Most businesses have loads of data, but few use it well. Reports exist, dashboards exist, yet decisions still stall and teams end up relying on spreadsheets because the systems just aren't delivering what they need.
That's where SAP Business Intelligence (BI) comes in. SAP Business Intelligence helps to collect, analyse and visualise business data in a way that actually supports real decision making. If you're taking a look at SAP BI software, building a SAP BI roadmap, or looking at SAP BI solutions, the aim is simple:
Make data clearer. Get insights faster. Support better informed decision-making.
Let's break it down.
SAP BI (Business Intelligence) is part of a broader approach to analysing data within SAP environments, using tools and reporting tools to get a handle on and report on business data.
It focuses on:
Gathering data from multiple places and getting all your key data sources connected
Reporting and dashboards, including business reporting and data reporting
Data analysis
Decision support
SAP BI systems help businesses turn raw data into actionable insights.
It's not just about churning out reports. It's also about getting under the data to support business operations.
SAP BI is not a single tool, it's a mix of platforms and capabilities.
This includes:
Reporting and dashboards: SAP BusinessObjects came along after SAP's 2007 acquisition of Business Objects, and it beefed up the platform for business reporting, customised reports, and ad hoc reports.
Structured analytics: Dashboards are supported by web intelligence and related visualisation tools for clearer analysis
Data storage and modelling: SAP BW, the data warehouse component of SAP BI, was originally launched as SAP Business Information Warehouse. It looks after data modelling, pulls in data from multiple sources, and makes it easy to manage all that data in one place for reporting and analysis
Data integration - SAP BW takes care of pulling data from source systems including transactional databases, gives it a bit of a makeover, and loads it into a data warehouse for consistent analytics.
Real-time analytics, with data visualisation and interactive dashboards
Planning and forecasting, with business analytics features that help teams model future outcomes
SAP Analytics Cloud launched back in October 2019.
These together form the SAP BI system landscape.
A typical SAP BI system follows a pretty standard flow.
Data gets gathered from multiple sources and all sorts of different data sources, and SAP BI can pull in data including structured and unstructured data from:
SAP ERP (e.g. S/4HANA)
Other business systems, such as transactional databases
External sources
Data gets:
Cleaned up
Made more usable through data transformation to get the data into a good state and keep it consistent
Stored away, with the processed data loaded into a centralised data management environment (e.g. in SAP BW)
Reports and dashboards get created using tools that help teams build reports and customised reports for different stakeholders:
SAP BusinessObjects
SAP Analytics Cloud
These reporting tools support business reporting and data reporting, while visual formats bring data to life through dashboards and charts.
Users:
Business users get to explore trends and patterns
Make decisions with actionable insights
Modern BI enables self-service analytics for business users to explore data and support further analysis.
BI makes data usable.
SAP BI solutions get used across different areas of the business.
Financial performance reporting
Budget analysis
Cost tracking
Inventory visibility
Demand analysis
Performance monitoring
Revenue tracking
Customer behaviour analysis
Forecasting
Production performance
Efficiency tracking
Resource utilisation, where BI enhances resource management
In each case, BI helps:
Give a better view of what's going on
Support better decisions
Optimise operations and processes, which can improve overall business performance
The SAP BI Suite (BusinessObjects) is a widely used business intelligence suite within SAP Business Intelligence.
It provides:
Standardised reporting
Dashboard creation
Ad hoc querying
These capabilities, and the structured reporting they support at scale, reflect how many business intelligence systems depend on online analytical processing for fast multidimensional analysis.
This ensures:
Consistency in the data across the organisation
Reliable reporting that delivers what you need when you need it
Scalable BI environments that grow with your business
While newer tools like SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) are gaining traction, the Business Intelligence (BI) Suite is still a crucial tool for many organisations.
An SAP BI roadmap outlines a plan for the development of analytics capabilities within an organisation.
It typically includes:
Moving on from BusinessObjects to SAP Analytics Cloud to provide more up to date reporting tools
Bringing together ERP, supply chain and data platforms in a more streamlined way, and getting more out of data administration across platforms
Leveraging S/4HANA to give you faster data access
Reducing complexity across systems, which also helps to keep data management across SAP BI tools on track and strengthens the overall data management.
Having a strong BI roadmap ensures that business intelligence evolves with the business.
Reporting rooted in a data warehouse foundation
Focus on historical data, with a strong emphasis on current and historical performance
Real-time insights with interactive dashboards to monitor business metrics and other key business metrics in real time
Predictive analytics and planning capabilities that use analytics tools
Many organisations are now using a mix of both:
BI for reporting purposes
SAC for analytics and planning
This creates a hybrid approach that combines the strengths of both worlds.
When SAP BI is working as it should:
A single view of business performance across business units, with key business metrics highlighted in dashboards
Data provides the support that you need to make faster, more confident decisions, with actionable insights and data analytics that help to inform and optimise processes over time
Standardised reporting across teams that reduces room for error
Less reliance on spreadsheets and more on data driven insights
Supports complex, growing organisations that require flexible reporting and analytics systems.
BI turns data into a business asset, if it is done right.
Many organisations face similar challenges, such as
Inconsistent data reduces trust, because it undermines data integrity and makes it harder to improve data quality
Too many reports that don’t deliver what you need, or don’t deliver it in a way that is easy to understand
Large datasets that impact speed and make it hard to get the data that you need, when you need it.
Users revert to manual tools because they feel more comfortable using them.
Data spread across multiple platforms, with disconnected systems leaving information split across multiple sources instead of a single, centralised data management model.
These challenges reduce the value that you get from your BI system.
Even strong BI systems can degrade over time and lose the value that they once had.
This is because:
Data volumes increase
Reports multiply
Business needs change, without a clear plan
Without governance, and without clear direction:
Reporting becomes inconsistent
Performance declines
Users lose confidence in the system.
BI requires continuous attention, to stay on track and to keep delivering value.
Application Management Services (AMS) support SAP BI environments by:
Maintaining data quality and supporting data management
Updating reports and dashboards to help teams generate reports and maintain customised reports
Improving system performance
Supporting user needs, and keeping analysis tools and reporting tools aligned with changing business needs
AMS ensures that:
BI systems stay relevant
Data remains reliable
Performance is maintained
Without support, BI systems lose impact.
SAP consultancy helps organisations:
Define a BI strategy that aligns SAP Business Intelligence with wider business analytics goals
Simplify reporting structures
Align analytics with business needs
Improve data models to get more out of the data
This ensures that:
Reports are useful
Systems are maintainable
Insights are actionable and support improved overall business performance
The goal is not more data. It’s better insight.
When SAP BI is working well:
Data is accurate and trusted
Reports are clear and relevant
Systems are integrated and bring together data from multiple sources, including structured and unstructured data
Insights are easy to access, so users can explore data through interactive dashboards
Decisions happen quickly.
BI becomes part of how the business runs, not an afterthought.
SAP BI - SAP Business Intelligence for the reporting, analysis, and visualisation of business data.
SAP BI System - The infrastructure for gathering data from multiple sources, processing it, and storing it in a data warehouse for reporting.
SAP BI Software - Applications such as BusinessObjects and SAP Analytics Cloud, for business reporting, dashboards, and analysis tools.
SAP BI Suite - BusinessObjects tools for reporting and dashboards.
SAP BI solutions: Applications in play across different business functions
AMS (Application Management Services): Keeping your systems on track
What is SAP BI?
Business Intelligence in plain English - SAP BI is how SAP tools get used to spit out reports, crunch numbers, and help you make decisions.
What's included in that SAP BI software?
Well, you’ve got BusinessObjects for reporting, SAP BW to store all your important data, and SAP Analytics Cloud for those fancy new analytics.
What is SAP's BI suite all about?
Think of it as the toolkit your business needs for reporting, dashboards, and whipping up ad hoc reports when you need them.
What is this thing called an SAP BI roadmap, anyway?
It's your guide on how to gradually get those analytics sorted as time goes on.
Why do SAP BI systems go wrong?
Generally, it's due to having bad data, it being too complicated or not having ongoing support to keep everything afloat.
SAP BI isn't just reporting, it's getting the data in a way that makes sense, getting those insights that make a real difference and giving you some clarity on what to do. It's about getting the right numbers right first time.
Do that & the business can get on & really make things work and make informed decisions that aren't just guesses. We're here to help you sort that out.