The system CMS is an encrypted transactional repository where we can find the “current snapshot” of what is going on in BusinessObjects. Everything related to content, security and platform services can be found here, at a real time. Bringing this information into our reporting environment has always been key for administrators and power users and a line of investigation for years. Automating the capture of this data is the starting point for projects involving data quality reports, monitoring, alerts and corporate portals.
Running SAP BusinessObjects Explorer on top of SAP BW
Running SAP Explorer on top of BW This blog describes the only successfully tested way to run SAP Explorer on top of SAP Netweaver Business Warehouse (SAP BW) info-providers. This is not a straight forward configuration and it requires knowledge of Information Design Tool, Data Federator Administration Tool and SAP Logon application for SAP BW.
SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence report showing prompts with scientific notation
A while ago I was delivered a relatively easy task: create a SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence report that only needed one user entry in the prompt to calculate all the needed parameters for the query. After creating all the calculations and receiving the correct data in the Universe I proceeded to update the query of the Web Intelligence report, but encountered a problem. Due to unknown circumstances the report started showing the numbers and dates with scientific notation. When modifying my Web Intelligence report with the new values for the prompt, the SQL generated was showing the numbers in exponential form. "5.93e2" for example, as opposed to the actual value "593".
Migrating SAP BusinessObjects Explorer spaces to BI4
Configuring SAP Data Services 4.x with SAP ERP
In SAP® Data Services 3.2 some of the SAP system security standards were overlooked, allowing you to run any ABAP program in a production environment. As part of the improvements on SAP Data Services 4.x (SAP DS) this was fixed and it is now compliant with the SAP security standards. This means that for any ETL development including ABAP dataflows you will be forced to upload the ABAP code following the typical SAP system security process: upload to development (DEV), transport the changes to quality (QA) and, finally, transport the changes to production (PROD). In this article I would like to share with you some insights on how to get your new SAP DS 4.x environment ready using SAP systems.
Clariba helps Spinneys Implement SAP HANA to Efficiently Monitor Customer Needs
UAE, Dubai, October 02, 2013 – In-memory computing (IMC) is quoted as one of the top 10 technology trends for 2013. Jumping on this trend is Spinneys Dubai, a leading food retailer in the UAE, who recently implemented SAP’s real-time in-memory technology platform SAP HANA®. This groundbreaking solution combined with the leading visualization and analysis capabilities of SAP@ BusinessObjects™ immediately allowed Spinneys to explore and analyze large quantities of their data from a vast array of sources more effectively, at record speeds. Clariba, a leading business analytics consultancy in the Middle East, was a key player in ensuring the successful implementation and immediate results.
Installing SAP BusinessObjects 4.1 with a Unix-like architecture
In recent customer projects we have seen the need of having a machine with Unix-like architecture (more specifically Linux) ready for action. This is why we created a virtual machine with a Linux installation and proceeded with the challenge of a Business Objects 4.1 (although it should work for any other version) implementation on a Unix-like system. This post will present useful tips for starting a SAP BusinessObjects implementation on a Unix-like system and the steps you need to accomplish it.
First Impressions on SAP Lumira Cloud: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
In 2012 SAP introduced a new product to their Analytics Solutions portfolio that was formerly known as Visual Intelligence, then recently rebranded as SAP Lumira. It is intended to allow business users to acquire, manipulate, analyze and visualize data from corporate and personal data sources to discover and share insights. It started as a desktop-based client only, but now there is a Cloud version; both could work independently but to exploit the maximum potential, if you can afford it, it is best to work with both of them.As all products that are still in early stages, I found lots of things that in my opinion are still missing, things to be improved and other things that show a lot of potential from the very beginning. Which is why in this article I will cover three categories about: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Centralizing your KPIs with Metapedia
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play a key role in managing an organization, as they help define and measure progress toward company goals. As a best practice many companies use templates to build their new reports, where KPIs used in every report are included. Filling out this information manually should be a one time exercise, and the work should be re-used throughout the documents that share common KPIs. The dynamic use of KPIs in reporting was a common customer requirement. As an approach to this situation we have developed a way to centralize them and populate the list of KPIs for your reports using the Metapedia tool of the SAP BusinessObjects Metadata Management / Information Steward Application, which I will share with you in this post.
Scheduling SAP BI Explorer spaces based on events
Users frequently find their explorer spaces and exploration views displaying outdated information. Indeed this can happen if the source data is not ready when the indexing process is scheduled to start at a fixed time, so a manual re-run is needed when the data is available to ensure data freshness. Unfortunately scheduling explorer spaces is not possible in the current 3.x or 4.x versions of SAP BusinessObjects BI, but a workaround has been recently applied in one of our customers which we detail in this article.