Are you wondering when SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 is going GA? So does Mico Yuk. Will it be August 31st? Maybe. That’s the date currently advertised on Service Marketplace.
SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 GA Date
Mico Yuk recently did an interview with Steve Lucas where she was able to get the answers to 4 burning SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 questions. If you’ve not read it, then do. you can find it here: http://bit.ly/nBxZU3
SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 went into ramp-up in September 2010 and although I think SAP was pretty clear that the ramp-up would last 6-8 months, that timeframe has come and gone. It is true that there was an early teaser video that announced SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 coming in Q4 2010. You can watch it below:
Have You Downloaded v4.0?
If you’ve not taken the chance to download SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 and begin to play with it you should! Approximately two months ago, SAP opened up access to the software beyond the ramp-up program and anyone who is interested can download it from Service Marketplace… There are a lot of new features in this release.
SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 introduces:
- New multi-source Semantic Layer
- New Charting and Graphing for all products
- New Crystal Reports for Enterprise
- Tons of new WebIntelligence features
- Revamped OLAP Client for the Web
- New Xcelsius Direct Binding to the Semantic Layer (no more Excel or QaaWS required)
I know the release is getting close because I’ve seen significant strides around quality. The latest pre-release version of SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 is SP02, Patch 4. (SP = Support Pack).
Although early on in my testing I found a number of problems – especially with WebIntelligence, the number of issues I’ve has dropped dramatically as development has continued to roll out new fix packs on an regular basis.
Coming Soon
So, it’s pretty clear. SAP BusinessObjects v4.0 IS coming soon…
«Good BI»
I really wish SAP hadn’t fumbled this particular ramp up so badly, because it made the entire process and SAP lose credibility to its new BOBJ User base.
Hi David,
If the general availability of BO4 does not occur on August 31, the credibility of SAP and many consultants and specialists would be in doubt?
Best Regards
I don’t agree. I think the thing to remember is that you can download V4.0 today and you can get full support from technical support. I think the key is that SAP Has said that in their eyes certain key benchmarks have not yet been met.
I think everyone DOES wish it was already GA. There’s no doubt about that.
So
And you don’t think that damages, or at least calls into question, the credibility of this software, SAP’s ability to deliver it, or the value of the Ramp Up process itself?
SAP made a huge investment in this software, which has amazing features, but then took a year to get it to a point where people have “seen significant strides around quality.” They lectured on the importance of the Ramp Up Process but now are basically saying “Go ahead and download it. We can’t seem to tie a bow on these metrics, but its good enough. Who cares about metrics anyway.”
I think that BI4 as a software will eventually be acceptable, but since the messaging around surrounding its release has been so muddled, you’ll never get anyone to believe it.
Sure. I get what you’re saying.
I see the pre-GA access to the v40 software as an acknowledgement that although SAP hadn’t yet reached the release metrics associated with an SAP GA release, the software was ready to be used by customers and partners…. if SAP didn’t care about the metrics they could have just made the software GA, but they haven’t.
I believe that a delay like this won’t happen again at least not to this degree. During the build up to v4.0 last year, SAP and BusinessObjects had significantly different organizations, alignment, release processes and who knows what else. Although this is no excuse, these differences have been addressed and in the future customer’s can expect to see the types of quality releases that they’ve come to expect from a company like SAP.
…but that’s just my opinion
P.S. Love the youtube flashcards video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BdTVEE0gpY
From a practical standpoint, no one is going to lose business if the BusinessObjects 4.0 release doesn’t come out on August 31, but I agree with others who have commented that SAP looks bad if the GA doesn’t come through this time. Too many eyes are watching at this point.