BI on Excel Roadmap – an ASUG Webcast Update

This was an update from BI on Excel Roadmap – ASUG BusinessObjects Conference Update but contains more details.

Please note the usual legal disclaimer applies that things in the future are subject to change.

Figure 1: Source: SAP

Three SAP products + a partnership with Microsoft

Analysis Office is one the best integrated tools in to BW and HANA

EPM add in is for the BPC based

Live Office for the old Universes (UNV)

SAP has partnership with PowerBI for UNX

Figure 2: Source: SAP

The plan is for a single unified Office client crossing HANA, BPC, BW

Plan to extend Live Office to new universes (UNX) next year (Q2)

Figure 3: Source: SAP

EPM comes from Finance business user

Figure 3 shows the background for EPM

Shared access, apply dynamic formatting

It is integrated in Excel, PPT & Word

It has an offline mode

Figure 4: Source: SAP

Analysis Office comes from pivot table approach

Easy drag and drop onto the crosstab

Ad hoc for BI professional

It also has PowerPoint (no Word)

It supports BW IP and new embedded model

It has a rich API to build powerful Excel Workbooks; can use that to guide functionality

This is today’s positioning

Figure 5: Source: SAP

Investments are protected

If not on BW 740, recommend Analysis Office

If come from BPC classic, continue EPM add-on

At the end will have a unified Excel client

Figure 6: Source: SAP

Figure 6 shows the strengths of Analysis Office, including its ad-hoc features

SAP said it handles Big Data

It offers multi-platform support

Figure 7: Source: SAP

Figure 7 shows BEx Support for 10.1

Important to know what does not work yet (the limitations)

Roadmap

Figure 8: Source: SAP

Regarding Figure 8, the plan is to use without migration effort

Step-wise convergence through a common layer in Excel that synchronizes and governs Excel events

Figure 9: Source: SAP

Figure 9 pictorially shows the unified client.

Figure 10: Source: SAP

Figure 10 is the convergence for the Roadmap

Plans include a single installer, documentation

It contains UX harmonization – open and save dialogs

Figure 11: Source: SAP

Figure 11 has been discussed before

Question & Answer

Q:  Scheduling?  Scheduling without prompts support…  Not very productive.  When will prompts be available in scheduling?

A: It is being planned (planned innovations)

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Q:  with the unification of EPM and AO, which broadcasting utility will it use — EPM’s or Business Objects?  I would prefer not Business Objects.

Q:  I would prefer the scheduling like BEx.  I don’t want to have to have this in the Business Objects framework.

A:  BI platform supports, will extend to HANA.  Priority is the BI Platform for scheduling.  Looking at extending to Netweaver but not a concret time to deliver.  More customers requiring can move the priority 

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Q:  Will the future unified excel client support BPC 10.0 or you will need to be on version 10.1?

A:  yes it will support 10 

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Q:  sorry, maybe I missed, but he started by mentioning three current Excel interfaces, EPM/BPC, Analysis for Excel (OLAP), and Live Office — but this last seems to have been dropped from discussion now, what is future plan for LO (or is that still coming)?

A:  He said Live Office would support new universe in Q2 2015 (planned) – it is being worked 

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Q:  so Live Office will continue separate as is, ie. not part of convergence currently being discussed? thanks

A:  Mid term yes

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Q:  Scheduling with prompts looks like it is coming!  Great!  Any work being done on publications with A4O?

A:  on the backlog with low priority for now.   

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Q:  Can current versions of EPM and AO addins work without any conflicts now?  If not, when will this happen?

A:  side by side next year 

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Q:  A-Office view events are not created in Audit database now. Is there any plan to have those events as part of Audit DB with the unified client ?

A:  specific to BW, HANA – look at BW for stats 

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Q:  Will we need to install Excel on the BI4.1 server to schedule Analysis workbooks?

A:  You need to install the Analysis add-on to BIP – available at support.sap.com/swdc  

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Q:  Are there any possible Fiori integration in the horizon?  

A:  nothing planned for designed principles.  AO designs for what is typical for use.  To be reviewed in the future 

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Q:  It will be good to analyse in one Excel document data  that stored in the cubes (BW/HANA) and relational database (Universe), any plans to ad Universe support for unified Excel client ?

A:  Should happen in the future – complete framework that supports Live Office – no concrete plan  

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Q:  It sounds like SAP is integrating BPC/outlook features to IP. ?

A:  yes 

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Q:  with BPC there are folders where EPM files can be stored in,  will this be available to AO as well?

A:  Still have to find out 

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Q:  how about SAP Portal km for storage.  🙂

A:  Not sure – could use BI Platform, BW, HANA – first time KM repository for BI – open to discuss but have enough with 3 repositories