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With SAP Business Explorer (BEx), SAP NetWeaver BW provides you with flexible tools for operative reporting, strategic analysis and decision making in your organization. These tools include query, reporting, and analysis functions. Authorized employees can analyze both historical and current data in various levels of detail and from various perspectives. The data can be stored in the BW system or other systems.

You can also use Business Explorer tools to create planning applications, and for planning and data entry.

Data analysis and planning of enterprise data can be either web-based (using SAP NetWeaver Portal, for example) or can take place in Microsoft Excel.

Tool Overview

BEx applications are created using the various tools in Business Explorer and can be published to the SAP NetWeaver Portal.

BEx queries are created using BEx Query Designer and can be used in BEx Analyzer for analysis in Microsoft Excel or for web-based analysis. The data analysis can also be based on InfoProviders from SAP NetWeaver BW or on multidimensionally stored data from third-party providers.

For web-based analysis, Web Application Designer allows you to create Web applications. Report Designer enables you to create formatted reports, while Web Analyzer provides tools for ad hoc analysis.

Planning applications can be created using BEx Analyzer and BEx Web Application Designer.

Using information broadcasting, you can broadcast the generated BEx applications by e-mail, or publish them to the SAP NetWeaver Portal.

As well as BEx applications, integration in the portal also includes the document and metadata created in the BW system and takes place at various levels in addition to Information Broadcasting. In the portal, employees have a single point of access to structured and unstructured information from various systems and sources, allowing close real-time collaboration.

Recommendation: Business Intelligence Solutions Offered by SAP BusinessObjects

This chapter deals only with the reporting and analysis options offered by SAP NetWeaver BW's Business Explorer. SAP NetWeaver BW also allows closer integration with SAP BusinessObjects products. In addition to the basic tools offered by Business Explorer, these offer a range of further reporting options. We recommend taking a closer look at the broad range of SAP-BusinessObjects products.

More information: help.sap.com  → SAP BusinessObjects  → BI Solutions.