Name: APOS Publisher
Brand: APOS

Deliver personalized reporting to the right people, at the right time, in the right format

APOS Publisher is a complete SAP BusinessObjects publishing solution for enterprises of all sizes, automating many tasks, extending and enhancing SAP BusinessObjects' publishing capabilities.

The flexibility, agility, scalability, and extensibility of the APOS Publisher BI publishing solution allow it to grow with your publishing needs, and ensure you will continue to be able to deliver personalized reporting to your information consumers -- the right information, to the right people, in the right format. at the right time.

Get in-depth knowledge and control over your publishing workflows and processes, enabling high-volume and high-value document production and distribution. APOS Publisher takes BI publishing beyond bursting, letting you extend the use and ROI of your BI platform and providing an alternative platform for SAP BI content broadcasting and legacy publishing processes such as statement generation.

Personalized Data

Personalized Data

Simplify user experience with offline consumption of the filtered and personalized data they need

Targeted Distribution

Targeted Distribution

Dynamic, data driven process provides customized reports exclusively to the people who need it, when they need it

Strategic Timing

Strategic Timing

Tailored reports delivered at strategic times for maximum impact on decision making and job execution

Tailored Format

Tailored Format

Consumers receive the information they need in the convenient and specific format they require for immediate use, removing connection barriers

Reduced IT Burden

Reduced IT Burden

Low maintenance, automated data driven process can meet rapidly and changing information process needs without burdening users or IT resources

Dynamic Flexibility

Dynamic Flexibility

Handle unique and changing scenarios, control and change filtering and distribution by controlling the data which drives the process

SAP BusinessObjects Report Bursting

Use simple or complex scenarios in the APOS Publisher Bursting Manager module for the ultimate in personalized and secure report bursting, providing the right slice of information to the right person at the right time.

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Complete report bursting capabilities for SAP BusinessObjects

APOS Publisher enables the construction and seamless execution of complex bursting scenarios, serving "slices" of information to information consumers across the enterprise. A "slice" is a portion of data that conforms to specified permissions. Slices essentially group information by user functions, using system information to deliver data personalization. The entire publishing process is data-driven.

This advanced report bursting engine lets you:

Slice information using parameters/prompts, filters, or selection formulas
Burst highly flexible and customizable documents using the key SAP BusinessObjects content types, including Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Desktop Intelligence, Xcelsius, report packages and any combination of these
Load dynamic lists of parameters and values

Complex report bursting

Complex report bursting requirements frequently include:

Multiple report instances
Multiple batches and queues running in parallel and/or according to dependencies
A wide variety of data sources
Absolute control over delivery protocols
Comprehensive monitoring functionality that monitors and logs the process
Alerts concerning the status of the process

APOS Publisher's advanced report bursting engine lets you:

Burst in queues or batches
Work with a variety of reports within each bursting queue
Operate multiple bursting queues in parallel within your SAP BusinessObjects environment
Create a hierarchical structure of record requests within batches, collections, and projects to structure and control bursting jobs
Log all bursting activities for a comprehensive audit trail of your publishing

This advanced report bursting engine makes it possible to use your SAP BusinessObjects platform for new and increased line-of-business information delivery requirements, and to take over legacy information delivery functions (such as statement generation), from older platforms.

Salling Group Success Story with APOS Publisher

Bursting 7,000+ daily personalized reports while reducing BI system load

Equian, part of Optum Success Story with APOS Publisher

Lowered costs, time saved & improved efficiency of report distribution

Systematic SAP BusinessObjects Report Distribution

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Enhanced distribution and integration capabilities

APOS Publisher provides enhanced distribution and integration capabilities that allow you to exercise complete control over information distribution while ensuring information is placed where it can be used most effectively and efficiently.

APOS Publisher's post-processing services create metadata for each document created during the bursting process and send it with the distributed content, thus permitting smart integration with other applications.

This post-processing power appeals to customers with complex distribution requirements, including numerous destinations.
APOS Publisher can convert reports to multiple formats, zip them with passwords, and apply encryption to PDFs.

BI publishing is not just a means of delivering reports to information consumers. It is also a means of integrating BI information with other enterprise information technologies such as content management systems.

Your content management and BI systems don't have to be competitors. In many organizations, content management is more central to operational workflows than BI, but BI can provide a layer of in-depth and managerial information to those formal workflows.

One of the greatest benefits of content management is its thorough indexing of content, which gives the content management system an extremely powerful search capability. The BI system, on the other hand, can provide in-depth information to support numerous themes and workflows within the CMS.

APOS Publisher distributes document instances with additional metadata to integrate better with the CMS, and bridge the gap between these enterprise information solutions.

APOS Publisher provides enhanced report distribution for SAP BusinessObjects. It provides post-processing, such as encryption and other special export options and destinations.

APOS Publisher uses regular SAP BusinessObjects scheduling functionality, but adds settings and custom properties to achieve more distribution flexibility.

Report distribution to multiple locations

Use APOS Publisher to distribute instances to many different destination types simultaneously, including:

Printer (multiple simultaneously)
Network file location
Email as attachment
Email as content
FTP
SSL FTP
Secure Shell FTP
Content management system – SharePoint, OpenText
Content Manager (formerly crystalreports.com)

Email, FTP and network location report distribution can take advantage of APOS Publisher's report bursting in numerous formats, including:

PNG
PDF
XLS
XLSX
DOC
RTF
RPT
XML
CSV
TXT
Tab delimited
HTML

Bursting to PNG format lets you export reports to static images, which can then be embedded in PDF and Excel files. APOS Publisher's Distribution Server expands available destinations with plug-ins. If you have custom destinations, APOS can accommodate them through this set of plug-ins.

Secure report distribution

APOS Publisher provides several levels of security:

Standard: password protected Zip files, PDF files (128-bit encryption), Excel spreadsheets, Word documents
Enhanced: APIs for custom encryption

Content management system integration

APOS Publisher's report distribution functionality is also the key to integration with numerous enterprise content management systems for even wider information accessibility.

Attach your SAP BusinessObjects reports to your content management workflows to create complete intelligence packages. Attached reports include metadata such as source, parameters, ownership, and other lineage information to document information provenance.

APOS Publisher integrates SAP BusinessObjects with a number of content management systems, including:

Content Manager (formerly crystalreports.com)
SharePoint
Open Text

Report Consolidation

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Build packages of hyperlinked reports

APOS Publisher lets you build packages of reports for individual information consumers, so that they receive a single consolidated report, rather than a series of disconnected reports. This consolidation simplifies the management and use of reports by the information consumer. The packaged reports are often hyperlinked to each other for supplementary or drill-down information.

APOS Publisher provides BI report consolidation for SAP BusinessObjects, letting you consolidate business reports for better BI report usability.

BI report consolidation

Build a package of reports for individual information consumers so they receive a single consolidated report, in one format (such as PDF or Excel spreadsheet), rather than a series of disconnected reports.

BI report usability

The virtue of such BI report consolidation is that it simplifies both the management and use of reports by the information consumer. Administrators package information from numerous enterprise data sources in a format that makes that information more usable for the information consumer.

SAP BusinessObjects report wrapper

APOS Publisher creates a wrapper for a set of SAP BusinessObjects reports. All of the reports to be assembled into the package are run as a batch (as a folder of reports, or a report group, for example). Once all scheduled reports have run successfully, APOS Publisher processes the package and delivers them.

Harvey Norman Success Story with APOS Publisher

High-volume report scheduling with complex distribution capabilites

Amer Sports Success Story with APOS Insight

High volume targeted & tailored distribution of personalized reports daily with reduced IT burden

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis for Microsoft Office

Use APOS Publisher to execute tightly controlled Analysis for Office document production and distribution workflows.

You can burst Analysis for Office documents to various users, either in native format, or exported to other formats. Create built-in recurring schedules using a wide variety of formats -- PDF, XPS, CSV, XLSX, XLS, HTML, MHTML, ODS (Open Doc Spreadsheet), XML, OXML (Open XML), TXT (tab delimited) -- or directly to print. View full details here

SAP BI Launchpad Integration

Starting with SAP BI 4.2 SP4, the APOS Publisher Distribution Server module has been integrated seamlessly with the SAP BusinessObjects BI Launchpad, delivering a great variety of options that simplify and clarify user processes for greater empowerment and convenience, enhance information security through numerous encryption and password-protection methods, and fortify governance requirements by enforcing formats and destinations. Using the Distribution Center/SAP BI Launchpad integration, you can control which destinations are available to which users. A set of plugins for APOS Publisher’s Distribution Server enable custom destinations within the SAP BI Launchpad integration. These plug-ins enable you to send to file storage and other non-standard destinations. APOS can also create custom plug-ins to enable Distribution Server and SAP BI Launchpad to send to custom destinations.

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SAP BI Launchpad integration screens

SAP BI Launchpad integration screen for Distribution Server

End user's view of SAP BI Launchpad when scheduling in SAP BusinessObjects 4.3:

Administrator's view of the CMC when scheduling in SAP BusinessObjects 4.3:

Administrator's view of the CMC when scheduling in SAP BusinessObjects 4.2:

View our whitepaper: Advanced Information Distribution Governance: APOS Publisher / SAP BI Launchpad Integration

Security & Encryption

For regulatory and governance purposes, your content distribution needs may include advanced security and encryption. APOS Publisher’s Distribution Server increases your ability to apply security and encryption through external encryption libraries. A set of security, encryption and destination plug-ins available for APOS Publisher allow you to customize APOS Publisher to your security and encryption needs. You can also increase security with secure FTP options and restrictions on which destination types are available to which groups.

Statement Generation

In publishing processes such as statement generation, control is all important. You need to know that every statement you intend to produce is in fact produced and delivered to the appropriate location, and if there is any problem during the generation/distribution process, then you need to be able fix the problem quickly and efficiently. APOS Publisher provides these capabilities, and in many cases automates them.

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Automated document production

APOS Publisher makes SAP BusinessObjects your centralized solution for document generation and delivery by accepting requests to generate reports from any application or data source within your enterprise solution stack. Use complex bursting to control the order of execution according to multiple dependencies for finely managed workflows.

AFP printer integration

APOS Publisher integrates easily with AFP printers to maximize your printing throughput and statement production.

Workflow monitoring, alerts, auditing

In the complex bursting scenario, Publisher's monitoring service monitors requests within batches, collections, and projects. Publisher issues alerts whenever errors occur, and when batches, collections, and projects are closed. The end of the bursting process automatically triggers reports to list the full status of batches, collections, and projects.

Interactive process control

Publisher gives you complete awareness of the bursting process, and control over document production workflows within SAP BusinessObjects. Publisher's management console lets you configure all burst settings, and gives visibility to queues, collections, batches, projects and requests as they are executed. The console also allows the administrator to configure all burst settings.