By John Mark V. Tuazon
Computerworld Philippines
March 19, 2010

German software provider SAP is opening its business intelligence doors to SMBs and other mainstream consumers by porting their standalone BI software to the cloud, aptly dubbed SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand.

Following its acquisition of enterprise software firm Business Objects in 2007, SAP brings the former’s expertise in information analysis into a software platform easily deployable and acquirable through the public cloud.

Answering the need of company managers for quick and informative business insights using idle data, SAP executives said BI OnDemand—which it claimed is the first of its kind in the market—will be most effective in identifying cost points in any company, especially relevant during the recent crisis. “It becomes effective even in cost cutting because executives now have a way of seeing which areas of their company need improvement,” explained Eric Sin, senior director for South East Asia hub, SAP.

The cloud approach also makes it easier for users to share processed information online. “Users can process data into charts and tables and send them easily through e-mail,” Robin Fong, business development manager for business users, South East Asia, SAP.

Among the many features of the offering include a way to integrate Crystal Reports, which presents data in a clean and neatly-formatted manner. The cloud app is also capable of executing “what-if” or predictive analysis of data without any programming required. “Everything is basically just drag and drop,” Sin quipped.

Since the firm’s release of BI OnDemand four years ago, executives said there have been at least 260,000 subscribers to the service.

With the new cloud-based service, Sin said SMBs can now leverage the power of BI in their companies without having to acquire licenses, hardware and software at such prohibitive costs.

An advantage for early cloud adopters is the software’s ability to integrate with data residing on users’ accounts on Salesforce.com, another cloud-based application that focuses on CRM. “Users can access the data warehouse and other CRM info from Salesforce.com and port them into BI OnDemand, all within just a day,” Sin related.

The move towards a cloud-based BI application is SAP’s answer to the growing demand for BI worldwide, which Gartner predicts to grow 22% even in a tough economy. A “big percentage” of SAP Philippines’ revenue, in fact, came from its on-premise BI offering, according to country manager Jennifer Ligones. “Business Objects is probably the best acquisition SAP has ever made,” she added.

Interested users can avail of the cloud BI service for at least 22 Euros per user per month, equivalent to as much as P1,600 per user per month. The price varies depending on what tools and add-ons the users need, the executives clarified.

Possibly Related Posts:

• 5 Tips for Social Business Adoption: How SAS Succeeded
• AMD aims for better graphics in casinos, hospitals with new chips
• EMC acquires Syncplicity for cloud file management
• Chrome trumps IE as world’s top browser
• Avaya lays out roadmap for unified software management

 Print This Post