01-2011_bi_full
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
1/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
the world is in the midst o a businessintelligence revolution. BI has beenevolving beyond the domain o analysts who
construct elaborate queries and reports based
on weeks-old or even months-old data. Withdynamic dashboards, sizzling perormance,
and predictive capabilities, BI has been
spreading outside the realm o power users
and, with almost viral speed, has been land-
ing on the desktops o executive manage-
ment and department heads.
This is a revolution with its own maniesto,
based on ve very specic precepts:
BI must be actionable.
BI must be intuitive.
BI must be collaborative.
BI must be ast.
BI must be accessible.
Actionable BI
Driving Insight into Action
BI must provide constructive insight based
on the data collected in your transactional
system and then turn that insight into action.
BI should be less about making people more
ecient in their business processes thats
or your transactional system. Instead, BI
should be about making people more eec-
tive. For example, a transactional system
records what customers buy and how much
Sanjay J. PoonenExecutive Vice President
and General Manager
Business Analytics,
Line o Business, Industry
Solutions and Sales
SAP
B ifm
r
S-5 Assembling the BI Jigsaw Puzzle
Infosys Technologies Limited
S-7 Bring BI to Your Logistics Processes
Siemens IT Solutions and Services GmbH
S-9 6 Ways to Add Flexibility to Your
Planning Eorts
T-Systems
S-11 Reports and Analytics: Only as Goodas the Data That Feeds Them
IBM
S-13 Better Business Through
In-Memory Analytics
IBM Global Business Services
S-14 Lowered Costs or ImprovedPerormance? Achieve Both
Dolphin
S-15 Winning Battles in the BI War Zone
Every Angle US
S-16 Better BI Starts with Better
Data Quality
Capgemini
S-17 Insight at the Speed o Thought: Its
Possible with the Right BI Formula
Fujitsu
S-18 BI Can Be a Long Journey So HowDo You Start Delivering ValueNow?
Deloitte Consulting LLP
S-19 A Sure Path to Insight Across All o You
Data Sources Any Time, Any Place
Atos Origin
S-20 Not Yet Satisfed with Your
BI Results?
HP
Download this special report at
sapinsider.wispubs.com
INSIDE THIS SPECIAL REPORT
Beginning last all and continuing through 2011, SAP a s pas hav b
pushg h buas aa busss g (Bi) wh a wav w busss
aays sus:
SAP BusinessObjects BI and EIM 4.0, whh bg gh Bi a ps ma
maagm (eiM) hgy a way ha has v b b
SAP BusinessObjects Event Insight, a w su h a-m pssg a m-
g busss vs
SAP BusinessObjects analytic applications, ug 16 usy-spf sas (wh
zs m h pp)
SAP BusinessObjects Mobile, vg busss aays a sgh ay mb
v, aywh
SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand, a hs Bi su has asy s up, asy
ga, a asy us
SAP High-Perormance Analytic Appliance (SAP HAnA) swa, whh maks a-m Bi
pma a ay
SAP BusinessObjects enterprise perormance management (EPM) and governance, risk, and
compliance (GRC) solutions, whh v gazaa agm a uy Grc avs
ths w pus ps a u vu bgg gh asaa a
ps aa. thy u hgs a apabs ha w hag h way mpa-
s hk abu a us Bi suh ha Bi w hag h way hy busss.
SAPinsiderask SAP exuv V Ps a Ga Maag Sajay J. P
xpa h mak yams ha a vg hs vu, a whas usms.
th
Best-Run Businesses Innovate Better with SAP
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
2/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
they pay or it. But a BI system should tell users which
customers are more protable than others, and then
provide options or increasing that protability.
Intuitive BI
Consumer-Grade Usability
Because companies have a wide range o skill sets
among their workorces, BI should also employ
consumer-grade usability. The average persons rame o
reerence regarding accessing inormation today is now
based on the Internet. When we use our browser at
home, we can easily and instantly access the inor-mation we need.
So why should it be that, when we get to the oce,
our abilities to locate inormation arent as ecient or
as eective as using a search engine? Consumer tools
SAP BusinessObjects BI and EIM 4.0
Other name: Aurora (former code name)
Availability: Released November 2010
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence 4.0 and
SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Inormation Manage-
ment 4.0 bring together SAPs BI and EIM suites in a
way that has never been done beore: The combinedtechnology makes it easier to access relevant inorma-
tion, allowing people to know their business, transorm
their decision making, and ultimately achieve remark-
able results. The solutions expand SAPs ootprint in
the emerging business analytics category.
With the 4.0 releases, SAP continues to deliver on
its vision o providing user autonomy by exposing
data rom any source in plain business terms with a
new and enhanced semantic layer. SAP increases
users ability to access and analyze data without ITs
involvement by oering a unied, more productive
user experience across the entire BI suite. By providing
both BI and EIM solutions on one scalable, integrated
platorm, SAP lowers costs and shortens implementa-
tion times, thereby making trusted inormation a
reality across all lines o business.
Learn more about the 4.0 releases at www.sap.
com/analytics or visit the business analytics blog at
http://blogs.sap.com/analytics.
th nw saP Bobjc Bi eiM s
SAP BusinessObjects Event Insight
Availability: Released Q4 2010
SAP BusinessObjects Event Insight is SAPs solution or
collecting, ltering, managing, aggregating, propa-
gating, and publishing business events in a consistent,
contextual way in an open and comprehensive
ramework across multiple servers, locations, and com-
panies. The sotware can layer on top o your existing
landscape to push inormation in real time and auto-
mate the process to nd relevant data.
SAP BusinessObjects Analytic Applications
Availability: 16 industry-specic apps available now
SAP teamed up with select partners to create 16 end-
to-end solutions across 10 industries to address
specic BI-driven business processes, such as trade
promotion eectiveness analysis within the consumer
products industry and sales analysis or retail.
These scenarios are built with an extensible reer-
ence architecture that essentially allows your SAP
team to snap them into place, with a typical deploy-
ment time o eight weeks. Developing these assets
rom scratch would take most companies more than
six months and would involve a considerable expense,
but SAP BusinessObjects analytic applications are less
expensive, can be deployed aster, and are built on a
backbone o industry best practices.
What ollows is a handy reerence guide to some o the new BI and enterprise inormation
management (EIM) tools and technology available rom SAP. For more inormation about any
o these products, contact your SAP representative or visit www.sap.com/analytics.
A
Re
aders
Guid
e
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
3/20
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
S-Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
and processes have become the gold standard. People
expect a search-based experience like the one Google
provides. They want the breadth and depth o applica-
tions that they nd in the Apple App Store. They want itnot just on their computers, but increasingly on mobile
devices, like iPads or BlackBerry smartphones, and they
want it now. Users expect that business applications will
behave just like their consumer-grade applications.
Collaborative BI
Collaborative Decisions Within and
Outside the Firewall
Given the extended nature o todays business networks,BI should enable collaboration inside and outside o a
companys rewall and should be agnostic with any
kind o data. Once again, the consumer world is leading
the business world here. People are collaborating more
For more inormation on these analytic
applications, please see the article
Purpose-Built, Industry-Specic Insight
Thats Eective andAgile? by Je Veisin this January-March 2011 issue o
SAPinsider(sapinsider.wispubs.com ).
SAP BusinessObjects Mobile
Availability:
Now: Support or BlackBerry, Windows
Mobile, and Symbian devices, as well
as a prototype or iPad
Coming soon: Advanced visualization
with new visual rameworks, smart
search, enhanced platorm integration,
and simplied conguration and de-
ployment
Later in 2011: Full support or iPad,
iPhone, and other devices, with aug-
mented reality and social networking
prototypes
PC World has declared SAP Business-
Objects Explorer one o the top 15
essential iPad applications or work. As a
prototype, SAP launched SAP Business-
Objects Explorer or iPhone and iPad as
soon as those devices came out. Today,
the app has been downloaded by hun-
dreds o thousands o users.
SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is part o
SAP BusinessObjects Mobile, which will
make SAPs BI tools available on all mobile
devices, not just Apples products.
SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand
Availability:
Since 2006 (today, this is the most pop-
ular SaaS BI solution)
SAP has long been a pioneer in BI
sotware-as-a-service (SaaS), and SAP
BusinessObjects BI OnDemand is the
world-leading SaaS BI solution or
good reason. Its simple to use, requiring
no training. Its comprehensive, with a
wide range o tools. Its secure. And its
priced modestly.
To learn more, see A New Style o
Working Generates New Needs and
New Solutions or Personal Productivity
by Holly Simmons in the October-
December 2010 issue o SAPinsider.
SAP High-Perormance Analytic
Appliance (SAP HANA)
Availability:
Now: SAP HANA 1.0, as a hardware
appliance rom select partners
Later in 2011: Version 1.5
When SAP HANA launched late lastyear, it brought unprecedented real-time
perormance to business intelligence.
Developed with SAPs hardware partners,
this multi-purpose, in-memory appliance
leverages the SAP in-memory analytic
engine to process and analyze massive
quantities o transactional data to provide
immediate real-time insight into key
business operations.
SAP expects SAP HANA to become the
backbone or many o its analytical appli-
cations, as well as many o the core
applications in the SAP Business Suite.This groundbreaking technology will help
expand the perormance gains o custom-
ers, allowing them to do real-time BI
analytical scenarios.
SAP has tested SAP HANA against
databases holding up to 460 billion
records and ound that the appliance
was able to scan millions o records in
milliseconds.
SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise
Perormance Management (EPM) and
Governance, Risk, and Compliance
(GRC) Solutions
Availability:
Now: Complete portolio o EPM and
GRC solutions
Later in 2011: New EPM and GRC
solution releases
EPM solutions can help businesses capi-
talize on the value o their existing data
assets to become more agile and gain
organizational alignment, visibility, and
condence. GRC solutions can align and
uniy your governance, risk management,
and compliance initiatives to help reduce
risk exposure, make more eective deci-
sions regarding strategy, and optimize the
organizations overall perormance.
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
4/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
than ever, with social networks and a wide range o
networked applications. In business, this has become
critical. Our customers want to analyze their spend
and collaborate with suppliers in China, manuacturers
in Eastern Europe, and developers in India. A BI
system cannot stop at the company rewall when so
many business decisions need to involve suppliers
and customers.
Fast BIReal-Time Insight
BI should enable analytic decisions in any type o busi-
ness process, within any industry, and on any device
all in real time. Even a decade ago, no one imagined that
the old adage time is money would be measured in
milliseconds. It is no longer sucient to wait or a busi-ness analyst to run a query and give you an answer
tomorrow based on last weeks data. Todays companies
want greater agility so they can make decisions based
on todays inormation, now. They want to know, in real
time, i a change in demand or supply could have an
impact on their inventory levels.
Accessible BIAny Time, Any Place, to Any Person
BI should reach all people within the organization to
inorm, deliver contextual insight, and transorm the
way that the organization makes decisions, ultimatelydriving remarkable results. Whether the decision is
tactical, operational, or strategic in nature, business data
needs to be delivered in a way individuals can
consume it on their mobile devices, over the web, and
on their desktop.
Inormation InnovationBased on these precepts, BI users are demanding the
business insight they need, in the context they need it,
via any medium they require, to help make the most
inormed business decisions possible. And the products
supporting this revolution will be constantly evolving because, at its heart, the business intelligence revolu-
tion is all about information innovation.
BI is not like ERP and business applications, which
require a state o constancy. ERP and other transaction-
based systems are, by their very nature, supposed to do
the same things tomorrow that they do today. But the
business analytics environment should be constantly
changing and evolving. I companies are still looking at
the same report they were looking at two years ago,
thats a sign that theyre not using their data to its best
eect to innovate.
The innovation cycle and the changes to inormation
environments are typically much aster and more
exible than in the standard business application.
Companies cant innovate withoutinormation. At the
same time, just collecting inormation by itsel is
meaningless. Businesses must do something with it or
it to be useul.
Lead the BI Revolution with the
Support o SAP and PartnersThe SAP BusinessObjects roadmap puts our products
and those o our partners squarely in ront o this need
or inormation innovation, with a product pipeline
that not only has anticipated this transormation o BI,
but will, over the coming weeks and months, drive the
market and the acceptance o this approach. All o thenew, recently-announced products speak to the require-
ments o the new BI.
Over the next several pages, you will nd out how our
partners are lending their talents to this revolution.
Through collaboration with these partners, our custom-
ers will have the depth and breadth o BI tools needed
to drive this revolution:
Weve relied heavily upon management consultants
andsystem integrators because BI is no longer about
implementing technology; its about changing your
business.Oursoftware partners, with their deep knowledge in
specic industries, have shared their expertise to
make our SAP BusinessObjects tools more relevant
and meaningul.
And without the support o our hardware partners,
the ability to manage real-time BI perormance with
SAP HANA would never have become a reality.
Only with sotware and hardware working in concert
could SAP realize the gains in perormance that will
enable our customers to conduct powerul analysis in
real time with todays data.To realize this inormation innovation and deliver
on the ve precepts o the new BI, SAP and its partners
will continue to release new tools and business
processes that will provide business intelligence how
and when you want it. It will be available on-premise,
on-demand, or on-device. It will be seamless; the same
product will work whether customers install it them-
selves, use our on-demand platorm, embed it in another
application, or access it through a mobile device. And
it will be agnostic, integrating structured and unstruc-
tured data rom SAP or non-SAP sources.n
I companies are
still looking at the
same report they
were looking at
two years ago,
thats a sign that
theyre not using
their data to its
best eect
to innovate.
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
5/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Assembling the BI Jigsaw Puzzle
How to Put Together the Strategic Pieces o Your Business Intelligence Initiative
Rajesh Krishnamurthy
Vice President and Global
Head SAP Practice
Inosys Technologies
Limited
What started o as simply a data warehousehas graduated to include terms like reporting,business intelligence (BI), analytics, and enterprise
perormance management (EPM). The evolution o
newer technology and inrastructure has also ushered
in sel-service BI, on-demand BI, on-device BI, and
various data warehouse appliances to allow in-memory
computing and true real-time analytics.
With BI tools and buzzwords evolving at nearly
the speed o light, where does this leave enterprises
that are trying to achieve the most value rom their
BI initiatives? First, organizations need to nd out
where they stand on the maturity curve or BI-peror-
mance management (PM), a term that Inosys uses to
cover everything rom operational intelligence to stra-
tegic perormance management and measurement.
Companies should also understand the dierent com-
ponents o a BI strategy, and how they can assemble those
pieces eectively using support services like Inosyss
BI-PM oerings, which support each acet o a BI strategy,
its implementation, and its continuous evolution.
Where Are You on the BI-PMMaturity Curve?Figure 1 shows a typical maturity curve or organizations
implementing BI capabilities. Ideally, organizations should
start by putting in place BI platorms (such as SAP
NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW)
or the SAP BusinessObjects BI platorm) and enabling
operational reporting, and then move to working withprocess/industry-specic analytics (such as SAP Business-
Objects analytic applications). Building on this BI ounda-
tion, companies should then enable analytical reporting
and strategic dashboards; close the loop between strategy
and execution by implementing EPM tools, such as SAP
BusinessObjects EPM solutions; and ensure legal and man-
agement compliance using tools such as SAP Business-
Objects governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions.
For most companies, its likely that these steps will
not happen in perect synergy and will evolve over time
with strategy coming rst or some, and execution
coming rst or others. However, at any point, it is para-
mount to have a holistic strategy in place and a roadmap
to keep moving up the maturity curve, increase business
value, and do more with your BI implementation.
Putting Together the BI-PM
Jigsaw PuzzleInosys considers the dierent components o a BI strat-
egy part o a jigsaw puzzle (see Figure 2 on the next
page). All o the pieces need to t together to ensure
complete value, but each can also be looked at indepen-
dently to build more maturity and, thus, more business
value. Lets look at the six key pieces o this puzzle.
1. Business KPI and Analytical Framework
As the core o a BI solution, your KPI ramework links
implementation with business strategy. Based on your
business goals, the right KPIs and their denitions are
essential i you want to accurately measure your e-
ciency. The KPI ramework needs to include KPIs at
dierent levels to ensure that you have an analysis trail
to drill down into the details that connect your strategic
KPIs with operational processes. Prebuilt analytical
solutions also provide or congured, industry-specic,
Capability
level
Time/technology investment
Focus on operational efficiencythrough process automation
and improvements
12
3
4
5
6
Comprehensivelyupdate basictransactionprocessingsystems toeliminate legacyproblems
Link transactionsprocessingsystems withinand across eachbusiness processin the value chain
Use transactiondata for functionaland operationalreporting
Create an integrated BIsystem for performanceanalysis acrossfunctions and levels inthe organization
Expand the scope of BI and EPMsystems to include critical businessinformation beyond transactiondata, and integrate it withfinancial/non-financial information
Dashboards and scorecards User-friendly, drill-down, synthesis
capabilities
Leverage a strategyexecution framework to aidin strategic decision making
Implement closed-loopstrategy with EPM
BI infrastructureand applications
Integrated BI and EPM: KPIdashboards and scorecards
Figure 1q A typical
BI-PM maturity curve
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
6/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
analytical scenarios that support aster implementa-
tions and returns on investment. These can be consid-
ered when making build versus buy decisions.
2. Inormation Delivery and Discovery
Your business users need the ability to view and analyze
KPIs intuitively and easily, with the right level o inor-
mation being delivered to the right people in the right
ormat at the right time. But to determine the appropri-
ate BI solutions or your users, you need to understand
how your employees work. For example: What would
they do with these KPI reports? How requently would
they access them? How up-to-date would they need the
data to be?
3. Inormation Management
Data ownership and governance is critical to ensuring
that the business makes decisions that drive growth.
Enterprise data in most organizations lies in multiple
systems and across business units, unctions, and geog-
raphies. You need data rom disparate sources to be
extracted, cleansed, transormed, and integrated to
provide a single view across the organization and to
ensure data consistency and traceability.
4. Enterprise Perormance Management
Business agility requires everyone in the organization to
be able to execute on changing business priorities andstrategies. Companies need to cascade strategies across
all levels to ensure alignment with execution; they should
also monitor the progress o these strategies and adjust
them to arising risks. Similarly, nancial consolidation
should ensure that their compliance eorts match up
with changing standards and process controls. Organiza-
tions should also measure protability across products,
customers, and geographies, and optimize costs to reduce
overhead and improve eciency.
5. Architecture
I KPI rameworks are core to strategic objectives, BI
architecture is core to execution; it can make or break
your chances o success. While aligning with the enter-
prise architecture, BI architecture needs to provide or
a global template but also be exible or regional and
local variations. It should be driven by perormance,
scalability, and reusability to reduce costs.
6. Governance Model
The governance model oten acts as the glue that holds
all o the pieces together rom the organizational
structure, to an engagement model, to the development
process, to quality assurance, to value measurement
and articulation, to ensuring increasing adoption o
your BI solution.
Let the Value o Your BIInvestments Unold
While there are many buzzwords and best practicesaround BI solutions, its important to always keep
your objectives and strategy in mind and build a
roadmap that best meets your
requirements.
With over 1,500 consultants or
SAP NetWeaver Business Ware-
house (SAP NetWeaver BW) and
SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions,
Inosys can help your enterprise
t together the pieces o the BI
jigsaw puzzle and achieve an e-
cient, eective BI landscape thatsustains business agility and con-
tinuously increases ROI and busi-
ness value.
To learn more about our solu-
tions and services and to read
blogs written by our industry
experts, visit www.inosysblogs.
com/sap/business_intelligence
and www.inosysblogs.com/
sap/enterprise_perormance_
management.n
Information ManagementMultiple Transactional Systems
Enterprise PerformanceManagement
Spend and Supply Performance Management
Information Delivery and Discovery
GovernanceModel
A
rchitecture
BI
Organization
Engagement
Process
Development
Process
Value Measurement
Support
Model
Enterprise
Architecture
Architectural
Framework
Layered Scalable
Architecture
Performance
Optimization
Reusability
Profitability and Cost Management
Financial Consolidation
Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting
Strategy Management
Procure-to-PayProductionPlanning
Hire-to-RetireInventory
Management Order-to-Cash
Spend
Analysis
Days of
Supply
Order
Fulfillment
Accounts
Receivable
Yield
Variability
Cost per
Hire
Days Payable
Outstanding
Days Sales
Outstanding
Slow
Movers
Cost of
Goods Sold
Capacity
Utilization
Cost of
Attrition
High Performance
Analytics
Dashboards and Management
Reporting
Analytical and Ad Hoc
Reporting
Self-Service
On-Device, On-Premise,
On-Demand
Business KPI and Analytical Framework
Figure 2q The pieceso Inosyss BI-PM
jigsaw puzzle
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/enterprise_performance_managementhttp://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/enterprise_performance_managementhttp://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/enterprise_performance_managementhttp://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/enterprise_performance_managementhttp://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/enterprise_performance_managementhttp://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/enterprise_performance_managementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
7/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Bring Business Intelligence to Your
Logistics ProcessesEnable Company-Wide Transparency, Continuous Improvement, and Reduced TCO
Carl-Rainer Stetter
Head o Global
Competence Center
Business Intelligence
Siemens IT Solutions and
Services GmbHless than 50% o all companies can place a numberon the total cost o their logistics systems.1 This islikely because most organizations havent consolidated
or harmonized their systems to achieve the enterprise-
wide perormance monitoring and transparency they
need to ully understand their TCO.
A comprehensive business analytics strategy and a
business intelligence (BI) solution that measures and
monitors the perormance o an organizations entire
supply chain is an important element o improving
production and logistics processes.
And the cornerstone o BI in the logistics industry is
manufacturing intelligence. This isnt a new concept,
but it is a very important one or customers. Lets look
at the key characteristics o a manuacturing intelli-
gence strategy, and then dive into the benets o
implementing one.
What Is Manuacturing Intelligence?2 Key CharacteristicsManuacturing intelligence is an approach that brings
the core concepts o BI to a companys operations, oer-
ing transparency and visibility into its production and
logistics systems and thereby giving a company the
inormation it needs to be able to innovate. Two key
aspects o this manuacturing intelligence concept are:
Integration. BI, ERP, and production and logistics
systems are integrated to achieve a continuous inor-
mation ow rom enterprise management to shop-
oor execution; companies running SAP systems
and SAPs BI solutions have an advantage here, since
SAP solutions are designed and purpose-built or
this integration.
Intelligence. Production and logistics metrics are
visualized, with key nancial gures displayed in
web-based cockpits according to roles and target
groups (see Figure 1).
1 BVL study: Trends and Strategies in Logistics Global Networks
in an Era o Change (2008).
1.
2.
Achieving Manuacturing Intelligence:Connecting Cost and PerormanceIndicatorsBy integrating their BI, ERP, and production and logistics
systems, companies can connect cost and perormance
indicators to provide enterprise-wide perormance
monitoring, enable continuous improvement, and
reduce TCO (see sidebar on the next page).
A manuacturing intelligence solution rom Siemens
IT Solutions and Services gives companies one way to
provide those cost and perormance indicators it
uses a real-time analytics engine to extract, aggregate,
and transorm data (see Figure 2 on the next page). It
can also deliver the unied visualization o events,
alerts, KPIs, and decision support to production, logis-
tics, and service personnel through role-based dash-
boards and cockpits to address targeted groups within
the company. In this way, manuacturing intelligencesupports interaction and business tracking within and
between dierent plants.
Figure 1q The
Siemens Logistics
Cockpit tailors the
web-based display
o key nancial and
operating gures toparticular roles and
target groups
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
8/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Benefting rom ManuacturingIntelligenceTo make sure your production processes will lead to
sustainable prot in your current business environ-ment, the Siemens consulting solution or logistics and
manuacturing intelligence, as part o our broader ser-
vice portolio, can help customers tap into the ull
potential o their processes. Companies will benet
rom this manuacturing intelligence oering in ourkey ways:
Transparency. Transparent perormance indicators
improve the monitoring o the entire value chain
and saeguard the ability to react despite changing
market conditions.
Reliability. An integrated and automated peror-
mance management system increases the reliability
o the inormation or decision-making processes and
reduces the amount o time that is required or inor-
mation provision.
Employee involvement. In-house employees are
assimilated into company activities and can actively
inuence their measurable success.
Real-time decisions. Up-to-date inormation rom
manuacturing and logistics systems supports overall
company decisions and ensures that employees are
always in a position to provide inormation at the
customer interace. It also enables real-time responses
to incidents.
Supporting Your Local and
Global BI CompetenceOur consulting solution or logistics and manuacturing
intelligence is part o a complete BI portolio rom
Siemens IT Solutions and Services. Our BI solutions help
our clients make more eective decisions using innova-
tive tools or harmonizing data, providing business inor-
mation, and enabling interactive and predictive analysis
and user-specic data visualization. Companies can also
use KPI-based management dashboards.
Since todays companies operate both locally and
globally, Siemens IT Solutions and Services supports our
customers on-site, with local BI experts, through a Global
Business Intelligence Competence Center. With a global
network including near-shore and o-shore capabilities,
this competence center can oer the scale, scope, and
multidisciplinary capabilities necessary to address the
most complex business challenges and increase custom-
ers perormance. Our consultants have experience in
various business topics and countries, as well as cross-
cultural competence across all capabilities.
To learn more, visit www.siemens.com/bi .n
Why Businesses Need More IntelligentManuacturing ProcessesHigher costs and global market pressures are orcing companies to opti-
mize their business processes so they can act aster, more directly, and
more eciently based on real-time inormation than theyve had
to in the past. Organizations need to increase transparency into their
processes through a perormance assessment that is based on actual
perormance data, rather than on subjective estimates. Thereore, they
need a decision-making support system in near-real time or creating and
reporting signicant KPIs and reacting on exceptions adequately.
Companies also need to ensure more consistent improvement in their
systems. To do this, they should set up a systematic and permanent collec-
tion o target or actual system discrepancies, and use those discrepancies
as a basis or a continuous learning and improvement process.
Finally, companies can tackle and lower TCO by consolidating and harmo-
nizing their production and logistics IT systems. And by standardizing these
systems, they can also gain benets, such as reduced maintenance costs.
Manufacturing Scorecards/Performance Analyses
Manufacturing Intelligence ModelExtraction Aggregation Transformation
MESSCADA
HMIControlSystems
ERP ...
Figure 2pManuacturing intelligence combines cost and perormance indicators or
company-wide perormance measurement
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
9/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
6 Ways to Add Flexibility to Your
Planning EortsNew BPCFrame Tool rom T-Systems Extends the Value o SAP BusinessObjects
Planning and Consolidation Dr. Walter DrangmeisterSenior IT Architect
T-Systems
For many companies, the responsibility or plan-ning and reporting lies rmly in the hands o line-o-business employees, who work primarily with
standard Microsot Oce tools, such as Excel, Word,
and PowerPoint. Because its closely integrated with
the Microsot Oce suite, SAP BusinessObjects Plan-
ning and Consolidation (version or the Microsot plat-
orm, and version or the SAP NetWeaver platorm)
can be put to work quickly to enhance planning, bud-
geting, consolidation, and reporting activities, with
very little end-user training required; the tool lever-
ages the Microsot working environment with which
users are already comortable. SAP BusinessObjects
Planning and Consolidation also supports agile, exi-
ble planning scenarios in which business-side users
need quick, accurate planning inormation on the y
to make important business decisions.
To take these business planning and consolidation(BPC) capabilities to the next level, IT service provider
T-Systems has developed the BPCFrame tool as an add-
on to SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation
(see Figure 1). In this article, well explore six key
areas in which the BPCFrame tool can add value to the
SAP application.
1. Customizing Reports and
Input SchedulesWhile the standard eatures o SAP BusinessObjects
Planning and Consolidation accomplish the unctionalrequirements o a BPC development project, T-Systems
BPCFrame extends the application to ulll additional,
customer-specic requirements. Microsot Visual Basic
or Applications (VBA) programming unctions play a
key role here. For example, BPCFrame leverages VBA
unctions to help users add special layout elements,
user-dened buttons, entry validation, and more to
reports and input schedules created through the SAP
application. BPCFrame also allows dened screen areas
to be displayed or hidden dynamically, thus accommo-
dating users who require dierent views o the data.
2. Centralizing Developmentand MaintenanceSAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation oers
line-o-business departments a wide range o planning
scenarios and reports to ulll their particular require-
ments. BPCFrame expands that scope even more,
especially in scenarios in which users would like to
urther customize those plans and reports. When com-
bined with the SAP planning application, BPCFrame
enables companies to centralize screen development
and avoid having to dene source code separately or
each BPC screen. This centralization cuts the time
and outlay required or development by up to 40%.
It also prevents employees rom making their own
changes to the VBA component, thus ruling out a
signicant source o errors. BPCFrame also enables
internationalization and urther adaptations by relocat-
ing objects to database tables (or example, introducingtext elements that are language dependent) without
requiring intervention in the scenarios or reports.
Bernd Stuhlmacher
Senior Business Consultant
T-Systems
BPCFrame consists of a self-deployableExcelAddIn and an ExcelTemplate
SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation server
SAP BusinessObjects Planning
and Consolidation Client/
Server-Communication
Self-deployed
BPCFrame-
ExcelAddIn
Centralized Maintenance
of Conguration/Layout
MS-Excel
Report_A.XLS
InputSchedule_B.XLS
SAP BusinessObjects Planning
and Consolidation-ExcelClient
BPCFrame-ExcelAddIn
Excel-Workbook
Report_A.XLS
InputSchedule_B.XLS
BPCFrame_ExcelAddIn BPCFrame_Template.XLT
Figure 1q The
architecture othe BPCFrame tool
rom T-Systems
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
10/20
S-0
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
3. Encapsulating Microsot Ofce FeaturesThe reports and input schedules developed in SAP
BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation can be
processed in two dierent environments: throughMicrosot Oce tools embedded in SAP Business-
Objects Planning and Consolidation or through stand-
alone Microsot Oce tools. In the embedded version,
the event control mechanism behaves somewhat dier-
ently than it does in the standalone version.
For example, when using the embedded version, it is
not always easy or the user to identiy an Excel Active-
Worksheet component because o the additional
worksheets that the SAP planning application opens
concurrently or internal use. To help, BPCFrame
oers the option o encapsulating the dierences o
the event control mechanism to provide transparencyinto this process.
BPCFrame also improves the way in which dierent
versions o Microsot Oce, such as Microsot Oce
2003 and 2007, are used in the SAP planning applica-
tion. In many companies, dierent versions o Micro-
sot Oce run in tandem with each other, and the
components o each version behave dierently, a act
that also aects the Word les and Excel spreadsheets
created with SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Con-
solidation. Once again, BPCFrame encapsulates the
responses to Microsot Oce unctions so that the SAP
planning application reacts in the same way, regardless
o the version o Microsot Oce being used.
BPCFrame also intervenes when competing Excel
add-ins interere with SAP BusinessObjects Planning
and Consolidation (that is, when they claim the same
resources). To prevent Excel rom crashing, BPCFrame
deactivates and then reactivates these Excel add-ins
automatically at runtime.
4. Streamlining Screen DevelopmentDuring SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation
screen development or reports and input schedules, there
is a possibility that unusable, inaccessible screens will be
generated unintentionally. This occurs when the program-
ming activities carried out or VBA unctions corrupt the
Microsot Oce les containing the screens. BPCFrame
prevents this generation o unusable screens by separating
VBA programming activities rom screen development.
5. Separating Functionality andConfguration DataBPCFrame enables structural separation between unc-
tionality and conguration data in the SAP planning
application. By isolating the application and control
modules within the application architecture, BPCFrame
prevents empty rows. This is important or ormatting
purposes because it keeps the rows rom being distrib-
uted unrecognizably across a worksheet, or example.
Furthermore, the separation allows or centralized
maintenance o the conguration data.
6. Managing Screen VersionsScreens used within SAP BusinessObjects Planning and
Consolidation are stored as BLOBs in the database. It is
important to note, though, that several versions o a
screen will likely exist throughout that screens lie cycle.
Thus, systemic version management is crucial, espe-
cially during development or i you want a reliable
backup system; in those cases, it should be possible
or the user to restore a screen version i needed. By
tagging each changed screen automatically, BPCFrame
supports ull version management or all screens.
Learn MoreWhen coupled with either version o SAP Business-
Objects Planning and Consolidation, BPCFrame rom
T-Systems delivers accurate and reliable planning and
reporting results or line-o-business departments. By
adding additional eatures to the application, T-Systems
BPCFrame can boost perormance, robustness, produc-
tivity, and maintainability, while enabling changes to
be implemented quickly, easily, and systematically.
For more inormation, contact Walter.Drangmeister@
t-systems.comor visit www.t-systems.com.n
BPCFrame: Functions and Benefts at a GlanceCuts development time and outlay o SAP BusinessObjects Planning and
Consolidation screens by up to 40%, leaving employees more time to
ocus on innovative, value-adding tasks
Fullls customer-specic planning and reporting requirements
Optimizes maintenance thanks to centralized VBA code
Encapsulates responses to dierent event control mechanisms and
Microsot Oce versions
Separates VBA programming activities rom screen development
Isolates the application and control modules rom each other within the
application architecture
Supports version management or all reports and orms created
Improves user-riendliness and productivity through additional control
unctions and intuitive operation
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
11/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Reports and Analytics: Only as Good
as the Data That Feeds ThemEnable More Ecient Database Management with DB2 or Linux, Unix, and Windows
Brigitte Blaeser
Sotware Developer
SAP NetWeaver BW on
IBM DB2 or LUW
IBM Deutschland Research
& Development GmbHunderlying all business intelligence (BI) sotwareis the supporting database in which the businesssdata resides. And because that database is brimming
with bits and bytes o enterprise inormation, the cost
o managing it (in terms o both money and time)
could greatly exceed the cost o your business intelli-
gence sotware investment.
Thats why SAP and IBM have partnered to bring
customers a relational database management system
that has been optimized or SAP applications. The
latest release o this platorm, called IBM DB2 or
Linux, UNIX, and Windows (DB2 LUW) version 9.7,
has built-in autonomic eatures to make managing
data simpler and more cost-ecient or database users
and administrators. These capabilities enhance the
perormance and value that customers derive rom
SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver
BW) and the SAP BusinessObjects business intelli-
gence (SAP BusinessObjects BI) solutions that are
used to access the inormation. Lets take a detailed
look at our o these autonomic eatures.
1. Automatic Statistics Collection andReal-Time StatisticsWhen a query is submitted to the database, IBM DB2
uses catalog statistics to determine the most ecient
access plan or that query that is, it evaluates possi-
ble plans or executing the query and returns what it
considers the best option. However, out-o-date or
incomplete table or index statistics can lead to a sub-optimal plan, thereby slowing down query execution.
And its challenging and time-consuming or database
users and administrators to determine which statistics
to collect or a given query workload and keep these
statistics up-to-date manually.
Fortunately, with the automatic statistics collection
unctionality in IBM DB2, the database manager can
do all that or you. Automatic statistics collection can
occur synchronously at statement compilation time
using the real-time statistics (RTS) eature. In addition,
the RUNSTATS command can be enabled to simply
run in the background or asynchronous collection.
The SQL compiler initiates this statistics collection
and also determines which statistics should be col-
lected and how.
In SAP NetWeaver BW, during or ater maintenance
operations that have changed large amounts o data,
IBM DB2 executes explicit calls to the RUNSTATS util-
ity. This provides accurate statistics to the DB2 query
optimizer or queries that are accessing the new,
changed data. With real-time statistics available, the
SAP NetWeaver BW system checks to see whether real-
time statistics are enabled and, i they are, then the
RUNSTATS execution stops. Instead o explicitly col-
lecting statistics, the SAP NetWeaver BW system relies
on the DB2 engine to abricate or collect statistics dur-
ing the creation o an access plan whenever needed.
2. Sel-Tuning Memory Manager(STMM)Historically, database memory conguration and tun-
ing was one o a database administrators main tasks,
and it was a tedious and time-consuming one due to
changing workloads. But the new sel-tuning memory
manager (STMM), introduced with version 9.1 o IBM
DB2 or LUW, means that administrators no longer
need to tackle this task and can instead use the time
they used to devote to it on other priorities.
The main idea behind the STMM is that the data-
bases memory parameters that is, the size o the
sorting area, buer pools, and the lock list, or exam-ple are automatically adapted to the workload.
Through simulation calculations, the STMM calculates
the parameter changes to best t the changing work-
load demands.
The STMM can work in one o two modes auto-
matic or xed value. In SAP systems, we recommend
that the instance memory be a xed value. Within this
boundary, the STMM can then automatically control
and tune the size o each memory consumer. In addi-
tion to reducing administration eort, the STMM can
also lead to better-running systems, since a databases
Note!
STMM is able to
tune multiple
databases and
instances that
reside on the
same server.
Hans-Juergen Moldowan
Technology Consultant
IBM Deutschland Research
& Development GmbH
Waldemar Gaida
SAP-Certifed Technical
Consultant
IBM Enterprise Business
Solutions
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
12/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
memory settings have a considerable impact on its
overall perormance.
3. Automatic MaintenanceIBM DB2 or LUW also oers a variety o automaticmaintenance unctions that, when initiated, can help
enable more productive operations (see Figure 1).
These unctions include automatic backups (see
sidebar), automatic RUNSTATS, and automatic
REORGs, to name a ew. To avoid having these jobs
compete with production or resources, the automatic
maintenance settings allow users to speciy time
windows during which automatic utilities and other
maintenance-related activities are allowed to run
these are reerred to as maintenance windows.
The IBM DB2 database lets the user dene both
online and ofine maintenance windows. That is, itallows them to assign online maintenance activities to
online maintenance windows, while ofine activities
can be assigned to ofine windows. Note that ofine
here does not mean that the database itsel will be
ofine, but rather that, during these windows, access
to the database is exclusively reserved or automatic
maintenance activities. Online maintenance windows,
on the other hand, allow automatic maintenance
activities and other applications, utilities, or users to
concurrently connect to the database.
Online maintenance activities tend to compete or
resources with production workload, so it makes the
most sense to schedule them during times o low
productivity, such as night hours between 8:00 pm and
6:00 am, when it is very likely that users will not be
working with the SAP system. However, i or some
reason the maintenance activities dont nish during
the dened window, IBM DB2 also enables the main-
tenance activities to keep running until they are
completed, even i they exceed the boundaries o the
window. This way, you can avoid delays in ullling
important maintenance needs.
4. Automatic StorageTable spaces are a critical part o any IBM DB2 data-
base since they contain the tables and indexes o the
database. Historically, table space ull situations
could occur quite easily as a result o incorrect moni-
toring o ree table space.
With the automatic storage unctionality in IBM
DB2, the database manager completely handles the
administration o table spaces and eliminates the need
or manual intervention, making administration eas-
ier and more cost-ecient. To dene a database to use
this unctionality, the user needs only to dene a stor-
age pool that is associated with the database.
Learn MoreIBM DB2 oers the perormance, scalability, and reli-
ability companies need to get the most out o your BI
investment, all on your choice o platorm, rom Linux
to z/OS. Learn more about how customers are trans-
orming their data center with IBM DB2 by visiting
ibm.com/db2.n
Automatic BackupsThe IBM DB2 database sotware includes an automatic backup unctionality
to ensure that ull database backups are automatically perormed when
needed. This unctionality can be enabled using the DBA Cockpit to support
ull online and ofine backups. For online backups, the roll-orward recovery
unctionality that is, the archiving o log les must be enabled so that
other applications can work on the database. An ofine backup, on the
other hand, establishes an exclusive connection to the database, and no
other applications can access the database concurrently.
Figure 1q
Conguring
the automatic
maintenance settings
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://www.ibm.com/db2http://www.ibm.com/db2http://www.ibm.com/db2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
13/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
data can provide power, but i that data is wrong, ori you dont have an eective way to navigate it, itcan leave you powerless. Even with the explosion o data
owing into todays companies, business leaders are
operating with larger blind spots than ever beore.
According to a recent IBM Global Business Services sur-
vey o 225 business executives, one in three executives is
making major decisions with incomplete or untrust-
worthy inormation.1 IBM has also ound, in working
with thousands o organizations worldwide, that many
companies get their data rom disjointed sources and
lack the right analysis tools to turn all o that data into
actionable insight.
There is a major opportunity or businesses to create
a competitive advantage when business process man-
agement is coupled with new business intelligence (BI)
technology and analytics capabilities. The opportunity
becomes even greater when BI solutions work in real
time to translate data into actionable insights at the
pace o your business.
Thats why IBM has teamed up with SAP to oer
in-memory computing using SAP High-Perormance
Analytic Appliance (SAP HANA) sotware to help busi-
nesses quickly turn their growing data into usable
insights that enable smart, innovative decisions.
In-Memory Analytics DriveBusiness TransormationBusiness leaders in the new economic environment ace
intense pressure to cut costs and optimize resources andcapital productivity on a global basis. In a truly globally
integrated enterprise, work ows to where it can be
done best, emphasizing repeatable processes, optimized
assets, and integrated operations. SAP HANA provides a
platorm to accelerate the operationalization o this
globally integrated enterprise through:
Architecture simplifcation: Since SAP HANA pro-
vides in-memory business applications, it eliminates
1 LaValle, Steve. Business Analytics and Optimization or the
Intelligent Enterprise. IBM Institute or Business Value (2009).
the need to have a copy o the database or transac-
tional systems. The sotware, which is groundbreak-
ing yet non-disruptive to existing landscapes, also
streamlines the IT landscape and reduces TCO.
Process integration: SAP HANA supports consolida-
tion and acceleration o both transactional and multi-
dimensional in-memory data on one platorm,
without aecting perormance. This enables mixed
workloads o analytics, operations, and perormance
management in a single system. All o this means you
can achieve greater exibility to deliver innovative,
real-time analysis and reporting scenarios.
Data acceleration: SAP HANA provides an environ-
ment that supports real-time decision making, simu-
lation, and what-i analysis to enable smarter business
decisions that are supported by increased visibility
into large volumes o business inormation. This also
allows organizations to more nimbly react to business
events through real-time analysis and reporting o
operational data.
Get the Right Technology to SupportIn-Memory ComputingIBM is teaming up with SAP to oer SAP HANA as a
rapid-deployment solution by leveraging IBM hardware
and memory technology. SAP HANA can be deployed
alongside existing SAP transactional systems and SAP
NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW)
systems to quickly solve specic business problemsaround data-intensive analysis, easing the burden on
transactional systems and providing real-time analytics.
When deploying SAP HANA, IBM provides an architec-
ture assessment and benchmark, a proo o concept,
express deployment, and strategic business alignment.
Combining SAP HANA with IBM System x and
BladeCenter servers that use eX5 technology enables a
scalable solution and benets customers with a shared
vision that delivers a whole new level o unprecedented
BI perormance, while still remaining cost eective. To
learn more, visit www.ibm-sap.com/hana.n
Better Business Through
In-Memory AnalyticsStrengthen Your Business Intelligence, Analytics, and Inrastructure with SAP and IBM
Don Mettica
SAP Business Analytics
Global Practice Leader
IBM Global Business
Services
IBM and SAP are
working to helpbusinesses turn their
data into usable
insights that enable
smart, innovative
decisions.
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
14/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Lowered Costs or Improved Perormance?
Achieve Both by Optimizing SAP NetWeaver BW with Nearline Storage andEnhanced Analytics
Werner Hop
CEO
Dolphin
every company wants to make better business deci-sions. Thats why enterprises are implementing busi-ness intelligence (BI) applications like SAP NetWeaver
Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW) and using
them to consolidate vast quantities o inormation, acili-
tate reporting and analytics, and enable smarter decision
making on the business side. But what about IT?
IT leaders have to make important decisions, too
decisions about how to best manage the data within
the BI environment, or instance. Smart IT decision
making relies on upront planning and innovative stor-
age architectures to help manage data storage and
archiving or optimal perormance and lower costs.
End the Cost-or-Perormance DilemmaDoes high perormance necessarily mean high cost? Does
reducing costs require a sacrice in perormance? On one
hand, demand or ast access to business analytics requireshuge data volumes to be available or on-demand queries.
On the other hand, replication and aggregation during
the transormation and loading process creates even
more data in the BW system. Keeping more data online
increases costs and slows database perormance. The cost-
or-perormance dilemma or SAP NetWeaver BW users
seems stark, but it doesnt have to be.
Dolphin implements the right balance o perormance
and cost or its customers, using a data aging strategy
tailored or the SAP NetWeaver BW environment. The
strategy involves moving a subset o data to nearline
storage, which reduces the load on the online system andthus maintains overall perormance. With compression
ratios typically 15:1 or higher, maintaining inormation
in the nearline system signicantly lowers total costs.
Nearline Storage and Column-Based
AnalyticsA traditional inormation liecycle management strat-
egy in an ERP environment separates static data rom
active transactions in the online production database
and archives it on a less expensive, slower-access storage
tier. In BW applications, on the other hand, users still
query a large volume o static data and need ast access
to inormation over a longer period o time. Incorporat-
ing column-based storage technology or nearline data
that is still used in queries delivers both cost and
perormance advantages needed or optimized SAP
NetWeaver BW operations.
The solution requires no archive les, indexes, or
aggregates and enables quick ad hoc query response
times. Dolphin delivers column-based analytics and
nearline storage as part o an SAP-certied nearline
storage solution, PBS CBW Nearline Storage with opti-
mized analytics. (Dolphin is a North American reseller
and integrator o PBS sotware or SAP solutions.) Cou-
pled with Dolphins proven approach to SAP archiving,
PBS CBW Nearline Storage:
Allows archiving rom SAP NetWeaver BW to
nearline storage
Provides business users with transparent data accessand improved perormance
Requires no IT resources or user training, since users
can access the nearline data the same way they access
online data
With PBS CBW Nearline Storages advanced column-
based database optimized or business analytics, cus-
tomers can manage rising data volumes and meet the
demand or higher speed. Compression o read-only
data is typically 90% or more in the nearline system.
A Win-Win SituationWhen companies combine column-based database
archiving with nearline storage, the results include dra-
matically aster search and query perormance and
lower operating costs. Moving data into the nearline
archive can instantly reduce online database strain and
ease long-term database growth. Business users can per-
orm queries using nearline, archived data at near-
online speeds.
In other words, the cost-or-perormance battle is over;
everybody wins. And that is a smart IT decision. To
learn more, visit www.dolphin-corp.com.n
See Dolphins
white paper SAP
NetWeaver BW
Archiving withNearline Storage
and Optimized
Analytics
at http://pages.
dolphin-corp.com/
BWArchivingWP.
html.
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://pages.dolphin-corp.com/BWArchivingWP.htmlhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
15/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Winning Battles in the BI War Zone
Closed-Loop Perormance Management rom Every Angle Is the New Secret Weapon
Mark Knowles
Vice President o Sales
and Marketing
Every Angle US
awar rages inside many businesses. The war zone isthe intersection o business intelligence (BI) and oper-ational perormance management. While management
ghts or improved business perormance using dashboards,
scorecards, and reports, oot soldiers in the operational
trenches battle with inadequate inormation derived rom
static reports, spreadsheets, and complex databases. Hun-
dreds o business processes, such as cash-to-cash, order ul-
llment, and order-to-cash, clash in this war zone.
Lets consider two examples o companies dealing
with a customer service issue, the rst using BI tools that
use top-down, aggregated data, and the second using a
solution that gives it a deeper look at its business opera-
tions. Both companies have a dened customer service
KPI o perect order perormance (meaning that orders
are executed on time, in ull), but they monitor and
manage this KPI very dierently.
Example #1: Using Traditional BI ToolsAt Company A, the director o operations looks at her
dashboard and notices that the overall level o perect
order perormance is declining. She can drill down and
see that many o the issues are related to late deliveries
originating rom a certain production plant. But she
cant drill down enough to answer, Why did this hap-
pen? and What actions are we taking to improve and
prevent this? So she contacts the plant manager, who
contacts his production managers, shit supervisors, and
other key stakeholders. They review line and depart-
ment data, request special reports, and conduct manualinvestigations until the root cause o the declining
perect order perormance is identied: a consistently
late supplier o raw materials.
Company A nds the answer it needs, but only
ater a lengthy process. This company suers rom a
common problem many crucial operations questions
cant be predened, and they can be time-consuming
to answer. Far too oten, operations data is cobbled
together in Microsot Excel and Microsot Access
reports using dozens o data extracts that require the
IT departments involvement.
Example #2: Using the Every Angle ClosedLoop Perormance Management SuiteMeanwhile, Company B is alerted to the potential per-
ormance issue early on and proactively prevents a nega-
tive trend. With SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse
(SAP NetWeaver BW) and SAP BusinessObjects BI solu-
tions, Company Bs users can visualize the impending
order issue. The Every Angle Dashboard Engine helps by
providing structured data or each KPI, including hun-
dreds o Every Angle-derived attributes or supply chain,
nancials, controlling, and more. Once the order issue is
recognized, Company Bs users can easily transition rom
predened, drill-down capabilities into ad hoc interactive
analysis using the Every Angle console. They can look
across orders, plants, batches, and materials to identiy
late purchase and transer orders, production bottlenecks,
planning and scheduling issues, and inventory shortages
all beore the customer experiences a problem.Furthermore, creating or modiying a BI report in SAP
NetWeaver BW or SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions is
easy or Company Bs users since they can do so in mere
minutes using Every Angle technologies.
Win the Business Perormance BattleWhen coupled with SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions or
SAP NetWeaver BW, Every Angles Closed Loop Peror-
mance Management Suite enables users to easily identiy
business problems and drill down into any operational
metric to identiy root causes and initiate corrective
actions. Every Angles built-in predictive analytics orsupply chain and operations, combined with nancial
analytics, provide this closed-loop perormance manage-
ment unctionality. And it only takes about three days to
implement the solution, three minutes to build a KPI in
the Every Angle console, and three seconds to run it.
Using SAP NetWeaver BW or SAP BusinessObjects
BI solutions combined with the Every Angle Dashboard
Engine, you can enhance your BI platorm with closed-
loop perormance management, the new secret weapon
to win battles in the BI war zone. To learn more, visit
www.EveryAngle.com/InsiderBI .n
Every Angle...helps
the management o
the breweries to get
a better grip on the
overall perormance
o the supply chain,
which will ultimately
help Heineken
Netherlands to
service its domestic
and international
customers better
against lower costs.
Fred Holvast,
Logistics Director,
Heineken Netherlands
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
16/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Paul Nannetti
Global Service Line Leader
Business Inormation
Management
Capgemini
Better Business Intelligence Starts with
Better Data QualityEnsure Trustworthy Inormation with Scorecards and a Data Quality Firewall rom SAP
in a recent Capgemini survey o senior leaders atglobal companies across multiple industries, execu-tives said that they could improve business perormance
by 27% i only they were better able to exploit inorma-
tion.1 These leaders rightly perceived that access to
better inormation could enable knowledge workers to
respond proactively in changing environments, make
sharper decisions, and create sustainable value. Yet,
while business intelligence (BI) projects have been on
CIOs agendas or years, many companies are still thirsty
or knowledge, even though theyre drowning in data.
At Capgemini, we believe that a common cause o this
situation is a lack otrustworthy inormation at workers
ngertips. Many organizations dont trust their data
because maintaining its quality is a challenge, leading to
a general lack o condence in the organizations inor-
mation assets. While its natural or companies to turn to
a master data management (MDM) solution to address
this challenge, they should rst consider a data quality
management (DQM) approach, which involves solutions
such as data quality scorecards and rewalls.
1 Capgemini Intelligent Enterprise survey (2008 ).
Check the Quality o Your Existing Data
with a Data Quality ScorecardWhen managing master data, data stewards need to be
able to check data quality against a set o business rules
to understand i the quality level meets the organiza-
tions needs. Data quality technology can capture key
data quality metrics and present them to data stewards,
allowing them to analyze and drill down into the data
in a way that illustrates how data inadequacies result in
business impacts. This inormation is then typically
incorporated into data quality scorecards built using
SAP BusinessObjects Data Quality Management and
SAP BusinessObjects BI sotware.
Keep Out the Bad Data with a
Data Quality FirewallData quality can, andshould, be managed at the point
o entry. A real-time data quality component, known as
a data quality rewall (such as the one provided with
SAP BusinessObjects Data Quality Management) can
be used to check each entry record in real time as it is
authored by the end user. The data quality rewall then
provides real-time response inormation about the
quality o data entering an application. When errors are
ound in the ormat or content o the data, the solution
indicates this deciency to the end users, giving them
an opportunity to correct the data before saving it.
Get Started with Reactive and
Proactive DQMData quality is the oundation o BI. Capgemini has a
portolio o DQM oerings, as well as data governance
and MDM services, designed to help with everything
rom creating a vision to delivering a solution.
We suggest starting with our Data Quality Assess-
ment, a diagnostic test to determine your inormation
opportunities and challenges. To learn more, visit http://
capgemini.com/services-and-solutions/technology/
business-intelligence/overview.n
Justin Norwood
Principal
Business Inormation
Management
Capgemini
Getting Started with SAP BusinessObjects Solutions?Take Advantage o Capgeminis Adoption ServicesTo start businesses on the road to more eective BI, Capgemini oers a set
o SAP BusinessObjects adoption services, designed to help companies morequickly and eectively adopt and innovate with SAP BusinessObjects solutions.
When a customer engages with Capgemini or these services, we rst
help them identiy the right SAP BusinessObjects components needed to
deliver their desired business benets. Then, we ensure that the company
has the appropriate technology inrastructure in place to support those
components. Once we dene a clear adoption roadmap, our team o
experts and our industrialized rightshore capability can help the company
execute upon that roadmap.
For more inormation about these services, email [email protected].
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
17/20
S-
SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Companies want, and now even expect, casual busi-ness users to be able to gain insight into relevantbusiness data at the speed o thought. But is that even
possible without assistance rom a business analyst?
Ater working on more than 7,000 SAP integration and
implementation projects worldwide, Fujitsu can saely
say that it is possible. But there is a certain recipe you
must ollow. You need not only the capabilities o SAPs
business intelligence (BI) tools, but also a strong ounda-
tion o technology expertise to leverage those tools.
First, Get the Right CapabilitiesWith SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, customers get a
sel-service, search-driven discovery solution or explor-
ing and analyzing their enterprise data. This oering
brings the high-perormance, in-memory capabilities o
SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse Accelerator
(SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator) to an intuitive, ront-
end interace where casual business users can search
and explore large volumes o enterprise data to quickly
discover relationships and uncover the root causes
o issues.
Also valuable is the SAP NetWeaver Enterprise
Search application, which provides a simple, web-based
search interace to help business users navigate critical
business inormation by enabling seamless, secure
access to SAP and non-SAP inormation and processes.
New in 2010, the SAP High-Perormance Analytic
Appliance (SAP HANA) is an optimized hardware
and sotware combination that provides a data-source-agnostic, multi-purpose appliance or exploring and
analyzing transactional and analytical data. Fujitsu is an
SAP platorm partner ocused on providing comprehen-
sive SAP HANA inrastructure oerings and services.
Next, Secure a Foundation or the ToolsWeve established that easy, ast, and reliable access to
relevant data warehouse inormation requires superior
BI solutions. But it also needs a comprehensive ounda-
tion, including an optimized IT inrastructure and
implementation, integration, and support services.
Insight at the Speed o Thought:
Its Possible with the Right BI FormulaAchieve Faster, Easier Access to Business Data with Oerings rom Fujitsu and SAP
Stean Schubert
Director
Product Marketing
Enterprise Sotware and
Solution Business
FujitsuFujitsus solutions and service oerings provide custom-
ers with this end-to-end project coverage via:
The pre-installed, SAP-certied Fujitsu Solution Busi-
ness Warehouse Accelerator Inrastructure V3.0 or
SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator, SAP BusinessObjects
Explorer, and SAP NetWeaver Enterprise Search. This
uture-proo oering leverages industry-standard
Fujitsu PRIMERGY blade servers, the Linux operating
system, and, with an entry package, SAPs innovative
TREX Persistency Manager (TPM) technology or
storing SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator and SAP Busi-
nessObjects Explorer data instead o using an external
storage subsystem resulting in major cost savings.
Integration and implementation services specic
to SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator, SAP Business-
Objects Explorer, and SAP NetWeaver Enterprise
Search. These services are based on best-practice
templates and are designed to minimize customers
integration eorts through standardized peror-
mance checks and the evaluation and design o com-
plete architectures and processes. Customers can
typically start working with their new applications
within only two to three days o delivery.
Maintenance services or the Fujitsu Solution Busi-
ness Warehouse Accelerator Inrastructure V3.0. Our
SolutionContract or maintenance and support ser-
vices completes the picture, ensuring optimal sae-
guarding or your data search and retrieval with a
single point o contact or all inrastructure-specictopics. Fujitsu oers both reactive and proactive ser-
vices based on a remote service connection, thus ur-
ther reducing operating eorts. (Please note that SAP
will still provide the SAP sotware maintenance.)
Learn MoreTo ensure that your business intelligence environment
will give you a competitive advantage, you need the
proper BI capabilities rom SAP, as well as a strong
service and inrastructure oundation rom Fujitsu. To
learn more, visit http://ts.ujitsu.com/bwa.n
Companies expect
insight at the
speed o thought.
Fujitsu has the
recipe to make
this expectation
a reality.
http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/ -
8/3/2019 01-2011_BI_full
18/20
S-
Best- in-Class Bi serviCe a nd solution Providers | SAP inS ider SPeciAl rePort
Reproduced rom the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue oSAPinsiderwith permission rom its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Business Intelligence Can Be aLong Journey So How Do You
Start Delivering Value Now?4 Tips or Seeing Results Early and Oten
Richard Starnes
Principal
Inormation Management
Deloitte Consulting LLP
Pop quiz: What are your long-term business intelli-gence (BI) goals? What business problems will yourBI solutions help you solve? Chances are you already
have good answers to these questions since BI is now a
leading business and technology issue or many compa-
nies. Business leaders know the value it can bring or
supporting decision making, reducing risk, introducing
cost eciencies, and improving inormation quality.
But what is your roadmap or reaching those goals?
For many companies, the picture becomes cloudy here.
For starters, there are more BI-ocused sotware solu-
tions available rom SAP now than ever beore. And,
while its great to have options, it can be hard to know
which conguration is the smartest choice or your
business. Plus, many companies dont know where to
begin since it can be dicult to analyze how well a com-
panys current BI system works, where it alls short, and
how much incremental value a transition will deliver.
For all these reasons, BI is not a quick-hit initiative.
Its a journey. But businesses can still see results along
the way i they take the right approach. Here are our
tips or demonstrating BI results early and regularly.
1. Take Time to PlanExperienced mountain climbers dont just grab their
gear and head to the mountain not when theyre try-
ing to reach an imposing new peak. They careully plan
out each stage o the climb with their hiking teams. Its
the same with improving or implementing a BI solution
you need to take the time to understand the realrequirements, engage with stakeholders, and create a
vision that will sustain everyone through the long haul.
2. Identiy