properties Also check the settings in RSRT transaction called Use selection of Structure Members. This allows Business Objects to read the structures in BEX query

Try maintaining the reporting logic in BEX by utilizing exit variables to determine time and other complex computations if possible

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Use of BEX Queries as a Source for BOBJ

Be mindful of the changes made to the BEX query A Universe refresh is required every time a change is made to the BEX query Use inclusion filters instead of exclusions when using certain values or value ranges for a characteristics Check your query output by using MDXTEST transaction in BW that allows you to debug any issues

Note: You do not need a BI Query for every report and you do not need a universe for every BI Query
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BEX Query and OLAP Universe

A universe on top of BEX query is an OLAP Universe No table joins etc. are required in this type of Universe
This is a major difference between relational database universe and OLAP based

The following screen shot shows the Refresh Structure setting These settings allows the developer to sync up the Bex query to the Universe

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SAP BW OLAP Universes - Terminologies

BW Query Element OLAP Universe Element

Cube Dimension
Characteristic (incl. Time and Unit) Key Figure Navigational attribute Display attribute SAP variables Custom structure

Class
A class with dimension and detail objects (detail objects for key and description) Measure element in a class named Key figures A class with dimension and detail objects (detail objects for key and description) Each display attribute becomes a detail object underneath the related dimension object Query filter as predefined object which can be optional or mandatory Dimension object

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BEX Query Designer

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Comparable OLAP Universe on Top of BEX Query

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Universe Settings for BEX Queries

Hide Level 00 in the Universe definition Remove L01 suffix from the object names and update the text to reflect user friendly names Use Single Sign On When refreshing reports at view time option as the authentication mode
Don't Forget

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Agenda
The new face of BI . With BOBJ Available Tools and Integration Points Project Approach and Resource Requirements BEX Queries and OLAP Universe Deploying a Dashboard Portal Integration and SSO The Experience

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Elements of Xcelsius

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Important Phases and Connectivity Model

Data Model design Dashboard Front End Design Dashboard Excel Design SAP BI-Xcelsius connectivity

Sap Bex Query

Business BI Consumer Services QAAWS/ Objects Connector Live Office Universe

Xcelsius Dashboard

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Data Model Design for Dashboards

As the end product is a Dashboard, the SAP BI backend data model should be designed very specifically keeping in mind the following aspects:

Business Requirement Dashboard performance Complexity balance: Front-end/Back-end Total development time Change Management Key Aspect due to management visibility Connectivity model

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Guidelines for deploying a Dashboard

Architectural Guidelines
Dashboard Load Times. Define a criteria < 10 Seconds? Consistency in Results design needs to minimize the opportunity to duplicate calculations or arrive at different results Flexibility in Dashboards and Queries/Reports
Identify the level of effort for any design changes
Examples: Aesthetic changes VS adding new KPIs

Simplicity should rule the design in Xcelsius and reports Keep ongoing maintenance in mind Turn around time

Ease of Use for End users

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Xcelsius Dashboard Best Practices

Define a standard look and feel for the corporate dashboard
Color schemes Corporate logo

Pick the data connection that works for your situation

Query as a Web Services (QAAWS) Live Office (LO) connection

Define KPIs that provide a high level overview of the data Allow drill down capabilities in to more detailed Webi reports
To answer any further questions prompted from dashboard

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Operational Budget Dashboard

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Additional Tips for Dashboard Design

In the object browser group the design elements in a logical manner A few things to consider when choosing the design components
Ease of Analysis Naming convention for the component Use of Filters and panels Color Scheme

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Dashboard Excel Design

Use the following tips:
Formula Optimization Use of Vlookups Color legends Use different excel sheets per different mapping scenarios Use of headings and comments with proper description

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BOBJ Adhoc Capabilities

Web Intelligence (Webi) tool is known for its Adhoc capabilities Leverage the same Universe used for creating the Dashboard for creating on demand reports to do more detail analysis Users can create their own Webi reports via Infoview (BOBJ Portal) that can be integrated in to Enterprise Portal Leverage the SSO capabilities that allows seamless integration between Enterprise Portal, Infoview and backend BW system

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Where can Web Intelligence add value?

Customer requirements

Self-service reporting and analysis, autonomy from IT Simple user interface, designed for the masses Combine data from SAP and non-SAP data in a single report
Connectivity to SAP

SAP and non-SAP data in a single report Rich feature set

Connectivity to SAP

Sits on top of Business Objects Enterprise Universes Universes connect to SAP NetWeaver BI via OLAP BAPI
Access objects: BEx Queries & SAP BI Info Cubes

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Support of BW Variables in Webis

Variable type User Entry/ Default Value Characteristic Text Supported Not Supported Supported Supported Processing Type Replacement path Supported Supported Authorization Customer exit Supported N/A SAP exit

Supported N/A

Supported N/A

Formula Hierarchy

Supported N/A

N/A N/A

Supported Supported

Supported Supported

Hierarchy node

Supported

N/A

N/A

Supported

Supported

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Web Intelligence Publications

Publications in Business Objects Enterprise (BOE) plays a similar role to Information Broadcasting in BW
Publications allows you to schedule a Crystal Report/Web Intelligence object for distribution to end users

Prerequisites Publications with SAP BW Security:

BI authorizations are configured in SAP BI Server side trust being granted between SAP BI and BOE SAP authentication configured in BOE SAP user and roles imported to BOE and available as recipients OLAP Universe deployed with SSO as authentication method Web Intelligence report being created and available in BOE Publication being created as multi-pass bursting process (one fetch per recipient)
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Agenda
The new face of BI . With BOBJ Available Tools and Integration Points Project Approach and Resource Requirements BEX Queries and OLAP Universe Deploying a Dashboard Portal Integration and SSO The Experience

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Integrating BOBJ into Enterprise Portal

Xcelsius Dashboards, Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports can be integrated into Enterprise Portal
Allows users a consistent look and feel for their reports and dashboards Leverages SSO functionality thus enhancing user experience as a whole Couple of Integration options: Knowledge Management (KM) content can be used to integrate BOBJ content into Portal OpenDoc URL Iviews can be configured in Portal to provide direct link to Dashboard and reports

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Data Journey and Authentication Path

Use Single Sign On (SSO) to connect from Portal to BOBJ Infoview to BW In CMC, setup SAP Entitlement System in BOE using the SAP id setup for SSO Import BW roles into BOE Leverage role level security in BW to secure Enterprise level data

Ensure BOE, BW and Portal are in the same Domain

Configure Custom Access Levels in BOE

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BOBJ Transport AKA Life Cycle Management

Life Cycle Management (LCM) acts as the transport system to move BOBJ development objects between environments

Examples Include: Universe Connections Webi Reports Xcelsius Dashboard Custom Access Lists (CALs) BOBJ Authorization
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LCM Steps
Following steps are involved in moving objects from Dev to QA or Prod environments:
Create a new job by clicking on this icon You must be logged on to source system Add the necessary objects Always verify dependencies between objects Some example sequence include: Report => Universe => Connection

Once the object collection is complete a Test Promotion can be performed. This allows for a quick sanity check before actually promoting objects to target system

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LCM Dos and Donts

Schedule your LCM job similar to how you would setup your SAP transports to a target system Use consistent naming conventions when creating the LCM jobs Avoid promoting dependencies if they are already in the target system Use rollback mechanism if you have to restore the destination system to its prior state
Only use this option if you have to quickly restore the target system Use this option sparingly as it takes up disk space

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Agenda
The new face of BI . With BOBJ Available Tools and Integration Points Project Approach and Resource Requirements BEX Queries and OLAP Universe Deploying a Dashboard Portal Integration and SSO The Experience

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Impact of Business Objects

Adding Business Objects in your current landscape adds complexity Newer skill sets above and beyond BW are required More Integration points (or more Pain Points introduced) in the environment Maintenance challenges with a new set of components and upgrades to deal with Evolving architecture

Warning
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Key Learnings
Xcelsius:
Users can consume and analyze a lot of information in a meaningful way Information at the executives fingertips via tabs, filters with telling graphical representation

Web Intelligence:
Webi reports reduces time to develop formatted reports with much more capability on an Adhoc basis Webi reports provide power users ability to modify queries and reports like BEX Webi reports provides executives and light information workers quick insight into their data

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Payback
An enhanced user experience Business Objects covers a wide spectrum of user base in the organization
Something for everybody

More business ownership less IT dependency

An opportunity to move away from Excel and Access based custom solutions

Provide insights in to your data at the highest level in the organization Folks who are making critical business decisions

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Contact Info
Session ID: BI212

Mustansir Saifuddin
Email: mustansir@isolutionpartners.com Web: www.isolutionpartners.com

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