coll. - SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence

The SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence 4.2 delivers the most complete BI platform yet, with several important improvements frequently requested by business users. Building on the progress achieved in the 4.0 and 4.1 releases, Web Intelligence in SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 continues to strengthen an already powerful enterprise reporting platform with key enhancements that will take your reports to an all new level.

The industrys most powerful business intelligence ad hoc query and analysis reporting tool is now stronger than ever with the release of SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2. On the surface, the interface may seem exactly the same as in versions 4.0 and 4.1. But take a closer look and youll find even more functionality to help you get the most out of your SAP HANA investments, perform better geographic analysis with new map components, and provide an even more intuitive tool to business users to drill into business data in reporting documents. SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence 4.2 (which we refer to as Web Intelligence) comes with a new collection of geocharts for natively creating maps in reporting documents. Combining this important new visual capability with the growing number of chart styles truly gives users more capabilities than ever before and further blurs the lines among reports, data stories, and dashboards.

Web Intelligence delivers an ideal self-service reporting experience with the capability to connect directly to live data in an SAP HANA view with SAP HANA Online, utilize the SAP Business Explorer (SAP BEx) queries, access analysis views generated from SAP BusinessObjects Analysis workspaces for multidimensional reports, or access traditional relational databases through SAP BusinessObjects universes. Connecting directly to SAPs revolutionary high-performance analytical appliance, SAP HANA, with Web Intelligence allows you to bypass the need for a universe to connect to SAP HANA before creating reports. In version 4.2, perhaps the most requested data source since Desktop Intelligence was retiredbehold Freehand SQL. Users can now leverage the countless reporting features of Web Intelligence to create highly formatted reports by writing their own SQL scripts rather than using a traditional universe.

Web Intelligence provides business users with the tools to make better decisions and offer deeper insight into company data. The major benefits include the ability to drill, pivot, chart, track changes, publish, schedule, and share business information online and within a single online portal. The combination of an enhanced Report Panel, seamless connectivity to an extensive list of data sources, and the capability to contain vast amounts of data makes Web Intelligence the premier tool of choice for analyzing data.

This chapter introduces you to the key features and core functionality of the Web Intelligence reporting tool.

Web Intelligence has been known for many years by report developers as WebI (pronounced webby). Its best known as a highly intuitive, web-based query and analysis tool that provides business users with the capability to create and modify queries without having to write a single line of SQL. But if writing SQL is your thing, Web Intelligence is your tool.

Because Web Intelligence reduces the complexity of report building, business users have unprecedented opportunities to analyze and leverage company information. Self-service business intelligence has become a reality in Web Intelligence 4.2, which boasts an enhanced Report Panel designed for more intuitive report development and data interaction. Reporting documents are published and shared through the BI Launch Pad portal, a convenient and efficient way of distributing reports to users across the enterprise.