In general BI terms, we could define aggregation as the process of summarizing information at a certain level of detail in order to improve the performance. The Kimball Group defines Aggregate Navigation as the ability to use the right aggregated information and recommends to design an architecture with services that hide this complexity from the end user. In the BusinessObjects world the same concept is called Aggregate Awareness and the database administrators community usually refers to it as query re-write.

In SAP BusinessObjects, this can be achieved through the use of the function @aggregate_aware, contexts and incompatible objects in universe designer. At a database level (RDBMS), certain vendors provide this feature through Materialized Views with query re-write option (Oracle, Sybase, DB2, Informix, PostgreSQL and some others).

So here we have the dilemma: where to place this logic in a customer environment: in the physical layer or in the logical layer?

Both options are valid, but there are some considerations that need to be taken into account from different points of view:

Architectural trade-offs

The information seen in the table above can already be interpreted, but as a summary, my recommendation would be:

Implementing Aggregate Awareness in SAP Business Objects:

• Ideal for an architecture with many database sources (not all database sources support the query re-write feature and it needs to be maintained in each of them)
• Good to have if the database vendor may be changed in the future (no changes needed in the universe)
• No access to strong Database Administrators that can properly tune the database
• Closed reporting architecture relying on a strong semantic layer in Business Objects
• There is a need for a centralized metadata repository

Implementing query re-write mechanisms in the RDBMS:

• Ideal for an architecture with many reporting tools accessing the same database
• Access to strong Database Administrators
• It simplifies universe design
• There is no need for a centralized data repository

If after reading this post you still have doubts on what direction to go for at your company or customer, do not hesitate to contact clariba at info@clariba.com or leave a comment below.

How to implement row-level security into a space of Explorer?

The solution to this challenge cannot be based in any case of security implemented at universe level, in SAP BO Explorer the information of the spaces is retrieved when we index the space, this means that any kind of security applied at universe level will have a direct impact when we index the space. What we needed was a space with all the information but able to be filtered on demand based in some personalization rules.

With SAP BO Explorer 3.2 we are able to generate and apply this kind of security by creating two spaces: one reference space with all the possible information to explore and one personalized, where we will be able to filter the information displayed on demand based on the rules of personalization and making use of the reference space.

Definition of the scenario

To be able to follow the implementation of the solution, assume that we start from:

• SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 installed and fully operational
• SAP BusinessObjects Explorer 3.2 installed and fully operational

To make it easy to follow I will make use of the eFashion universe and we will need to create users in BO according with the list of values of Name of Manager dimension (Store -> Store Details->Name of manager).Note that the name of the users should be exactly the same as the values of the dimension.

We will create a new space based on the eFashion universe information. The personalization rule is that the Store managers will have access to the space but they will only be able to see the information related to their Store(s).

Creating the e-Fashion Reference space

First open SAP BO Explorer and login with administrator credentials. Click in Manage Spaces, select e-Fashion Universe and press New

In the tab Properties introduce a Name, in our case eFashion Ref, and select a folder under Public Folders, for the example Public Folders -> Explorer Spaces

The users should not be able to access this space, so remember to uncheck the option Show on Home Page

In the tab Objects select the objects that we will use in the space, in the example this tab will look like this

Then click Validate the space and then OK to save the space

Now you will have to Index the space, to do this just press the Index buttonOnce the status check shows the following symbol the space is successfully indexed.

Creating e-Fashion Personalized Space

Now we will implement the space to be accessed by the users, in this space we will make use of the eFashion Reference space created before to build a space with the personalization rules defined.

Log in with Administration rights into SAP BO Explorer, go to Manage Spaces, select the eFashion universe and press New. In the tab Properties introduce a Name, in our case eFashion Pers, and select a folder under Public Folder, for the example Public Folder -> Explorer Spaces

Select the same objects that we have used to create the eFashion Ref space

Go to tab Personalization, check Personalize information space Exploration and Select the eFashion Ref space from the list Select an information space

Now select User, from the table To Filter, and select Name of the Manager in the drop-down list in the column Filtered By.

We will link the rest of the dimensions of the personalized space with their corresponding ones on the reference space. The Personalization tab should finally look like this:

Validate the space and press Ok to save it and Index the new space eFashion Pers

Security Topics

Before testing the solution, and to avoid strange behaviors of the SAP BO Explorer spaces, we will have to review the security applied to the different components involved in SAP BusinessObjects. To “make our lives easier” I suggest creating a User Group (i.e. Explorer Users) in SAP BO and I strongly recommend reviewing this list of topics to ensure that the group has:

• Granted access to Explorer application
• Granted access to the Universe
• Granted access to the Connection used on the universe
• Granted access to the folder where the spaces will be stored.

In this example, what I did was to grant View On Demand access to all of the items of the list.

Finally the solution is ready to test!

Testing the solution

Log on in SAP BO Explorer with one of the users we have created, i.e. Quinn, from the Home tab we will access the eFashion Pers space and see only the data belonging to manager Quinn

If you log on with another user created, i.e. Steve, from the Home tab we will access the eFashion Pers space and see only the data that belongs to Steve

I hope you found this article interesting. For any queries regarding the contents of this article please leave a comment and I will readily reply.

If you have not  read the first article on SAP Explorer yet, check it out.

Just as a brief reminder that both this and the previous tool can be downloaded (if you are an SAP partner) through SAP Marketplace

If you are not an SAP partner but still feel like trying these tools you can still download the mobile applications from the app store and try out the demo servers SAP has made available.

Now let’s start reviewing the second Mobile tool from SAP Business Objects

SAP BI Mobile

The SAP BI Mobile application allows WebI and Crystal reports to be displayed and distributed through Mobile devices. The application we will review here is the Ipad version but other mobile devices are also supported. The Ipad version of this application can only be installed if you have Business Objects XI 3.1 SP3 or higher, so be prepared to patch your system if it is not at this level.

Click Here to find a complete overview of this application.

The first step to get this application running is to install the server side of the software. To do so you need to download two files from the SAP Marketplace: the BI Mobile 3.1 SP3 file and also the BI Mobile SP4 (required for Ipad support)

Installation

The installation is also straightforward and you should only modify the default settings of the install if your Business Objects system configuration requires it.

For example, if you have a web server separated from the application server then you will have to install those two sides separately (Custom Install). In our example, since all the components are on the same machine we will install all the software on the same place (Complete Install).

You can see in the screen below how components are separated in the install process.

Once you run through the install for the BI Mobile SP3, you will also need to install SP4. This patch installation does not require any configuration and will only write the patched files on the home business objects directory.

After these two installations are complete you will notice new applications are installed on the server components of you Business Objects system.

Run both of the Configure as a service options (only on windows install) so you can also have the BI Mobile components available as services under windows.

Make sure your new Mobile services are started and remember to set them to start automatically in case they need to remain ON along with the Business Objects system.

Deploying Web Components

The web part of the BI Mobile application has also been generated during installation but for some reason they are not automatically deployed (at least in our test cases). Therefore you will need to move them yourself to the Tomcat webapps directory so they are deployed.

Browse to the following directory: $BOBJ_Home/Business Objects 12.0/java/

Locate the following files:

• MobileBIService.war
• MobileOTA.war
• MOBIServer.war

Copy these files to the webapps directory located at: $BOBJ_Home/Tomcat55/webapps

When the .war files are copied to this directory they will be automatically picked up by Tomcat and new directory apps will be created. If the deployment is successful you should be able to access the Mobile default web page at:

http://yourserver:8080/MobileOTA

If a webpage comes on with options for different mobile devices, we are now ready to install/configure the mobile application on the ipad.

The Mobile Application

First off, we need to download the application from the App Store. You would find it under the name SAP BI Mobile (do not confuse with Mobile One app)

Once downloaded, it is time to configure the settings for a new Mobile connection.  Start the app on the Ipad and click on the Settings option at the bottom.

Select the “add a connection” option where you will have to provide the following:

• Connection Name
• Server URL. This is the name:port of the machine where the BI Mobile web component has been installed (without http in front)
• The CMS name that controls the BI Mobile server components
• The Authentication method
• Username and Password

Save the configuration and select the newly created connection.

If the connection is successful we will face the following screen on the Ipad application.

The connection to the mobile server has been successful but we have no reports to show yet. To make new reports available to the mobile application we will have to tag them as mobile compatible. This is done by adding the reports to a category called Mobile. This category can be customized as desired but for this example we will use the default value.

Select the reports we want to make available on the BI Mobile application and categorize them as Mobile.

NOTE: In most cases the category does not previously exist and you might need to create it prior to this step.

Almost immediately after this is done, you will see the categorized reports appear on the lower part of the BI Mobile application.  The reports are now ready to be downloaded to the Ipad.

Click on the green download button that appears next to each report.

When the download is completed the downloaded report will appear on the upper part of the BI Mobile application. We can now click on the report on the upper part and you will find the Mobile version of your WebI/Crystal report.

Be aware that not all WebI capabilities are supported by the BI Mobile version. To understand the limitations you can review the product guide here

On the same document we can also find some useful best practices on how to design a WebI/Crystal report for Mobile viewing and templates that can help you when designing new reports according to mobile devices´ size.

Although the variety of graphs and interaction in the BI Mobile application is still quite basic, we think SAP is in definitely on the right track.

Appendix on Business Objects XI 4.0

Although our example reviews version 3.1 of the Mobile application we also advise to review the guide for release 4.0 as it contains additional features on the BI Mobile application. The additional features include in-table graphics such as percentage bars or sparkline trends. See screenshot below:

Conclusion on SAP BusinessObjects Mobility Solutions

This is a promising start. Chances are that  soon SAP will extend the devices covered, support more complex graphs and take better advantage of the Ipad interaction capabilities as well.

With mobile solutions you will be able to optimize your existing investment by bringing your content to more mediums, you will be able to provide instant answers to more people, no matter where they are working from, therefore, you will boost the performace of your organization. All bets are on mobility!

If you are interested or have worked with this application, or if you feel it might be useful in your organization, please leave a comment below.

To Register for the Webinar CLICK HERE

We officially open our MENA BI Webinar Series with the first webinar about Clariba Finance Central, an interactive and user-friendly solution, which centralizes all financial information in one dashboard allowing for extended analysis in a highly visual format, putting instant power in the hands of the CFO. With this single version of the truth, your finance department can visualize all relevant financial KPIs and perform easy comparisons with budgets and performance targets.

The solution was developed using leading SAP BusinessObjects BI technology and can be integrated with any data source and adapted for any industry. Moreover, it can be incorporated into your company’s Microsoft Office and mobile devices, allowing for easy access to historic and current data.

The Webinar will have the following Agenda:

• Welcoming & Introduction by SAP MENA
• Clariba Finance Central:
• Challenges of Finance departments
• Benefits of our solution
• Interactive Demo
• Presentation of SAP BusinessObjects suite by SAP MENA
• Q&A

To Register for the Webinar CLICK HERE

For more information about our SAP BusinessObjects solutions for Finance Departments, visit our web site to view a demo video about Clariba Finance Central: Click Here

Best Regards,
Xavier Marigó
Clariba Sales Manager MENA