Here’s what customers, partners and industry analysts are saying about the 4.0 releases of business intelligence (BI) and enterprise information management (EIM) solutions from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio:
For Lionsgate, the 4.0 releases combined with the SAP BusinessObjects analytics applications help the company compete against bigger production companies, improve revenue and sharpen the bottom line. “One of the things that’s very exciting to me – opportunities that are provided by things like SAP BusinessObjects [software] – is that we’re able to use all these new tools, things like the iPad and the new smartphones, we’re using those tools to drive sales that we didn’t anticipate before,” said Leo Collins, executive vice president and chief information officer, Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. “We’ve implemented [SAP NetWeaver] BW and [SAP NetWeaver] BW Accelerator – systems that pull data directly out of the core financial systems. We’re focused on the new SAP BusinessObjects modules that SAP has acquired, working with SAP directly, and seeing these new products and figuring out together how we can use them – new products like SAP HANA – and that makes for a really valuable partnership. We do have phenomenal amounts of data. We know how every motion picture has done in every theatre, we know all of the expenses at a very granular level, and these new tools we’re getting from SAP allow us to have better revenue streams and better control of costs.”
Accessing enormous amounts of customer data in real-time is exactly what Christian Ritte, head of PCC, Finance, HR and Reporting for Hilti – the Lichtenstein-based technology provider to the global construction industry – is looking for to respond faster to customers. After finishing the pilot phase of SAP HANA, Hilti plans to unite the incredible power of SAP HANA with the easy-to-use reporting of the 4.0 releases from SAP. “Complexity can only be addressed by providing better visualization,” said Ritte, “and we think that with SAP BusinessObjects [software] we can really go a step ahead.”
“Accenture recently launched a new program with SAP to build and deliver advanced analytics and mobility solutions leveraging the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio. This industry-leading effort is available throughout Accenture’s state-of-the-art network of analytics innovation centers and Accenture Technology Labs. At our center in San Jose, for instance, Accenture and SAP specialists are working side-by-side to enhance existing analytics applications and develop the next generation of industry-specific analytics solutions on the newly-announced 4.0 releases. It’s also worth noting that Accenture is active in the SAP Ramp-Up program, which expedites migration to the 4.0 releases. As a result, Accenture has already upgraded its Utilities Asset Management solution, originally built on SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 and Xcelsius 2008, to the 4.0 releases.” – Hettie Tabor, global lead for SAP Business Analytics, Accenture
“With the 4.0 releases of the SAP BusinessObjects solutions, SAP is extending access to powerful business intelligence to all business users that need it. It’s a next-generation, intuitive solution that provides easy access to SAP data and unprecedented interoperability between BI tools,” said Andreas Keller, competence team manager, SAP BusinessObjects, cundus AG
“Powerful trends are driving increased emphasis on business analytics in every industry sector. Key among them: unforgiving demands for continued improvements in performance; the need to proactively manage risk in increasingly complex business and stringent regulatory environments; and exponentially increasing amounts of data and new signals to process, analyze and react to. With the right capabilities in place, organizations can gain deeper, more accurate business insights to better inform decision-making, better meet customer needs and gain competitive advantage. Deloitte has been collaborating with SAP to develop and deliver solutions that help our mutual clients improve their analytic capabilities. The 4.0 releases are an exciting development, and will be an important catalyst in our efforts to help Deloitte clients harness the power of analytics.” – Lee Dittmar, principal, Deloitte U.S. (Deloitte Consulting LLP); national sales leader, Deloitte Analytics
“To effectively serve customers, employees, partners and citizens, organizations must reduce regulatory compliance risk, have real time access to information as well as improve collaboration. Combining HP enterprise solutions with new offerings from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio will help our joint clients rethink how information is gathered, stored and used – harnessing its power, ensuring its protection and delivering it in the context of their enterprises.” – Elke Reichart, vice president, SAP Alliance, HP
“Siemens IT Solutions and Services has a long standing relationship with SAP, investing engineering and entrepreneurial skills to transform business intelligence innovations into measurable value for the customer. Leveraging our profound IT knowledge and business expertise gathered in global projects across various industries, we work as ‘business technologists’ to integrate the4.0 releases from SAP into business processes. Clients will achieve substantial cost savings using the integrated business analytics and reporting structures designed for easy handling by end-users. Always considering new trends such as online access to information from mobile devices anytime anywhere or social media analytics.” – Carl-Rainer Stetter, head of Global Competence Center Business Intelligence, Siemens IT Solutions and Services
