Oracle's big push on the EPM/BI space right now is the "Fusion" Edition. This is their best-in-class product and the amalgamation of what were once separate standalone products into a single collaborative offering. The fusion of these great tools really highlights the combination of performance management and business intelligence as a solid roadmap for analytics in the business place. So, now is the perfect time for those that may be more geared toward EPM to take a look at Oracle BI and vice-versa.
One of the products bridging the gap is SmartView. This is a product that was basically brought over from the Hyperion acquisition. However, even for a lot of Hyperion-centric users, they have still not ventured to study, learn, and understand the breadth and power of this tool. SmartView is much more powerful than its well-known predecesor, the Hyperion Excel Add-In. It not only connects to Essbase but can connect to Hyperion Planning, and now....drumroll please...Oracle BI. This post looks at using SmartView to connect to OBIEE. In a really simple example I'll show you how to connect to your Oracle BI Server, create a Smart Slice, and retrieve data. For those new to the integration between OBIEE and Hyperion integration, there is a great post at the Art of Business Intelligence on how to download the SmartView add-in from OBIEE Presentation Services.
Pre-Requisites
- Know the server locations where the following services are running (Oracle BI Server, Provider Services), Shared Services, Essbase, Planning, nor OpenLDAP are required when just connecting to the Oracle BI Server.
- This example uses the OBIEE SampleSales.rpd, this should be configured on your OBI Server
- Microsoft Excel (2003 or 2007). This example's screenshots are from MS Excel 2003.
- Installed SmartView.exe add-in on your workstation
Instructions
After the SmartView.exe add-in has been downloaded an installed, open MS Excel. From the file menu an option for "Hyperion" will be available. If this option is not available to you please review the smartview installation instructions or verify you MS Excel add-in/macro settings.
From the Hyperion menu select Data Source Manager...
The Smart View Data Source Manager will open to the right-side of the window. Click the Connect to Provider Services link.
Once connected, the following options appear. If this the first time using Smart View on your machine you will be prompted to enter the APS server path. Please obtain this from your administrator.
1. Verify the APS server
2. Ensure "All" is selected here to see all connections and server options
1. Click to highlight the Oracle BI Server folder
When prompted, complete the following fields.
Product = Oracle BI Server
Product Server Name = Your Oracle BI Server Name
Product Server URL = Configure with correct OBI server name
User Name = Administrator
Click OK
Once the configuration is accepted expand the Oracle BI Server folder, expand the server, and the subject areas that are available to the user will be exposed.
Part 2 of this series can be found here. When you have successfully completed connectivity to your Oracle BI Server using Smart View continue on to Part 2 to learn how to create a Smart Slice and retrieve data from the Sample Sales subject area. Then you'll really be on a great start to becoming a Smart View guru.
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