Greg Myers, a fellow ASUG Volunteer, presented BusinessObjects 101 for SAP Experts at Inside Track NSQ last Friday, and it was a great presentation. The room was packed.
Greg explained this was a twist from Ginger Gatling's presentation last year. (Her presentation was SAP 101 for BOBJ Experts)
This is by far my favorite slide:
Bob Hope + Jay Leno = BOBJ
Business Intelligence is the process of turning Data into Information; it needs to be timely and accurate. (Information is Data that is meaningful to a human)
Greg explained that Universe sits in the middle of the database and the user; it generates SQL code. It is the "semantic layer" in that it puts data in terms that users understand. (My first thought when I hear "Universe" is my new fave SyFy show "Stargate: Universe").
Greg kept using the term BOXI so I finally asked him what that was - BOXI is Business Objects XI
CCM - Central Configuration Manager - a desktop tool to ensure that each server is up (Also to enable/disable servers, or start, stop, or restart them) - the CCM:
CMC - Central Management Console - maintains the web applications, creates the folders, categories, and set up security and assign users (This doesn’t maintain web apps, it is a web app. Its where Administrators go to manage the environment. Reports, Folders, Security, Authentication, etc.)
InfoView - out of the box portal for consuming content
Folders contain physical storage of reports
Categories are logical groupings of information; the user only sees the category view (Users can see the folder view as well, but the administrator can restrict one way or the other based on need. Categories tend to make more sense to business users)
Greg's company is using Webi which is all browser-based; he showed reports where they are tracking their trouble ticket queue.
Deski is the thick client; needs to be installed on the desktop
Another thick client app is the Designer which is used to create universes; this is the source of that data
Objects - why it's called BusinessObjects:
1) dimension - block
2) measure - numbers to sum
3) details - more information about dimension
End user is insulated from the technical details - user is a business analyst
Import Wizard -BIAR pronounced "beer" in Canada (BIAR file is a proprietary zip or archive file. Business Intelligence Archive). It does the following:
- moves content
- version
In the future, he will use LifeCycle Manager XI 3.1
Webi is a Rich client; in the future they may get rid of Deski (This one can be confusing. Webi as mentioned earlier is totally web-based reporting. This tool is called “Webi Rich Client” and is a thick version of the web based one. Has many of the features of Deski, and users can edit/consume Webi reports while not connected to the CMS)
Xcelsius is now called Crystal Presentation Designer; Greg showed a demo of this. Xcelsius can be tied to a Universe
Crystal does not traditionally use the Universe; have to connect to the database. Use for pixel perfect reporting.
Greg is on the ASUG BusinessObjects Enterprise Influence Council. He explained that the next release is XI 4.0.
Follow Greg on twitter at @gpmyers or @gpmyers/businessobjectsgurus
Many thanks to Greg for his great presentation - I think everyone in the room and online learned a great deal.
Did you miss it? Catch Greg presenting at an ASUG Webcast on August 5th.
Tammy
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