Data and analytics conversations

In our series of conversations and reflections on how to provide value to our customers with Analytics solutions, today we are talking with Lluis Aspachs. While everyone else was worried about the Y2K bug, Lluis was helping customers from different sectors and sizes with SAP BusinessObjects solutions across Europe and the Middle East.

Victor Agramunt: Good morning Lluis. With 20+ years of experience working with SAP BusinessObjects solutions, and as someone who is very familiar with the ecosystem of customers that work with this solution, how do you think they can monetise and enhance their investment in a current context that also offers SaaS solutions like SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC)?

Lluis Aspachs: Good morning Victor. The latest version of the current BusinessObjects 4.3 SP2 platform can now be installed along with the new edition of the SAC connector Live Data Connect 3.4. This connector allows users in business areas (purchasing, sales, finance, etc.) to harness the connections and powerful business logic of the universes and reports of SAP BusinessObjects.

As a result, these users can consume data in real time from SAC that originates in both WebIntelligence and Universes documents in way that is more agile and secure than ever before.

Victor Agramunt: It sounds very interesting, but we can't leave our audience hanging.

Can you explain the main features and give some tips for installing it?

Lluis Aspachs: This connector is essentially a small installer that normally resides in the same BusinessObjects server, in the front-end, and acts as an intermediary between SAC and BO. Everything is very easy for the SAC end user, since when connecting to a Universe, they can see the objects and build and refresh their query in SAC as if it were a Webl, or if they decide to write to a Webl document directly, they can even use pre-existing data queries that are enhanced with formulas, variables and integrations and, from them, build their stories in SAC.

Moreover, the connector is simple to configure, all the user has to do is expose an https access to the server and port of this connector so that, on the one hand, SAC can see it, and on the other, tell it where the back-end of the BO is so that SAC can send it its requests and receive them, always within the corporate intranet and without any data leaving it. For anyone who wants a guide on how to connect the SAP Analytics Cloud to their data in real time through SAP BusinessObjects in less than 20 minutes, these links contain all the details:

Victor Agramunt: Less than 20 minutes to leverage the entire initial investment and bring your data to life with SAP Analytics Cloud, I think everybody would be interested in that. But there were already versions of this connector,

what improvements and benefits does this version of the connector bring to the table?

Lluis Aspachs: Since these initial versions, SAP has provided improvements in terms of stability and reliability, as well as providing the following tangible benefits for the end user:

• Greater security with SSL compatibility
• Improved auditing
• Better usability with the possibility to drill down

Victor Agramunt: I think it's fantastic that on the one hand, they focused on security issues and on the other, on usability issues. Data today is more valuable than ever and we need to protect it without limiting how users consume it and analyse it.

Is there anything else you want to note in terms of improvements?

Lluis Aspachs: The following technical improvements have also been made from the motor side:

• More robust architecture, eliminating reliance on Restful service
• Greater security, allowing only the jks format for the SSL keystore
• Greater privacy, as the SSL password can be stored in a concealable file

Victor Agramunt: These days, the security and protection of data is a must, it's not optional.

What can you tell us about the installation? Do these security issues make it more complex?

Lluis Aspachs: In fact, despite the increased security, it is still very easy for the user to install. At the installation level, the process is largely the same, with minor changes in the area of configuration, specifically in the LDC.properties file:

• Delete the line "boe.restsdk.url="
• Complete the "boe.nameserver=" parameter with the following server data: "SERVERNAME:PORT"
• Use a jks type keystore in "connector.https.keystore.file=", specifically ".jks", as any other format is no longer supported
• Change "connector.https.keystore.password=" to "connector.https.keystore.password.file=", and enter the password in a text file

Victor Agramunt: Thank you very much, Lluis.

Could you give us your outlook and conclusions on what was shared in the conversation?

Lluis Aspachs: After many years working with SAP BusinessObjects, knowing the value of the content availbale in the Web Intelligence universes and documents, and seeing the potential of SAP Analytics Cloud, I think the consolidation of the latest versions of SAP Analytics Cloud, Live Data Connect and SAP BusinessIntelligence Objects is a very powerful combination, one that nobody with content created in BusinessObjects should ignore. It is rich in new features and provides great stability to any hybrid environment with SAC & SAP BO, with the help of the LDC 3.4. connector, which is ready to be used in production environments and is no longer just for demos.

If you have any questions or would like more information to help you plan your migration to SAP BI 4.3 or to work with the LDC 3.4 connector, please contact us