Ask the Experts

Ask the Experts

SAP business intelligence

• How does SAP Lumira support four critical supply chain KPIs?

  Gaining visibility tops the list of supply chain management challenges. Here's a look at how the Lumira's dashboard of key performance indicators can help.  Continue Reading

• How can IT ensure a successful migration to SAP BPC?

  Successfully implementing Business Planning and Consolidation requires understanding data requirements and getting the input of various business users.  Continue Reading

• What does SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence offer?

  SAP's Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence 15.0 gives users the power to create dashboards for real-time analytics through the Self-Service Composition Environment.  Continue Reading

• What analytics features does SAP Predictive Analytics offer?

  SAP Predictive Analytics uses statistical analysis and data-modeling logic to create meaningful predictions about future events. Here's a breakdown of its main components.  Continue Reading

• How can SAP's S&OP application improve demand planning?

  One expert weighs in on how SAP Integrated Business Planning for sales and operations, which runs on HANA, may help organizations become more demand-driven.  Continue Reading

• Should I integrate SAP Predictive Analytics with Lumira?

  SAP Predictive Analytics extends SAP Lumira with the efficient handling of voluminous data that the in-memory platform SAP HANA processes.  Continue Reading

• How can SAP Commercial Project Management help project planners?

  For large, complex projects, planners may want to take advantage of the features in SAP's Commercial Project Management system. An expert outlines its capabilities.  Continue Reading

• What is the SAP HANA XS Engine, and how does it work?

  Ethan Jewett explains how the SAP HANA XS Engine is used to run lightweight applications on the SAP in-memory database platform.  Continue Reading

• What difference does integrating SAP HANA with Apache Spark make?

  Do the newly announced ties between the SAP HANA platform and the Apache Spark ecosystem offer any real benefit, or is the integration just hype?  Continue Reading

• Do you need an SAP data mart, or an SAP data warehouse?

  Do you need an SAP data mart, or a data warehouse? It depends if you need to deploy data across an enterprise, or need something more focused.  Continue Reading

• What is SAP BW on HANA and how does it work?

  BI expert Ethan Jewett explains how running SAP Business Warehouse, or BW, on the SAP HANA database works, and what the advantages are.  Continue Reading

• What are the differences, similarities between SAP BWA and HANA?

  SAP BWA paved the way for the HANA in-memory database, so are the two all that similar? Ethan Jewett lays it out in this Ask the Expert column.  Continue Reading

• How does SAP BI compare with other suites, 'best of breed' tools?

  In this Ask the Expert column, Ethan Jewett explains the biggest difference between SAP BI and 'best of breed' tools, as well as other suites.  Continue Reading

• Sizing hardware for SAP BW applications

  An SAP user is looking to assess the hardware requirements for an SAP BW application and wants to know what the parameters are of sizing hardware for SAP BW.  Continue Reading

• How to change the characteristics of an SAP InfoCube

  An SAP user is looking to change the values of a characteristic in an SAP InfoCube and wants to know if it's possible to use virtual InfoCubes to manipulate the data.  Continue Reading

• Tips for setting up a default SAP BI client after implementation

  Find out how to set a default SAP BI client within an SAP Business Intelligence (BI) system. Learn how to run an SAP Basis TCode in a default SAP BI client.  Continue Reading

• How does SAP R/3 data differ from BW (NetWeaver BI) data?

  What is the difference between data on SAP R/3 and data on SAP BW?  Continue Reading

• Prerequisites for SAP BI training

  What are the prerequisites for SAP BI training? I have a J2EE background and I want to move to BI. I have heard SAP BI is the latest and greatest in business warehousing. I have also heard people say it's techno-functional, whatever tha means). Will...  Continue Reading

• The tables/views used to populate extractors

  I am trying to ascertain what tables/views are used to populate an extractor. I need to get the size of the underlying tables on R/3.  Continue Reading

• What's the difference between ODS and DSO in SAP BI?

  In SAP BI, what is the difference between ODS and DSO?  Continue Reading

• What is the difference between SAP BI and BW?

  What is the major difference between SAP BI and SAP BW? If I study SAP BW 3.0, will the concepts be similar to what I will find in SAP BI?  Continue Reading

• The difference between territory management and organizational structure

  What is the main difference between territory management and organizational structure?  Continue Reading

• Steps for a generic extraction of FI/CO, COPA and LO in SAP BW

  What are the necessary steps for a generic extraction of FI/CO, COPA and LO in SAP BW?  Continue Reading

• What are the responsibilities of an SAP BW administrator?

  I am new to BW; what should a BW administrator study? Also, what are the responsibilities of an SAP BW Administrator?  Continue Reading

• What is the difference between SAP BW 7.0 and SAP BI?

  What is the difference between BI (Business Intelligence) and BW (Business Warehouse) if any? Also, is there a difference between SAP BW 7.0 and SAP BI? BI/BW expert Jay Narayanan shares a clean cut answer.  Continue Reading

• TREX in SAP applications

  Understanding SAP applications using TREX and the communication paths of TREX in SAP applications.  Continue Reading

• How can I modify standard SAP reports when my modification assistant isn't working?

  Site expert Matt Billingham answers user's application development dilemmmas.  Continue Reading

• User access to running BEX queries

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• Automatic translation within SAP

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• Business Objects vs. BEX

  What are the pros/cons of using Business Objects with SAP BW? I am aware that we do have to build the query in BEX and release to be able to see in third party tool. Apart from this do you see any drawbacks? What are the advantages of using Business...  Continue Reading