Oct. 27, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- VIENNA, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In May 2009, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) unveiled SAP® BusinessObjects(TM) Explorer software, a breakthrough solution that enables business users to explore vast amounts of information and find relevant answers in seconds. In November, SAP will usher in the next wave of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, accelerated version, which delivers business insight on any data set through an intuitive Web-based interface anyone can use. With instant visibility into all the information needed to do their jobs, users can easily tackle tough questions and identify the root causes of business issues while navigating their business data at the speed of thought. Today, companies like Consol, Kraft Foods and OraSure Technologies are looking to SAP BusinessObjects Explorer to solve key questions using a new approach. The announcement was made at SAP® TechEd 2009, being held October 27-29 in Vienna, Austria.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a)

Despite an explosion of data in the last few years, most business users still lack the information and insight they need to move beyond a "gut feel" approach to decision-making to a fact-based approach that yields more consistently effective results. The second wave of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, accelerated version, introduces the ability to accelerate any data source beyond SAP NetWeaver® Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW). Based on the packaging of SAP® BusinessObjects(TM) Accelerator software, any company, whether or not it is running SAP applications, will be able to use SAP BusinessObjects Explorer to visualize and act upon its business data.

The new capabilities can help organizations in many ways:

--  Sales and marketing units can gain a better understanding of key
campaigns, product profitability and forecasting information, including
third-party data and data from marketing databases in the cloud.
--  Operations can explore inventory levels, deriving insight from their
enterprise data warehouse and/or data provided by their extended
business network, their supply chain for SKU management, stock-out
planning, product recall and traceability management.

--  Finance professionals can deliver revenue, cost and profitability
insights to constituents in a safe, secure way, exposing a 'single
version of the detailed truth' within the organization.

Providing Quick Access to Relevant Information

Consol Glass (Pty) Ltd, the leading Southern African glass container packaging manufacturer, plans to use SAP BusinessObjects Explorer to reduce the time and cost of access to business data, expanding the type and number of users in addition to analyzing its business quickly and accurately.

"We chose SAP BusinessObjects Explorer to help more business users easily identify the most relevant pieces of information in our data store," said Johan du Plessis, IT director, Consol Glass. "Our challenge is that we have a large business intelligence platform and needed a way to access information quickly and without a heavy degree of IT involvement.