SAP took a major step into the Business Intelligence (BI) waters by acquiring Business Objects. SAP’s BI portfolio is now overflowing with its own traditional offerings and acquired functionality from Crystal, Pilot Software, OutlookSoft, ALG, SRC Software, Cartesis, and FirstLogic. Users of both Business Objects and SAP must understand which of these products have a future and which ones don’t.

The Future of BI at SAP

SAP is taking an aggressive approach in rationalizing its BI portfolio. But even the products that don’t survive have a future, albeit a very short one. SAP will support the retired offerings for at least three years with patches, fixes, and limited support. No new features will be released. SAP has decreed that only the fittest of its BI products will survive.