The moment has arrived!

SAP BusinessObjects BI 2025 is officially live Down Under and early adopters in Australia and New Zealand are already running it in production. This milestone proves that BI 2025 is ready for real-world use today. With enhanced data visualisation, offline interactivity, and stronger semantic capabilities, there's no reason to wait. Organisations can begin planning upgrades confidently and tap into SAP's long-term BI roadmap now.

SAP BI 2025 Is Live: First Customers in Australia and New Zealand Show the Way

SAP BusinessObjects BI 2025 is no longer just on the horizon—it's here, and it's already in action. Customers in Australia and New Zealand are among the first in the world to go live with the new release, proving that the next generation of on-premise BI is ready for production now.

This marks a significant milestone for SAP's long-term commitment to BusinessObjects, particularly for customers who rely on it for mission-critical reporting and operational decision-making. The success stories from the early adopters down under show that there's no need to wait—BI 2025 is stable, supported, and packed with new capabilities that deliver immediate value.

What Makes BI 2025 a Game-Changer?

• Web Intelligence Transformation: Enhanced interactivity, modern dashboards, and new offline document functionality (WIDX) make WebI more dynamic and user-friendly than ever before.
• Robust Semantic Layer Upgrades: Improved UNX universes and streamlined migration from legacy formats mean better performance and long-term scalability.
• Enterprise-Ready Reporting: BI 2025 continues to support large-scale, repeatable reporting with improved governance and metadata capabilities.

Web Intelligence: Key Enhancements You Should Know About

The latest updates to Web Intelligence (WebI) bring a range of powerful features designed to elevate data visualisation, offline access, data preparation, semantic layer management and operational reporting. Here's a closer look at the most significant improvements transforming how users interact with their data.

1. Fresh Visualisation and Enhanced Interactivity. WebI's tables, charts, and filters have been redesigned with modern styles, offering a cleaner, more engaging look. Beyond aesthetics, these components now provide improved interactivity, allowing users to explore data more intuitively. Dashboard-style elements such as buttons, selectors, and KPIs are now embedded directly into WebI reports. This integration enables real-time insights without needing to switch between different tools, streamlining decision-making processes.
2. Offline Interactivity with WIDX Export. One of the standout new features is the introduction of the Web Intelligence Document eXtract (WIDX) format. This innovation allows users to export fully interactive documents that retain filtering and drill-down capabilities—even when viewed offline. This is particularly valuable for professionals on the move, remote teams, or anyone needing access to rich, actionable data without continuous internet connectivity
3. More Powerful Data Mode and Preparation Tools. Data Mode continues to evolve, empowering users to handle complex data preparation tasks directly within WebI. Users can now perform joins, apply filters, and execute data transformations before running their reports. This enhancement reduces reliance on external data manipulation tools and accelerates the reporting workflow, making it easier to deliver accurate and relevant insights.
4. Semantic Layer and UNX Universe Advancements. The semantic layer, especially the UNX universes managed via the Information Design Tool, has received critical updates. These improvements focus on smoother migration paths, better metadata governance, and optimized query performance. As a result, enterprises can expect more reliable data models that support faster and more efficient report generation.
5. Reinforced Operational Reporting. WebI solidifies its role as a core operational BI tool by enhancing its query and reporting capabilities. The platform now delivers faster, more reliable results at scale, ensuring that users across the enterprise can depend on it for timely and accurate operational insights.

Enhancements Crystal Reports

SAP Crystal Reports has long been a cornerstone of SAP BusinessObjects, trusted by businesses worldwide for its ability to deliver precise, well-formatted reports. With the release of SAP BusinessObjects BI 2025, Crystal Reports 2025 (CR2025) takes a major step forward, introducing important enhancements designed to meet evolving business reporting needs and maintain its strategic role within the SAP portfolio.

• Strategic Focus and Expanded Connectivity: Starting with BI 2025, CR2025 is positioned as the strategic flagship of the SAP Crystal Reports family. This release provides a smooth migration path for existing SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise (CR4E) users, enabling them to transition their reports to CR2025 with most formatting and calculations preserved. Additionally, the introduction of the new SAP BW (DSL) driver aligns closely with CR4E and Web Intelligence (WebI), making it easier than ever to migrate BW reports. Performance improvements in database sorting and ranking delegate these operations directly to data sources like UNX universes, optimising query speed and efficiency.
• Enhanced Accessibility for Casual Users: Recognising the needs of casual or occasional report viewers, CR2025 offers a free Desktop Viewer that delivers faster, offline-friendly access to reports. This viewer shares the same powerful engine as the CR2025 Designer, ensuring seamless interaction with charts, data, and layouts even without an internet connection. This lightweight solution is ideal for users who need quick, reliable access to reports without the complexity of full design tools.
• Simplified Onboarding and Workflow Discoverability: To help users get started quickly, CR2025 features intuitive onboarding improvements. Start-page shortcuts for Universe (UNX) and BW DSL drivers accelerate report creation by guiding users to key data sources. Additionally, a new BI Launchpad tile for launching the classic SAP Crystal Reports Designer ensures users can easily find and use familiar tools, streamlining their reporting workflows.

With these targeted enhancements, Crystal Reports 2025 not only strengthens its position as a vital reporting tool but also adapts to modern business requirements—delivering a better experience for both report creators and consumers.

You can find all the details here: What's new in SAP Crystal Reports 2025?

Subversion No Longer Bundled with BI 2025

• Existing Version Manager setups using Subversion must be reconfigured or migrated.
• SAP recommends moving to supported version control systems (e.g., Git) or alternative promotion tools.
• Organisations should plan for this change during their upgrade—especially if you currently leverage Subversion workflows heavily.

No More "Wait and See"

SAP BusinessObjects BI 2025 isn't just a software update—it's a long-term commitment to innovation, security and smarter decision-making. By moving to this latest release, organisations unlock a host of strategic advantages:

• Future-Proof Support: A clear roadmap guarantees maintenance, security, and updates well beyond 2032.
• Simplified & Modernised Platform: A cleaner architecture reduces system complexity, boosting operational efficiency.
• Next-Gen Web Intelligence: Experience new dashboarding tools, offline access, and an intuitive interface designed for faster insights.
• Smarter Data Access & Governance: Streamlined tools improve how data is accessed, managed and secured across the enterprise.
• Crystal Reports, Reimagined: Enjoy enhanced integration, improved connectivity, and greater flexibility for pixel-perfect reporting.

BI 2025 sets the stage for a more agile, scalable, and user-friendly business intelligence environment—ready for what's next.

With successful deployments already live, organisations can now move confidently toward BI 2025 without hesitation. SAP has demonstrated that the platform is ready for prime time—and that it continues to be a critical piece of the hybrid analytics puzzle.

This is more than just an upgrade; it's a confirmation that SAP BusinessObjects is evolving and thriving—offering powerful, on-premise BI for the next generation.