I will take a look at some basic steps in SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition to enable you to leverage your corporate data from your SAP NetWeaver BW system as part of an analytical workflow in your browser.

Establish Data Connectivity

Before you can use the data and metadata from your SAP BEx query in SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition you need to establish a connection to the SAP NetWeaver BW system as part of your SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise system.

Step 1. Log on to the Central Management Console (Figure 1) of your SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise system.

Figure 1

SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Central Management Console

Step 2. Select the OLAP Connections area shown in Figure 1 and use the menu option Manage to create a new OLAP connection (Figure 2).

Figure 2

New OLAP connection

When creating a new connection to your SAP NetWeaver BW system you need to provide the details shown in Table 1.

Table 1

SAP NetWeaver BW Connection details

Step 3. After providing the details, click the Connect button.

Step 4. You will be asked to log on to the SAP NetWeaver BW system and you are then presented with the list of InfoProvider and queries (Figure 3).

Figure 3

List of InfoProvider and queries

Step 5. Select the BEx query and save your connection. The connection can be established to a BEx query or an InfoProvider. You now have established a connection to your SAP NetWeaver BW system. This connection can not only be used in combination with SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition but can also be shared with all the other BI client tools as part of your SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 platform, such as Crystal Reports for Enterprise, Web Intelligence, and SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office.

Your First Steps

You can now start creating your first SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition workspace.

As the first step you launch the BI Launchpad (formerly InfoView) shown in Figure 4. There you can use the Applications menu and start SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition (Advanced Analysis).

Figure 4

SAP BusinessObjects BI Launchpad

As soon as SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition is started you select the connection you want. As shown in Figure 5 you can choose between a connection to a BEx query or Query Vview or a connection to an InfoProvider. You can also select a system connection. If the administrator configures a system connection then the user can – after selecting the system – select an InfoProvider or a BEx Query available in the system.

Figure 5

Select an OLAP connection

After the connectivity has been established, the user is presented with three main panels as part of the overall window. Figure 6 shows the overall canvas.

Figure 6

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition workspace

The first panel shown in Figure 7 provides the user access to all the available metadata, such as characteristics and key figures. In addition the panel provides access to all used connections – here shown as BI7. The user is able to refresh those connections or change the values for variables as part of those connections. 

Figure 7

Available metadata

In addition to being able to browse all the metadata the user can use the elements shown in this panel in combination with the navigation panel (shown in Figure 8) and change the overall view on the corporate information from SAP NetWeaver BW. Another important feature of the panel is that used elements – such as Country and Sold-to-Party – are shown with a bold font, which is very helpful when you have multiple hierarchies for a single characteristic. The used hierarchy will be highlighted.

Figure 8

Navigation panel

The second panel the user sees and will use on a frequent basis is the navigation panel in Figure 8. The navigation panel consists of three areas: Columns, Rows, and Background. The areas Columns and Rows define the data that is shown as part of the actual result set. The user can drag and drop characteristics or key figures from the metadata panel to the navigation panel, and in that way slice and dice the information. The Background area provides the option to easily define filter values. For example, the user can drag a characteristic or characteristic values from the metadata panel into the Background area. The result set is then filtered according to those definitions.

Figure 9

Result set shown as a crosstab

The most important part of the overall canvas is the actual result set as shown in Figure 9 where the user can see the actual data but also leverage functionality provided by SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition. The main screen is grouped into three main areas: Analyze (Figure 10), Insert (Figure 11), and Display (Figure 12).

Figure 10

Analyze tab

As part of the Analyze tab the user is provided with the typical steps needed for analyzing the information. The user can set up a filter, define a sorting for the information, create calculations, and leverage Conditional Formatting, which is the new way of creating exceptions.

Figure 11

Insert tab

On the Insert tab, the user is given all the elements needed to create a compelling SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition Web report. The user can choose from a broad range of charts and can either add charts to the workspace or take an existing table and switch it into a compelling chart.

Figure 12

Display tab

The Display tab gives the user all the options to fine tune the actual layout for the result set. Here the user can format the measures, define how the totals and subtotals are displayed, and determine how nulls and zeros are treated as part of the Overall Result.

Now that I have covered the layout, let’s perform some basic steps and use some of the new functionality of SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition, such as the new conditional formatting. As a starting point I am using a BEx query showing the key figures broken down by the characteristic Country and Region (Figure 13).

Figure 13

BEx Query shown in SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition

As you can see in Figure 13, you are receiving the key figures by Country and Region with subtotals for each Country and an overall result. Now let’s go ahead and configure the crosstab not to show the subtotal for each Country.

Switch to the Display tab and select the menu item Totals & Parents. As part of this menu you can disable the checkbox Display Sub-Totals (Figure 14). As the next step you focus your analytical workflows on the key figure Net Sales and remove all other key figures from the result. You have multiple options to do so. The first option – shown in Figure 15 – is to open the context menu and use the option Filter By member.

Figure 14

Menu totals and their parents

Figure 15

Filter By member menu

After you select the menu Filter By member for the key figures you are shown the list of members for the key figures. You have the option to select or de-select the key figures that are needed – as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16

List of members

Another option for focusing on the key figure Net Value is to move the key figure into the Background filter area of the navigation panel – as shown in Figure 17.]

Figure 17

Background filter

The options of Filter By member for the key figures or moving the key figure Net Value into the Background area of the navigation panel differ. When you move the key figure to the Background area the overall result set is filtered based on the selected key figure. You are able to use other characteristics for the columns (Figure 17), whereas using the key figures in the columns and using Filter By member results in the columns being used by the selected key figures.

Now after focusing the analysis only on the net value you can go ahead and take a look at what the top ranking countries are. In the past when using the BEx Query Designer or BEx Analyzer you would have created a condition as part of the BEx query. Now with SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition the functionality has been improved and increased and is now called Filter By measure (Figure 18).

Figure 18

Select Filter By measure

To start the process for your first Filter By measure, select the characteristic Country in the navigation panel and then open the context menu. From the menu in Figure 18 you then select the option Filter By measure.

You then see the screen shown in Figure 19 where you define which measure on which to base your filter, what type of filter you would like to create, and the actual values. As shown in Figure 19 I created a Top 2 filter based on the Net value for the characteristic Country.

Figure 19

Top N definition

In case you would like to remove the defined filter you can open the identical context menu and simply use the option Delete as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20

Editing Filter By measure definition

Now as next step you highlight specific values in your result set. If you have been using BEx Analyzer or BEx Web reporting in the past, you will now find this kind of functionality under the term Exceptions. In SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition this functionality is referred to as Conditional Formatting.

After selecting the values in the crosstab that you would like to evaluate with Conditional Formatting,  open up the option Conditional Formatting from the tab Analyze (Figure 10).

On the screen shown in Figure 21 you can define the details of your conditional formatting. You can decide on which key figure you want to base the formatting if you would like to highlight the background or the value. In my example I show a symbol.

Figure 21

Conditional Formatting

Part of the actual definition is the color coding and the conditions (for example greater than or in between). In my example I created a condition for a yellow color for values between 2 billion and 3 billion and another condition for a green color for values greater than 3 billion.

One of my personal favorites of the Conditional Formatting functionality is the option to enable a preview (Figure 22). As part of the creation of the Conditional Formatting the user is able to see instantly how the condition is applied to the numbers.

Figure 22

Preview of Conditional Formatting

Before finishing the workflow with SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition I would like to show you one of the most important items overall. SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition provides you with the capability to decide when to update your workspace. In the top right corner of your workspace you will find the Auto Update button (Figure 23).

Figure 23

Auto Update option

The Auto Update button allows you to pause your workspace and then you can decide when you would like to refresh it. For example, let’s assume your workspace shows the Net Value broken down by Country and Region (Figure 24).

Figure 24

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition workspace before update

Now you disable the Auto Update option and start to navigate in the data and change the view for your workspace. As shown in Figure 25 in the navigation panel I changed the view to show the net value broken down by Calendar Year and Sold-to-Party, but the actual crosstab has not been updated yet – based on the disabled Auto Update option.

Figure 25

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition workspace – changed view

After enabling the Auto Update option again your workspace is updated and the crosstab is now showing the Net Value broken down by Calendar Year and Sold-to Party (Figure 26).

Figure 26

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, OLAP Edition workspace – updated view

The Auto Update functionality and the option to enable and disable it by the end user is a tremendous benefit for typical business analysts and power users. Now users performing several navigation steps can save a lot of time as they can disable the interaction with the server. Then after all the steps are configured, they are able to refresh the complete workspace.

SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 is currently in Ramp-Up and the general availability is planned for the second quarter of 2011. If you are considering becoming part of the Ramp-Up, I suggest you reach out to your account manager to start the process.

Ingo Hilgefort

Ingo Hilgefort started his career in 1999 with Seagate Software/Crystal Decisions as a trainer and consultant. He moved to Walldorf for Crystal Decisions at the end of 2000, and worked with the SAP NetWeaver BW development team integrating Crystal Reports with SAP NetWeaver BW. He then relocated to Vancouver in 2004, and worked as a product manager/program manager (in engineering) on the integration of BusinessObjects products with SAP products. Ingo's focus is now on the integration of the SAP BusinessObjects BI suite with  SAP landscapes, such as SAP BW and SAP BW on SAP HANA, focusing on end-to-end integration scenarios. In addition to his experience as a product manager and in his engineering roles, Ingo has been involved in architecting and delivering deployments of SAP BusinessObjects software in combination with SAP software for a number of global customers, and has been recognized by the SAP Community as an SAP Mentor for SAP BusinessObjects- and SAP integration-related topics. Currently, Ingo is the Vice President of Product Management and Product Strategy at Visual BI Solutions, working on extensions to SAP’s product offering such as SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio and SAP Lumira. You may follow him on Twitter at @ihilgefort.

You may contact the author at Ingo@visualbi.com.

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