IBM Global Services

BI 7 – New features

By: Sadiq Shaikh

Email: sashaikh@in.ibm.com
Date: 13-April-2006
 New features in BI 7

- Flexibility
-Transformation Concept
- DataStore object
- Data Transfer Process
- Real-Time Data Acquisition
- Administration Cockpit
- High Performance Analytics
- Near-line Storage
- Enterprise Reporting, Query, and Analysis
Query, Reporting & Analysis – Designing a Query
Query, Reporting & Analysis – Designing a Report
Query, Reporting & Analysis – Designing a Web Application
- BEx Web Printing
- Information Broadcasting - Enhancements
- Business Planning and Analytical Services
- Further Enhancements

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 New terminology in BI 7

- The Administrator Workbench is now called Data Warehousing Workbench.

- The ODS object is now called DataStore object.
- The transaction ODS object is now called as direct update DataStore
- The transactional InfoCube is now called real-time InfoCube.
- The RemoteCube, SAP RemoteCube and virtual InfoCube with services are now referred
to as VirtualProviders.
- The monitor is now called the extraction monitor, to distinguish it from the other monitors.

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 Modeling the EDW - Flexibility
BI 7 provides additional flexibility for implementing new data models and changing
existing ones :

Remodeling Toolbox
Changing InfoCubes without rebuilding them from scratch – improved flexibility. As of
now applicable only for infocube. To access re-modeling option select InfoCube->right
click Additional function->Remodelling
Note: During (dictionary-based) conversion process it is not possible to get data in
queries, aggregates will be automatically deactivated and need to be rebuilt.
Transporting remodeling is not possible

Enhanced DataStore objects (formerly: ODS objects)

Improved performance and flexibility. New DataStore type: Write-optimised (without
change-log, no activation queue)

Enhanced Info Sets

Improved flexibility
Integrate InfoCubes into join condition, can have join between infocube and master data
(outer join between master data and InfoCube).

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 Remodelling

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 InfoSet with master data and InfoCube

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 Transformation concept

BI 7 significantly improves transformation capabilities.

Improved performance, flexibility and usability

Graphical UI
Unification of transfer and update rules
Grouping (Ex. Sales agent and his manager)
New rule type: end routine – Data after transformation
New rule type: expert routine (pure coding of transformation)

Transformation directly links from source Infoprovider

(Datasource) to target Infoprovider (Infosource usually not
required)

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 Transformation

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 Data transfer process
BI 7 improves and streamlines the data flow definition and process chain set-up. In addition,
it provides new real-time data acquisition capabilities that facilitate operational reporting:

Data transfer process (DTP)

Data distribution within SAP BI (from PSA or Info Providers to Info Providers)
Improved transparency of staging processes across data warehouse layers
(PSA, DWH layer, ODS layer, Architected Data Marts)
Improved performance
Separation of delta mechanism for different data targets (Ex: Daily/Weekly load)
Enhanced filtering in dataflow

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 Data Transfer process

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 Data Transfer process

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 Data Transfer process (Filter option)

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 Dataflow

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 DataStore object

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 DataStore Screen

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 Comparison of DataStore Object Types

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 Delta option

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 Real time data acquisition

Enhanced real-time data acquisition capabilities

XML Web service
Direct push into PSA (instead of Service API/Delta Queue)
Near-real-time InfoPackage & DTP
Daemon-based update from delta queue (BW Service API)
Daemon-based update of DataStore objects
(ODS layer) – including lean staging (with minimized logging)

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 Real time data acquisition

- Enhanced real-time data acquisition capabilities

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 Real-time data access

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 High performance Analytics

BI 7 provides various tools to increase the data load and query performance
Significantly – among them the innovative high performance analytics approach.
Thus, the implementation of large enterprise data warehouses is facilitated.

High performance analytics (HPA) / BI Accelerator (BIA)

A new paradigm for high performance data access.
- Query performance is improved by factor 10 - 100
- HPA is used in connection with KM search engine TREX
- TREX indexes - Vertical indexes in which stored data in column wise not row wise
- No need of change run in aggregates

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 Near-line storage

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 Administrator cockpit

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 Enterprise Reporting, Query and Analysis

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 Query , Reporting and Analysis.
Query design takes place in the Business Explorer (BEx) Query Designer,
a Visual Basic .NET-based Unicode-compliant tool.

State-of-the-art UI concept, providing for example:
Available tasks for a selected object presented via a task pane
Message panel shows warnings and error messages in context  helps to avoid or
correct errors
Enhanced application menus, toolbars and context menus
Extended visualization of status and user actions

Support of multi-selected objects – drag&drop, properties

Options for BI-integrated Planning

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 Report designer
Designing a Report
Report design takes place in the Business Explorer (BEx) Report Designer - a new,
VB .Net-based tool that allows to create formatted, print-optimized reports.

Standard formatting: Font styles (e.g. bold, italic) and colors, etc.

Group level changes with individual formattings

Layout options, for example
Height of rows, width of columns
Multiline column headers
Flexible positioning of fields
Merger of cells

Support of hierarchies

Integration of texts, pictures, and charts

Header and footer for reports and pages

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 Web application designer

Model-driven BI application building

Wizards for charts, maps, command editing
Wizard for layout elements (e.g. buttons)
Intellisense“ support for Web API developers
Easy integration of native HTML commands

New layout elements (Tab strips etc.)

New Web items

New chart types, e.g. GANTT chart, MTA (Milestone trend analysis) chart

Design of planning aware business applications

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 Web printing

Comfortable PDF based BEx Web printing

Any type of BEx Web query, Report or Web Application can be converted to PDF and printed

Leveraging the SAP NetWeaver AS integration with Adobe Document Service

Adobe Acrobat Reader required, no plug-ins necessary

Printing options can be maintained globally or individually by an end-user

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 BEx PDF Web Printing

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Business planning and analytics services (BI integrated planning)

Open and flexible planning framework for all SAP applications

Fully integrated with BI and analytics services

One user interface, one design environment, one engine

Shared services and persistency and integrated meta data

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 Further enhancement

Modeling the EDW

Data Warehousing Workbench
New infocube maintanence UI like ODS
Contains process chain maintanence,monitor, delta queue etc.
Display complete dataflow from source to target
PSA mandatory
Running the EDW
Process Chains
Display-only mode, copying of process chain
Additional functionality(interupt process,workflow, and process types (condition),
choosing background user for execution process
New Analysis Authorization concept
Higher flexibility and simplified modeling

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 Process chain enhancement

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 Data warehouse workbench

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 InfoCube maintenance

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 Distinction between 3.X and BI 7 objects

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 BI 7 vs. 3.x DataSource

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 Migration

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 DataSource Migration

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 DataSource replication

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 Thank You

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