Information Broadcasting 

Purpose

Information broadcasting allows you to make objects with Business Intelligence content available to a wide spectrum of users, according to your own requirements.

Notes on Implementation

The documentation on information broadcasting is structured according the requirements of users so that you are provided with role-specific guides to support you in performing tasks. For example, if you belong to the implementation team, you require the installation guide and the configuration guide. As a system administrator, the administration guide is available.

Before users can use information broadcasting, you have to install the necessary components (installation guide), make the necessary configuration settings (configuration guides), consider security recommendations (security guide), and make the necessary settings in system administration (administration guide).

Installation

To use information broadcasting by e-mail, you need the component SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (SAP BW). If you want to make Business Intelligence content available through SAP Enterprise Portal (SAP EP) you also need the components SAP NetWeaver Enterprise Portal and SAP NetWeaver Knowledge Management. For more information on the technical requirements, see service.sap.com/instguides ® SAP NetWeaver ® Release 04 ® Installation ® Installation Guide – SAP Business Information Warehouse 3.5.

Configuration

Before you can use information broadcasting, follow the necessary steps for configuration. For more information, see Configuration for Information Broadcasting.

Security

Look at the scenarios with regard to technical security issues. For more information, see Security.

Administration

In order to use the full range of information broadcasting functions, you have to make certain administrative settings. For more information, see System Administration Tasks.

User Guide

The user guide provides detailed information on using information broadcasting. For more information, see User Guides.

Example Scenarios

If you want to obtain an overview of how information broadcasting can be implemented in your company, the example scenarios contain some suggestions. For more information, see Example Scenarios for Information Broadcasting.

Features

Distribution with BEx Broadcaster

You can use the BEx Broadcaster to precalculate BEx Web applications, queries and workbooks and publish them in the SAP Enterprise Portal or you can distribute them by e-mail. In addition to the precalculated documents that contain historic data, you can also generate online links to queries and Web applications. For more information, see Functions of the BEx Broadcaster.

Distribution with the BEx Query Designer or BEx Web Application Designer

You can publish queries and Web templates to any BW role or directly to the Enterprise Portal from the BEx Query Designer and BEx Web Application Designer design tools. For more information, see Publishing BEx Web Applications and Queries.

Access in the SAP Enterprise Portal

In SAP Enterprise Portal, the ideal way of accessing Business Intelligence information is through a central entry page (for example BEx Portfolio). This shows the content of the Knowledge Management folder where you published the content. The Broadcasting layout profile displays the content that is especially tailored to the needs of users who work with Business Intelligence content in the Enterprise Portal. For more information, see Displaying the Folder Content with the Broadcasting Layout Profile

The Business Explorer portal role illustrates the various options that are available to you when working with content from SAP BW in the Enterprise Portal. For more information, see Business Explorer Portal Roles.

Application Scenarios

Distribution by E-Mail

You can distribute Business Intelligence content by e-mail as precalculated documents or as online links. The recipients receive (for example, automatically upon data change) the precalculated documents in their inboxes and can use the business data to make decisions or trigger processes. For more information, see Distribution of Monthly Sales Reports by E-Mail and Ad-hoc Distribution of Unusual Sales Data by E-Mail.

Distribution to the Enterprise Portal

You can publish Business Intelligence content to SAP Enterprise Portal, which serves as the central entry point for employees in the company. When working with Business Intelligence content, users have a variety of options and functions available to them in the Enterprise Portal. For more information, see User Guide.

Depending on how you published the Business Intelligence content to SAP EP, you can use different functions in the portal.

Application Scenarios in the Enterprise Portal

Distribution Type and Generated Object	Options in the Enterprise Portal
Distribution of precalculated documents in a Knowledge Management folder (KM folder) with the BEX Broadcaster or Broadcasting Wizard	Knowledge Management You can add ratings, evaluation, feedback or personal notes to documents. For more information, see Functions for Objects in KM Folders Under subscriptions, users can arrange to be automatically notified of each change (for example due to a new precalculation). For more information, see Notifications for KM Folders in the Central  Worklist and Subscriptions. Collaboration You can have discussions based on these documents and links. For more information, see Working with Discussions. Beyond that, you can include the documents and links to collaboration rooms. For more information, see Using Rooms.
Distribution of Online Links in a KM folder with BEx Broadcaster or Broadcasting Wizard
Publishing queries or Web applications with the BEx Query Designer or BEx Web Application Designer. ·        as a link in the user’s personal KM folder (My Portfolio) ·        as a link in the KM folder / entry points (CM Repository View) ·        as a link in a collaboration room (Collaboration Room) ·        as an iView in the Portal Content Catalog (Portal Content) ·        as an iView in a portal role or in a portal page (portal roles)	Knowledge Management und Collaboration The Knowledge Management and collaboration functions listed above are available to you in SAP Enterprise Portal using links to queries and Web applications. Unification If you publish queries or Web applications to SAP Enterprise Portal as iViews, you can use Drag&Relate and select these iViews as Drag&Relate targets in other iViews. For more information, see Drag&Relate with BW Content in Enterprise Portal.

For more information, see Provision of Sales Reports in the Portal and Notification upon Changes to Data und Ad-hoc Distribution of the Sales Report in a Collaboration Room.

 

See also:

 

In addition to the options provided by information broadcasting to distribute to SAP Enterprise Portal, you can also integrate content from SAP BW into the portal using Role Upload and the Portal Content Studio. For more information, see Integration into the SAP Enterprise Portal.

For an overview of which options you have to integrate BI content into the Enterprise Portal, see Overview: Ways of Integrating and Displaying BW Content in the Portal.