At a Glance
Client Leading global travel group, 180-year legacy, 21,000+ employees
Industry Travel and hospitality, chartered and scheduled airlines, cruises, hotels, and travel services
Talent system Oracle Taleo
Source Platform SAP BusinessObjects (BO), Taleo reporting
Target Platform Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE)
Scope One-to-one migration of 700+ Taleo reports from BO to OBIEE
Approach Automation-led AS-IS analysis and lift-and-shift migration
Outcome Delivered on time and within budget; lower total cost of ownership

GLOBAL TRAVEL GROUP

Business Objects to OBIEE Migration for a Leading Global Travel Group

Customer Background

A Global Travel Group Modernizes Its Taleo Reporting

A global travel group with a 180-year legacy has grown into a major international brand with more than 21,000 employees. Its operations span chartered and scheduled airlines, cruises, hotels, and travel services across multiple continents. As the business expanded, it needed a unified approach to talent management and reporting.

The company adopted Oracle Taleo for talent management and used SAP BusinessObjects (BO) for Taleo reporting. When Oracle scheduled BO for retirement from Taleo reporting, Oracle recommended a full migration to OBIEE. DataTerrain, known for its proven delivery record, was selected to lead the transition with three goals: a one-to-one migration of Taleo reports, zero business disruption, and complete documentation for long-term maintenance.

Customer Storeis
The Challenge

Migrating from SAP BusinessObjects to OBIEE Is Not a Like-for-Like Import

The two platforms model data differently, so a faithful migration required resolving several structural challenges:

Universe-to-RPD conversion

BO's Universe layer and OBIEE's Physical/BMM/Presentation layers aren't directly compatible; joins, dimensions, measures, and security all need review and remodeling. This is typically the largest challenge in any BO-to-OBIEE migration.

Data reconciliation

The two platforms can generate different SQL and aggregation logic against the same database, producing differences in totals, rounding, sorting, and join behavior that must be reconciled to the source.

Merged dimensions

BO WebI merges dimensions from multiple queries at the report level, a pattern OBIEE has no direct equivalent for, requiring redesign through shared dimensions or separate analyses.

Many-to-many relationships

A direct join between many-to-many entities can multiply rows and corrupt measure aggregation; these require bridge tables and careful grain analysis, never a straight physical-join conversion.

Our Approach

DataTerrain’s Automation-Led Semantic Remodeling

DataTerrain applied an automation-led methodology, pairing an automated migration utility with disciplined semantic-layer modeling.

1
AS-IS analysis and planning

An automated tool assessed the SAP BO repository, capturing report ownership, execution frequency, and batch schedules, and flagged BO-specific functions needing alternate implementation, producing a migration plan approved by Oracle.

2
Semantic-layer remodeling

Migrated the BO Universe to the OBIEE RPD across the Physical, BMM, and Presentation layers. Merged dimensions were redesigned as shared dimensions, and many-to-many relationships were modeled with bridge tables and correct aggregation rules.

3
Automated validation and reconciliation

All 700+ reports were validated for exact one-to-one conversion of formats, layouts, and data outputs, with platform-specific SQL and aggregation differences reconciled against the source. Our Reports Conversion practice applies the same validation discipline to every migration.

4
User acceptance and rollout

Key users, engaged from project initiation, reviewed validated reports before production deployment, with no major gaps identified at UAT.

Technology landscape

From SAP BusinessObjects to Oracle OBIEE

Migrated From WebI reports
Migrated To OBIEE analyses and dashboards
Migrated From Universe (semantic layer)
Migrated To RPD (Physical, BMM, Presentation layers)
Migrated From Merged dimensions
Migrated To Shared dimensions and bridge tables
Migrated From BO joins and derived tables
Migrated To Physical joins and logical table sources
Business Impact

Outcomes That Mattered to the Business

700+ Reports Migrated, One-to-One

More than 700 Taleo reports migrated from BO to OBIEE, with formats, layouts, and data outputs validated for exact one-to-one conversion.

21,000+ Employees Supported

Reporting continuity maintained across a global workforce spanning airlines, cruises, hotels, and travel services.

Zero Disruption

Key users engaged from project initiation, so all 700+ reports were adopted immediately with no major gaps at UAT.

Lower TCO

A lower total cost of ownership on Taleo, plus modern OBIEE capabilities without losing historical reporting insight.

On Time and On Budget

The full migration was delivered within the planned timeline and budget.

Bottom Line

Why Choose DataTerrain

By pairing automated migration with disciplined semantic-layer remodeling and rigorous reconciliation, DataTerrain moved a business-critical Taleo reporting estate of 700+ reports from SAP BusinessObjects to OBIEE on time, within budget, and without interrupting the business.

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"We retained the familiar design and functionality of our BO reports, which reduced training needs and enabled immediate adoption in OBIEE. Aligned with Oracle-recommended practices and supported by DataTerrain's close working relationship with Oracle, the transition delivered stable performance and easier long-term maintenance, completed on time, within budget, and without disruption to our business." Director of Talent Systems
Global Travel Group