A query, reporting and analysis suite of tools from Business Objects that runs under all versions of Windows and various Unix clients. It is the leading decision support tool in the business intelligence market, providing access to a wide variety of databases, including Oracle, INFORMIX and DB2. As data are extracted from the database, they are stored as multidimensional OLAP cubes that can be easily sliced and diced into different views.
The Semantic Layer
BusinessObjects uses a patented semantic layer that shields users from the complexities of table names and relationships. Once the semantic layer has been defined, users work with familiar "business objects" such as product, customer and revenue.
Not Object Technology
The use of the word "objects" refers to "items," not object technology, as the company and products were created before object-oriented programming became popular. See Business Objects.
A BusinessObjects Query
Once the business objects have been defined, users simply drag and drop the icons from the window on the left into the windows on the right. (Screen shot courtesy of Business Objects.)
Slicing and Dicing
At any time, the Slice and Dice Panel can be called up to rearrange the view. After dragging the icons on the left and dropping them on the right, BusinessObjects displays the new perspective on screen. \"Section\" shows the overall sequence and report titles, and \"Block Structure\" shows the data wanted in the report. (Screen shot courtesy of Business Objects.)
The Semantic Layer
BusinessObjects uses a patented semantic layer that shields users from the complexities of table names and relationships. Once the semantic layer has been defined, users work with familiar "business objects" such as product, customer and revenue.
Not Object Technology
The use of the word "objects" refers to "items," not object technology, as the company and products were created before object-oriented programming became popular. See Business Objects.
A BusinessObjects Query
Once the business objects have been defined, users simply drag and drop the icons from the window on the left into the windows on the right. (Screen shot courtesy of Business Objects.)
Slicing and Dicing
At any time, the Slice and Dice Panel can be called up to rearrange the view. After dragging the icons on the left and dropping them on the right, BusinessObjects displays the new perspective on screen. \"Section\" shows the overall sequence and report titles, and \"Block Structure\" shows the data wanted in the report. (Screen shot courtesy of Business Objects.)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- SAP wrap and transparency points
- This week's SAP influencer summit was a roller coaster affair. On the one hand I didn't detect anything fundamentally new on the BusinessObjects side other than a considerable amount of repackaging with a view to gaining additional sales. There's nothing wrong with that but it didn't demonstrate a huge amount...
- Blog posts 2008-08-15
- SAP: Oracle price-gouges customers even more than we do
- Doug Merritt, SAP's EVP and GM of Business User Global Sales, predictably came up with quote of the day on day one of the BusinessObjects influencer summit. During a 'fireside chat' in a near freezing air conditioned room with fellow Irregulars Mike Krigsman, Sandy Kemsley and Brian Sommer and myself,...
- Blog posts 2008-08-12
- Is SAP's weakness its real strength?
- Conversations with Doug Merritt, a member of SAP's executive council and the person driving Business Objects as a platform for intelligence are always entertaining. Merritt represents the unconventional, disruptive element within SAP that was in evidence during Shai Agassi's tenure. For me, Merritt charaterizes the public face of fracture I...
- Blog posts 2008-05-22
- Quick Audit XI (zip)
- Security information related to a BusinessObjects XI deployment is stored on a repository called CMS. Querying and extracting data from this CMS require the use of the BusinessObjects Query Builder or SDK. Both solutions do not allow the BusinessObjects administrator to access the data is an easy and standard way....
- Software downloads 2008-05-19
- Marcus & Millichap Sharpens Reporting with BusinessObjects Edge
- "With BusinessObjects, we can provide our management team, agents, and clients with the timely and accurate data they need to assess current market conditions. By standardizing on SAP and BusinessObjects, we can enable our clients to accelerate and improve their decision-making processes, ultimately maximizing their return on investment." ...
- Case studies 2008-05-05
- SAP Business By Design likely to be delayed
- Sketchy reports coming out of Germany are saying that SAP's Business By Design is likely to be delayed. According to Handelsblatt: An SAP developer speaking to Handelsblatt claimed in German that ByDesign was suffering from performance issues and bugs that would delay general availability until perhaps the end of...
- Blog posts 2008-04-28
- Leo Apotheker appointed joint CEO at SAP
- According to sources, Leo Apotheker is set to join Henning Kagermann as joint CEO of SAP. Previously, Apotheker held the post of deputy CEO. The move signals that rather than extend his contract of service with the company which runs out in May 2009, Henning Kagermann has...
- Blog posts 2008-04-02
- SAP's Business Objects promises to 'break barriers'
- Business Objects, which was just brought into SAP's orbit, announced BusinessObjects™ XI 3.0, which the company said "breaks the barriers of traditional business intelligence BI." Every BI company makes a similar claim--promising to provide the key to making better business decisions and more profit. According to the...
- Blog posts 2008-02-12
- News to know: People don't get the MacBook Air; Thinnest digital camera; Merger mania
- Notable headlines: Cisco plugs CallManager vulnerability that rates a '10' Janice Chen: Think the MacBook Air is thin? Check out the thinnest 8-megapixel digital camera. Dan Farber: Salesforce adds $5 per login pricing option and new developer tools. Phil Wainewright:...
- Blog posts 2008-01-17
- SAP-BusinessObjects: what was unsaid
- SAP-BusinessObjects: what was unsaidSAP sales of ORCL DBMSDennis, Unfortunately, you're dead wrong about SAP reselling $1bn of ORCL databases per year. Its not even close to that amount, even including maintenance fees.Ok thenThat is what I've been advised on many occasions and have no reason to disbelieve it. If...
- Discussion threads 2008-01-16
- SAP-BusinessObjects: what was unsaid
- The SAP-BusinessObjects go to market show was mildly interesting but left key questions unanswered. Colleagues Dan Farber and Mike Krigsman were on the call as was James Governor. I asked how the combined operation might incorporate non-financial measures into the new solutions. I was thinking about how...
- Blog posts 2008-01-16
- A great day for Larry Ellison
- Earlier in the day, Larry Ellison, CEO at Oracle was crowing about the company's Q2 results. Larry Dignan reported the numbers but in amongst the commentary, the company claimed to have made 365 direct wins against SAP. I live Twittered the call in conference and at least one SAPper called...
- Blog posts 2007-12-19
- SAP and TIBCO: a marriage to make in hell?
- Dana Gardner says that TIBCO must surely be in the firing line for an approach. I agree. Dana thinks Sun is the natural ally: Other vendors will be significantly impacted by the proposed merger as well. Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, and TIBCO will face a tougher market. That's because...
- Blog posts 2007-10-15
- News to know: Google's virtual worlds; Amazon S3; Forsee out; Aviary
- Notable headlines: Google tools to power virtual worlds. Gallery right. ReadWriteWeb: Here Comes the Money: YouTube Videos Coming to AdSense. Google: Introducing video units. Amazon S3 gets service level agreement. Larry Dignan: Forsee out at Sprint. Russell...
- Blog posts 2007-10-09
- Combining SAP and BusinessObjects
- Combining SAP and BusinessObjectsmiddle of last monthHow did Zdnet miss reporting on the rumor? Business Objects made a push on Crystal Report's owners to upgrade last month. I know one Share point shop that agonized over spending another dime on Crystal Reports only to cave in and purchase the upgrade....
- Discussion threads 2007-10-08
- Combining SAP and BusinessObjects
- Henning Kagermann, CEO of SAP and John Schwartz, CEO of BusinessObjects today parried questions about SAPs proposed acquisition of BusinessObjects but as always we are left with open questions. The most significant part of the discussion cut across several questions Larry Dignan left hanging in the wind earlier today: ...
- Blog posts 2007-10-08
- SAP's acquiring Business Objects: 1st take
- SAP's proposed acquisition of Business Objects is an interesting move on a number of fronts: It provides a fresh route to achieving the 100,000 customer target that Leo Apotheker has previously described as 'aspirational.' While there is significant overlap, BusinessObjects' 44,000 customers as a top line number...
- Blog posts 2007-10-07
- Can Web 2.0 really save the planet?
- Chad Hurley, the worldwide Web 2.0 video king, hailed before the U.S. Congress last week that his YouTube “community” is helping “children in Africa.” BUT, can the entire Web 2.0 community save the WHOLE planet?Business Objects, a self-described “pioneer in business intelligence since the dawn of the category,” believes...
- Blog posts 2007-05-15
- Cognos joins AppExchange but isn't going SaaS
- BI vendor Cognos has followed in the footsteps of its rival BusinessObjects in joining Salesforce.coms AppExchange marketplace this week, but that doesnt mean its embracing SaaS, oh no. UK-based title IT Week reports: "Graham Walter, vice president of Cognos in the UK, Middle East and South Africa, ......
- Blog posts 2007-01-18
- Look for a quickening tango between open source and SaaS at LinuxWorld
- I recently wrote about how SaaS applications can be delivered as on-premises instances with increasing ease. Now I'm seeing evidence of more overlap and mutual advancement of open source models with SaaS. And a lot of it has to do with the ability to have the application services delivered across...
- Blog posts 2006-08-11
Neighboring Terms
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