5 Myths about SAP BI

1.       You need SAP ERP to use SAP BI

This is one of the most pervasive myths out there and it just isn't true. In the 15 years I have been working with SAP BI, I have only once used SAP's ERP system as a data source. In fact SAP BI can connect with over 160 different data sources from big data solutions like Hadoop, through the traditional databases like Oracle and SQL Server, right down to a basic Excel spreadsheet. In fact on of its greatest strengths is that it can connect to so many different data sources, and offers the ability to integrate those sources without having to do any ETL.

 

2.       It's just a reporting tool

For years Business Objects, which SAP bought in 2006, primary tool was a report writing application with excellent ad-hoc and highly formatted report capabilities, and that tool still exists today in the form of Web Intelligence. But SAP BI is so much more the Web Intelligence. It offers data discovery in the form of Explorer; highly formatted reports built with Crystal; its dashboard builder is world class and its incredibly easy to deploy any and all content to mobile. All of the reporting tools sit on top of a unified and consistent data layer, allowing for the same interface to be used for data access across the entire tool-set. Throw in SAP BI's ETL and Data Quality tool Data Services, and its impact and lineage capabilities in the form of Information Steward, and you have an end-to-end complete BI and Data Management solution.

 

3.       It's too expensive for small to medium sized companies

SAP has offered the Edge version of its BI tools for a number of years now. This provides a very cost effective solution for small to medium companies, while at the same time provides for something that is very scale-able. Some tools, like Lumira, are even free and come with cloud storage and access.

 

4.       It won't integrate with Office or SharePoint

SAP BI comes with Live Office that allows you to share any report table or graph within Outlook, Excel, Word or PowerPoint. You can also create a query directly in Excel against a Universe. A SharePoint integration kit is also available for full integration with SharePoint.

 

5.       It's difficult and expensive to deploy

Pre-built cloud solutions are available making it very easy to get an installation up and running. A standard installation can be a against a single server running a Windows OS. Having said that, a big advantage of SAP BI is that you can also install it in a clustered environment running on your choice of OS from Windows through to your favorite Unix\Linux flavor. And don't forget that Lumira Cloud is ready to go and free, you just need to create an account.