According to SAP’s Product Availability Matrix, or PAM, SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 (first introduced in November 2015) has been out of patch support since December 2022 and will no longer have Priority One support as of December 2024 later this year. SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3 (first introduced in June 2020) has received four support packs of fixes and enhancements and will remain under mainstream maintenance until December 2025, most likely with the final delivery of SAP BI 4.3 Support Pack 6.
[ SAP Roadmap Slide – can we steal one] SAP BI 4.3 Today
SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3 was the first release of the platform to retire the Java-based edition of Web Intelligence, fully embracing SAP’s Fiori design language for both the BI Launch Pad and Web Intelligence. This pivot frustrated some users that had grown accustomed to previous versions. While there are some training gaps that should be addressed as part of any BI 4.3 upgrade plan, my personal experience is that Web Intelligence 4.3 is more intuitive and easier to learn, particularly for new users that don’t have to unlearn the previous user interface.
Extending your SAP BusinessObjects investment with Need4Viz not only adds over 60 new charting components, but also adds dashboard-like interactivity components not available in standard Web Intelligence. These components allow you to bring back interactivity you fondly remember from your now-retired Adobe Flash-based Xcelsius dashboards. Need4Viz allows your existing Web Intelligence users to build their own dashboards today with a much shorter learning curve than learning SAP Lumira Designer or a non-SAP dashboarding product. And you don’t have to give up your investment in powerful SAP BusinessObjects universes.
Regarding universes, SAP BI 4.3 will be the last version of the platform to support classic UNV universes. Time flies, but the Information Design Tool and its UNX universe format were introduced in SAP BI 4.0 over a decade ago in 2010. So, if you still have some outstanding UNV, updating to SAP BI 4.3 provides the best platform for converting them to UNX or retiring them.
SAP BI 2025 Tomorrow
SAP BusinessObjects BI 2025 will be released at the end of this year. While we’ve seen some demos, we won’t know what new planned features are in the final product until it is released. We know with certainty that BI 2025 will carry forth support for SAP Lumira Designer, but without new features and enhancements. Need4Viz can be a powerful replacement for Xcelsius, Lumira Designer, and Live Office requirements. SAP has promised to deliver BI 2027 and will review the statement of direction at a maximum every two years, so BI 2029 is highly likely to happen. SAP BusinessObjects remains SAP’s solution for on-premise/self-administered enterprise analytics, although SAP BI 2025 will also be available through SAP Private Cloud.
Table 1 – Need4Viz can address requirements from SAP products that have been retired, deprecated, or supported without new features and enhancements
| SAP Product | Need4Viz for Web Intelligence replacement |
| Xcelsius | Need4Viz suite |
| SAP Lumira Designer | Need4Viz suite |
| Live Office | Need4Viz suite (export HTML/PNG/CSV) |
| SAP Analytics for OLAP | Need4Viz Data Analyzer widget |
| SAP BusinessObjects Mobile BI | Need4Viz suite HTML5 export feature |
Conclusion
Regardless of the version your organization is currently using, Need4Viz is available today to extend the SAP BusinessObjects suite with powerful capabilities and will be ready to support BI 2025 in the future. If your organization is still using BI 4.2 or BI 4.3 SP3 or earlier, now is a fine time to begin planning for BI 4.3 SP4 and its latest patch level (SP4 Patch 5 as of this writing). Contact us today and let’s discuss how Need4Viz can extend your current analytics portfolio.
Key Links
SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 Product Availability Matrix (S-ID required)
SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3 Product Availability Matrix (S-ID required)
Need4Viz demo on SAP BI 4.2
Need4Viz demo on SAP BI 4.3
