When faced with the challenge of creating a new Web Intelligence report based on an existing SSRS report, there are no magic utilities available but we came up with a method that worked well. This included using the SSRS report query to build new BO universe, using Custom Calculation Contexts in the Webi report and using hide and filter techniques to match output from the SSRS report. In addition, we Improved data accuracy in the Webi report compared to the original SSRS report. This case study presentation will show how we achieved this.
Key takeaways from this session:
When faced with the challenge of creating a new Web Intelligence report based on an existing SSRS report, there are no magic utilities available but you can develop a method that will work.
Have a strong understanding on how to use both the Universe Design Tool and the Information Design Tool.
Webi variables are very flexible and they are your friends when developing webi reports.
Have a strong understanding on how to configure both Webi tables (via Format Table) and Webi Document Structure and Filters.
Have a strong understanding on how to use and configure Custom Calculation Contexts in Webi
Don’t forget you can stream this webinar in its entirety as well as ever other Let’s Speak BO webinar we’ve hosted when you are logged in on the site. It is completely free to join!
John SKey Takeaways from Tips and Techniques Used to Convert SSRS Report to Web Intelligence
Did you miss our March 1st webinar BusinessObjects as Part of BI Strategy for the Next Decade? We have a quick summary of the webinar with the webinar presenters’ key takeaways from their session. This session had a lot of audience interaction with the presenter and we highly recommend checking it out if you use Web Intelligence!
Here is the webinar overview:
As the world continues to navigate a global pandemic that started well over a year ago, the importance and significance of Business Intelligence has never been more critical.
Yet, at the same time, most organizations find themselves in a situation where time, resources and budget have never been tighter. As a result, making better and more use of the BI applications in place makes a lot of sense. For many, that means leveraging BusinessObjects as it remains the most widely used BI suite in the world today.
In addition, between Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports, it offers the best BI reporting platform available.
While tools like Tableau and PowerBI are gaining larger market share in the BI space, they are used for data discovery and data visualization and not designed for BI reporting.
It is for this reason, that most organizations who have adopted these tools, retain BusinessObjects for BI reporting.
This session will both discuss and show real customer case studies of how existing BusinessObjects are adapting to the new co-existence norm and how companies, new to BI, are adopting BusinessObjects as part of their new BI strategy for the next decade.
Key takeaways from this session:
BusinessObjects Remains the Number 1 BI Reporting Platform in Use Today
BusinessObjects co-existence with Tableau and PowerBI is the new normal
Moving to BusinessObjects BI 4.3 in the next 18 months makes sense
Only move BusinessObjects to the Cloud when the majority of data sources it accesses are also in the Cloud
Don’t forget you can stream this webinar in its entirety as well as ever other Let’s Speak BO webinar we’ve hosted when you are logged in on the site. It is completely free to join!
John SKey Takeaways from BusinessObjects as Part of BI Strategy for the Next Decade Feature Image
Did you miss our February 15th webinar Tips for Transitioning to the New Webi 4.3? We have a quick summary of the webinar with the webinar presenters’ key takeaways from their session. This session had a lot of audience interaction with the presenter and we highly recommend checking it out if you use Web Intelligence!
Here is the webinar overview:
WebI 4.3 comes with a FIORI-based, modern, and simplified user interface for designing and developing ad-hoc reports, operational reports, highly analytical reports, visually rich dashboards, and more powerful BI content. While this is a great foundational step towards future analytics and end-user experience it is also quite a transition from the classic launchpad that many are used to.
To assuage the fear and panic generated from this huge transformation, this session will share a few tips that we have found quite useful to adapt to the new features faster and make the transition from WebI 4.2 to 4.3 more enjoyable.
Key takeaways from this session:
SAP BI 4.3 SP0 was released last year, and the BI Launchpad comes with the new FIORI-based interface with a modern and sleek UX
You will experience a great new deal of how you will perform all your WebI tasks
While the new UI is great and in alignment with most popular BI tools, and SAC, it is also quite a transition from the classic WebI UI
There are two new panels and the 4.2 functionalities are not re-organized and regrouped into the new panels and a lean simplified toolbar
There are some cool new features like WebI as a Data source, hiding of report tabs, unified query panel, enhanced formula editor, and some more.
Don’t forget you can stream this webinar in its entirety as well as ever other Let’s Speak BO webinar we’ve hosted when you are logged in on the site. It is completely free to join!
John SKey Takeaways from Tips for Transitioning to the New Webi 4.3
Did you miss our February 1st webinar Dynamic Dates in WebI? We have a quick summary of the webinar with the webinar presenters’ key takeaways from their session. This session had a lot of audience interaction with the presenter and we highly recommend checking it out if you use Web Intelligence!
Here is the webinar overview:
A common use case is to run a Web Intelligence report for a date range. That can be easily done with hard-coded date values, but that is not a very user-friendly approach always having to edit the query. Certainly prompts are more user-friendly. However, if you want to schedule a report for a dynamic, named date range such as yesterday, last month, last quarter, etc. you are at a dead-end.
This session will show how I built what I call a “Calendar Universe” a number of years ago that has stood the test of time. We will cover various ways to use dynamic dates talking about the pros and cons of each including the “Calendar Universe”.
Key takeaways from this session:
Set the prompt order in the Query Properties.
Use the format suggestion in the date prompt to convert the prompt value (always a string) to a date.
You cannot compare objects in a filter. Instead create a variable that does the comparison and filter on that.
Copy the @Prompt function syntax details from the query script of a universe query and then paste it into a free-hand SQL query.
When using “Results from another query” cannot use “Between”; must use “Greater than” and “Less than”.
Add the pre-defined Query Summary cell to get an objective view of the queries such as execution time and number of rows returned.
Generate a date table dynamically with a common table expression (CTE) in a free-hand SQL query.
Add the pre-defined Query Summary cell to get an objective view of the queries such as execution time and number of rows returned.
Don’t forget you can stream this webinar in its entirety as well as ever other Let’s Speak BO webinar we’ve hosted when you are logged in on the site. It is completely free to join!
John SKey Takeaways from Dynamic Dates in Web Intelligence
Did you miss our January 18th webinar Formatting Web Intelligence 4.3 Like a Pro? We have a quick summary of the webinar with the webinar presenters’ key takeaways from their session. Here is the webinar overview:
First impressions matter – even for reports! This session will be covering how to use formatting shortcuts and templates to make a meaningful report stand out and shine, including new ways to format Web Intelligence in 4.3.
Key takeaways from this session:
Properties panel makes formatting easier in 4.3
There are many formatting shortcuts in Webi to make beautiful reports faster
We recommend using a report template for consistent, beautiful reports.
In this webinar Roxanne mentioned a PDF template that we have been allowed to share. This PDF document gives the reader a view of the “SR_Template” used by the AO for Webi reports as seen in the presentation.
Don’t forget you can stream this webinar in its entirety as well as ever other Let’s Speak BO webinar we’ve hosted when you are logged in on SpeakBO.com website. It is completely free to join!
John SKey Takeaways from Formatting Web Intelligence 4.3 Like a Pro Webinar
Did you miss our January 4th webinar Solving Business Problems with BusinessObjects? We have a quick summary of the webinar with the webinar presenters’ key takeaways from their session. Here is the webinar overview:
Using Business Objects for finance reporting has been around for decades, but have you considered using it for data analytics to look for fraud?
This session we’ll cover common data analytics scripts and how BusinessObjects could be utilized to help mitigate fraud. We will discuss ways to solve seemingly complex business issues with the tools we have while demonstrating technical solutions using Web Intelligence and IDT for being able to show data analytic to resolve specific business. So put on your Fraudster cap and hold on for the ride.
Key takeaways from this session:
You don’t always have to buy new software to meet your company’s needs.
Think outside of the box with Business Objects – it is more than just a reporting tool.
Business Objects can be used for Data Analytics, Robotics and so much more.
Searching with wildcards is easy once you learn the subtle differences between query vs report search
Don’t forget you can stream this webinar in its entirety as well as ever other webinar we’ve hosted on our Speak BO website when logged in.
If you have any questions about the session feel free to comment below and we will get back to you!
John SKey Takeaways from Solving Business Problems with BusinessObjects
With so many different Business Intelligence tools out there to use for reporting and business needs, it is sometimes hard to choose one that will fit the business. One tool, that is loved by many, could assist you in just that. This tool is non-other than Web Intelligence. Webi is a powerful tool to build beautiful and interactive visualizations. Take your reports to the next level by watching this webinar!
During this webinar, Michael showcased the latest enhancements and features that Web Intelligence has to offer from a data visualization perspective. Michael covered topics such as input controls, intra-document linking, and so much more. After watching this webinar, users will be able to produce a new level of eye-catching dashboard designs.
It’s not often that you get to ask BusinessObjects related questions live. That’s is why the Let’s Speak BO Webinar series asked SAP Product Expert, Samuel Polichouk of SAP France, to join us in a live Q&A to get your questions answered! In this fun and interactive webinar, we asked you, the community, to send us your BusinessObjects related questions so that Samuel could directly address them in this webinar.
The questions ranged from Web Intelligence, to BO Admin, and so much more! Samuel provided answers to each question that came in and followed up with a demo if applicable. This style provided so much value to all users present.
One user asked a great question on “How to link from an image that is either on a website or BusinessObjects Server with out having any text involved?” Samuel followed up by informing the group that there is technically no feature currently to make an image clickable. However, Samuel did provide a great work around for those looking to achieve this!
This is only one great example to describe the great session we had as a community in this webinar. I encourage you to watch this fantastic session. It will provide an abundance of value to BusinessObjects users.
The Let’s Speak BO Webinar series that began in the winter of 2015 just recently concluded its third straight year of bi-weekly Business Intelligence Webinars with a fantastic close. Adam Lange, with A. Lange Consulting, lead a jam packed session dedicated to all of the new things our BusinessObjects community can expect when upgrading to BI 4.2 SP6. From Administrative enhancements to reporting feature releases, our SpeakBO listeners received a wealth of information to consider with their BusinessObjects investment moving forward into the New Year.
For me, it has been a privilege not only hosting the Let’s Speak BO webinar series for three years, but also forming relationships with the vast BusinessObjects community worldwide. Some of my favorite emails and calls have been with devoted listeners expressing gratitude and excitement for the free educational offering, which seems to be quite unique these days in the space of SAP BusinessObjects information sharing when it comes to the original core BusinessObjects toolset.
Here’s a look at some of the topics hosted in 2018 that viewers found very helpful to not only improve their personal work with the tools, but also inspire decision making when it comes to upgrades, looking into third party solutions, leveraging the existing platform and all of its features, assisting group training within organizations, and more.
BusinessObjects Administration:
This year we hosted a variety of topics for BusinessObjects Administrators. The topics include:
...and of course the latest and greatest with the recent release of BI 4.2 SP6.
Inspired by our listeners, the Let’s Speak BO webinar series has put together a new lineup of Administrative topics for 2019.
Topics like:
Customizing your BI Launchpad for Global Branding and Organization Synchronization
Discovering the Administrative Management Tool in Web Intelligence
A Migration look at Converting Desktop Intelligence Reports to Web Intelligence
…and much more!
The World of Web Intelligence in 2018:
One of the most requested, well attended, and popular topics among the BusinessObjects community seems to remain that of the well-regarded reporting tool- Web Intelligence. This year on Let’s Speak BO, we put together more topics on Web Intelligence for our listeners than ever before. And still, they cannot seem to get enough.
In a single hour, our viewers received fantastic deep-dives into topics like:
As a listener myself to these amazing sessions, I have learned a lot about where the community of BusinessObjects is in regards to educating themselves and wanting to improve upon their usage of these fantastic tools. It inspires me to further my relationships with individuals and organizations, large or small, out there who are inspired to grow within their investment by continuing to learn about these tools, and more importantly, help others within their organization expand their reaches by learning and educating themselves as well.
To conclude the year, I would like to thank a special few of our listeners who shared countless calls and emails with me chatting about their experiences with BusinessObjects and sharing their story on how they lead educational sessions and webinars of their own, inspired by our bi-weekly webinar series. Or how a professor of a prestigious university has his students not only listen live to our webinars, but then write papers or conduct group projects on what they learned, to better prepare them for the real world.
These stories, I personally get to leave the year with, have truly inspired what’s to come:
2019’s Line up of Webinar Topics
Open Format Discussions
Live Q&A’s
…and brand new customer case studies that I hope you all continue to enjoy and benefit from.
Bree-Anna MustadLet’s Speak BO Together– Highlights of 2018
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Did you miss our March 15th webinar Tips and Techniques Used to Convert SSRS Report to Web Intelligence? We have a quick summary of the webinar with the webinar presenters’ key takeaways from their session.
Did you miss our February 15th webinar 
