SAP extend BI On Demand capability

With more than 260,000 subscribers already using on-demand offerings from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio, this particular solution is targeted at the casual BI user.

Marge Breya, executive vice president and general manager, Intelligence Platform Group and SAP NetWeaver Solution Management, explains that current research shows only one in four business people have access to BI tools. This new SAP offering displays admirable understanding of the common demand for a simple, easy to use tool which can deliver the right breadth of capabilities and live-up to IT security and budget requirements.

So what does this new offering give you that Crystalreport.com doesn’t? Well firstly, SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand condenses all SaaS BI solutions from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio into one integrated BI toolset. The personal version IS FREE and available now.

The toolset allows you to upload any information you want and integrate it with any other data sets that you have stored. Data from Salesforce.com and RSS feeds are supported directly.

The second step in the simple start-up process involves using SAP BusinessObjects Explorer to visualize and manipulate the data into a dashboard or report format. The final step then allows a user to select who they want to share this view with. From an ease of use perspective I was very impressed.

SAP doesn’t currently have pricing for other versions at this time, although we were told that this would be coming soon. Breya said, SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand let customers understand their business the way they want – instantly and easily. “With access to data at their fingertips, customers can make more confident decisions, share their insights with others and react quickly to any changes in their business. SAP makes BI more pervasive by giving previously underserved casual users an affordable, easy-to-use on-demand BI solution.”

Well worth investigating if BI is an area your organization is looking into. Have a play!!!