What's new in Board 12.6 (2023 Summer) release

Board 2023 Summer release includes significant improvements for all types of users, but its main new features are focused on Makers and Admin & Ops.

Makers can now use the new ALM section (Integrated Application Lifecycle Management) under System Administration to safely compare and transport key Board resources between different Platforms. The new section replaces the previous Transporter section and offers two new tools and various improvements on the existing features.

Makers also received important updates regarding the "REST API call" Procedure step, which has been greatly enhanced in order to provide more flexibility and to easily adapt to additional common business scenarios.

Other enhancements for Makers include extending the use of Temporary Cubes to all Procedures steps and, in the Database security area, the ability to configure a security selection based on a Cube and the support of Unbalanced Hierarchies in the Custom selection script field.

For Admins & Ops, the Board 2023 Summer release includes the official support of SCIM APIs, which have been integrated into Board's Subscription Hub. SCIM stands for System for Cross-domain Identity Management, and it is an open standard designed to automatically manage user identity information between identity domains. It also provides a specific schema for representing users and groups of users, and a set of RESTful API calls to perform CRUD operations on those resources.

Board 2023 Summer release also introduces the new Azure AutoML Integration, that allows both Makers and Admins & Ops to leverage the power of Microsoft’s analytics capabilities to train and deploy predictive models, while at the same time scaling and distributing their workloads to the cloud.

Finally, end users have new scrollbars that have been greatly improved in terms of usability.

To learn about other new functionalities and improvements, see to the "Other enhancements" page and the "Minor changes" page.

Board 2023 Summer release also marks the introduction of a new Enterprise security concept, officially replacing the previous Enterprise security feature (~DBNAME & ~Security).

These prebuilt Data models are no longer maintained nor supported by Board. Customers already using ~DBNAME & ~Security can continue to do so, however it is recommended to move to the more recent and embedded functionalities now offered by our latest versions.

The new approach provides Cloud customers with greater flexibility and many more options for managing their data, while at the same time improving usability by reducing the implementation effort.

The revamped Enterprise security concept makes use of three powerful features included in this Board release:

• Cube visibility - This feature, released in Board 2022 summer release, provides enhanced visibility into the customers' data by allowing them to view and analyze the relevant functional combinations on the reports. This enables them to make more informed decisions and gain deeper insights into their business operations. Learn more about the Cube visibility feature

• "Select Entity based on Cube" feature for Database security profiles and Roles - This feature allows for a more granular and flexible approach to security management, where access permissions can be based on individual data Cubes rather than be applied on the entire Data model. This provides greater control over data access and ensures that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized personnel

• Board SCIM API service. The System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) protocol is now officially integrated into Board's Subscription Hub, which now offers a new area dedicated to Permission Groups and supports SCIM attributes in the User Metadata section, thus enabling the use of security selection scripts in the Database security area.

See the paragraph below for more details about the new Enterprise Security features.

Main new features of this update

Integrated ALM - Transporter improvements - The Transporter section of the System Administration area has been renamed into ALM to reflect the new approach of Board towards an Integrated Lifecycle management system that allows Makers to easily and securely create and maintain Data models and Applications (Capsules) across different Board Platforms.
The new area includes the Data model snapshot and Data model package tools for Data models, which have been improved to transport also custom API queries, and the following two new tools:

• The Capsule snapshot tool. Like the Data model snapshot, this tool allows you to create a snapshot of the entire Capsules area of the Platform, including folders

• The Capsule package tool. Like the Data model package, this tool allows you to create a package based on two different Capsule snapshots, define the structure of the Capsule area once the package is run, compare the two snapshots and map the structure of the source snapshot to the structure of the target snapshot.

Once a package is created, it can be executed on a different Platform to replace its folder structure with the structure defined in the package. Depending on the package configuration, it can create, update, rename, move, or replace Capsules and folders.

The CLI automation area has been updated accordingly to support the execution of Capsule packages from MS Windows Powershell, command line, or Unix shell.

Learn more about the new Integrated ALM section

REST API call Procedure step enhancements - The "REST API call" Procedure step is now able to handle pagination (adding order to the query result) and supports visualization of returned data in a dialog (like what happens with the Drill-through). The @Selection_Ex substitution formula and the Data picker tool are now supported in the parameters table and in the "API path" field, to also dynamically pass values to the API call itself. The Procedure Debugger has also been improved to help troubleshoot potential issues with the step.

Learn more about the enhancements to the REST API call Procedure step

Azure AutoML Integration - Board 2023 Summer release builds upon Board’s history with B.E.A.M. to integrate the power of Microsoft’s analytics capabilities seamlessly into Board applications. The integration with Azure Machine Learning (AzureML) empowers data scientists and Board Makers to build, deploy, and manage high-quality models faster and with confidence. The process is very simple: once the data (scenario) from Board is sent to an Azure ML Workspace, a training job starts in the cloud to determine the best model based on the initial data; then, that model is deployed as an endpoint which Board can call to obtain the forecasted data. Finally, this data is stored in a designated Cube and can be used in Board. The model can also be retrained after observing its performance and data drift in order to improve the quality of the received data.

The entire process can also be triggered through two new Procedure steps, under the new Analytics Action Group.

Designated as a “preview” release to start, the new integration with AzureML is a great foundation on which to build more advanced analytics capabilities for Board, including generative AI and other features slated for the near future.

Learn more about the new Azure AutoML Integration

New Enterprise security

The new  Enterprise security concept mentioned above is based on the Cube visibility feature and the following new implementations:

• Board SCIM API - Board 2023 Summer release now officially supports the System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) protocol, which enables organizations to manage user identities and access to Board resources across multiple systems and domains. Using SCIM RESTful API calls, you can automate the process of creating, updating, and deleting user accounts and permissions on Board's Subscription Hub, and to keep these accounts and permissions in sync across different systems.
  This new implementation reduces the need for manual intervention and ensures that user information is always accurate and up to date. Learn more about how the SCIM protocol has been implemented into Board

• "Select Entity based on Cube" feature in the Database security area- The "Select Entity based on Cube" feature can now be used as a security selection filter in Database security profiles and Roles. This gives administrators maximum flexibility to manage user access to data at the Platform level even more efficiently. Learn more about the "Select Entity based on Cube" feature