In 2007, OutlookSoft bought BPC and ten years later, SAP group reporting was released. Several versions of BPC have been released since its first debut in May 2017 including: Standard, Embedded, Optimized, and a Microsoft version. This article will compare the functionalities of BPC Standard (the most frequently used version) to the 2022 version of Group Reporting on-premise and will discuss some of the main aspects of the consolidation process.
Topics: BPC, sap bpc, group reporting
David Den Boer on Sun, May 14, 2023 @ 10:05 AM
It is said that there is no accounting for taste. Meaning, there is no mathematical formula that can define and score what individuals prefer. This is because each person has their own “taste” or set of subjective preferences they find appealing, and attempting to distill this highly variable process of selecting what one finds attractive, tasteful, even beautiful to a digital formula for universal criteria is considered impossible.
For some reason, this same subjectivity has reigned in the world of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) solutions for too long, as I will argue. With the advent of xP&A (Extended Planning & Analysis), which can be thought of as high-intensity EPM, deciding which solution to buy is more critical than ever.
Topics: Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Performance, sap, xp&a
David Den Boer on Wed, Apr 05, 2023 @ 16:04 PM
In Choosing the Ideal EPM Implementation Partner, Part 1 , I discussed the three components for an effective enterprise performance management capability: the process state of your company, technological capabilities, and your implementation partner. Today, let's dig into the 8 essential qualities to look for in an implementation partner to best assist your internal team in achieving your objectives.
Topics: Process Improvement, Training, Innovation, Implementation
With the current state of the economy, there can be little debate about the importance of having effective enterprise performance management (EPM) systems to nimbly react and plan for the future. There are three components to having an effective EPM capability:
Topics: Process Improvement, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Implementation
Over the past 6 months, we’ve seen a lot of our clients experience stubborn errors and issues that have surfaced in BPC for Microsoft environments. It’s important to understand that these issues are mostly related to user errors or updates not being performed correctly.
The Technical Team at Column5 has performed in-depth troubleshooting and continues to provide various technical solutions for our customers. Today, we have compiled a list of the top 10 issues including root cause and a simple solution. Continue reading to discover how you can tackle these issues and improve your performance!
Topics: Performance, Microsoft, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation), Technical, User Experience
Bad performance can make even a well-designed EPM system unusable, and if you’ve got more aggressive expectations like those required for an xP&A solution...even suboptimal performance can be a total block to realizing your goals. Performance issues have got to be attacked quickly and decisively.
Many users feel a poorly performing system is a fatal condition and they blame the software, as if the system is working as expected when the user experience is slowed. This is not only a false belief, but it can also be a very costly one. If there’s nothing that can be done to improve an unworkable software product, then replacing it is the only option. However, poor performance is an indicator of your solution working, but it must not be tolerated. That’s right, more users adding more data to an expanding EPM or xP&A solution will eventually create poor performance. The trouble begins when you don’t know what to do about this eventuality. Don’t react rashly, instead follow the practical steps below to get a grip on the root cause of the degraded performance...in this case, for SAP BPC for NetWeaver.
If you're a support team member or power user of SAP BPC for NetWeaver, you probably know there are many standard SAP BW layer housekeeping jobs that are provided by SAP. Most of these generate system information required for analyzing SAP BPC performance, system/error logs retention, completed job logs, etc. and are run at their default frequency. These can be scheduled in SM36, though you can't stop here.
Keep reading to find out how to avoid poor performance by following the 6 steps below.
Topics: NetWeaver, Performance, sap bpc, Performance Tuning
How do you ensure your Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Business Planning & Consolidation (BPC) or Business Intelligence (BI) project will start out positioned for success? You've gone through the RFP process, completed the vendor evaluation, and have decided on the technology. But before diving into requirements and design, you also need to spend time in the project initiation phase--ensuring the project's critical success factors (CSFs) are defined and socialized, and that a plan for implementation is developed. Be sure there is a common understanding of the importance of the CSFs and how they differ from project objectives and success criteria.
Topics: Best Practices, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Project Management, Performance, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
Steve Sussman on Sun, Jan 08, 2023 @ 11:01 AM
To appreciate the new foundation for BPC 11, we have to explore the underlying database platform. BW/4HANA may share a similar name with its predecessor, however, this all-new platform represents SAP’s rearchitected, next-generation data warehouse.
Let’s explore this new platform by directly addressing five key commonly asked questions:
As with most specialized software programs, it is usually not suggested to implement SAP BPC without the assistance of a consulting partner. Many projects require expertise that most EPM administrators do not have, and so it is recommended to find a partner that can ensure success. Choosing this partner is an important decision. Here are a few of the top things a company should look at when deciding on an appropriate organization.
Topics: Best Practices, Thought Leadership, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Project Management, Training, Implementation, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
A risk is the possibility of an event or a condition that could negatively impact a project. There are many events or conditions in any EPM BPC implementation that can derail the project, because BPC is a complex tool that touches many areas of your organization. This article is intended to help mitigate risk.
Topics: Process Improvement, Thought Leadership, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Project Management, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
1.Get Your Ultimate Guide to Improving SAP EPM Performance
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