Business Objects Updates BI Tool Set

Computerworld - Business Objects SA this week will unveil a new version of its integrated business intelligence tool set that lets nontechnical users access BI data without having to write queries or build reports.

Business Objects XI Release 2 also adds wizards to allow users of reporting tools from the company's Crystal Decisions Inc. unit to more easily switch to the BI tools, according to company officials.

The release's new Intelligent Question feature lets nontechnical users type in simple requests for specific data, said Lance Walter, vice president of product marketing at Business Objects.

Paul Zanis, director of corporate data architecture at Simon & Schuster Inc. in New York, expects the Intelligent Question function to help expand the use of Business Objects BI software beyond a select list of power users at the publishing firm. He noted that the earlier versions require that users have some knowledge of underlying data to write a query. "We can use Simon & Schuster-type terms and allow users to ask questions without making them feel like they are going into a new application," he said.

Simon & Schuster has been using a beta version of the new release; the company plans to upgrade to the final implementation within six months, Zanis added.

Keith Gile, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc., said it's vital that BI tools evolve to meet the needs of nontechnical business users.

Building a Data Pipeline

Hao Ngo, information specialist at Aera Energy LLC in Bakersfield, Calif., said Release 2 provides the oil and natural gas producer with enhanced connectivity to SAP R/3 and SAP Business Warehouse (BW).

Ngo, who is evaluating the beta version of Release 2, said Aera was unable to easily link to the SAP AG applications using earlier versions of the Business Objects BI tools.

With the beta version of the new release, the company didn't have to use extract, transform and load tools to gather data from back-end systems, he said.

"We are now able to easily query data directly out of data sources like SAP and BW ... where it at times required a full project to move the data to our custom warehouse," he said.

XI Release 2 is expected to ship in November; the first release shipped last December.

NEW PRODUCT

Business Objects XI Release 2 Includes wizards that let users of Crystal Decisions reporting tools or older BI tools to more easily upgrade to the new version. Includes unified metadata management. Can integrate multiple data sources in a single report.