And yet another reason why I can see businesses get frustrated on functionality that used to be there and then taken away.
WEBI Publications cannot be set up to NOT send out emails with BLANK reports.
Used to be able to check for this with DESKI; trying to do it in webi with a multi -query report is … 
… 
Again, they got rid of the wrong tool Crystal should have been CUT-OFF… Not DESKI the super reporter
di652 (BOB member since 2005-02-24)
nicely said!
Tiny 
(BOB member since 2004-11-10)
This all may be true, but it is crying over spilled milk.
Andreas 
(BOB member since 2002-06-20)
you don’t know!
I’ve just applied for VP Software Development at SAP!
Walldorf here I come!
Tiny (BOB member since 2004-11-10)
OKAY, wie gut ist Dein Deutsch dann? 
And believe me, the dark force (=Crystal) is strong at the mothership.
Andreas 
(BOB member since 2002-06-20)
My German is rubbish (while married to a German wife 
)
But I can live with Crystal!
I just want a good reporting tool ,thrown away, restored in it’s full glory
ps
I could live with the scenario Deski 3.1 being there not developed anymore (so status quo) in the 4.0 stack…
Just being there with its current capabilities would make my work a lot easier.
And frankly that shouldn’t be that hard to do for SAP? (cost wise and technology wise)
so…
TO DO LIST - WALLDORF - 1stDAY:
Tiny (BOB member since 2004-11-10)
I think it’s a bit more than that. As others have pointed out, BI4.0 is being very poorly received and, certainly in the UK and Australia, it’s had a big negative impact on the contract market. It’s also affecting the general perception of Business Objects in the marketplace. SAP urgently need to release a stable, fully functioning version of BI. Then they need to work overtime on marketing that fact. Otherwise they are just giving marketshare to their competitors. Which isn’t good for any of us.
Nemesis 
(BOB member since 2004-06-09)
Go Tiny Go… Austria support your Crusade for DESKI - push the DCP (DCP (Deski Compatibility Pack)) and we may be happy again! 
Yeah! Tiny in Walldorf - that Event changed everything… 
Wobi supports Tiny!
Wolfgang Bidner 
(BOB member since 2002-08-30)
VOTE TINY!!!
That said, just getting the XI3.1 Webi functionality completely in v4 would be sufficient for me.
That is so CLICHE… And Lederhosen you might wear in Munich (State of Bavaria) to the Oktoberfest, but nowhere else in particular not in Baden-Wuertemberg, which the the state where the town of Walldorf is ,-)
While you are at it… can you consolidate some of the 7+ frontend tools while in Walldorf?
Andreas (BOB member since 2002-06-20)
somebody got a name? (VP Software Development SAP BI)???
Tiny 
(BOB member since 2004-11-10)
A rather ambitious ( :> ) quest.
As far as SAP is concerned, they have all their proverbial “eggs in one basket” - but it’s a large and significant basket affectionately known as HANA which supports many other important initiatives.
They’re trying to send shockwaves throughout the data management / BI ecosystem by saying that HANA is the foundation technology required for true competitive advantage. Almost with the same thrust and show of importance as what Java was to cross-platform development or Linux to Unix. In fact, if you told them you’re fed up with BI4 and all of its client tools and Webi etc, and said “we’re going to convert to 500k BI4 licenses to Actuate and Cognos” they’d most likely say “sure, we’ll pay half the bill, but while we do that, we urge you to take a look at our HANA platform”.
And I think the direction its taking is good - I certainly find promise in what’s been said about it, and my experience with it.
But going back to the client tools – what we really need is a few of those clever Java/Swing/SWT guys from the SAP Visi team to lock themselves in a room for 3 months and re-work Webi!
Atul Chowdhury (BOB member since 2003-07-07)
Eric Schemer told us about Design Studio and the principles behind…
He is in development
…
Waldemar Adams used to be in charge of BO / Webi at least saw him at a couples of conferences
Herr Meiser is an old BusinesObjects guy - but not always in Walldorf afaik…
so some names to target
Wobi
Wolfgang Bidner (BOB member since 2002-08-30)
It is with regret for the moment at least that after 18 years I will also be leaving the SAP BO world for another position elsewhere using a competitors BI product.
Having worked for a partner that specialises in the SME market and mainly non-SAP customers I think SAP’s attitude and support needs serious improvement
Is this a strategy from SAP to focus on purely SAP ERP customers? Based on my dealings with them in the UK is certainly looks like the case 
Cheers,
Gary Signing Off
gary_scott (BOB member since 2004-12-17)
it’s getting even worse…
Some say…
Visual Intelligence is going to be the replacement for all BOBJ software (in the long run)
Tiny (BOB member since 2004-11-10)
Who?
anorak 
(BOB member since 2002-09-13)
Visual Intelligence has improved a bit (especially with the new Universe integration although I still could not get the Freehand SQL connector to work) and is not bad as a competitor tool to something like Tabelau or Tibco Spotfire for example.
But to replace Deski or Webi as the user ad-hoc analysis tool?
Who is making these decisions? Also HANA is not the be all and end-all some of BO’s competitors have had in-memory solutions for years !!
Cheers,
Gary
gary_scott (BOB member since 2004-12-17)
This is all but rumors. 
Andreas (BOB member since 2002-06-20)
yes rumors! But if you look at how SAP is acting the last couple of years on the BOBJ stack… I can’t imagine some of it is true…
Tiny (BOB member since 2004-11-10)
(BOB member since 2002-08-15)