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    We are so excited to have you here.

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    • Analyst Award Announcement!!!

      Hannah Knox posted a topic in WebFOCUS,

      🏆 We have been recognized as an Experience and Trust Leader in the Dresner Advisory Services 2024 Industry Excellence Awards! 🏆 As always, we are grateful for our phenomenal customer base and look forward to continuing to build alongside you and offer exceptional products. Read more in the full press release here. 
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      Hannah Knox

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      Hannah Knox,
    • Rule Based Alerts with ReportCaster Schedules

      Alexander Homer posted a topic in WebFOCUS,

      If you’re familiar with scheduling in ReportCaster, then you probably know that there are a lot of recurrence options you can use to send your content at regular intervals with a variety of time-based options. For example, you can send your content every week, every 2 weeks, or every Tuesday and Friday. What you may not know, however, is that you can also schedule those items to send more dynamically using an alert. An alert tests for certain conditions in a report, so when a schedule running against that alert is run, if the alert test fails, then the report won’t send. This allows you to schedule your content to send more dynamically based on changes or key thresholds in your data, so when you receive an email or other distribution from ReportCaster, you know it has new or important information in it.


      The following video shows how to create an alert test based on a filtered report, how to schedule the alert, and what happens if the alert passes or fails.
      Have you tried alerts before in other scenarios, or do you have questions about the capabilities of alerts? Let us know in the comments!

       
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      Paul Thompson

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      Paul Thompson,
    • It's your last chance to see us LIVE in 2024!

      Hannah Knox posted a topic in WebFOCUS,

      🍎 5 reasons YOU should meet us in NYC!!! 🍎 Don't miss out on your chance to attend our last ibi Summit event for 2024. Learn more in this blog post from @Shay Bagwell Ready to register? Head straight to our registration page here. Can't wait to see you in NYC!
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      Hannah Knox,
    • Important ibi product info

      Angela Hildack posted an article in Articles,

      On July 25, 2024, ibi announced the launch of the new ibi Platform and associated offerings: ibi Analytics, ibi Mainframe, and ibi Data Intelligence. As part of this announcement, ibi products–including WebFOCUS and FOCUS–continue to be offered to our customers through these new platform offerings.
      • 0 replies
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      Paul Thompson

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      Paul Thompson,
    • Big news: ibi platform launch

      Hannah Knox posted a topic in ibi Community FAQ / Feedback,

      BIG announcement! We are thrilled to announce the release of the new ibi™ platform offerings–simplified to reduce complexity and optimized to deliver maximum value for ibi customers: ibi™ Mainframe, ibi™  Analytics, and ibi™ Data Intelligence. These new offerings bring ibi’s industry-leading products into an unlimited model–unlimited users, usage, and environments. This shift to unlimited ibi platform offerings is a landmark event for ibi users everywhere, as with it, the possibilities for our customers’ success also become
      unlimited. Read more in this blog from ibi VP, Vijay Raman: https://www.ibi.com/blog/announcing-the-ibi-platform
      • 0 replies
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      Paul Thompson

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      Paul Thompson,

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  • Deep-Dive into your WebFOCUS Audit Logs
    WebFOCUS stores information that allows you to check what’s happening on your system, but sometimes it is difficult to search for the desired information, or it has been cycled to prevent the filesystem from collapsing.
    But ibi™ offers you other options that are not known as it could (a lot of people don’t read the manuals, and I’m including myself on that affirmation), that’s why I’m going to guide you through the Security And Administration Manual and the Logging section, which allows you to redirect the information stored on the logs to a table on your preferred database, and it doesn’t even have to be on the same box!
    You can find the manual here and you also have a web page here 
    The best thing about this technique is that you can generate your own reports to retrieve the desired information and create your own Security Dashboard. In a future article, we’ll discuss how to use the REST services to gather information. You’ll then be able to mix both and get the best information for the administrators and security administrators about everything that happens through WebFOCUS.
    We’ll also need the appropriate JDBD driver of the DB that we’re going to use, so have it handy with the information of the connection to the database as we’re going to need it.
    The very first thing is to create the table where we’re going to store the logs (but we’ll also keep the logs on the filesystem). In this case, I’m going to store the audit.log information. The manual shows how to create the table under a PostgreSQL database, but I’ll also provide you with the script for MS SQL Server so you can see the differences and adapt them accordingly to your preferred database (Oracle, DB2, Derby…).
    Here are the scripts:
    MS SQL Server
    USE [DesiredDB]
    GO
    /****** Object:  Table [dbo].[wf_log] ******/ SET ANSI_NULLS ON GO SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON GO CREATE TABLE [dbo].[wf_log](     [eventdate] [datetime] NOT NULL,     [logger] [varchar](128) NOT NULL,     [lvl] [varchar](12) NOT NULL,     [logid] [varchar](128) NULL,     [message] [varchar](255) NOT NULL,     [excptn] [text] NOT NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] TEXTIMAGE_ON [PRIMARY] GO PostgreSQL
    CREATE TABLE public.wf_log (     eventdate timestamp with time zone,     logger character varying(128) COLLATE pg_catalog."default",     level character varying(12) COLLATE pg_catalog."default",     logid character varying(128) COLLATE pg_catalog."default",     message character varying(255) COLLATE pg_catalog."default",     exception text COLLATE pg_catalog."default" GRANT UPDATE, INSERT, SELECT ON TABLE public.wf_log TO webfocus;
    Notice that some text can be customized to your needs (like the table names for example), also, check that in SQL Server, there are no ‘level’ or ‘exception’ column names (those are ‘lvl’ and ‘excptn’) as those are reserved words in SQL, but those can be used in PostgreSQL.
    Once you have the table created, it should look like this:

    The next step that we need to do is to create a backup copy of the file that we’re going to modify, if we mess with something, we’ll probably lose the filesystem logs too, so having a backup copy is always a good idea.
    Navigate to your WebFOCUS installation folder: ../ibi/WebFOCUSxx/webapps/webfocus/WEB-INF/classes and create a copy of the log4j2.xml file. Once you have the copy, we can start modifying the original.
    Edit the file with your preferred text editor.
    Following the instructions in the manual, we should go to the <RollingFile name="LOGuoa"> block in the <Appenders> section.
    Just after this block, you can add the new JDBC Block (and you can add as much as you want; during some time I redirected all my logs to both, PostgreSQL and MS SQL Server), as you can see in the following screenshot:

    Notice that my PostgreSQL was on a different server, and the MS SQL Server was on the same box as my WebFOCUS.
    Here’s the code in case you want to Copy/Paste it (just replace the {{strings}} for your proper values)
            <!--         <JDBC name="LOGpsql" tableName="public.wf_log">             <DriverManager connectionString="jdbc:postgresql://{{IP:PORT}}/{{schema}}" driverClassName="org.postgresql.Driver" username="{{username}}" password="{{password}}"/>             <Column name="eventdate" isEventTimestamp="true" />             <Column name="logger" pattern="%logger" isUnicode="false"/>             <Column name="level" pattern="%level" isUnicode="false" />             <Column name="logid" pattern="%X{userId}" isUnicode="false" />             <Column name="message" pattern="%message" isUnicode="false" />             <Column name="exception" pattern="%ex{full}" isUnicode="false"/>         </JDBC>         -->         <JDBC name="LOGmssql" tableName="{{DB_name}}.dbo.wf_log">             <DriverManager connectionString="jdbc:sqlserver://{{IP:PORT}};DatabaseName={{DB_name}};encrypt=false" driverClassName="com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver" username="{{username}}" password="{{password}}" />             <Column name="eventdate" isEventTimestamp="true" />             <Column name="logger" pattern="%logger" isUnicode="false"/>             <Column name="lvl" pattern="%level" isUnicode="false" />             <Column name="logid" pattern="%X{userId}" isUnicode="false" />             <Column name="message" pattern="%message" isUnicode="false" />             <Column name="excptn" pattern="%ex{full}" isUnicode="false"/>         </JDBC> The manual explains the different patterns you can save and store on the columns, so you can customize what you want to save and store there.
    Now that the connection is created and the patterns for the log are assigned to each column, we need to tell this same file which operations need to be logged there. So we’ll need to go to the <Loggers> block and add our “appender” for every logger we want to store in tables.
    Due to the nature of the tables I created, I’m going to store all the information that comes from the logs related to any ‘com.ibi.uoa.xxxxx’ function. That includes any change on users, groups, rules, roles, signin, import or export of Change Management packages…


    You can also redirect to PostgreSQL or MS SQL Server based on these loggers, for example, signin operations can be sent to PostgreSQL, while the rest of them can be sent to MS SQL Server.
    Feel free to customize this to match your needs!
    Here’s my code:
            <Logger name="com.ibi.monitor.requests" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGrequests"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa" level="error" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.impex.import" level="debug" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGcm_import"/>             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.impex.export" level="debug" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGcm_export"/>             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.groups" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.users" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.roles" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.rules" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.signin" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.ownership" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.shares" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.content" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.config" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.seats" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.caster_config" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger>         <Logger name="com.ibi.uoa.magnify" level="info" additivity="false">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGuoa"/>             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Logger> And just to finish this part, you will need to add the appender to the root level=”error” block.
    That way you’ll also be able to log any error occurring on those functions that appear on the events.
            <Root level="error">             <AppenderRef ref="LOGevent" />             <AppenderRef ref="sysout" />             <!--<AppenderRef ref="LOGpsql"/>-->             <AppenderRef ref="LOGmssql"/>         </Root>
    Save all of these changes, stop your application server, make sure that it can find the proper driver, for example, copying it under ../ibi/tomcat/lib folder or adding it to the CATALINA_OPTS (in case of Tomcat), clear the application server cache (work folder in case of Tomcat) and start it again.
    You should be able to signin now in WebFOCUS, and see how the new table starts growing with data:

    Now, just create a new synonym on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server against this/these table/s (depending on how many of them you just created). 
    And once done, you can start creating your visualizations for your Dashboard:

    And build something you can use to find the information you want to see from the logs in a more comfortable view:

    Start enjoying reviewing your logs and leave apart those boring plain-text ones!
    Hope this helps you to secure even more your environment!
    Pablo Alvarez
     
    Pablo Alvarez

    By Pablo Alvarez

    0
  •
    Setting Up an AWS Application Load Balancer for WebFOCUS Container Edition Using the AWS Load Balancer Controller
    Introduction
    When deploying WebFOCUS Container Edition in an AWS EKS cluster, you can utilize the AWS Load Balancer Controller to create an Application Load Balancer.
     
    AWS Load Balancer Controller
    AWS Load Balancer Controller is a controller to help manage Elastic Load Balancers for a Kubernetes cluster.
    It satisfies Kubernetes Ingress resources by provisioning Application Load Balancers. It satisfies Kubernetes Service resources by provisioning Network Load Balancers. Enabling AWS load balancer controller in EKS cluster
    https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/lbc-helm.html
     

    learn more about AWS load balancer controller here:
    https://kubernetes-sigs.github.io/aws-load-balancer-controller/latest/
     
    WebFOCUS CE deployment changes
    Following changes are required in wf.integ.yaml.gotmpl
    ingress:   enabled: true   annotations:     kubernetes.io/ingress.class: "alb"     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/certificate-arn: <acm certificate url>     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/load-balancer-name: myingressalb     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/scheme: internet-facing     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/target-type: ip     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/target-group-attributes: stickiness.enabled=true,stickiness.lb_cookie.duration_seconds=600     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: '443'   path: /*  
    here alb ingress class in provided by AWS load balancer controller.
    Enabled session stickiness using annotations "stickiness.enabled=true,stickiness.lb_cookie.duration_seconds=600"
    Update "platform.servingDomain" with your fully qualified domain name 
     
    Updating existing WebFOCUS CE installation
    update only appserver release
    helmfile -e dev --selector name=appserver sync  
    Once sync is complete check appserver ingress defination, appserver Ingress looks like this:
    $kubectl -n webfocus get ing apserver -o yaml   apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1 kind: Ingress metadata:   annotations:     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/certificate-arn: arn:aws:acm:us-west-2:12345678:certificate/adaae1da-21b8-41ce-a801-eaf5afe80d7c     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/load-balancer-name: myingressalb     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/scheme: internet-facing     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/target-type: ip     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/target-group-attributes: stickiness.enabled=true,stickiness.lb_cookie.duration_seconds=60     alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: '443'     meta.helm.sh/release-name: appserver     meta.helm.sh/release-namespace: webfocus   finalizers:   - ingress.k8s.aws/resources   generation: 2   labels:     app.kubernetes.io/component: webfocus     app.kubernetes.io/instance: appserver     app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: Helm     app.kubernetes.io/name: appserver     app.kubernetes.io/part-of: TIBCO-WebFOCUS     app.kubernetes.io/version: 1.3.2     helm.sh/chart: appserver-1.3.2   name: appserver   namespace: webfocus spec:   ingressClassName: alb   rules:   - http:       paths:       - backend:           service:             name: appserver             port:               name: port8080         path: /*         pathType: ImplementationSpecific  
    Now you can access your application by updating security group to allow your IP to access https port 443
    Get ALB address from ingress definition
    $kubectl -n webfocus get ing NAME        CLASS   HOSTS   ADDRESS                                              PORTS   AGE appserver   alb     *       myingressalb-12345678.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com   80      16h  
    in this case webfocus is accessible using url https://myingressalb-12345678.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com
    Ramanuj Kumar

    By Ramanuj Kumar

    0
  •
    The Secret Behind Better BI: Who’s Your Business User?
    In today's digital landscape, creating a practical business intelligence (BI) platform requires more than just advanced features and robust data-handling capabilities. It demands a deep understanding of the end-users—their needs, goals, and challenges. This is where the concept of business user personas becomes essential. For WebFOCUS, a comprehensive and flexible BI and analytics platform, leveraging business user personas is crucial to ensure the tool meets the diverse needs of its users.
     
    Understanding Business User Personas
    A business user persona is a semi-fictional representation of a segment of users within an organization. These personas are developed based on user research and accurate data about the users, including their behaviour patterns, motivations, goals, and challenges. By creating detailed personas, organizations can gain insights into the different types of users who will interact with their BI platform, ensuring that the design and functionality align with their specific needs.
     
    The Role of Business User Personas in WebFOCUS
     
    1. Enhanced User Experience
    WebFOCUS aims to provide a seamless user experience, enabling users to easily access, analyze, and visualize data. By developing business user personas, the design and development teams can tailor the interface and features to meet the distinct needs of each user group. For instance, a persona representing a financial analyst might prioritize advanced data visualization tools and detailed financial reports. In contrast, a persona for a sales manager might focus on quick access to sales metrics and customizable dashboards.
     
    2. Targeted Functionality
    Different users have varying requirements from a BI platform. Business user personas help identify these unique needs, allowing WebFOCUS to offer targeted functionality. For example, an IT administrator persona might need robust data governance and security features, while a business executive persona might need high-level insights and automated reporting. By catering to these specific needs, WebFOCUS can ensure higher user satisfaction and adoption rates.
     
    3. Improved Communication and Marketing
    Creating business user personas helps WebFOCUS' marketing and sales teams communicate more effectively with potential clients. Understanding the pain points and goals of each persona allows for more personalized and relevant messaging, increasing the likelihood of engagement. It also aids in demonstrating the value of WebFOCUS to different organizational stakeholders, showcasing how the platform can address their unique challenges.
     
    4. Informed Product Development
    Product development teams benefit significantly from business user personas. These personas provide a clear roadmap for prioritizing features and improvements based on actual user needs. For WebFOCUS, this means focusing on developing tools and functionalities that offer the most value to its diverse user base, which includes data scientists and analysts as well as business executives and IT professionals.
     
    5. Increased User Adoption and Retention
    When users find that a BI platform like WebFOCUS meets their specific needs and aligns with their workflows, they are more likely to adopt and consistently use the platform. Business user personas ensure the platform is intuitive and valuable for each user group, fostering higher adoption rates and long-term user retention. Satisfied users are also more likely to advocate for the platform within their organization, driving further growth and engagement.
     
    Importance of Business User Personas for WebFOCUS
     
    The importance of business user personas for WebFOCUS cannot be overstated. Here are a few key reasons why:
    1. User-Centric Design: Personas ensure that WebFOCUS's design and functionality are centered around the actual users, leading to a more intuitive and efficient user experience.
    2. Strategic Decision Making: Personas provide insights that inform strategic decisions in product development, marketing, and customer support, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively.
    3. Competitive Advantage: By thoroughly understanding and addressing the needs of different user groups, WebFOCUS can differentiate itself from competitors, offering a more tailored and effective BI solution.
    4. Enhanced Collaboration: Personas facilitate better communication and collaboration among cross-functional teams, ensuring that everyone is aligned on user needs and priorities.
    5. Long-Term Success: Ultimately, business user personas contribute to the long-term success of WebFOCUS by ensuring that the platform evolves in line with user needs and market trends, maintaining its relevance and value.
     
    Conclusion
    Incorporating business user personas into the development and marketing strategies of WebFOCUS is essential for delivering a BI platform that genuinely meets the diverse needs of its users. WebFOCUS can enhance user experience, drive adoption and retention, and maintain a competitive edge in the BI market by understanding and addressing the specific requirements of different user groups. As organizations continue to rely on data-driven insights for decision-making, the role of user personas in shaping effective BI solutions will only grow in importance.
    Anuja Nimmagadda

    By Anuja Nimmagadda

    0
  •
    [Important] Information Regarding ibi Products
    On July 25, 2024, ibi announced the launch of the new ibi Platform and associated offerings: ibi Analytics, ibi Mainframe, and ibi Data Intelligence. As part of this announcement, ibi products–including WebFOCUS and FOCUS–continue to be offered to our customers through these new platform offerings.
    In conjunction with the release of the new ibi platform offerings, our customers received product retirement and end of sale notices for specific stand-alone product SKUs. Rest assured, our key offerings are available in the ibi platform offerings designed to maximize value for our customers through unlimited users, usage, and environments.
    The new platform offerings are as follows:
    ibi Analytics contains products from the following previous SKUs:
    ibi WebFOCUS - Basic/Standard/Enterprise Editions ibi WebFOCUS - Container Edition ibi Data Migrator ibi WebFOCUS Omni Application Premium Adapter ibi Mainframe contains products from the following previous SKUs:
    ibi FOCUS ibi Open Data Hub for Mainframe ibi iWay Service Manager ibi iWay Service Manager EDI Add-on (Trading Partner Manager) ibi WebFOCUS - Basic/Standard/Enterprise Editions ibi Data Migrator ibi WebFOCUS Omni Premium Mainframe Adapter ibi Data Intelligence contains products from the following previous SKUs:
    ibi Data Intelligence - Basic/Standard/Enterprise Editions ibi Data Quality ibi iWay Service Manager ibi iWay Service Manager EDI Add-on (Trading Partner Manager) ibi Data Migrator ibi WebFOCUS Omni Application Premium Adapter Additionally, ibi Address Service is available as an add-on to ibi Data Intelligence for address verification within Data Quality. More information about the new offerings can be found in this ibi Platform announcement blog by Vijay Raman.
    As of September 1, 2024, all renewals and new subscriptions will align to the new offerings above. Certain public sector customers may be subject to an exception to this change. 
    Additional information about the earlier product retirement and end of sale notices may be found in the articles 000053903 and 000053904, at http://support.tibco.com. 
    If you have additional questions, please contact your account manager or reach out via Contact Us page.
     
    Angela Hildack

    By Angela Hildack

    0
  •
    Unlocking the Power of Predictive Analytics with ibi WebFOCUS
    How WebFOCUS Integrates Predictive Analytics
    Data Integration and Preparation
    WebFOCUS excels in integrating and preparing data from diverse sources. Before predictive modeling can be performed, data must be cleaned, transformed, and aggregated. WebFOCUS provides powerful ETL (extract, transform, load) tools that ensure your data is accurate and ready for analysis. The platform supports integration with various data sources, including databases, cloud services, and big data environments.
    Predictive Modeling - Machine Learning
    WebFOCUS includes built-in predictive modeling capabilities that allow users to build and deploy machine learning models directly within the platform. The integration of predictive analytics features simplifies the process of creating algorithms to forecast trends and outcomes. Users can choose from a range of machine learning techniques, including regression analysis, binary classification, anomaly detection, clustering, and time-series forecasting.
    User-Friendly Visualization and Reporting
    Visualization is a crucial aspect of predictive analytics. WebFOCUS provides a rich set of visualizations that help users interpret complex data and predictive models easily. From interactive dashboards to detailed reports, WebFOCUS ensures that predictions are presented in a clear and actionable format. This allows stakeholders to make informed decisions based on the insights generated by predictive models.
    Practical Applications of Predictive Analytics with WebFOCUS
    Customer Behavior Analysis
    By analyzing historical customer data, WebFOCUS predictive analytics can help businesses understand purchasing patterns, segment customers, and forecast future buying behaviors. This insight can drive targeted marketing campaigns, improve customer retention, and enhance overall customer experience.
    Operational Efficiency
    Predictive analytics can be applied to optimize operational processes. For example, businesses can forecast inventory levels, predict equipment maintenance needs, and streamline supply chain operations. WebFOCUS helps organizations anticipate potential disruptions and make proactive adjustments.
    Financial Forecasting
    Financial planning and analysis benefit greatly from predictive analytics. WebFOCUS enables accurate forecasting of revenue, expenses, and cash flow. By analyzing financial trends and market conditions, businesses can make strategic investment decisions and manage financial risks effectively.
    Risk Management
    Identifying and mitigating risks is crucial for any organization. WebFOCUS predictive analytics can assess potential risks and vulnerabilities by analyzing historical data and external factors. This proactive approach helps businesses develop strategies to minimize risks and protect their assets.
    Getting Started with Predictive Analytics in WebFOCUS
    To leverage predictive analytics in WebFOCUS, follow these steps:
    Define Your Objectives
    Clearly outline the goals of your predictive analytics project. What questions are you trying to answer? What outcomes are you looking to achieve?
    Prepare Your Data
    Use WebFOCUS’s data integration tools to gather and clean your data. Ensure that your dataset is comprehensive and relevant to your predictive modeling needs.
    Train Machine Learning Models
    Utilize WebFOCUS’s predictive modeling capabilities to create and test your models. Choose the appropriate algorithms and techniques based on your objectives and data characteristics.
    Visualize and Interpret Results
    Create visualizations and reports to present your predictive insights. Make sure the results are understandable and actionable for your stakeholders.
    Run Machine Learning Models
    Embed predictive models into your business processes. Adjust and refine models as needed based on new data and changing conditions.
    Conclusion
    Predictive analytics is a game-changer for businesses seeking to stay ahead in a competitive landscape. With WebFOCUS, organizations can seamlessly integrate predictive analytics into their data strategy, unlocking valuable insights and making more informed decisions. By leveraging WebFOCUS’s advanced capabilities, businesses can transform data into a strategic asset, driving growth and innovation.
     
    Karishma Khadge

    By Karishma Khadge

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    Enhancing User Experience with SET Commands in Designer in v9.3.0
    Taking Control of Your Data with Ease
    In the dynamic world of data manipulation and report generation, having the ability to fine-tune settings is essential for achieving desired results. Traditionally, managing SET commands in WebFOCUS has been a complex process requiring manual adjustments outside the Designer interface. To address this, we're excited to introduce a new feature in v9.3.0: the SET Command can now be accessed from the Designer UI via a dialog box while authoring content.

    Introducing the SET Command Dialog Box
    The new SET Command feature can be accessed through a dedicated icon on the top toolbar. Clicking this icon opens the "Manage SET Command" dialog box, which offers a comprehensive list of SET commands and their corresponding options. This update aims to provide users with more control and flexibility without needing to resort to text editors, thus maintaining the integrity and re-openability of procedures in Designer.


    Key Features and Benefits
    Comprehensive Command List: The dialog box presents a comprehensive list of commonly used SET commands, allowing you to easily identify and modify the ones that impact your data. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and additional SET commands can be added upon request. Intuitive Interface: With clear explanations and default values, the dialog box simplifies the configuration process, even for users new to SET commands. Enhanced Flexibility: Gain greater control over your reports by customizing settings like data formatting, display options, and more. Improved Efficiency: Save time and effort by managing SET commands directly within Designer, eliminating the need for external adjustments. Maintainable Procedures: Ensure the integrity and re-usability of your Designer procedures by keeping all settings within the interface.
    Understanding Key SET Commands
    To provide a better understanding of the SET commands available, here's a brief overview of some commonly used options:
    ASNAMES: Controls the display of aliases in reports. BASEURL: Specifies the base URL for relative links in HTML output. CDN: Defines the character used to separate column values in CSV output. COLLATION: Sets the character collation for data sorting and comparison. CSSURL: Specifies the URL for an external CSS stylesheet. DEFCENT: Determines the default decimal place for numeric values. DRILLMETHOD: Specifies the method used for drill-through actions. EMBEDHEADING: Controls whether to embed the report heading in the HTML output. EMPTYREPORT: Defines the content of an empty report. HIDENULLACRS: Determines whether to hide null values in cross-tab reports. HOLDLIST: Controls the behavior of the hold list in interactive reports. HTMLEMBEDIMG: Specifies how images are embedded in HTML output. HTMLENCODE: Controls HTML encoding of characters. JPEGQUALITY: Sets the JPEG image quality for output. JSURLS: Specifies URLs for external JavaScript files. LANG: Sets the language for report output. MESSAGE: Controls the display of error messages. MISSING: Determines how missing values are handled. NODATA: Specifies the content to display when there is no data. PRINTPLUS: Controls additional printing options. RANK: Defines the method used for ranking data. SHOWBLANKS: Determines whether to display blank rows or columns. TITLES: Controls the display of report titles. UNITS: Specifies the measurement units for report output. YRTHRESH: Sets the threshold for year-based calculations. User Interaction and Reset Functionality
    The SET Command feature is available in Author mode and Document mode but not in Assemble only mode. SET commands apply at the page level for authored pages, ensuring consistency across items. The same applies to Document mode. Users have the ability to view and modify previously set commands. A "Reset" button is available to revert all commands to their default state. An info icon is integrated into the UI, providing descriptions of SET commands similar to the functionality seen in App Studio. This help feature remains visible while interacting with each command. Empowering Users
    By placing SET command management directly within the Designer interface that can be accessed while authoring content, we aim to empower users to create more effective and tailored reports and charts. This new feature is a significant step towards enhancing user experience and productivity within Designer.
     
    Aniket Awchare

    By Aniket Awchare

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    User-Centric Data Visualization Best Practices with WebFOCUS- ibi UX Talks
    In today's data-driven world, businesses need effective data visualizations to make informed decisions and ibi™ WebFOCUS® stands out by offering user-centric design solutions that transform complex data into intuitive visual insights. Here are some best practices to enhance your data visualizations using WebFOCUS.
    Know Your Audience
    Before designing any visualization, it's essential to understand your audience or persona. Who will be consuming this visualization? Are they executives needing high-level overviews or analysts requiring detailed data? Tailoring your visuals to the audience's needs ensures better comprehension and engagement with the visualization.
    Make it Simple
    WebFOCUS allows for sophisticated data integrations, but simplicity is key. Use Progressive disclosure technique to build clear, concise charts and provide a clear interaction to access more details. In short, avoid overloading users with too much information at once. Interactive features can help users drill down into details without cluttering the main view.
    Choose the Right Visuals
    Selecting appropriate visualization types is very Important. For instance, use bar charts for comparisons, line charts for trends over time, and pie charts for part-to-whole relationships. WebFOCUS provides a variety of visualization options to match your data’s story. Knowing effective data visualization is crucial, and the Data Visualisation Catalog is a comprehensive resource for enhancing your data storytelling skills. It offers an extensive array of visualization types, each described in detail with examples and best use cases. Whether you're a seasoned data analyst or a beginner, this catalog can help you find the perfect visual representation for your data, ensuring clarity and impact in your presentations and reports.
    Consistency is Key
    Maintain consistency in colors, fonts, and styles across your visualizations. This not only makes your dashboards look professional but also helps users quickly recognise patterns and insights. Collaborate with your administrators to create custom themes that align with your organization's needs and ensure every visualization is consistent.
    Leverage Interactivity
    Interactive dashboards are more engaging and informative. WebFOCUS enables features like tooltips, drill-downs, and filtering, allowing users to interact with the data and explore it in depth. This interactivity leads to more meaningful insights.
    Test and Iterate your Data Visuals
    Talk to your users, gather feedback and continually refine your visualizations.
    Conclusion
    By focusing on user-centric design principles, you can create powerful, effective data visualizations with WebFOCUS. These best practices will help ensure that your visualizations are not only visually appealing but also highly functional and user-friendly. While these principles provide a solid foundation, don't be afraid to experiment and innovate. Sometimes, stepping outside the conventional boundaries can lead to groundbreaking output. Trust your instincts and use your best judgment to create visuals that truly resonate with your users.
    Sagar Kamde

    By Sagar Kamde

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    Enhancing the UX of WebFOCUS ReportCaster: A Path to Improved Efficiency and User Satisfaction
    Introduction
    User experience (UX) is paramount in today's fast-paced digital world. A refined UX can significantly boost efficiency and user satisfaction for tools like WebFOCUS ReportCaster, which play a pivotal role in business intelligence and reporting, enabling users to schedule, manage, and distribute reports. However, as user expectations evolve, it's crucial to enhance the UI/UX of ReportCaster to ensure it remains intuitive, efficient, and engaging. This article delves into key UX enhancements that have transformed WebFOCUS ReportCaster into an even more powerful and intuitive tool.
     
     
    Understanding the Current UX
    We tried to solve the problem with the old UI, the Bindows UI, which needed to be updated, and consistent with our new branding. It was slightly harder to use. It didn’t have a modern look and feel like any modern UI. Once we applied the design principles and contemporary UI, which we’ve applied with the rest of the Hub, we would achieve a better User Experience for ReportCaster.
    Also, ReportCaster was a separate tool. We tried to integrate it into the Hub. We made an effort to streamline the workflow where we have unified the visual design and made sure it looks like it’s part of the larger tool.
     
     
    Identified Key Areas for Improvement
    Users have highlighted several areas where the UX could be improved, including 
    Streamlined Navigation: Simplifying navigation to reduce clutter and improve ease of use.
    Modernized Interface Design: Making the UI consistent with the rest of the Hub, which has the new product branding, which is more intuitive and engaging.
    The above two UX improvements are achieved in the ReportCaster Scheduler, Distribution List and Access List, released in the 9.3 version. We’ve followed the same UX enhancements for ReportCaster Explorer which will be available in the coming release. Let’s talk in more detail about how these specific enhancements were achieved.
     
    Implemented UX Enhancements
    1. Streamlined Navigation
    Implement a cleaner, more intuitive, minimalist design that reduces clutter and makes navigation straightforward. Group related functionalities logically and ensure that key features are easily accessible from the Hub.
     
    2. Modernized Interface Design
    Modernizing the interface design of WebFOCUS ReportCaster is a critical step towards enhancing the overall user experience. A well-designed interface looks aesthetically pleasing and improves usability, accessibility, and efficiency. Here’s a detailed breakdown:
     
    Adopting a Minimalist Design Approach
    Less Clutter, More Focus: Simplify the interface by removing unnecessary elements. Focus on the essential functions and information, ensuring users can easily find what they need without distractions.
    Whitespace Utilization: Use whitespace effectively to create a clean and balanced layout. Whitespace helps differentiate elements, making the interface less overwhelming and easier to navigate.
     
    Implementing a Consistent Design Language
    Uniform Style: Use a consistent design language throughout the interface. This includes uniform fonts, colors, buttons, and icons. Consistency helps users familiarize themselves with the interface quickly and reduces cognitive load.
    Design System: Use the existing design system or style guide that outlines the visual and interaction patterns to be used across the platform. This ensures that all UI components are cohesive and aligned.
     
    Enhancing Visual Hierarchy
    Prioritizing Content: Arrange interface elements in a way that reflects their importance. Use size, color, and placement to guide users’ attention to the most critical elements first.
    Clear Call-to-Actions: Design buttons and links that stand out. Ensure that primary actions are prominently displayed and secondary actions are easily accessible but less visually dominant.
     
    Accessibility Considerations
    Color Contrast and Readability: Ensure that the color contrast between the text and background is sufficient for readability. Use accessible fonts and font sizes to cater to users with visual impairments.
    Keyboard Navigation: Design the interface to be fully navigable using a keyboard. Include focus indicators and shortcuts to assist users who rely on keyboard navigation.
    In short, eliminate the old Bindows UI and adopt a minimalist design approach with a focus on Usability. Use modern UI elements, which are present in our Design System to provide a seamless experience. 
     
     
    Illustrating the Benefits
    WebFOCUS ReportCaster offers a more user-friendly and efficient experience by implementing these UX enhancements. Users will benefit from:
    Increased Efficiency with Streamlined navigation.
    Higher Satisfaction with a modern interface. 
    Better Adoption Rates with an intuitive design.
     
    Conclusion
    Enhancing the UX of WebFOCUS ReportCaster is not just about meeting current user expectations but also about paving the way for future growth and innovation. By focusing on key areas like navigation and design, we have transformed ReportCaster into a tool that meets and exceeds user needs. Continuous investment in UX is essential for staying ahead in the competitive business intelligence landscape.
    What are your thoughts on these implemented UX enhancements? Share your feedback and ideas to help us create an even better user experience. Let's work together to make WebFOCUS ReportCaster the best it can be!
     
    Manali Ratnaparkhi

    By Manali Ratnaparkhi

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    From Data to Insights: ibi WebFOCUS Data Science - Best Feature - “Instant insights"
    In today's fast-paced business landscape, the ability to derive actionable insights from data quickly is paramount. Data scientists and analysts are tasked with the challenge of turning vast amounts of information into valuable insights that drive strategic decision-making. In this article, we'll explore how WebFOCUS, a leading business intelligence and analytics platform, empowers users to gain insights through its robust feature name “Instant Insights”

    Instant Insights with WebFOCUS:
    WebFOCUS is designed to streamline the data-to-insights journey, enabling users to uncover valuable information in real-time. Here's how WebFOCUS facilitates instant insights:

    Interactive Data Exploration:
    WebFOCUS offers interactive data exploration capabilities that allow users to visually analyze data and uncover insights on-the-fly. With intuitive and interactive visualizations, users can drill down into data, apply filters, and explore trends dynamically. This enables rapid discovery of patterns, anomalies, and correlations without the need for extensive coding or manual analysis.

    Self-Service Analytics:
    Empowering users with self-service analytics capabilities is a key feature of WebFOCUS Instant Insights. With self-service tools, business users can access and analyze data independently, reducing reliance on IT or data science teams. WebFOCUS provides a user-friendly interface that enables non-technical users to create ad-hoc reports, build customized dashboards, and perform self-guided analysis, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making across the organization.


     
    WebFOCUS is not limited to just Instant Insights. WebFOCUS also  integrates predictive analytics capabilities, allowing users to not only explore current data but also forecast future trends and outcomes. By utilizing machine learning algorithms and predictive modeling techniques, users can generate insights that reveal potential future scenarios based on historical data. This seamless integration of predictive analytics within the Instant Insights feature enables users to quickly identify emerging trends, anticipate customer behavior, and make informed decisions with a forward-looking perspective. 
     
    Whether it's predicting customer churn, forecasting sales volumes, or optimizing supply chain operations, WebFOCUS ensures that users have the foresight to stay ahead in a dynamic business environment. Stay tuned for our next blog to learn more about how WebFOCUS provides predictive analytics capabilities.

    Conclusion:
    In conclusion, WebFOCUS offers a comprehensive suite of features and best practices that enable users to gain instant insights from data. From interactive data exploration and self-service analytics to real-time data integration, predictive analytics, and natural language processing, WebFOCUS empowers users to uncover valuable insights quickly and efficiently. By leveraging these capabilities, organizations can accelerate decision-making, drive innovation, and gain a competitive edge in today's data-driven world.
    Karishma Khadge

    By Karishma Khadge

    0
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    Migrate WebFOCUS from Oracle Java to OpenJDK
    After Oracle announced that their Java release wouldn’t be free anymore for production environments, several customers wanted to get rid of it and started using OpenJDK packages instead. ibi already moved on the same path and we started using OpenJDK in our products a few releases ago (even we went back to Oracle in the latest versions).
    This documentation will try to help you moving from Oracle to OpenJDK.
    In my case, I’m going to use Adoptium as my Java OpenSource JDK. So, to use the 11 release, I had to install Temurin: https://adoptium.net/temurin/archive/?version=11
    Once installed, there are a few steps that need to be performed to make WebFOCUS work with this new JDK.
    As WebFOCUS installs by default its own Java (depending on the platform), the easiest way (in my opinion) is, with the services stopped, no matter if Linux/UNIX or Windows, to rename the folders where they are located, for example C:\ibi\tomcat\jdk and C:\ibi\WebFOCUS93\jdk
    That way the product won’t be able to find this Oracle Java release, but it’ll also fail to start services or make calls. 
    To fix that, I recommend to create soft links to point to the desired Java release and keeping the files for the product untouched, for example, if I have my Adoptium Java installed on 
    C:\Java\Adoptium → Inside I’ve the C:\Java\Adoptium\jdk11
     
    On Linux it’s as follows:
    /usr/etc/adoptium → And inside the jdk11: /usr/etc/adoptium/jdk11
     
    So for Windows, I use the mklink command:
    mklink /D C:\ibi\tomcat\jdk C:\Java\Adoptium\jdk11
    mklink /D C:\ibi\WebFOCUS93\jdk C:\Java\Adoptium\jdk11
     
    On Linux/UNIX:
    ln -s /usr/etc/adoptium/jdk11 /opt/ibi/tomcat/jdk
    ln -s /usr/etc/adoptium/jdk11 /opt/ibi/WebFOCUS93/jdk
     
    That’ll fix some part of the issues you can find when migrating to OpenJDK, most of them if you already have the product installed and based on the Oracle Java release, so let’s go for the next ones…
    In case that you use Derby as Repository, it also has it’s own jdk inside, so you’ll need to repeat the process for the softlinks there as well: C:\ibi\derby\jdk.
     
    ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
    You’ll need to replace the JAVA_HOME, JDK_HOME and JRE_HOME (if needed) to point to hte new ones
    I created an ADOPTIUM_HOME environment variable on my Windows box, so I just have to replace the rest of them pointing to that one.
    This is what I had before:
    JAVA_HOME=C:\Java\Oracle\jdk11
    JDK_HOME=%JAVA_HOME%
    JRE_HOME=%JAVA_HOME%\jre 
    And now I have it as follows:
    ADOPTIUM_HOME=C:\Java\Adoptium\jdk11
    JAVA_HOME=%ADOPTIUM_HOME%
    JDK_HOME=%JAVA_HOME%
    JRE_HOME=%JAVA_HOME%\jre
    If using command lines Windows uses ‘set’:
    set ADOPTIUM_HOME=C:\Java\Adoptium\jdk11
    set JAVA_HOME=%ADOPTIUM_HOME%
    After that, you can just type ‘set’ on a command prompt and you’ll see if your changes are in place.
    This way, I just need to switch the JAVA_HOME back to the Oracle one in case I want to revert my changes.
    On Linux it’s quite similar, you must replace the old values for the new ones 
    set ADOPTIUM_HOME=/usr/etc/adoptium/jdk11
    set JAVA_HOME=$ADOPTIUM_HOME
    (notice that in Linux, instead of use %variablevalue% it is just $variablevalue)
    Type ‘env’ on a command prompt to see if the changes have been made.
    WebFOCUS
    For the Reporting Server side, there’s not too much to do, as it picks the values from the environment variables, so just check that your JAVA service (JSCOM) is using the OpenJDK one and that should be all. 
    For the WebFOCUS Client, as it picks Java from Tomcat, there’s nothing much to do there either. In Windows, you can change the default JVM being used on Tomcat’s Configuration Utility, but if you’ve correctly created the soft links, you don’t need to change it:
     

     
    The same happens with WebFOCUS ReportCaster, WebFOCUS Search (Solr) and Derby. If the soft links are correctly configured, nothing else needs to be done.

    We’ll have a separate chapter for AppStudio in a few.
    Just in case you want to keep (in Windows) one service to be used with Oracle Java (or different OpenJDK releases), and another with your new OpenJDK, you can follow these steps… 
    For ReportCaster, copy and rename the ‘service.bat’ file under C:\ibi\WebFOCUS93\ReportCaster\bin, with a different name, like ‘service_openjdk.bat’ and edit it.
    Modify some entries there to point to your desired OpenJDK environment variables:

     
    Notice that I’ve replaced the JAVA_HOME that already pointed to the soft link I created just for this documentation, that C:\ibi\WebFOCUS93\jdk can be the Oracle Java one and ReportCaster can use the Adoptium one doing these changes.
    I’ve also modified the name which the service will use to be created:

     
    And with these changes, you can now run it passing as parameters the ‘install’ option and some extra text that will be added to differentiate:
    service_openjdk.bat install RCAdoptium 
    Now you have a new service that will use the OpenJDK to start ReportCaster:

     
    If you have issues starting this service, check the properties of the service and make sure that at the Log On tab you have the Local System Account checked:
     

     
    You can do the same for Solr by editing the file ibi_solr_service_cfg.ps1 under C:\ibi\WebFOCUS93\Solr
     

     
    Remember that you just can have one of each service up and running, as both will use the same configuration files, hence they’ll be using the same ports.
     
    WebFOCUS AppStudio 
    For the WebFOCUS AppStudio, things are a little bit different, if you already have it installed, you just need to follow the ‘rename and create soft link’ tasks as we did for the WebFOCUS93 folder but under C:\ibi\AppStudio93\jdk, and that should be all.
     
    But… if you don’t have it installed and you don’t want to use Oracle Java at all you have two options. The AppStudio installer first uncompresses the installation, which contains Oracle Java, and uses that one for the installation. If you don’t want to use it at all (even if you don’t have it installed on your server, the installer will use the one that comes with it), here are the options:
    Option 1: Through the command line export this variable:
    set JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS=”-Dos.name=Windows 7” 
    This will enable the compatibility mode for the CMD installer
    o    Execute the installation with the following command: IBI_wf-as_9.3.0_win_x86_64.exe LAX_VM “C:\Java\Adoptium\jdk11\bin\java.exe”
    o    Once installed, repeat the process for creating the soft link under C:\ibi\AppStudio93\jdk pointing to your OpenJDK Option 2: Uncompress the IBI_wf-as_9.3.0_win_x86_64.exe for example under C:\Temp\IBI_wf-as_9.3.0_win_x86_64 Replace the C:\Temp\IBI_wf-as_9.3.0_win_x86_64Windows_Pure_64_Bit\resource\jre with the one that comes with your OpenJDK (C:\Java\Adoptium\jdk11\jre) Install the product using the following commands:
    SET JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS="-Dos.name=Windows 7"
    C:\Temp\IBI_wf-as_9.3.0_win_x86_64\Windows_Pure_64_Bit\installWebFOCUS930.exe LAX_VM "C:\Temp\IBI_wf-as_9.3.0_win_x86_64\Windows_Pure_64_Bit\resource\jre\bin\java.exe  
    Wait for the product to finish the installation and that’ll be all.
    Happy OpenSource executions!
    Pablo Alvarez

    By Pablo Alvarez

    0
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