SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0 Now Available

SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0 has been in general availability for two weeks now, the first full-suite release since Business Objects was acquired by SAP three years ago.  The 4.0 release gives organizations better analytics, with the feel of social networking and more real-time and mobile capabilities.  The enhancements can be found in Web Intelligence, Crystal Reports, Dashboards, Explorer, the Business Intelligence Platform, Edge BI and Information Steward, allowing organizations to really understand their business, take more risks and take action confidently.  Additionally, SAP HANA, the in-memory computing appliance for real-time analytics on BIG data, has also been made available.

Check out this demo of SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0:

Attend our SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 Webinar Series by registering here.  If you would like an on-demand video of any missed webinars, request the link at info@ccgBI.com.

CCG is a sponsor at the Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG) SAP BusinessObjects annual Fall conference in Orlando next week.  The agenda promises a conference filled with great events and education sessions.  Visit us at Booth# 513A!

Not yet registered?  Contact us for the registration code for a free Day Pass to the first day of the conference!

SAP mobile success through Sybase Acquisition

Bill McDermott, SAP Co-CEO announced today that Sybase is now officially a part of the SAP team.  While they will continue to operate and maintain an individual brand, he feels this is a critical piece to providing SAP with competitive advantage in today’s mobile marketplace.  It’s hard to argue with the logic that M-Tier applications is the wave of the future, with the statistics piling up for mobile device interaction by every type of user.  But, is this acquisition on the heels of the BusinessObjects purchase too much too quick or just what the Dr. ordered?  Only time will tell, but as SAP embarks on the battle for software dominance with Oracle’s Larry Ellison they have certainly made critical play’s have global effects.  As an original partner of BusinessObjects, I am encouraged that Mr. McDermott ensured the crowed of 10,000 at Sapphire that they will listen to their Eco-System and allow these products to remain Open.

As the consolidation of BI vendors and ERP vendors continues, it becomes more and more critical for organizations to choose wisely.

After the recent acquisition of SPSS (and not so far back Cognos), IBM continues to attempt to position itself as one of the “big three” when it comes to Business Intelligence vendors.  SAP Business Objects, Oracle OBIEE / Hyperion and Microsoft continue to maintain and grow their share of the BI marketplace.  Which leaves a confusing landscape for everyone else.

Information Builders and Microstrategy continue to move up chain (albeit slowly) and vendors like Qlickview, Targit and a slew of open source vendors offer quick turnaround delivery solutions but lack some of the enterprise integration and scalability required by many organizations.  Will Microsoft continue to leverage its position as the DB vendor to a large percentage of companies to grow it’s BI market share?  Will open source continue to push its way into enterprise operations?  Will small vendors offering sexy widgets and pretty dashboards move into customers as a compliment to other BI solutions or as the sole provider?

Stay tuned for further analysis and feel free to submit your thoughts and preferences in this blog.