New challenger to Business Objects EDGE

IBM have recently announced the release of IBM Cognos Express – “…an all-in-one business intelligence and planning solution specifically designed and priced for midsized clients.”

Targeting the mid-market space, the product appears to be a direct response to the success of the SAP Business Objects EDGE product. Perhaps, confirming that the mid-market space is a vast potential untapped market, IBM Cognos have released their product in three flavours:

• Reporter – for ad hoc reporting
• Advisor – for dashboarding KPI’s
• Xcelerator – in memory analytics

Active Directory SSO with Vintela in XI 3.1

Looking to set up Active Directory Single sign on with Vintela in XI 3.1?

While there is documentation on the subject on the SAP portal, you would benefit greatly from reading Josh Fletcher’s step by step guide to the process.

One to bookmark.

Business Objects Certifications FAQ

A good FAQ on Business Objects certifications has been posted on the Business Objects Board (BOB).

The original post on certifications was running to over 40 pages, so a group of people have put together a FAQ to save you some time. Well worth a read if you are considering getting certified.

And if you aren’t considering certification, why not? It demosntrates your understanding of a whole range of Business Objects features, increases the opportunities available to you, and helps you to stand out against your peers.

Fellow blogger, Joshua Fletcher, recently completed the BOCP-DI exams. He now has all four BOCP certifications. I’d say he is a valuable asset to his organisation, wouldn’t you?

Data Integrator Book

Well not quite.

Why hasn’t a book been written on Data Integrator? There must be someone out there in the community who can write a suitable book.

I make extensive use of the BOBJ Forum (BOB) for any Data Integrator issues and I also recently found this link to Data Integrator Tips and Tricks. This might help someone out of a tricky spot.

It’s author, Werner Daehn, is a regular poster in the Data Integrator forums on BOB and is the Data Integrator Product Manager. He has also spoken at several events.

Perhaps Werner can write a book? I’ll buy it.

SAP TechEd 2009

My previous post brought your attention to the SAP World Tour 2009, an event focused on IT directors, managers and executives.

If you are a developer, and feel a bit left out, fear not!

SAP TechEd2009 is being hosted in the following locations:

• Phoenix October 13-16
• Vienna October 27-29
• Shanghai November 11-12
• Bangalore November 18-20

These events are normally packed with ideas, hints and tips that you can take back with you and implement.

Jon Reed from jonerp.com has written a number of interesting posts about previous TechEd events that are well worth reading.

Registration is still open, and if you apply early enough, there are some early bird conference fee reductions you can benefit from.

SAP User ID required for exams

I recently booked a Business Objects Data Integrator exam (DMDI201) at the Pearson Vue website.

On this occasion I noticed that the Pearson Vue website now requests that you enter your SAP User ID:

Pearson Vue SAP User ID Screen

Submitting my SAP User ID allowed me to continue with booking my exam.

If you don’t have a SAP User ID, how can you book an exam? In the first instance, I suggest you contact your regional SAP Support office. They should be able to set up a SAP User ID for you.

This post on the Business Objects forum suggests that people are able to get their SAP User ID’s by contacting support.

Give them a try.

A handy Xclesius addin

As a fan of Edward Tufte’s sparklines, I was pleased to see the sparkline functionality built into an addin for Xcelsius 2008.

This sparkline tool is one of a number of new graphical tools built into a package called XComponents. Based on Flex/Flash technology, the addin is easily installed into your Xcelsius 2008 application.

I can’t find any information regarding the licencing of this addin or support, although an email address is provided if you want further information. I have installed it on my own machine purely to have a play.

These tools appear to have been around for a few months now, and the feedback is positive. If you are looking to add a bit more visual impact to your Xcelsius demos, it might be worth giving it a look.

11/03/09 Update: Details regarding licencing of this addin can be found in the comments section of this post. Thanks Donald.

Searching for a hot fix or service pack

Are you stuggling to locate a Hot Fix or Service Pack for your SAP Business Objects software?

If so, take a look at the following SAP Software Download search site.

As far as I can tell, only Xcelsius and Crystal Report hot fixes are listed here. For Enterprise products, you should be able to find them via ESD.

SAP Financial Results

SAP announced their financial results this morning.

Key items are:

• Total sales rose to 3.49 billion euros from 3.24 billion euros
• Fourth-quarter net income climbed to 850 million euros from 756 million euros
• License revenue fell to 1.32 billion euros from 1.42 billion euros a year earlier
• Revenue from software and related services increased to 2.67 billion euros from 2.47 billion euros
• Won’t forecast 2009 software and software-related revenue due to “the continued uncertainty surrounding the economic and business environment.”
• Reducing workforce by 3,000 to 48,500 staff

Further details can be found by reading the following links:

http://www.sap.com/about/investor/financialnews/press.epx?pressid=10799

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8wr_nTu6B80&refer=home

How to handle object conflicts with the XI 3.0 Import Wizard

The Import Wizard is a useful tool to migrate objects from a Business Objects source system to a new destination system. However, importing objects can potentially present the user with conflicts with existing object names or CUIDs.

To overcome this, the user can instruct the Import Wizard to import based on CUID or by object name. When checking by CUID, the Import Wizard will check the CUID of the source object and see if it exists in the destination system. Alternatively, it can check to see if the source object name and path exists in the destination system.

We are going to use the following scenario to demonstrate both import examples:

Source system

Monthly Store Sales.rep (CUID ID = 123)

Store Managers Report.rep (CUID ID = 456)

Destination system

Monthly Store Sales.rep (CUID ID = 123)

Store Managers Report.rep (CUID = 789)

Importing based on object CUID

If you are importing objects based on the object CUID, you need to let the Import Wizard know what to do if the CUID exists in the destination system already.

Three options are available to you:

• Update the destination object. If the names differ you rename the object

In this scenario, Monthly Store Sales will copy across with no problem as they share CUID and name. The Store Managers Report shares the same name but different CUID. As the CUID differs, we are going to import the object, keep the CUID but give it a new name – Store Managers Report (2).rep

• Update the destination object. If the names differ you do not import the object

In this scenario, the Monthly Store Sales will copy across. However, the Store Managers Report has a different CUID, so this will not be imported.

• Do not import import the object

In this scenario, the CUID for the Monthly Store Sales already exists. The report will not be imported. There is also a CUID conflict with the Store Managers Report, so this also will not be imported.

The three CUID scenarios can be placed into a matrix:

import-wizard-scenarios-xi3-update-by-cuid

Importing based on OBJECT NAME

Importing based on object name examines both the source object path and name. Three options are available to you:

• Keep the destination object and import a renamed copy of the object

In this scenario, Monthly Store Sales will copy across with no problem as they share CUID and name. The Store Managers Report shares the same name but different CUID. Selecting this option creates a new object called Store Managers Report (2).rep with a CUID of 456.

• Update the destination object

In this scenario, the Monthly Store Sales will copy across. The Store Managers Report has a different CUID. The destination CUID will be kept.

• Do not import import the object

(In this scenario, the Monthly Store Sales and Store Managers Report already exist in the destination. The reports will not be imported.

The three name scenarios can be placed into a matrix:

import-wizard-scenarios-xi3-update-by-name

So some care and consideration needs to be given when importing objects using the Import Wizard. If you are in doubt, it is always best to select the option that doesn’t overwrite existing objects.