Enterprise Reporting, Query, and Analysis

Purpose

Various BI interfaces and tools are available if you want to modify the Enterprise Reporting, Query, and Analysis scenario.

Note that this documentation refers to the previous BEx tools from SAP BW 3.5. With SAP NetWeaver 2004s, new versions of the tools are available (BEx Query Designer, BEx Analyzer, BEx Web Application Designer) as well as a new tool, the BEx Report Designer. The documentation for this will be available with SAP NetWeaver 2004s SPS 5.

Advantages for Application Development

·        With BI, you can define your own queries and Web applications that best represent the processes of your enterprise.

·        Customers and partners of BI can develop their own content and deliver it to their business units. You can also make limited modifications and changes to BI Content.

·        The Business Explorer Web Application Design allows you to apply generic OLAP navigation to BI data in Web applications and Business Intelligence cockpits. You can implement this for all scenarios, from simple scenarios to highly specialized scenarios. You can use standard markup languages and Web Design APIs to implement highly individual scenarios with user-defined interface elements.

·        The Visual Composer (in planning) provides functions that allow you to integrate BI queries into Visual Composer models. You use the BI query wizard to define queries for any type of data service that is connected to the portal using BI Java connectors.

·        With the SAP enhancement concept, you can make enhancements to the standard in the BI system. You can use customer exits and BAdIs for enhancements within query design und Web application design.

·        Services which are based on the SAP NetWeaver Internet Communication Framework (ICF) are delivered with BI. The BI HTTP services allow you to display or exchange BI data using a URL.

·        The report-report interface allows you the flexibility to call a jump target (receiver) online from a BEx query (sender) within or outside of the BI system.

·        BI provides interfaces for evaluating data for reporting with third-party front-end tools.

·        You use the BI Java SDK to create analytical applications with which you access both multidimensional (Online Analytical Processing or OLAP) and tabular (relational) data. You can also edit and display this data.

Prerequisites

Area	Prerequisites
Development of BI Content: Queries, Web applications	-
Developing Customer and Partner Content	ABAP development license
Designing a Web Application	Proficiency in standard markup languages
BI in Visual Composer	-
Enhancements using function exits and BAdIs	ABAP proficiency
ICF services	ABAP proficiency
Report-report interface	-
Connecting to third-party front-end tools	For more information about the technical prerequisites, see Open Analysis Interfaces.
BI Java SDK	Java programming proficiency; Business Intelligence experience

How to Use This Documentation

If you have no experience of working with Enterprise Reporting, Query, and Analysis, start with the following sections:

Working with the Development Environment

Go and Create

These sections contain information about the basic principles, as well as introductory tutorials.

If you already have experience of working with Enterprise Reporting, Query, and Analysis, you can use the other sections. These specifically aim to cover the details.