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Are you frustrated with how difficult it is to visualize your OBIEE data the way you want to? Do you wish that your OBIEE data could simply and securely connect with Tableau?
It can! BI Connector allows you to securely access and use your OBIEE and Taleo data right in Tableau, PowerBI, and Qlik.
If you want to use visualizations to communicate the results of your analysis, you probably want to work with modern, easy-to-use visual analytics tools like Tableau. But there’s no simple way to do this with your OBIEE data! Making it happen manually means wasting an average of 4–5 hours per week creating and using exports and imports of OBIEE data into a visualization tool. That can translate to tens of thousands of dollars wasted. With BI Connector, you can easily connect to OBIEE subject areas and reports in minutes. You simply log in with your OBIEE credentials, reusing your existing OBIEE business logic. You don’t have to make any changes to OBIEE.
You save time and money.
BI Connector is perfect for anyone interested in machine learning, data analysis, data visualization, business analysis, data science, and predictor analysis. It’s easy enough for beginners to use and it offers benefits that the most advanced power users will enjoy. It’s the number one BI integration solution used by enterprise customers. It’s simple, secure, and efficient. Setup takes less than five minutes. You can run direct query-based live connections to both subject areas and reports and immediately use your results to create gorgeous, responsive, and intuitive visualizations. It allows you to make faster decisions and avoid common errors.
It will save you an incredible amount of time and effort.
BI Connector is hands-down the easiest way to connect the capabilities of OBIEE with the intuitive visualizations of Tableau. It allows you to take the power and security of OBIEE and effortlessly combine it with everything your favorite visualization tool has to offer.
OBIEE
If you’re serious about data, there’s a very good chance that you’re already using OBIEE. It’s amazing for data reporting and intelligence. It can hold a huge volume of data and it’s perfect for medium and large enterprises. It also handles complex structures extremely well. Plus Oracle has developed pre-defined BI solutions that are available in OBIEE. When you create a BI solution in OBIEE, that solution is implemented immediately. It offers interactive dashboards and reporting, actionable intelligence, proactive detection and alerts, Microsoft Office integration, and a lot more.
That being said, there are simply not as many visualization options available in OBIEE as there are in Tableau. The options that are available are not as user-friendly as the ones in Tableau. OBIEE also has a limited ability to work with other tools and often requires the purchase of an extra license to use them.
OBIEE also requires a significant amount of education to use properly and it’s not as easy to connect your OBIEE data to Tableau as it could be. You can do it, of course, but solutions like creating Excel exports or SQL scripts wastes time. Wasted time is wasted money. (It’s also worth noting that exporting your data and then importing it puts your data at risk of unauthorized access.)
Tableau
Tableau, on the other hand, offers gorgeous and easy-to-create visualizations. It’s well-suited for small and medium enterprises. It allows for the use of a number of different tools. It’s intuitive and user-friendly, offering simple drag-and-drop responsive charts, one-click formulas, filters, and a lot more. There are also some fun new features in 2019.2, including vector-based maps! You can check out the new features here. But while Tableau can handle a lot of data, it can’t manage the huge volume of data that OBIEE can handle with ease. It’s very challenging to use when you have more than 25 tables or more than 16 get columns. And everything in Tableau needs to be developed from scratch.
These two tools aren’t replacements for each other. They can do impressive work together! But getting them to work together can be challenging. If you decide to export your data from OBIEE and then import it into Tableau, you wind up duplicating data and duplicating logic as well. Your results might be inconsistent, and you expose yourself to potential security risks.
That’s where BI Connector comes in!
BI Connector is the fun, simple, and secure way to connect OBIEE and Tableau. With BI Connector, you can create your visualizations in Tableau using your OBIEE data in no time. BI Connector uses the OBIEE security model, so your data is protected. It automates the process of moving your OBIEE data into Tableau and it keeps your data safe.
BI Connector is great for everyone on your team from IT directors and analysts to human resources, and even your sales and marketing team. It sits right on top of the OIBEE layer and allows you to easily integrate your favorite data visualization tool. It’s simple and intuitive and it bridges the gap between technologies, saving you an incredible amount of time and money. You get plug-and-play access for your users from what they’ve already built in OBIEE. You can run your results right from your data warehouse. It’s also fun and secure! You can create your visualizations in minutes while protecting your data with the OBIEE security model.
If you’ve already invested thousands of dollars in your data tools, why waste any time trying to get those tools to work together? BI Connector is the simple way to connect your tools. You don’t have to make any changes to OBIEE or to Tableau. Plus, you’re working with a tested and secure corporate data warehouse. You get self-service data visualization with the security and governance of OBIEE.
How to Use BI Connector to connect OBIEE and Tableau
BI Connector is incredibly easy to install. It takes less than five minutes. You can find a helpful step-by-step guidehere and really helpful videos herethat will walk you through the process if you run into any issues.
Step 1: Download
First, you’ll need to go to the BI Connector websiteto download BI Connector. You can click the button that says “Try it free” and drop down the menu to “Visualize OBIEE data in” and click on “Tableau.”
Enter your information, click the button that says “Try BI Connector for Tableau” and your download will start. There’s no credit card or commitment required. You have 30 days to try it out and see what a game-changer it is.
You’ll double click on the “BIConnector-Desktop-Edition-x64-Tableau.exe” file to unzip it and specify the location and then start the installation. You’ll click on the button that says “Install” and follow the prompts.
At the end of the installation process, you’ll see a popup window that lets you know that your installation has been completed. Make sure the box is checked next to the line that says “Launch ODBC Administrator” and click “ Finish.”
Step 2: ODBC Administrator and License Activation
Next, you’ll want to create a new data source. Go to the ODBC Database Administrator and click “Add.” A box will pop up where you can activate your 30 Day trial license. Enter your personal information and then either leave the trial license number as-is (it will show up automatically) or change it to the key for the license you purchased and click “Activate.” This will take you back to the window where you will now be able to create a new data source.
You’ll click on the button that says “Add.”
You’ll need to enter the data source name (OBIEE Connect here) and your server name, port, user ID, and password. This is the information you use for your Oracle BI server.
If you log in to OBIEE with something like “http://obieefunstuff.websitename.com:9704/analytics” then your server name will be “http://obieefunstuff.websitename.com” and your port will be 9704. Your user ID and password are your OBIEE user ID and password. It’s a good idea to take a look at the official step-by-step guidefor more information. It walks you through some common scenarios, including what to do if you don’t see your port number in the URL.
Now click “Test connection” to make sure everything is working.
Step 3: Configure access for Subject Areas or Reports
In the next window, you’ll see two little radio buttons that allow you to select either “Subject Areas” or “Reports.” Go ahead and choose one or the other and hit “Save.” You can always go to this screen again any time you want to change or update your information.
Step 4: configure Tableau
Now it’s time to head over to Tableau! Launch Tableau, then click “More Servers” and then go to “Other Databases (ODBC).” Now you can select the data source that you created and click “Connect.” Make sure your server name, port, and User ID are exactly the same as the ones you used previously and enter the same password here as well. Test your connection and hit “OK.” You’ll click “OK” again on the “Other Databases (ODBC) screen.
You’re ready to start visualizing your data!
Go ahead and select your database from the dropdown menu and click “OK.”
Done
That’s it! You’re all set!
You can drag and drop your information just like you normally would! Easily create filters, add color, labels, tooltips, and everything else you normally want to do with Tableau. You have your data at your fingertips and you can work with it in exactly the way you want to.
You can even blend OIBEE data with other data files right in Tableau in exactly the same way that you normally would. Start with the same process, then click “Add” in the upper left corner or drop your Data menu down to “New Data Source.” Select “Text File,” for example, if you have data in a CSV file. That will open a window where you can select your file.
Now you’re all set to work with your additional data!
It’s really that easy. You’re minutes away from being able to combine the power of OBIEE with the ease and appeal of Tableau.
What are you waiting for? Give BI Connector a try today!
