Versions of BusinessObjects Enterprise

BusinessObjects Enterprise comes in multiple versions, each with its own set of functionality and scalability as shown in Figure 23.2. In general, the versions build on one another; for example, the Premium Edition includes all the functionality of the Professional Edition, but includes added functionality that is not included in the Professional Edition.

Figure 23.2. The BusinessObjects Enterprise editions (including Crystal Reports Server).

Enterprise Basic

Enterprise Basic is a new offering providing the ability to create, manage, and distribute Crystal Reports. It is ideally suited to smaller organizations or as a departmental solution.

This edition is not generally available for resale but is designed for those customers who want to upgrade from BusinessObjects Enterprise 5 and 6, where the customer did not require scheduling functionality. In general, this version is not really applicable to long-time Crystal Report users.

Enterprise Basic does not provide any modification capabilities or scalability over multiple machines, but it does allow for report and user management and on-demand and scheduled Business Objects Reports. It is available only on the Windows and Linux platforms.

Enterprise Professional

Business Objects Enterprise Professional is a true enterprise platform designed to provide scalable, centralized management of information delivery. This version includes all the functionality of Crystal Report Server but adds scalability and clustering, enabling the user to distribute the infrastructure over multiple servers and platforms, including UNIX, Linux, and Windows.

For application development, reports can be embedded in an application, processed on Enterprise, and then sent back to the application. Alternatively, the software development kits can be used to develop the custom application.

Also included in this version are Portal Integration Kits, which provide prebuilt integration into the common portals, such as Microsoft's SharePoint.

The user can also build upon this by adding additional functionality such as Live Office, Process Tracker, and Crystal Reports Explorer as individual components.

However, the version limits the consumer to viewing only one content typeCrystal Reports or Web Intelligence or OLAP Intelligence. Should the organization require additional content types, the Premium version may be the best choice. This edition is ideally suited as a point solution where the organization is looking for a robust analytical or reporting solution.

The Premium Edition

This edition includes all functionality of the Professional version, but adds the capability to view Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence Reports, and OLAP Intelligence Reports. It also includes Live Office, Process Tracker, Auditing, Crystal Reports Explorer, and Universe design and deployment.

This version, with its wide variety of functionality, is ideally suited for organizations looking to standardize on one product suite for all of business intelligence needs.

Note

The packaging of BusinessObjects Enterprise editions is subject to change. See http://support.businessobjects.com for exactly what is included in each package.

What is not included in any of these versions but could be added to the Profession or Premium versions or run standalone is an application new to XI R2 called Intelligent Question. This application enables the user to build a query based on an English description. For example, a user could select from a list of drop-down boxes to build an English request or question, such as "Show me my top 10 customers."

Note

For more information, see http://www.businessobjects.com/products/queryanalysis/iq.asp

Determining Which Version Best Suits Your Requirements

When trying to determine which version is best suited to your requirements, the following factors should be considered:

• Standardization Is the organization looking to deploy one enterprise product to meet all of its users' needs? Some users require the ability to write their own reports, others might only want to view reports, whereas others require complex drilling and analysis. For these different requirements, Business Objects has different reporting types, all of which are provided by the premium version.

• Data sources Different data sources are available for different report types; for example, OLAP cubes are accessible only by Crystal Reports or OLAP Intelligence. Check the Platforms.txt file or the Product Advisory Report or PAR found at the support website to determine what report types access which data sources. The solution kits are optionally available for the Professional and Premium Editions only.

• Functionality Although Crystal Reports Explorer, Auditing, and Live Office can be purchased as add-ons to the Basic and Professional versions, it might make more economic sense to consider the Premium version rather than purchasing the individual components. Remember the basic version does not include scheduling and the Process Tracker and Encyclopedia are only available on the Premium versions.