Presentation on Crystal Reports and Business Objects Enterprise Features

Crystal Report XI-R2 & Business Objects XI-R2 Features Discussion

Crystal Reports XI-R2 Features

Agenda Introduction Running a report Report Wizard Crystal Professional Summary Reports Cross-tabs

What is Crystal? Report writer for DB2, Oracle, Ms-SQL, PeopleSoft ® and other databases We can create reports, data files, letters, labels and merge files for mass e-mails

Running a Crystal Report Most users only run reports but not the full application flow Reports depends on data source or backend

Databases Relational Structures Key Field - a field which uniquely identifies each row of data on a table Multiple Tables Empty or Null rows do not take up space Can have virtually unlimited rows

Understanding DB2 Database Application uses forms to enter or change data in an DB2 database Data entered on one form used by other forms, reports, jobs DB2 Tables and Views Report Spreadsheet Crystal Reports Application

Report Wizard Find a database view or table Link multiple tables and/or views together May need to link on multiple fields

Report Wizard Logon to database Database displays table and views in expandable ‘nodes’ by owner

Report Wizard Add fields Select records Select Template Optional Can create master templates

Record Selection within Report Wizard

Crystal Reports Toolbars Standard Toolbar Formatting Toolbar Insert Tools Toolbar Expert Tools Toolbar Navigation Toolbar

Toolbars Expert Tools Toolbar Database Expert Group Group Sort Record Sort Select Section Formula Workshop Template Format Highlighting

Professional Window Save – often Print Sort the data Export into a spreadsheet for verification Summary information Grouping

Report Selection within Crystal Professional

Exporting Crystal Reports Click envelope Send to non-Crystal user .pdf file Microsoft Word file Excel file Datafile for mail merge

Formatting Report titles Column headings Logos and pictures Borders and colors Headers and footers Charts and tables

Summary Reports Summary Report Create full report Hide or suppress detail Can suppress detail based on formula Suppress if balance = 0

Summary Operations Sum Average Maximum and minimum Count and distinct count Statistical analysis

Drill Down Reports Drill down report Summary reports Double click on summary to get detail within a group Mouse pointer becomes a magnifying glass when drill-down is toggled For confidential information (ie salary of employees) Suppress (No Drill-Down)

Groups Group sort with breaks Summarize by group Subtotals Exclude group based on selection criteria Exclude vendors with 0 balances Grand total at end of report

Formula Editor Check formula syntax

Cross-Tab Overview Summarize large quantities of data Rows and columns for an easy to read format Identify trends, make comparisons Descriptions where ‘by’ is included Best of all it’s remarkably easy!

When to use Cross-Tabs Average GPA by major Admit type by Ethnicity Hope awards by classification

Cross-Tab Tips Fields with most groups should be rows for printing purposes Cross-tab cells cannot contain anything but numbers created from summary functions Select multiple objects by using CTRL-click. Then formation all at the same time through Formatting toolbar or the Format Editor Cannot drill down on a cross-tab cell

Editing an Existing Cross-Tab Right click in white box in upper left hand corner

Alerts When a value requires immediate action Bad Data Amount over a specified total Negative numbers Examples Printing > 500 letters (add paper to printer or use email) Report on SAT tape loads with Alert if GPA = H or G

Report Design 7 Things to Ask Before You Create a Report What is the purpose of the report? What fields do you want to include in the report? What views or tables are they from? Do you want all the records or a subset? How do you want the data grouped? How do you want the data sorted What summary calculations do you want in the report?

Crystal Tips When designing report, use ‘Saved Data’ if possible to save time, help overall performance Use parameters – Major fields Avoid big formulae

Tutorial for Crystal Report XI-R2 Drill Down Chart OLAP Cube Reports Report with Chart Example

Business Objects XI-R2 Features

Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools

USER INTERACTION TIER: CONNECTING ANY TYPE OF BI CONTENT TO THE USERS (Part 1 of 2) BUSINESS OBJECTS INFOVIEW 1) BOE XI includes an intuitive portal for both JAVA and .NET platforms. 2) BO InfoView allows customers to provide access to BI to large groups of users via the web, without the challenges of deploying desktop software products. 3) With its single web interface, it can access and interact with any type of business intelligence including reports, analytics, dashboards, scorecards, and strategy maps. PORTAL INTEGRATION KITS 1) BOE XI includes prebuilt integration kits for BEA WebLogic Portal, IBM WebSphere Portal Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, SAP Enterprise Portal, and Oracle Portal Server. 2) Additional portlets and portal integration kits can be built by partners or customers using the software development kits (SDKs) provided with BO Enterprise XI. DASHBOARDS AND SCORECARDS 1) BOE XI supports an entire set of performance management tools that help organizations align corporate actions with strategy by tracking and analyzing key business metrics and goals via management dashboards, scorecards, and alerting. 2) Business Objects dashboard and scorecard products consist of an integrated dashboard, scorecard, and dashboard builder, as well as a catalog of analytic templates and five integrated analytic engines. MICROSOFT OFFICE INTEGRATION 1) BOE XI includes tight integration with Microsoft Office including the ability to store and manage Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents in the system repository. 2) With BO Live Office, end users embed accurate, updatable data in documents, spreadsheets, and presentations while allowing IT to maintain control of the underlying information. 3) Users can then refresh the view or modify document parameters from within Office by logging in to BOE. Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide

USER INTERACTION TIER: CONNECTING ANY TYPE OF BI CONTENT TO THE USERS (Part 2 of 2) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide KEY USER INTERACTION INNOVATIONS Search 1) This allows BO XI users to search using the familiar Google interface and retrieve, index, and deliver BI content, presentations, business content in documents, and web pages. 2) These new capabilities reduce the time and effort users spend finding the specific piece of data or report they need to answer their business questions. Simply by entering text into the search box within InfoView, users will quickly see a relevant, categorized, and ranked set of results from with their XI Release 2 system. Encyclopedia 1) The BO Encyclopedia is a key innovation in BOE XI that delivers improved user insight by providing informative BI reference guides for your organization’s information. 2) BO Encyclopedia is accessible from every document, directly in your BI portal so users can easily locate and interpret the right information to more confidently and accurately make decisions. 3) All BO Encyclopedia content is stored and managed in the central repository and is available directly within the InfoView portal environment. Threaded Discussions 1) Discussions provide threaded notes that enable users to create and maintain comments on any documents in BOE. 2) Discussions are a fully integrated feature of the BOE environment and are displayed in the InfoView portal. 3) The system manages all threaded discussion information and stores it in the repository. 4) Discussion threads can be added to Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, and OLAP documents, and third-party managed documents like Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF.

DEVELOPER SERVICES: CONNECTING THE PLATFORM TO THE USERS (Part 1 of 2) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide DEVELOPER INTERFACES 1) BOE is composed of a powerful set of BI services, exposed through a set of software development kits (SDK). 2) All of the end-user interfaces provided by the platform are built on top of these SDKs, ensuring developers can access all aspects of the system. JAVA AND .NET SDKs 1) BOE provides tight integration with Java and Microsoft based platforms via native Java Platform, Enterprise Edition and Microsoft .NET. 2) Developers install these components on web application platforms including BEA WebLogic Server, IBM WebSphere Application Server, Apache, Microsoft Internet Information Services, Oracle 10g Application Server, or Sun Java System Web Server. 3) The developer services include support for document viewing, scheduling, and logic to understand and direct web requests to the appropriate BOE platform service. 4) The application server acts as the gateway between the web server and the rest of BOE components. 5) The application server is responsible for processing requests from your browser, sending certain requests to the web component adapter (WCA)*, and using the SDK to interpret components in Java server pages (.jsp files) or in active server pages (.aspx files). 6) BOE XI continues to support Crystal Server Pages (.csp) for legacy system support. However, developers are encouraged to use industry standard .jsp and .asp whenever possible when building web applications. *: The web component adapter runs on the web application server and provides all services that are not directly supported by the BOE SDK WEB SERVICE SDK 1) BO offers a comprehensive set of web services that supports organizations extending the reach of BI beyond the traditional corporate boundaries. 2) The BO web service SDK makes it easier and faster to integrate BO technology with other web-based applications, and it facilitates the deployment of BO XI with customized applications. 3) These web services are made available through a software development kit and consist of two parts—the server and the consumer. 4) On the server side, web services are deployed with BOE XI and are based on the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition framework. On the consumer side, the application programming interface (API) enables consumers to create web services that access XI Release 2 functionality using .NET or Java Platform, Enterprise Edition.

DEVELOPER SERVICES: CONNECTING THE PLATFORM TO THE USERS (Part 2 of 2) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide BOE XI offers a broad range of web services that include: 1) Session, for authentication, authorization, and user-setting management 2) BI Platform, to expose advanced platform features such as scheduling, search, user and group administration, server administration, platform events, and calendars 3) Report Engine, to display Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports in HTML, PDF, Excel, and XML format 4) Query, to build ad hoc query based on the BO Universe semantic layer QUERY AS A WEB SERVICE 1) BO Query as a Web Service is a wizard-based application that allows the creation of custom web services for specific queries. 2) Query as a Web Service gives customers the ability to integrate queries with any application or tool. 3) This ensures customers’ standard semantic layer (the BO Universe) can become the central hub of delivery for secure, trusted information wherever it is needed. 4) Using the simple-to-use wizard-based client component, IT staff or business users can quickly create the queries they would like to use. 5) At the end of this process the web service is available for use via a URL that can be added to any application. 6) A catalogue of queries as web services can be stored and managed for use by a range of users. 7) The generated web service can be consumed by any web service enabled application. 8) All of this makes the process of accessing trusted business intelligence within other applications or tools such as Xcelsius Enterprise as simple and manageable as possible.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 1 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide PLATFORM SERVICES OVERVIEW 1) The platform services tier is the core processing and management engine for using BOE XI. 2) The BI platform services tier is often referred to as the intelligence and processing tier because this is the area where the actual Data processing, document processing, and end-user interactivity access takes place. 3) The platform is segmented into a series of specialized services for different tasks and is linked by a highly-optimized communication framework. The individual services can be run from a single processor, multiple processors on the same machine, or in virtually any clustered multi-server environment. 4) The communication framework handles the movement of information between the platform services and SDKs, and provides end-user information access, delivery, and interaction. 5) You can access individual services via the provided Java, .NET, and web service SDKs so there is no need to directly access or configure the communication framework. 6) The Central Management Console (CMC) is included for full control over the BI platform. 7) In addition, specialized administration interfaces are provided when you require administration of specific-user access, document creation, and server configuration. 8) This is particularly important in decentralized system management environments where different people are responsible for different aspects of the deployment. 9) The result is a powerful, open, and complete BI platform that meets the needs of end users while providing IT with full control over the deployment. BUSINES OBJECTS ENTERPRISE PLATFORM SERVICES 1) BOE includes the entire set of cross-platform BI services and supports leading server and application platforms including Microsoft Windows, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, HP-UX, Red Hat Linux, and Novell SUSE Linux. In addition, it provides support for Java and .NET application servers and web servers. 2) The platform enables end users to view and interact with information. It allows intuitive on-report analysis for information exploration, discussion threads for collaborative decision making, and integrated scheduling and distribution of documents based on events, business calendars, or intervals. 3) IT management and administration benefit from the central repository for all content and user profiles, access to security entitlement databases for user, role, and document security, metrics management and performance management applications, and portal integration components.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 2 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide Management Server 1) The Central Management Server (CMS) is the central platform service and is responsible for maintaining a database of information about your BOE XI system. All the platform services are managed and controlled by the CMS. 2) The CMS also manages access to the system file store where the physical documents are actually managed. The system repository database is maintained using the provided MySQL database, or by using your preferred IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle database, or Sybase ASE .

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 3 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide 3) The database structure is automatically created when you set up your BOE XI system or it can be configured on a different database if you want to move your implementation to another environment. 4) All access to the repository is managed directly by the platform and management interfaces and by the SDKs and CMS data includes information about users and groups, security levels, BOE content, and services. The CMS also maintains the BOE repository, and a separate audit database of information about user actions. The CMS performs four main tasks: Maintaining Security 1) By maintaining a database of users and their associated object rights, the CMS enforces access rights to BOE and the types of tasks users are able to perform. 2) The platform manages user access and content delivery to broad internal and external user audiences. 3) Building on a hierarchical object-level security model, BOE enables the application of rights at both the folder and object level, and supports full inheritance at the user and group level. 4) The system is designed for access and integration with third-party security systems including the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), CA Site minder, Microsoft Active Directory, and Windows NT. 5) The BOE security system directly maps to these security systems so when a user is added to an LDAP group, he or she is automatically added to that same group within the platform. In addition, an integrated security system is available for those customers who do not currently use an entitlement database. 6) The system also supports the ability to use more than one entitlement database in the same implementation. This is particularly important in cases where organizations need to combine different audiences. For example, a system might maintain that internal users access the environment using an NT authentication database while business partner security information is stored in an LDAP database. Managing Objects 1) The CMS keeps track of the object location and maintains the folder hierarchy. 2) All system objects are called InfoObjects and essentially contain all the information about the actual object. The physical documents or objects are stored in a file store. 3) The separation of the object definition (metadata) from the physical document allows for fast and efficient processing as only the required information is retrieved from the system’s repository. In addition, by communicating with the scheduling and processing services, the CMS is able to ensure that scheduled jobs run at the appropriate times.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 4 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide Managing Servers 1) By staying in frequent contact with each of the services in the system, the CMS is able to maintain a list of service status. Report services access this list, for instance, to identify which cache server is free for a report viewing request. 2) BOE XI includes adaptive Crystal Reports page generation services that automatically add or remove service instances as work loads change or services become unavailable. 3) The CMS also handles intelligent load balancing and automated clustering using algorithms to eliminate bottlenecks and maximize hardware efficiency. 4) In a multi server environment, balancing load efficiently across multiple machines greatly enhances scalability and end-user response time. Therefore, most implementations do not require separate third-party load balancing software. Managing Auditing 1) By collecting information about user actions from each BOE service and writing these records to a central audit database, the CMS acts as the system auditor. This audit information allows system administrators to better track and manage their BOE XI deployment. 2) Typically, administrators provide the CMS with database connectivity and credentials when they install BOE XI, so the CMS can create its own system database and BOE repository database using your organization’s preferred database server. 3) The auditing functionality allows administrators to better understand which users accessed the enterprise system, which documents they interacted with, and the overall system metrics for system optimization. File Repository Services 1) In every BOE XI implementation, there is both an input and an output file repository service. The input file repository server manages all of the objects managed by the platform. 2) The output file repository server manages all of the report instances generated by the scheduling services. Event Services 1) The event service manages three event types: file-based, scheduled, or programmatic. 2) The event server notifies the CMS that the file-based event has occurred. The CMS starts processing any jobs that are dependent upon your file-based event. 3) Scheduled events are an effective way to link the execution of reports together. It is possible to have a report schedule processed based on the success of another scheduled report. Programmatic events are events that are triggered from within a custom application. After notifying the CMS of the event, the event service resets itself and monitors the directory for the appropriate file. When the file is newly created in the monitored directory, the event service triggers your file-based event.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 5 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide Schedule Services 1) Job servers provide scheduling capabilities for Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Desktop Intelligence as well as refreshing performance management metrics. 2) The report job server processes scheduled reports and generates report instances (instances are versions of a report object that contain saved data). 3) To generate a report instance, the report job server communicates with the database to retrieve the current data and then stores that instance in the repository. There are many options available for scheduling including scheduling based on a specified time a recurring schedule, or even a predefined business calendar. Depending on the object type, the scheduler can schedule objects to different formats such as Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Desktop Intelligence, Excel, CSV, PDF, Word, and text and schedule to different destinations including email, printer, or file server. 4) A job server processes scheduled actions on objects at the request of the CMS. A job server configured to process program objects is called a program job server. Program objects allow you to write, publish, and schedule custom applications, including scripts or Java programs that run against, and perform maintenance work on, BOE. 5) To run a program, the program job server first retrieves the files from storage on the input file repository server, and then runs the program. By definition, program objects are custom applications. Therefore the outcome of running a program will be dependent upon the particular program object that is run. Page Viewing Services 1) The Crystal Reports page server is primarily responsible for responding to page requests by processing reports and generating encapsulated page format (EPF) pages. 2) The key benefit of EPF is that it supports page-on-demand access so only the requested page is returned, not the entire report. This greatly enhances performance and reduces unnecessary network traffic for large reports. 3) The EPF pages contain formatting information that defines report layout. The page server retrieves data for the report from an instance or directly from the database (depending on the user request and the rights he or she has to the report object). When retrieving data from the database, the page server automatically disconnects from the database after it fulfills its initial request and if necessary, reconnects to retrieve additional data. This helps conserves database traffic and use of unnecessary database licenses. Cache Services 1) The cache services are responsible for handling all report viewing requests. The cache service checks whether or not it can fulfill the request with a cached report page before it requests new data from the database. For example, if the cache server finds a previously viewed page that has been stored with exactly the requested data, it returns that cached report page instead of retrieving the duplicate data. 2) By storing report pages in a cache, BOE XI avoids accessing the database each and every time a report is requested, greatly accelerating viewing performance for end users, while at the same time reducing unnecessary network traffic and database hits.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 6 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide 3) Crystal Reports Cache Server The cache server is accessed before the page server is used. 4) BOE XI also supports active data sharing with Crystal Reports. Active data sharing means that in situations where different reports access the same data, the documents can use shared data and the requested report can be rendered without an additional database hit even though the other report itself may be different. This results in a significant performance improvement across the entire system, including the database. A major benefit of active data sharing is as the load and usage increases, more data is cached, and the system runs more efficiently. 5) Desktop Intelligence Cache Server As with the Crystal Reports cache server, the Desktop Intelligence cache server is accessed before the page server is used. If the cache server cannot fulfill the request with a cached report page, it passes the request to the page server. The page server runs the report and returns the results to the cache server. The cache server then caches the report page for future use, and returns the data to the viewer. Report Services 1) Web Intelligence Report Server The Web Intelligence report server provides core Web Intelligence display and interaction within the platform for end-user query and analysis. 2) The Web Intelligence report server is accessed when the CMS requests the creation or viewing of a Web Intelligence document for further interaction. For users who want to conduct ad hoc query and analysis, the Web Intelligence reports server requests a predefined metadata object, called a universe, from the repository and opens an HTML or Java-based query panel. 3) Users select fields and/or filters through the interface. The Web Intelligence report server handles report modification and interaction. Due to the interactive nature of Web Intelligence, no separate report application server is required. Desktop Intelligence Report Services 1) The Desktop Intelligence Report service is the core engine that handles the collection of data, formatting, and layout of a Desktop Intelligence document. As a core service, is communicates with the CMS when a document is requested. 2) The service handles connection to the universe to collect the data. The CMS determines the user rights to the document and then generates the information required to view with the document. Report Modification Services 1) The Crystal Reports Report Application Server (RAS) is used by BO provided or custom-written applications that address interactive report creation and modification scenarios. When RAS is used within BOE, these applications are generally web based. 2) RAS has two main parts–the server that processes requests, and the API. When an application uses the RAS API to create and modify reports, the RAS Server processes these requests. 3) The RAS API that is used to create and modify reports is remoteable–meaning that the application that uses the RAS API can reside on a separate machine from the RAS Server. When used in combination with the BOE SDK, RAS can create reports and save them into the BOE Repository.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 7 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide New Multi-Dimensional Analysis Services 1) BO Voyager is a new web-based application that enables business analysts to easily navigate and perform analysis on their various OLAP data sources. It is a compelling next-generation web-based OLAP client and one of the key differences from OLAP Intelligence is the focus on providing the best possible user experience for analyst users. 2) Voyager documents are processed via the CMS and are serviced by the new Multi-Dimensional Analysis Services (MDAS) Server. 3) The CMS is used for user authentication and managing access rights to Voyager workspaces and connections while data level security is managed by the OLAP server. Voyager supports the following OLAP servers: • Essbase 7.0.x, 7.1.x and 9.0.x • SAP BW v3.0b, 3.1c, 3.5, and SAP BI 7 • MSAS 2000 SP4 • MSAS 2005 SP1 • Oracle OLAP 10g R2 (planned to be delivered in H2 2007) Performance Management Services 1) BO XI integrates specialized analytic engine services to support dashboard, scorecard and analytic products. 2) Each of these services can be configured separately depending on the license options purchased and the specific implementation requirements. More information on these services is available separately. 3) Within the performance management framework, there are specific graphic and analytic engine services managed by BOE. The arrow signifies that all these services plug directly into the Enterprise communication framework and take advantage of the platform management and deployment capabilities.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 8 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide Enterprise Communication Framework 1) Within the performance management framework, there are specific graphic and analytic engine services managed by BOE. The services are: • Analytics Service Metrics Service • Rules Service Mining Service • Profiling Service • Query Management Service • Dashboard Management Service • Performance Management Service • Set Analysis Service • Predictive Analysis Service • Process Analysis Service Dashboard and Scorecard Product Updates for BO XI Release 2 Productivity Pack 1) Dashboard and scorecard products from BO help organizations align corporate actions with strategy by tracking and analyzing key business metrics and goals via management dashboards, scorecards, and alerting. 2) Enhancements include enhanced workflow, a new user interface, and the ability to import and export additional assets including calendars, security on dimensions, rules, and alerts. This upgraded deployment tool will make it easier for customers to deploy enterprise-class dashboard and scorecard applications. Additional enhancements include the ability for Voyager documents and Web Intelligence report parts to be displayed in a dashboard frame. This allows for easier reuse of existing reports and documents and improved dashboard display. With Web Intelligence report parts, you can select sections of the report to be displayed in the dashboard frame, as well as a “compact mode” which allows you to remove toolbar from around the report and have a cleaner dashboard design. Platform Service Scalability 1) Platform services can be vertically scaled (use more processors on the same machine) to take full advantage of the hardware they are running on, and can be horizontally scaled to take advantage of multiple computers over a network environment. 2) This means that the services can all run on the same machine, or they can run on separate machines. The same service can also run in multiple instances on a single machine for reliability and load balancing. For example, you can run the central management server and the file repository server on one machine, while you run the report application server on a separate machine. This is called horizontal scaling. If the entire set of system services is running on a multi-processor computer, then you may choose to run multiple instances of each service on it. This is called vertical scaling. The services do not need to run on separate computers but rather take advantage of multiple processors on the same machine. 3) These include an understanding of where the data resides, the complexity of the application, the need to place processing power closest to the application to speed performance, and reduce network traffic and current and future hardware investments. 4) Once the system is up and running, individual services can be added, removed, and configured using the tools provided with the platform without restarting or reinstalling the entire system.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 9 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide Below are a few examples of how BOE could be deployed. The different shading refers to different physical hardware boxes that comprise the individual services. In this scenario, all services are deployed on a single Windows NT/2000/2003 machine. The platform accesses a portal server on a separate machine and databases are managed within an application. Some services are duplicated to spread the workload. When more than one service is installed, the system automatically load balances across them.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 10 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide In this scenario, the report processing services are placed on a UNIX machine closest to the ERP application to minimize network traffic. The remaining services are placed on a Windows machine closest to the end-user portal environment. The result is that the processing and display are separated for optimal performance of each task. The common framework communicates with each service regardless of the platform.

PLATFORM SERVICES: THE CORE BI SYSTEM (Part 11 of 11) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide In this scenario, a Linux server handles the web portal viewing services and system management while IBM AIX or HP-UX handles the core report processing. In this case, available hardware is used in a mixed-realm deployment to lower procurement costs while maximizing processing efficiency.

DATA SERVICES : COMPREHENSIVE AND FLEXIBLE DATA ACCESS (Part 1 of 1) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide BOE supports a flexible set of options for accessing, organizing, and exposing data to report writers, analysts, and end users. SEMANTIC LAYER 1) With BOE XI, you can easily and cost-effectively create a metadata-based semantic layer to unlock corporate data for end users. UNIVERSES 1) The Business Objects patented semantic layer is the foundation for empowering end-user query and analysis.It abstracts the complexity of data by using business language rather than data language to access, manipulate, and organize data. That business language is stored as objects in a universe file. 2) Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports use the universe to simplify the user creation process required for simple to complex end-user query and analysis. 3) Universes are a core component of BOE XI. All universe objects and connections are stored and secured in the central repository. 4) Universe designers need to login to BOE to access the system and create universes. Universe access and row-level security can also be managed at the group or individual user level directly from with the design environment. 5) The ability to build universes upon OLAP database sources have been updated so users can leverage their data stored in OLAP servers. Additionally, it has been further enhanced to support the Common Warehousing Meta model (CWM) version 1.1. BUSINESS VIEWS 1) As with universes, access to Business Views is managed by BOE security. 2) Business Views Manager is a tool designed to simplify the report creation experience and interaction by abstracting the complexity of data for report developers. 3) Business Views help separate the data connections, data access, business elements, and the overall business definition and allow for granular rights access control for report designers. 4) Business Views can only be used by Crystal Reports and are designed to simplify the data access and granular view time security required for Crystal Reports creation. 5) Business views support the combination of multiple data sources in a single view. 6) Business Views are fully supported in BOE XI.

SYSTEM MANAGEMENT TOOLS: FLEXIBLE ADMINISTRATION AND UPGRADES (Part 1 of 2) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide 7) BOE XI includes a series of dedicated, preconfigured platform management services for tasks such as password management, server metrics, and user access control to support decentralized management functions. CENTRAL MANAGEMENT CONSOLE 1) BOE provides for centralized and/or decentralized system management depending on the organizational needs. The system management is built on a common API providing granular control of the environment for tasks that include setting up user roles, security access, server administration, password management, and more. 2) The CMC is a web-based environment for administrators to easily access and configure the system while controlling the overall access rights, applications, and end-user viewing experience. From the Central Management Console, you can manage user-access and interaction rights at the folder, category, group, user, or object level. THE CMC MANAGES THE FOLLOWING SYSTEM ELEMENTS: 1) User and group creation and management, 2) User categories, 3) Security authentication services, 4) Services configuration, 5) Objects rights, 6) Processing configuration, 7) Scheduling, 8) Business calendars, 9) License keys, 10) Universes and data connections, 11) User interface settings and preferences CENTRAL CONFIGURATION MANAGER 1) The central configuration manager (CCM) is designed exclusively for the server management and configuration of your BOE services. 2) This tool allows you to start, stop, enable, and disable servers, and it allows you to view and configure advanced server settings.

SYSTEM MANAGEMENT TOOLS: FLEXIBLE ADMINISTRATION AND UPGRADES (Part 2 of 2) Click here to go Back to “Business Objects XI Functional Architecture and Tools” Slide IMPORT WIZARD 1) The Import Wizard is a locally-installed Windows application that guides administrators to simplify the process of managing the full lifecycle of BI deployments. This capability is called the BI Application Resource and allows customers to move documents (Web Intelligence, Crystal Reports, and Desktop Intelligence) and their associated dependencies (folders, categories, universes, connections, Business Views, cascading prompts, etc.) through the development lifecycle—from development, to test, to production—without the need to rewrite or recreate these elements. The import wizard can access a BO 6.x and/or a Crystal deployment and can import documents, semantic layer, security settings, users, and groups. 5) The Import Wizard runs as a Windows client, but can be used to import information into a new BOE system running on Windows, UNIX, and Linux by simply logging in to the CMS. This supports imports of Web Intelligence documents, universes, users, categories, and folders from the BO 5.1.4 and above. This includes all of the 6, 6.1.x, and 6.5.x repositories. In addition, BO XI Release 1 supports the full repository upgrade for Crystal Info 7.5 and Crystal Enterprise 8, 8.5, 9, and 10 and BO XI Release 2 supports automated upgrade from Crystal Enterprise 8.5, 9, 10, and BO XI. PUBLISHING WIZARD 1) The Publishing Wizard is a Windows desktop application that enables both administrators and end users to add documents to BOE. 2) By assigning object rights to BOE folders, you control who can publish reports and where they can publish them to. 3) The Publishing Wizard publishes reports from a Windows machine to BOE servers running on Windows or UNIX. 4) This tool allows you to start, stop, enable, and disable servers, and it allows you to view and configure advanced server settings.

Questions Later? Name: Biplab Kumar Sarkar Phone: +65 – 6396 2432 | Mobile: +65 – 972 78 972 Email: [email_address] [email_address] Get the tech briefs from Crystal Decisions http://support.crystaldecisions.com/ Books – “Crystal Reports 2008 for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us”, by Allen G. Taylor “ Crystal Reports 2008: The Complete Reference”, by George Peck ~~~Thanks for Attending the Session~~~

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