SAP

When it comes to choosing an ideal tool, there are two main parameters on which the decision needs to be based - Reporting needs and the Target users.

The requirements for reporting could range from simple reports for ad-hoc analysis to highly formatted reports for enterprise reporting. There are products catering to each of these requirements.

Ad-hoc Analysis: Currently, BeX Web analyzer is used for Adhoc analysis, from the SAP suite of products. BO offers Web intelligence (Webi) as the Adhoc analysis tool. Webi is quite intuitive compared to Web Analyzer, and also has a faster development time. It can also be stored in an offline mode using Webi Rich Client (thick client), but again is quite limited when it comes to advanced OLAP analysis. It also requires a universe to be built, preferably on a BeX query, and hence the current limitations associated with universe creation apply to it. On the positive side, universes can be built on non SAP sources as well, which enable reporting on multiple source systems.

OLAP Analysis: Voyager joins BeX analyzer as the preferred tool for advanced OLAP analysis, compared to the relatively simpler analysis possible on Webi. One of the advantages of Voyager is the ability to link multiple info providers, on the fly, to build powerful reports, and gain a keen insight into the business processes. Voyager would be suited for users who are more comfortable with BI tools, and are looking to create advanced analytical reports. eg. An Open Order Report, combining Order Information with billing and delivery data. In a typical organization, Voyager would be the tool suited for the power-users. However, Voyager is set to be replaced by a new product, Pioneer which should have enhanced analytical functionalities.

Dashboards: Currently Web Application Designer is used for creation of dashboards. More often than not, a good amount of Java scripting is required to meet the requirements. Xcelsius offers a better and easier alternative for dashboard creation. It has powerful dashboarding capabilities and offers much better visualizations, and can easily be integrated with web portals. Using Xcelsius, dashboards can be created as a SWF file. Xcelsius dashboards can also be built on data provided by Microsoft Excel.  However, there are certain requirements to run Xcelsius dashboard. eg. You require Flash version 9 or above to run these dashboards. Also, currently visualizations can only be created with Excel data. Xcelsius, with some more enhancements, could be a very popular tool in the future and should be widely used for formal presentations.

 Enterprise Reporting: Crystal Report has been introduced as a better alternative to the existing Report Designer for highly formatted reporting. Crystal reports can build Pixel precise reports on multiple sources of data, and can be published in multiple formats like PDF and excel files. Visualizations created using Xcelsius can also be embedded within the Crystal Reports. However, creating these formatted reports can be quite time consuming, and these reports would be relatively static. Certain features like exception aggregations might not work too well with Crystal Reports. Nonetheless, crystal reports are the definite way ahead for formatted reports and feature prominently in SAP’s roadmap, and we can expect enhanced functionalities in the future. It would be ideal for regulatory reporting. eg. There are certain legal reports which need to be submitted by every company in a particular format.

The figure below illustrates the key strengths of the various tools in the BW –Business objects Enterprise Stack, each of these tools are available for various solution areas, and based on the fitment for a particular application scenario/Solution areas  they have been rated in four different categories.

The tool fitment mentioned is just indicative, and depending on the organizational requirements, these can diverge. There is no one size fit all that approach that can be taken once it comes to deriving meaningful information out of the data warehouse, rather it’s a series of toolset coming together with other organizational attributes such as change orientations, skill-set etc that determine the final selection of tools to be used. The broad idea behind this blog is to understand the key offerings of each tool and apply the same to the consulting engagements organizational scenario, and design/build solutions accordingly. The next series of blogs would be oriented towards discussing each of these tools in more detail; comparisons with other best of breed reporting toolset would also be brought to focus in subsequent discussions.