SAP is closing in on their release date of the next major release of BusinessObjects… and as with any release, marketing want to get the name just right. We’ve seen quite a few changes over the years.
Evolution of A Name
Remember all those changes in Windows naming? Windows 3.1, Windows 95, then Windows XP? Now finally it’s back to numbers with Windows 7? There’s probably someone out there that’s written a book about how to name your next software release. 🙂
Here’s a look at where we’ve come from in the last 7 years of BusinessObjects Product Names… starting back in 2003 with the combination of BusinessObjects 6 and Crystal Enterprise 10 into the new XI… Xtreme Insight!
The More Things Change
… the more they stay the same. It is so true… and the upcoming release will include some additional name changes. Here are some names on the horizon.
| XI Product Name | 4.0 Product Name |
|---|---|
| SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise | SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform |
| Crystal Reports | SAP Crystal Reports |
| SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence | SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence |
| SAP BusinessObjects Xcelsius Enterprise | SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards |
| SAP BusinessObjects Voyager | SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for OLAP |
| (Advanced Analysis, Pioneer*) | SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for MS Office |
| SAP BusinessObjects Explorer | SAP BusinessObjects Explorer |
For more information on the whys check out Jon Reed’s blog post.
It’s amazing how some product names take on a life of their own even before the product is released. Pioneer is a great example. It is the first release of the legacy SAP BEx Web Analyzer and SAP BEx Analyzer for Excel. Pioneer was simply the code name for this yet to be release product. We can now retire that code name and begin using the actual product name, SAP BusinessObjects Analysis.
Xcelsius
Some name changes like Xcelsius were introduced even before a major new release. Earlier this summer, I had someone call me to ask me about SAP Crystal Dashboard Design. I’d never heard of it. It wasn’t until I googled it that I discovered that we weren’t offering a new product. SAP had just renamed some Xcelsius packages. SAP Dashboard Design and SAP Presentation Design had formally been known as Xcelsius Engage and Xcelsius Present, respectively.
Thinking back, Xcelsius has also been through a number of changes: Xcelsius 4.5, Crystal Xcelsius 4.5, Xcelsius 2008… It will be interesting to see if the Xcelsius Designer, aka Xcelsius 2008 keeps it’s name and becomes Xcelsius 2010.
Don’t Wait… Start Today
Did you know that SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for Excel has already been released? Yep! The plug-in for Excel is completely stand-alone and can be used without interfering with your existing BusinessObjects XI 3.1 environment. If you have SAP and want to get the best possible connectivity within Excel without waiting for your entire environment to be upgraded, you can. Today.
«Good BI»
Hi David,
Thank you very much for your post. It’s really interesting. I was wondering how can I download SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for Excel?
Kindest Regards,
Nidhal
Nidhal – I’m not a licensing expert, but I believe that if you have either the BI Package license or a BusinessObjects Voyager license, you can download it. The software is available for download on the service portal, http://service.sap.com If you have any other questions, feel free to contact SAP. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.
I’m always amazed when a company completely changes the name of a product. Why would a company invest so much in building up the brand name Xclesius only to completely drop it with a new version of the product? You’re right – the different name makes you think it is an entirely different product and the lack of the Xcelsius name in the suite may make people think the product no longer exists!
There are currently some different names on the SAP site….
SAP Crystal Interactive Analysis
SAP Crystal Presentation Design
SAP Crystal Dashboard Design
SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence is now called SAP BusinessObjects Interactive Analysis !
Yes … and no. It was initially renamed to Interactive Analysis (and appears as such in the ramp up). After hearing lots of feedback from customeres, my understanding is that it will go back to the tried and trusted name of WebIntelligence.
Hi David,
Thanks for the post!. Would SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform4.0 be integrated with SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards(Xcelsius) & SAP BusinessObjects Explorer as WebI is now?
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Ethan
Yes. Although many would argue that the products are integrated in XI 3.1, the integration deepens in XI 4.0.
SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards now have direct access to the semantic layer – just like WebI. Now more QaaWS required.
SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is accessible directly from the BI Launchpad… however you still cannot link from an Explorer Accelerated view to non-Accelerated WebI report… but I’m pretty sure this is on the cards for HANA – since in HANA everything will be accelerated.