The definitive reference for building actionable business intelligence—completely revised for SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0. Unleash the full potential of business intelligence with fact-based decisions, aligned to business goals, using reports and dashboards that lead from insight to action. SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0: The Complete Reference offers completely updated coverage of the latest BI platform. Find out how to work with the new Information Design Tool to create universes that access multiple data sources and SAP BW. See how to translate complex business questions into highly efficient Web Intelligence queries and publish your results to the BI Launchpad. Learn how to create dashboards from data sourced through a universe or spreadsheet. The most important concepts for universe designers, report and dashboard authors, and business analysts are fully explained and illustrated by screenshots, diagrams, and step-by-step instructions. Establish and evolve BI goals Maximize your BI investments by offering the right module to the right user Create robust universes with the Information Design Tool, leveraging multiple data sources, derived tables, aggregate awareness, and parameters Develop a security plan that is scalable and flexible Design Web Intelligence reports from basic to advanced Create sophisticated calculations and advanced formatting to highlight critical business trends Build powerful dashboards to embed in PowerPoint or the BI Launchpad Use Explorer to visually navigate large data sets and uncover patterns

This book is a must read for anyone deploying BusinessObjects. It covers everything from planning your upgrade to the latest release, to best practices in universe design, and powerful report creation that maximizes business insight. This book covers the most frequently used features for the full BI suite, in one comprehensive book. There's in depth coverage of Designer, security via the Central Management Console, InfoView, Web Intelligence, and Desktop Intelligence. It goes beyond step-by-step instructions to cover how and why in a business context. Transition notes are interspersed for version 5 and 6 customers to understand the biggest changes in XI Release 2. If you drive BI requirements in your company or are a data warehouse program manager, Business Objects administrator, report author or consumer, this book is for you.