SAP BO comprises of a number of reporting and analysis applications that all have their own identity, purpose and function. These applications include:
- Web Intelligence (Webi), which is a web browser tool that allows users to perform analysis, produce formatted reports and distribute the reports on SAP BO or export them to PDF or Excel.
- Crystal Reports, which is a data analytics and reporting tool aimed at individual users or small and medium-size businesses (SMBs). Users can create dynamic reports from a variety of data sources and deliver them to different formats. The reports can be accessed online or offline, from applications, portals or mobile devices.
- SAP Business Objects Dashboards (formerly known as Xcelsius), which is a data visualization tool that allows users to create custom dashboards from reports. These can include interactive charts, gauges and widgets.
- Query as a Web Service (QaaWS), which is a tool that allows users to create and publish web services that can be consumed in Crystal Reports and SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards, as well as other software applications.
- SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, which is self-service data exploration tool that enables users to search through large volumes of data from various sources and then create data visualizations that can be shared across organizations.
- SAP Lumira, which is a self-service data discovery and visualization tool that allows users to find and analyze relevant business data and create custom interactive dashboards and analytics applications.
Benefits of using SAP Business Objects:
- Optimize and automate business processes.
- Reduce costs and mitigate risks.
- Full control of the company.
- Improve cash flow and financial management.
- Accuracy of information, more informed decisions.
- Mobile access in real-time.
- Tracking critical processes.
- Reducing decision cycle.
SAP BO provides:
- Enterprise performance management
- Centralized storage with limited access to corporate information resources
- Ability to control, studies and data analysis
- Good planning on the basis of correct data
- Timely decision-making
- Reduction of risks
- Integration of data from different data sources
Basic elements of setting SAP Business Objects:
- Reports
- Analysts
- Dashboards
- Scorecard
- Strategy map
Advantages of using the platform components and SAP Business Objects:
- Easy visualization of the accounting information
- Personalization
- Ease of scaling
- Automatic generation and sending the report by email to schedule a convenient
- Quick filtering, sorting data, DrillDown
- Using reports Web- interfaces
- Export to PDF, MS Word, MS Excel, HTML and other documents
- Integration with MS Office
The scope of SAP BW in the Future?
BW is the information backbone engine for SAP and the mySAP landscape. Traditional R/3 reporting does a good job of generating tactical (operational reports). But in the past few years SAP has growingly introduced the business information warehouse as the defacto reporting framework for the mySAP suite of solutions. Some reasons for introducing SAP BW:
An information warehouse that enables analytical reporting.
In a typical SAP user community more than 70% of the users would be "read-only" or reporting users. It is unnecessary to provide SAP transaction system reporting to the 70%.
Ability to create reports on the fly providing much more flexibility to information insight.
Top 10 Benefits of SAP BW.
- High ROI:
Approximately 10.57 dollars for every dollar invested, especially when coupled with mobility. This shows the extreme importance of SAP in business, particularly the analytics capability.
- Cross-Application Visibility into Business Process Performance:
Not sure where you pull Airline Route Profitability from in SAP R/3?
That is because the answer comes from dozens of systems spread across multiple entities, including air traffic control!
- Permanent Data Storage: as opposed to transactional data that disappears shortly after generation.
If you are an airline, a SAP BW datawarehouse is an excellent way to store a PNR (Passenger Name Record).
- Improved Customer Service Levels:
Lose baggage a lot. Not sure why or how. A datawarehouse is an excellent detective tool.
- Increased Capacity Utilization Rates:
Run a railroad? Cargo volumes dropping? Not sure why?
You are going to need a datawarehouse to attack all the elements of the problem.
You're also going to need an event management system.
- Proactive Decision Making Enabled by Real-Time Data:
Ever try to run a tanks and tubes operation (Lysine, Refinery, Chemicals) with data that is not real time?
- Questions get asked that were not even considered prior to a SAP HANA enabled datawarehouse:
Want to know how much fuel was pumped into that jumbo jet? Were there any disputes as to the amount pumped according to the pump operator versus the airline?
- Configuration problems with SAP R/3 get Surfaced Quickly:
Run a Retail Operation?
When was the last time you really investigated your MRP strategies and alert levels?
- Marketing, Sales & Operations Planning Work Better with Better Data:
Forecast accuracy an issue? How about forecast compliance?
- Bad data is Quickly Identified by SAP BW:
With a reported $600,000,000,000.00 (Six hundred Billion Dollars) lost in the U.S. every year due to bad data, this is really one of the top benefits of SAP BW.
