Hi Everyone, Well, its finally here! After months and months of writing (followed by months and months of waiting for the printers) our book, SAP xApp Analytics, is finally available… We know SAP xApp Analytics is a relatively new topic, which also means there can be some confusion surrounding it too. So this was really the premise behind the book – someone who has never worked with the Visual Composer or xApp Analytics before can pick it up and start reading, and by the end, be ready to start implementing! We try to assume as little knowledge as possible… at a few points it will be helpful to have some BI background, and at other points, some Basis knowledge, but you can get through the vast majority of the book without it. We definitely do recommend this book for non-BI people – Visual Composer and xApp Analytics are absolutely not confined to BI, and we do have applications not using SAP NetWeaver BI at all. This is a topic everyone will need to become familiar with, and this will become even truer as we move towards E-SOA. In reality, we don’t really expect someone to read every single page. Like any SAP project, the actual project work may need to be done by a technology consultant, a BI or functional consultant, a project manager and some business analysts (and maybe more). This book tries to cover everything that all of these people would want to know – a one-stop-shop for a SAP xApp Analytics / Visual Composer project basically. So there may be 1 or 2 chapters in there that are not relevant for your job role – but believe us, when you go onto an Analytics project, you can be pretty sure none of the other team members are going to be familiar with what they need to do either, because xApp Analytics and the Visual Composer are new for everyone. That has been our experience at least anyway. So we hope this book will put you in a position to really cover all questions and issues that you will face on any Analytics project. And in case you were wondering, we belong to the SAP xApp Analytics Field Services team. Most people then say “oh yeah… what does that mean exactly?” In short, we do the outbound work of Analytics Solution/Product Management, so we worked on the first Analytics projects around the world. The book is not only an introduction to the topic, it also covers all the lessons we learned. Plus, we also have a reasonable idea of what all the different points of confusion in the market are (what does the name xApp Analytics mean, how is SAP xApp Analytics & Visual Composer related to SAP NetWeaver BI, etc)… so we try to address all of these topics too. The marketing blurb is below, but probably more interesting for you to really understand what the book is about, is the table of contents. A few links on where you can buy it are below too… Apparently Amazon has a pre-release discount, so it is heavily discounted there until they start shipping it (which should be very, very soon!). Don’t tell SAP Press we told you though 🙂 So we hope you enjoy! Cheers, Ryan & Mathias DetailsTitle: SAP xApp AnalyticsAuthors: Ryan Leask and Mathias Poehling ISBN: 1-59229-102-3 Where to Get It - SAP Press -http://www.sappressbooks.com/product.cfm?product=H1938 - Amazon US -http://www.amazon.com/SAP-xApp-Analytics-Ryan-Leask/dp/1592291023/sr=8-1/qid=1164124834/ref=sr_1_1/1... - Amazon DE - http://www.amazon.de/Analytics-practical-guide-implementing-Analytics/dp/1592291023/sr=8-1/qid=11644...What’s it about?This detailed guide about SAP xApp Analytics combines a practical business perspective with valuable technical insight. You’ll gain an overview of the details of xApp Analytics before the authors take you on an implementation and usage journey, drawing from their own extensive experience. This book fulfils two goals. First, it gives readers a good look at the technology behind building Analytic Applications within SAP. Second, it gives them a business perspective on why xApp Analytics are beneficial, and then how SAP meets that challenge with the various pre-packaged applications offered to customers. From learning about installation, administration, and transportation, to the development procedures of the SAP xApp Analytic applications, and to understanding the future of Analytics, this book is a must-have resource. Table of Contents Foreword by Henning Kagermann Foreword by Sanjay Poonen 1. Why Analytics? 1.1 Starting from the Beginning 1.2 The Analytics Gap 1.3 Closed-Loop Analytics 1.4 Business Intelligence or Business Analytics? 1.5 Benefits of Using Analytics 1.6 Summary 2. Introduction to SAP xApp Analytics 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Architecture for SAP xApp Analytics 2.3 What's in a Name? 2.4 SAP xApp Analytics in the Market 2.5 Summary 3. SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Enterprise SOA and Web Services 3.3 Visual Composer Architecture 3.4 Kit Concept and the BI Kit 3.5 Visual Composer in the SAP Environment 3.6 Summary 4. Installation of the Visual Composer 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Prerequisites for Using the Visual Composer 4.3 Sizing 4.4 Installation Process 4.5 Client PC Software Installation 4.6 Connecting to Backend Systems 4.7 Summary 5. Working with the Visual Composer 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Model Administration 5.3 Working in the Visual Composer 5.4 Building a Visual Composer Model 5.5 Connecting to Different Systems 5.6 Visual Composer Features and Functions 5.7 Summary 6. Administration and Transporting 6.1 Administration 6.2 Transporting 6.3 Summary 7. SAP xApp Analytics Composite Applications 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Financials and Human Capital Management (HCM) 7.3 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 7.4 Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) 7.5 Supply Chain Management (SCM) 7.6 Manufacturing 7.7 Consumer Products & Apparel and Footwear 7.8 Logistics Service Provider 7.9 Banking and Insurance 7.10 Retail 7.11 Chemicals 7.12 Aerospace & Defense; Engineering, Construction & Operations; Industrial Machinery & Components 7.13 Automotive 7.14 Environment, Health and Safety 7.15 Customer Financials Management 7.16 Telecommunications 7.17 Healthcare 7.18 Higher Education & Research 7.19 High Tech 7.20 Utilities 7.21 Media 7.22 Mill Products 7.23 Oil & Gas & Mining 7.24 Public Sector 7.25 Service & Asset Management 7.26 New Product Development and Introduction 7.27 Summary 8. Managing SAP xApp Analytics Projects 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Project Pre-Phase 8.3 Planning Phase 8.4 Realization Phase 8.5 Go-Live Check/Review Phase 8.6 Go-Live Phase 8.7 Summary 9. Design Guidelines 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Designing the Floor Plan 9.3 Application Content 9.4 Navigation & Design Elements 9.5 Form Views 9.6 Table Views 9.7 Chart Views 9.8 Summary 10. Outlook for SAP xApp Analytics 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Investment Approval (mySAP ERP) 10.3 Corporate Governance (mySAP ERP) 10.4 Account Analytics (CP) 10.5 Warehouse Stock Analysis (mySCM) 10.6 Expense Exceptions 10.7 Treasury and Financial Investment Controlling (TRAFIC) 10.8 Best Practice Scorecarding 10.9 Summary AppendixA Technical Prerequisites for Predelivered Analytics B Links C Glossary D Bibliography E Acknowledgements F The Authors Index
