Welcome to the new decade of business intelligence!

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform 4.3 is now available. In June 2020, SAP released the most radical version of BusinessObjects in a decade; BusinessObjects is a major overhaul both visually and behind the scenes.

Upgrading BusinessObjects is not a trivial task, and organizations don’t take these activities lightly, so why should you upgrade? Let’s talk about some great reasons.

The BI Next Generation Launch Pad runs in a clean, modern interface that operates on both computers and tablets. This new Fiori interface also integrates with other SAP applications. The interface has been redesigned based on customer feedback. Instances are now easily available without having to navigate through the folder structure. Also, with the redesign that has removed Java, there is no need to worry about Java incompatibilities.

BusinessObjects 4.3 Features

What else does BusinessObjects 4.3 have to offer? 64-bits! All the client tools are now 64-bit including Crystal Reports 2020, Web Intelligence, and the Information Design Tool. No more configuring all the 64-bit connections and then circling back and configuring the 32-bit connections.

Web Intelligence received a huge overhaul. No more clicking on tabs and then other tabs to find the button that changes the font color. The Web Intelligence interface has been simplified and buttons are enlarged to work better on modern monitors. The tool also offers animated charts to make your visualizations pop. Does a bright monitor bother your eyes? Switch to high display contrast mode and work with a dark interface instead.

What else is available for your organization’s technology workers?

 

Administrators:

Automate tasks with the Workflow Assistant (formerly Automation Framework), such as mass reassign Web Intelligence documents from a UNV universe to a UNX universe. Administrators can even do this without saving the change if they want to test.

The new BI Admin Studio allows administrators to quickly see the overall health of the environment. They can drill into the cockpit to troubleshoot issues.

Using the new Data Source Reference tool, Administrators can assign additional database mapping to user credentials. They can apply different levels of access to different users.

This example shows the dbDEV account assigned to the DEV Connection for one user. Other users could have different credentials assigned to the same data source reference such as dbDEVPowerUser or dbDEVAdmin.

Universe designers:

Information Design Tool now offers ODBC DSN-Less Connectivity. Enter all the database credentials right in the tool instead of going to every server and configuring ODBC settings.

Designer can take advantage of data source references when creating connections. A connection that uses a data source reference is more dynamic as database credentials can be set at the user level.

Report Writers:

Report writers can create Web Intelligence documents using another Web Intelligence document as its source. They can run long-running document early in the morning and then have small documents use that as their source, so report viewers no longer must wait while their documents refresh. The documents can take advantage of variables, merged dimensions, geographic dimensions, and more from the source document.

Schedule once to multiple locations. The BI Next Generation Launch Pad lets writers schedule reports to multiple locations. Instead of creating one schedule for email and another for the file system, they can both be scheduled at once.

In addition to all of this, SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform 4.3 is better integrated with the SAP Analytics Cloud. Users can access SAC right from the BI Launch Pad. With simplified single sign-on configuration between SAP BusinessObjects BI and SAC, integration becomes seamless. BusinessObjects content can automatically appear in the SAP Analytics Hub so users can find everything they need in one location.

Contact Dunn Solutions Group to plan your migration to SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform 4.3!

As a certified SAP Partner with over two decades of experience, Dunn Solutions’ Data Analytics Consultants are ready to help you succeed! After the migration, our SAP Certified Trainers can teach your team how to take advantage of all the great, new features. Contact us today!