In With the New, Out With the Old!
New BI Platform Service Pack incoming! Older platform versions are out of mainstream maintenance
SAP have released SAP BusinessObjects 4.2 Service Pack 7 (and SAP Crystal Server 2016 SP7) which is the final function-improving service pack before the launch of version 4.3 later in the year.
The release comes just after version 4.1 went out of support at the very end of 2018. If you are on SAP BusinessObjects 4.1 or SAP Crystal Server 2013 or earlier then now would be a great time to talk to DSCallards about upgrading your system.
New functionality to look out for in SP7 includes:
For Web Intelligence:
- Dynamic input controls: Users can sort the pick lists and the default values can be parameterised with variables
- Manual entry support for multi-valued prompts on OLAP MDX universes: For use with SSAS and HANA based queries
- A new line chart option: The chart won’t be completely blank when only one value on an axis to display
- Right-click menu customisation: New options are available for this second layer of security modelling
- OpenDocument URL new option: For use when linking to reports with prompts – allows the prompt dialogue box to be presented to users
- Custom elements: security warning message: A new warning message regarding cross-site scripting
- Web Intelligence REST Web Services: These now support new chart types introduced in SP5 and SP6
For universes built via the IDT:
- Refresh structure: Ability to replace columns instead of dropping and recreating (keeps settings preserved)
- Stored procedure universe: Allowed for in SP6 now the refresh procedure is improved in SP7
- New security rights: Universe conversion enhancements: Usability enhancements to the process
- Save to PDF, HTML, TXT: Using the save-as process, reintroducing valuable options from the old UNV Designer
- Usability enhancements: duplicate security profile, preferences, summary view, table display
- Low memory management
- Extension framework
New supported data sources:
- Pivotal Greenplum 5.9 : JDBC, ODBC
- HP Vertica 9 : JDBC, ODBC
- Oracle 18c : JDBC, ODBC, Oracle OCI
- Oracle Exadata Database Machine 18.1.x : JDBC, Oracle OCI
- Oracle MySQL 8.0: JDBC, ODBC
- PostgreSQL 10 : JDBC, ODBC
- OLAP: MSAS 2017 through XMLA
And for those customers with SAP HANA:
- Support of SAP HANA HDI Views
- Keys Support in Hierarchy-Based Variables
- Sorting SAP HANA Variables in SAP HANA Universes
- Translating SAP HANA Variables in SAP HANA Universes
We now have the software running on our test servers and are looking at all these improvements, and will no doubt be telling you all about the best ones. So, watch this space!