APOS Solutions News - Maximizing Business Objects with APOS BI Tools

August, 2008

In this issue:

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The President's Corner: Notes about the SAP Acquisition of Business Objects
Dan Clements, President and CEO
Dan Clements, President APOS Systems

At APOS, there's a certain feeling of deja vu. We've been a partner through a number of previous acquisitions - starting with the Seagate Technology acquisition of Crystal to create Seagate Software, then the investment company acquisition to create Crystal Decisions, then the acquisition by Business Objects, and most recently, the acquisition by SAP. For partners and customers alike, acquisitions create opportunities as well as some concerns about the implications.

When we first heard about the SAP acquisition of Business Objects, we knew little about SAP, other than their obvious size and importance in the software industry, plus some experience with some elements of SAP software, like BW for example. Over the past months since the acquisition, we have committed to a number of SAP programs in our goal of becoming a leading participant in SAP partner programs. We are now an SAP Software Partner and are also the first participant in a new "SAP Certified for BusinessObjects" certification program. We've found that the scope of SAP's partner programs is substantial, if a bit overwhelming, and we're intent on participating to the fullest.

From a customer perspective, we recently witnessed some first-hand feedback - APOS was a sponsor at a 3 day SAP Insider event in Chicago called, Reporting and Business Intelligence with SAP and Business Objects. Many attendees were established SAP customers seeking to better understand the SAP BI roadmap's implications, and the opportunities around the new Business Objects element. It was a terrific seminar, with great content for an audience that was clearly seeking to understand how Business Objects and SAP technologies are coming together. The seminar is being repeated in Philadelphia, Orlando, and Copenhagen - look us up if you can participate.

APOS has an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity for APOS BI Tools has grown substantially, since SAP customers will soon need to consider APOS solutions as they start exploring Business Objects opportunities. The challenge lies in awareness, as APOS is relatively unknown in SAP circles, something we will be working on. With the new expanded opportunities available to us, we're looking forward to exploring this next chapter in the exciting growth of APOS.

Object Manager Premium | New Product in Beta

Object Manager Premium for BusinessObjects Enterprise Release 2 is now in Beta testing. It will include Promotion Server, providing these additional features:

  • Object Manager Premium Now in Betaadds structure and control to the sometimes daunting task of Report Promotion.
  • allows the process of Report Promotion to be departmentalized
  • each department can handle its own promotion packages
  • Promotion Packages can be scheduled to run during change-window times without the need for an operator to be present
  • creation and scheduling of Promotion Packages is controlled by BusinessObjects security
    • only users that belong to a special BOE user group are allowed to create and/or schedule Promotion Packages
    • users can only set folders/objects as Targets in the destination system if they have read access to them
    • users do not need edit rights on the target system (except within the promotion server repository)
  • Promotion Packages can use a BusinessObjects system or a Network File location as the source for the promotion objects
  • objects in Promotion Packages can be configured to be promoted to multiple Targets in the destination system. Many objects properties can be configured, including Database Logon values, Default Parameter values, Report Format, Instance Limits, Custom Properties, Processing Extensions, and post-promotion Repository Refresh
  • Promotion Packages can contain Web Intelligence reports, Desktop Intelligence reports, Crystal reports, and Office documents
  • results of running a Promotion Package are recorded in a log file for verification
  • all replaced report objects will be backed up, along with information about their object properties and recurring instances
  • the promoted report that over-writes the existing object will inherit these settings and recurring instances (except for new settings set in the package)
  • the system administrator is able to revert packages in case of error
    • original target reports will be fully restored in this case, and all recurring schedules will be recreated
    • reversion of Promotion Packages can be scheduled

Visit here to learn more about Object Manager Premium. We are looking for beta sites to try out this new product. Please contact us if you'd like to take part in our beta program for Object Manager Premium, or to request notification when it's released.

Integration Kit for ESRI GIS | New Features, Full Source Code!

APOS releases new select tool, now with full source code available!

Integration Kit for ESRI GIS for BusinessObjects XI | Powerful New Features AddedThe Integration Kit for ESRI GIS provides bidirectional integration between Business Objects and ESRI ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS and ArcGIS Desktop. Integrating geographical information with business intelligence enables a new form of 'location intelligence'.

The new APOS Selection Tool for ArcGIS 9.2 SP4+ on the .NET platform adds the following capabilities to the powerful Integration Kit for ESRI GIS.

  • Integration Kit for ESRI GISFull source code for our new select tool is available, to facilitate customization and integration with existing interfaces.
  • Select map features using a buffer. For example, select all fire hydrants within a 300 foot radius of an intersection.
  • Features from multiple layers can be selected at once, using any of the selection methods (Rectangle, Circle, Oval, Polygon, Buffer). For example, a user may want to select all parks and schools within a 1 mile radius of a particular intersection.
  • X,Y co-ordinates can be painted on the map when called from a BusinessObjects Enterprise report. For example, a report may contain a list of X,Y co-ordinates of missile strikes. These could be posted to the bridge and shown as dots on the map, each with their own Acetate text and Color values.
  • The Acetate tag can be positioned in relation to the selected feature: TopLeft, TopRight, BottomLeft, BottomRight, MidLeft, and MidRight.
  • New image formats are available: AI, BMP, DIB, EMF, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PDF, PNG, PNG24, PS, SVG, and TIFF.

For detailed solution information, evaluation software, and online web demo, visit here.

Integration Kit for Microsoft Outlook | Special Webinar

Special Webinar - September 3rd

Join us for a webinar that focuses on our newest APOS BI Tool, the Integration Kit for Microsoft Outlook.

APOS BI Tools Suite Webinar RegistrationThis 60 minute webinar will focus on connecting to BusinessObjects XI from Microsoft Outlook, with on-line and off-line report viewing, scheduling, and more. This webinar will demonstrate how Microsoft Outlook can be used as a powerful BusinessObjects XI portal, with such features as:

  • access and view all authorized BusinessObjects folders and reports
  • schedule reports while connected on-line to BusinessObjects XI
  • schedule reports even while not connected to BusinessObjects XI
  • view and analyze reports off-line - take reports with you for off-line analysis
  • Webi, Deski, CR, Office, Xcelsius report formats are supported
  • schedule or reschedule reports (with parameters)
  • choose report output format
  • request notification of scheduling success or failure
  • request an email with the report instance
  • automatically 'refresh' their local Outlook BI data
  • download instances and export in multiple formats
  • choose to zip downloaded files - separately or together in one zip file - password protected

We've scheduled the following sessions, to accommodate our clients worldwide:

Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Time: 8am PDT, 11am EDT (New York), 4pm BST (London, UK)
or
Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Time: 5pm PDT, 8pm EDT (New York)
or
Date: Thursday, September 4, 2008
Time: 1am BST (London, UK), 9am (Tokyo), 10am (Sydney, Australia)
Speaker:
Warren S. Kobbeltvedt, Vice President, Worldwide Sales, APOS Systems Inc.

Register for this valuable webinar!

APOS BI Tools Overview Webinar | Learn More About Current APOS Solutions

WEBINAR - August 26th, September 23rd

Join us for an overview of the APOS BI Tools Suite for the BusinessObjects XI platform.APOS BI Tools Suite Webinar Registration

This is a customer facing webinar which you can invite customers to attend, or attend yourself to learn how APOS BI Tools can help leverage and maximize the BusinessObjects XI platform. We will provide high level information to help better assess the range of current solutions available.

Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Time: 8am PDT, 11am EDT, 4pm BST
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Time: 8am PDT, 11am EDT, 4pm BST
Speaker:
Warren S. Kobbeltvedt, Vice President, Worldwide Sales,
APOS Systems Inc.

Register for this valuable webinar!

Business Objects and SAP Events | See Us There!

Reporting & Business Intelligence with SAP and Business Objects seminar:

Philadelphia - August 18-20, 2008

Orlando - October 27-29, 2008

Copenhagen - January 19-21, 2009

Business Objects User Conference:

Dallas - October 20-22, 2008

APOS BI Tools Suite | Maximize BusinessObjects XI

Visit here to request evaluation software download instructions for our ever-growing suite of BI Tools. APOS BI Tools Suite

Instance Administration and Scheduling . . .

Archive Manager - report instance archiving, with restore capability!
InfoScheduler - power batch scheduling from Microsoft Excel
Instance Manager - administrator power tool for managing instances
Instance Monitor - email notification of failed instances

System Management and Monitoring . . .

Object Manager - report promotion, object & security management
RealTime Monitor - powerful SNMP monitoring & control of servers, with alerts
KPI - metadata for analysis, who's viewing which reports, license analysis, server activity monitoring
RunTime Manager - set availability time windows for Job Servers, Page Servers, etc.

Enhanced Report Distribution . . .

Bursting Manager - burst a large instance into small ones, burst one report to many
Distribution Server - powerful post processing capabilities, zip support, password security and more
Report Package Booster - consolidate reports to password protected pdf/xls and distribute

Application Integration . . .

AddressBook Gateway - integrate Outlook/Exchange with ePortfolio/InfoView 'schedule to email'
Integration Kit for crystalreports.com - schedule Webi, Deski, Crystal Reports to crystalreports.com
Integration Kit for ESRI GIS - two-way integration between BusinessObjects and ESRI GIS
Integration Kit for Microsoft Outlook - connect to BusinessObjects XI from Outlook, offline report viewing

Row Level Security . . .

View Time Security - row level data security without C++ development

This newsletter is published approximately 12 times a year, to share information about how APOS BI Tools and services are extending the BusinessObjects platform for companies like yours. If you don't want to receive future newsletters or would like to add someone else to our email list, visit here. If you have any compliments or suggestions, we welcome those too!

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Business Objects Technology Partner

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Tel: 519.894.APOS(2767) - Fax: 519.894.1891
Help Desk: 519.894.APOS(2767) Ext. 1

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 Email: apos@apos.com - Web: www.apos.com

(c)2008 APOS Systems Inc. All rights reserved. APOS BI Tools is a registered trademark of APOS Systems Inc. The Business Objects logo, SAP logo, Business Objects, SAP, Crystal Reports, Xcelsius, WebIntelligence and Desktop Intelligence are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects and its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.