Cloud Enablement for SAP Analytics

With the release of SAP BusinessObjects 4.3 in June, this summer is the perfect time for SAP customers to rethink their overall analytics strategy. SAP BusinessObjects (BOBJ) remains the most powerful enterprise reporting solution on the market. With the addition of SAP Analytics Cloud, customers can now create a hybrid solution that leverages the business logic of universes with the AI/ML-driven insights and predictive analytics of SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC).

Why BOBJ is Still Important

SAP dispelled rumors of the imminent demise of SAP BusinessObjects with the release of version 4.3, which will be supported through at least 2027. While it may seem that a flashy new analytics tool enters the market every day, there are several key reasons why SAP BusinessObjects is still relevant:

Dynamic report bursting and distribution
Scheduled report delivery to large groups of recipients
Robust security and monitoring capabilities
Pixel-perfect, multipage enterprise reports

Why BOBJ Customers Should Consider Adding SAC

Many organizations want to move beyond standard reporting to the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-driven insights (AI/ML) and predictive analytics available in SAP Analytics Cloud. SAP introduced tighter integration between SAP BusinessObjects and SAP Analytics Cloud in the BOBJ 4.3 release. While Flash-based tools (Explorer, Xcelsius/Dashboards) will no longer be supported due to Adobe’s discontinuation of Flash support, similar functionality is available in SAP Analytics Cloud. When talking with SAP BOBJ clients about reasons to consider adding SAC, we often cite these features:

Integrated AI/ML provides instant insights into data
Similar functionality to Explorer and Dashboards (Xcelsius) that are no longer supported in BOBJ 4.3
Cloud-based architecture
Leverage existing BOBJ universes and security

Why Move SAP BusinessObjects to the Cloud

In addition to adding the capabilities of SAP Analytics Cloud, this is also the perfect time to move SAP BusinessObjects to the cloud. More and more companies are transitioning to a cloud-first strategy due to benefits that include cost savings, stability, scalability and security

By combining cloud infrastructure with 3^rd party managed services like those offered by Protiviti, you can outsource time-consuming and tedious tasks like administration, security, monitoring, and support to allow your team to focus on more important activities like data quality and insights.

Making it even easier to move SAP BusinessObjects to hyper-scalers, Protiviti offers several prebuilt environments:

How to Get Started

Many customers are underutilizing their investment in SAP BusinessObjects. SAP has recognized this and is allowing customers to exchange some or all their BOBJ maintenance for SAP Analytics Cloud subscriptions. Protiviti and 360Suite are currently offing a free SAP BusinessObjects assessment that includes license right-sizing. At the end of this quick review, companies will know exactly how much “trade-in” credit is available and will receive both a recommendation for SAC licensing and an estimate for an SAC pilot project that includes training, data connectivity, security implementation and a business use-case.

If you are interested in having a BOBJ assessment or would like to discuss further the topics provided in this blog, please contact me directly.

To learn more about our SAP capabilities, contact us or visit Protiviti’s SAP consulting services.