Q&A From the BI 4.1 Upgrade Webcast

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So What Did We Learn?

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Thanks for the questions everyone!  With well over 1000 registrants we had a number of questions submitted before and during the webcast.  Without further ado, here are the questions (and answers) by category:

Analysis

Will BI 4.1 support creating views with Analysis for office by using MSSAS cubes?

No, Analysis Office currently supports connectivity to BW and HANA only.

Is there any planned Analysis Edition for OLAP reports for iOS, specifically the iPad?

In BI 4.1 Analysis OLAP workbooks can be exported to Design Studio applications which can be viewed on mobile devices.

Are there any changes to Analysis for OLAP in 4.1?

OLAP analysis contains many improvements including support for variants and report to report interface on BW sources, as well as adding support for Oracle OLAP, Essbase, and Teradata OLAP.

BICS

Any improvements in BW BICS connectivity in terms of performance?

In BI4.1 some changes in the code were added to:

- Increase performance when creating a new WebI or CREnterprise document on BW

- Increase performance when browsing BW data from a WebI or CREnterprise document

Crystal Solutions

Is there a migration path from Crystal 10 to BI 4.1? Is there an import tool for Crystal (like it was available in 3.x)?

Customers can open legacy reports in Crystal Reports 2013 and then upload them to the BusinessObjects BI Platform 4.x.  Alternatively you can use the Report Upload Wizard that comes installed with Crystal Reports 2013.

If I am running Crystal Reports 2011 with BI 4.1 how do I upgrade to Crystal Reports 2013 or Crystal Reports for Enterprise?

If you are currently using Crystal Reports 2011 your reports would automatically use Crystal Reports 2013 when you upgrade to 4.1.  Migrating those reports to Crystal Reports for Enterprise is a completely optional step.

Dashboards

Are all of the components in Dashboards HTML5 compatible, or is it still a limited set of components?

BI 4.1 brings in additional components and data connectivity options for mobile dashboards, but not all components and themes are supported on mobile.

In Dashboard Design is it possible to use the User's (BI Launchpad) login credentials as a prompt value within a query to display information related to a specific User?

There is no built in functionality for this, but techniques are available here.

Can I have Dashboards 4.0 and Dashboards 4.1 simultaneously in same client system?

No.

Will the add-ons created for dashboards 4.0 work in 4.1?

Yes! Dashboards 4.1 also adds support for mobile enabled plugins.

Are all of the components in Dashboards HTML 5 compatible, or just a subset of them?

BI 4.1 brings in additional components and data connectivity options for mobile dashboards, but not all components and themes are supported on mobile.

Is the 4.1 dashboard designer a separate installation / product or will it be integrated with other client tools?

It remains a separate installation.

What is the road map for the dashboards 4.0? Will it continue to co-exist with design studio tool?

See the statement of direction here.

What are the benefits of Design Studio versus Dashboards?

See the statement of direction here.

How many connections are available for mobile dashboards?

There is no specific limits, however due to limited memory available on mobile devices and for performance, we recommend minimizing the number of connections.

Deployment

How do you install BI 4.1 in a cluster environment?

Please refer to this PDF located at help.sap.com.

BI 3.1 is built for an x32 bit server, but BI 4.1 is built for an x64 bit server.  How is upgrading possible?

BI 4.0 server is 64-bit, please refer to the product availability matrix on supported platforms.

Are there any improvements in the authentication integration, particularly with SAP BW, being able to change BW password?

In 4.1 we now have Single sign-on from BI client tools to HANA  by using a cross platform solution via SAML.  There are no changes with regards to SAP BW authentication between 4.0 and 4.1.

Are there any improvements to the security model or the administration area in BI 4.1 from BI 4.0?

There are no major changes to the security model between 4.1 from 4.0.  There are however some improvements to system administration like the new System configuration wizard.

Can you please let me know if security settings also migrated from BI 3.0 to BI 4.1?

Yes, security settings are preserved.

If we are moving from BI 3.1 to BI 4.1, can we use the same access levels or are there any security changes?

Yes, you can use the same access levels.

We are currently having BI 4.0 in production and hoping to migrate everything to BI 4.1.  Can we just run the installation package? Is there any upgrade package (SP) I can use for that? As far as I know, BI 4.1 is using tomcat 7 while BI 4.0 is using tomcat 6.  Will the upgrade process take care of that? We need all reports and user access smoothly migrated to 4.1 platform.

Yes, the best practice to move from BI 4.0 to BI 4.1 is to apply the incremental 4.1 patch.  Please refer to the documentation located at help.sap.com.

Are there any issues regarding install on RHLE 6.3?  Specifically I am asking about compatibility of Crystal Reports 2013 with RHLE 6.3.

As per the PAM, RHEL6 is now newly supported as of BI 4.1 SP1. Learn more here.

How difficult is it to do an in place upgrade from BI 4.0 (SP6) to BI 4.1?

The best practice to move from BI 4.0 to BI 4.1 is to simply apply the incremental 4.1 patch.  Please refer to the documentation located at help.sap.com.

Is the Update as stable as a fresh Installation? Which one is applicable when? Which one does SAP recommend?

Over BI 4.0, BI 4.1 is a patch update.  Patch installation is the recommended best practice when upgrading from BI 4.0.

Upgrading from BO XI 3.1 environment - configuration changes, which areas need re-development?

Please refer to the BI upgrade document.

We have patched BI 4.0 on SP 6.5, when will this patch will be intergrated in the new BI 4.1?

On the forward fit schedule you can refer to the maintenance schedule.

DeskI

When you say there will be "limited" Deski support in BI 4.1, does the Deski Compatibility Module provide any support for editing Deski report content in R4.1? The Lab Preview on the slide shows the standard R3.1 Deski interface & menubar.

Users can use DeskI when connected to BI 4.1 almost similar to the way they use DeskI in 3.1. DeskI documents cannot be consumed from BI Launchpad, please refer to this document for additional details.

In BI 4.1, will RCT be able to convert 100% functionality from DeskI to WEBI ?

Percentage of conversion from Deski to Webi varies on the kind of objects used in the Deski report. Reports with VBA macros will not convert. Please refer the to upgrade site for links which will provide details on conversion from DeskI to WebI.

Is it WebI Rich Client or Desktop Intelligence in BI 4.1 ?

WebI Rich Client is present in BI 4.1, Desktop Intelligence Client is not.  You will need to use the DeskI 3.1 client to connect to BI 4.1.  Please refer to the BI Upgrade site for more details on DCP.

Will publication support Desktop Intelligence document?

DCP doesn't support publications, our partner solutions does provide tools where you can do advance scheduling, bursting and publishing.

As a DeskI customer, in version 4.1 I don't want to edit all DeskI report.  However, we need to refresh it into LunchPath and keep the schedule.

DeskI documents can only be refreshed using the DeskI Desktop client, similarly scheduling is now also a DeskI Desktop client functionality. You can get details on the solution on the Upgrade BI site and also refer to our partner solutions on extending DCP functionality here.

Will DeskI stay for future versions?  Are we safe to create new DeskI reports?

Deski is still End-of-life, DCP doesn't change that strategy. Though you can create new reports using DeskI, we highly recommend you to invest on new reports on WebI and our new tools like Lumira, Dashboards, DesignS Studio and etc.

Are there any enhancements to the report conversion tool in BI 4.1 (or 3.1 SP6 for that matter) which make DeskI conversions cleaner?

RCT has a few enhancements like the ability to convert .rep instances and publishing the converted .wid document along with the instance both agnostic and .wid converted instances, in the future RCT will allow local documents to be converted in a non-standalone mode.

Will DeskI support be limited till some specific SP level of 4.1 to only facilitate migration of Deski to Webi without having to install XI 3.1 (IF source is XI R2)?

There will be no DeskI 4.1 client, the client that will be supported to work with BI 4.1 will be DeskI 3.1 till the end-of-life / support of BOE 3.1.

What is the replacement for VB macros in DeskI over WebI?

There is no one-for-one replacement of VBA macros in WebI.  We suggest that the VBA macro workflows be reviewed with the new functionalities available in WebI using the WebI SDK extension points.

Is DI migration to 4.1 supported only from XI R3.1 SP6 FP1.6 and above?

I am assuming this question is on DeskI, the DeskI Desktop client which is supported over BI 4.1 is BOE 3.1 SP6+ the latest fix pack. Please refer to the Upgrade BI site to get more information.

Will the free-hand SQL DeskI feature, in 3.1 be available in 4.1 or ever be available in WebI?

FHSQL is planned for WebI in about 12-18 months.

With many questions about DeskI, isn't that a very clear indication of how much the business community wants to keep using that interface? It's such a great user tool, that it's hard to believe SAP wants to end its use in favor of Webi, RC and Crystal.

In the recent years the use of DeskI has declined, hence SAP has decided to make the Formal end-of-life of DeskI.  With the functional capabilities of WebI and clients like Lumira, Design studio, dashboards build on newer technologies it is possible to do a lot more than DeskI could ever do.

Does the Desktop Intelligence Compatibility Module provide any support for editing Deski report content in BI 4.1? Or does it only provide View Content capabilities for existing R2 / R3 Deski reports, along with Deski report storage, management & scheduling in the BI 4.1 repository & CMC?

You can now move .rep reports from XI R2 and 3.1 to BI 4.1 using UMT 4.1.

Is Desktop Intelligence supported in SAP BI 4.1? If yes, Does the upgrade management tool allows to upgrade from XI R3.1 SP5 to SAP BI 4.1?

DeskI is still end-of-life, DCP doesn't change that strategy. UMT 4.1 will move .rep from XI R2 or 3.1 to BI 4.1, please refer to the upgrade BI site for more information.

Data Services

If Data Services is also being used with the SAP BI platform then how will upgrading affect my existing deployment of SAP BODS?

When using Data Services with BI 4.1 please refer to this guide.

When I upgraded to BI 4.1 it broke my Data Services. I did this upgrade from BO 4.0 SP5/DS 4.1 to BI 4.1. I am not finding any solutions yet on the DS issue.

When using Data Services with BI 4.1 please refer to this guide.

HANA

Is there any HANA DB revision / support pack dependency for BO 4.1?

Analysis Edition for OLAP requires HANA SP6.

Could you tell us more about the automatic generation of universes on SAP HANA?

In IDT you point to a HANA connection and ask to build a universe. The wizard gives you the list of HANA views and you select the ones you want in your universe. The universe is then automatically generated.  The same dimension appearing in multiple HANA views appears only once (a single object) in the universe. Measures are specific for each HANA view

When you run the query the system understands from the choice of measures which view has to be used for the dimensions. This works on all client tools supporting universes.

If there are variables or input parameters in the HANA view then only Crystal Reports for Enterprise is supported.

How does BI integrate with HANA?

All of the SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 tools support HANA and the BI technology has been modified to take into account the following HANA features

- Proprietary SQL

- Low-level calls for retrieving data instead of SQL

- Support of HANA hierarchies

- Support of HANA variables

- Ability to push calculations down to the HANA engine

- Proprietary security mechanism between BI 4 and HANA

All client tools connect to HANA views. Clients with freehand SQL and clients with universes can also connect to HANA tables.

Mobile

Is there a reports navigation (menu) capability for Mobile BI?

If a WebI document has multiple reports, we can navigate from one report to another by using a button on the top tool bar on left hand side.

Can desktop BO also leverage geomapping on mobile?

Web Intelligence reports with location data can be configured to display in the form of Google Maps on Mobile. This particular geomapping capability is limited to mobile only. Lumira, Explorer and Crystal Reports include support for using base maps from Nokia / Navteq. Furthermore, SAP technology partners Galigeo and Centigon offer integration of Esri ArcGIS maps and Google Maps with Dashboards, Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports.

Is there a Mobile BI app for Windows Phone in the new 4.1 version?

Currently there is no Windows app for BI 4.1.

Is there additional Support for BO Mobile on Android devices?

Almost all of the WebI features are on parity with iOS counterparts. Dashboards is also already supported on the Android platform.

What are the mobile improvements to BI 4.1?

Specific features available on 4.1 and not on BI 4.0 include:

- Explorer content support

- RTL support

- Dashboard support on the Android platform

More information available here.

Platform

Are there any improved features in the instance manager tool which we use to monitor scheduled reports?

There are no new improvements to Instance Manager in 4.1 compared to 4.0.

Are there plans to replace encyclopedia functionality in BI 4.1?

he SAP BusinessObjects Information Steward product has a Metapedia feature that provides similar functionality.

Could we use the Import Wizard Tool for migration from BO 3.X to BO 4.1 please? Is Import Wizard Tool exist in BO 4.1?

In BI 4.1, UMT is the tool to be used for migration from XI R2 and 3.1.

Are there changes in the InfoView interface, specifically report scheduling?

There are many UI changes when comparing the 3.x InfoView interface to the new 4.x BI launch pad interface.  There are some minor changes between 4.0 and 4.1 such as the ability to overwrite 3rd party file types, Right to Left language support and new SAP Jam integration.  There are however no changes to report scheduling.

The old BCA Console provided an great overview of all scheduled jobs, and provided a very robust scheduled job management interface and functionality. Any plans to provide similar functionality in later releases?

Within the CMC is the Instance Manager tab that provides for some of this functionality.

Does BI 4.1 CMC allow better management of logged users like for example remote disconnection?

This is a feature that we plan to deliver in 4.1 SP3.

Any new improvement in Auditing and Monitoring?

Comparing 4.0 to 4.1 there are no new improvements.  However, comparing 3.1 to 4.x there are many major improvements to both Auditing and Monitoring.

For Auditing we have unified the definition of events across all BI clients, simplified system wide configuration, auto purging of old data and

enhanced audit data store for simpler audit reports and applications.

For Monitoring we have:Server metrics and probes, User-defined watch condition, Visualization dashboard in the CMC, Alert emails, Integration with SAP Solution Manager, Tivoli, and JMX compatible tools.

For biar back up size how much will be supported while migration?

2 GB max file size for UMT biar files.  Any larger and we would recommend using UMT with a direct 3.1 to 4.x online connection.

Are there any improvements or new features for personalization in BI Launchpad as compared to XI 3.1 InfoView?

Yes, there are many improvements such as:

- Home page widgets for easy access to common features

- Quick access to applications and search

- Recently viewed reports, scheduled documents, and alert notifications

- Configurable start location, full content search, multi-lingual support

- Right to left language support

- BI Workspaces

- New UI

- Administrator configurable defaults

Is there a replacement for XIR2's schedule manager tool? Is there a best practice for migrating existing reports (reports that require changes to them) from development to test to production?

The instance Management tab in the CMC helps administrators maintain report schedules.

The best practice for promoting reports between environments of the same version (test to prod, etc.) would be to use the Promotion Management (LCM), feature.