User Interfaces
The SAP BusinessObjects Planning and consolidation application (SAP BPC), version for the Microsoft platform, introduces new interfaces to the application, including Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint as well as many enhancements to the Web and Microsoft Excel interfaces. The administration console in SAP BPC unifies all administration tasks in one place and replaces the Excel administration client in OutlookSoft 4.2. The home page brings the business process flows and the automated variance and predictive analytics together in one place for efficient user access. The addition of a management console in the 7.0 release allows administrators to view and manage logs, as well as monitor system performance, processes, user activity, and the shared query engine - all in a single interface.
User Experience
SAP BPC continues the tradition of providing the best user experience. Intelligent action panes now guide users through the application, accelerating the learning curve. Business process flows guide users through standard business processes, ensuring compliance with corporate standards. The comment functionality that was available as a custom solution in OutlookSoft 4.2 is now packaged as part of the solution, which has been enhanced to include history and reporting on comments.
Web Interface
The Web interface has been completely revamped in SAP BPC, version for the Microsoft platform. The addition of live reporting allows users to build reports in the browser using drag-and-drop functionality. Users can easily add graphs and formatting to live reports within the browser. SAP BPC lets users select the dimensions to associate with a posted document. (In OutlookSoft 4.2, users could associate documents only with the category, entity, and time type dimensions.) SAP BPC delivers a new form of Web navigation that provides one-click access to different areas, including the content library, automated variance analysis and predictive analysis, and live reporting. Finally, SAP BPC delivers a unified approach to the Web interface that no longer creates separate desktops for each application. Data from multiple applications can be viewed in a single interface, and information is organized by process rather than by desktop.
Predictive Analysis
SAP BPC furthers the commitment to predictive analysis and automated variance. Automated variance and root cause information is now available on the home page and accessible from Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel. The variance context searches not only unstructured documents for relevant context but comments as well. Users can insert actions for a key performance indicator (KPI) to help explain variances and the corrective action being taken. Multiple methods are also available to generate predicted values, and users can see the impact of a new KPI target or goal. KPIs can be defined for a team as well as for individual users. SAP BPC 7.0 embeds the ability to seasonally adjust data and use for correlation analysis and calculation of slope/ intercept, resulting in more accurate predicted results.
Compliance/Controls
Work status is dramatically improved in SAP BPC, version for the Microsoft platform. It can be defined across three to five dimensions. (In OutlookSoft 4.2, work status had to be defined by category, entity, and time.) Audit trail has been enhanced as well in SAP BPC to include audit details for administration modifications. SAP BPC also introduces revolutionary business process flows that guide users through business processes, giving managers control and providing visibility into every step of a business process. The 7.0 release supports multiple reviewers and automatic e-mail notification to reviewers when particular business process flow steps are completed, making the review process faster and more efficient.
Financial Intelligence
Financial intelligence has been a part of the solution from the first version of the application. SAP BPC enhances this functionality by centralizing the setup and maintenance of business rules and legal consolidation rules in the administration console. With the introduction of a dynamic hierarchy editor, the application also simplifies the setup and maintenance of complex and multiple-ownership structures.
Architecture
SAP BPC delivers state-of-the-art architecture, including service-oriented architecture (SOA). Support for SQL Server 2005 is available with SAP BPC which introduces 64-bit support, delivers an application tier, provides support for active directory, and eliminates the need for pivot table services on the client. The 7.0 release supports Microsoft Windows Vista (client side), and the shared query engine has been redesigned to enhance query performance. Multiple hierarchies on the time dimension are supported so you can efficiently implement calendar and fiscal time dimensions as well as add more hierarchies.
Microsoft Excel Features
SAP BPC enhances the most popular user interface: Microsoft Excel. While maintaining support for the existing Microsoft Excel functionality, several enhancements, such as a drag-and-drop report builder, are introduced. The intelligent action pane lets users navigate with less trouble to common tasks, such as report building and schedule submission.
Administration
SAP BPC delivers new application intelligence to greatly enhance the application development process. Administrators are guided through the process and can select options they want to enable for a new application (financial intelligence and year-to-date or periodic storage, for example). SAP BPC supports task profiles, which can be defined to restrict access to specific tasks within the application, including journals, reports, data submission, and administration. This allows for much more detailed, robust security management. Business rule setup and maintenance is available in the administration console rather than in the Microsoft Excel interface.
Data Management
SAP BPC provides a data manager interface to assist in data management tasks, such as importing, copying, and clearing data. The data manager interface has similar functionality to that found in OutlookSoft 4.2.