Levels of Oracle BI EE Security

Oracle BI EE supports security mechanisms that allow users to access only the data for which they are authorized. For specific information about setting up and maintaining security, see Security Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition. The following types of security are typical:

• Subject Area security. This security mechanism controls access to objects, such as subject areas, folders, and columns. For example, content designers in a particular department can view only the subject areas that belong to their department when using the Analysis editor.

• Catalog object security. This security mechanism provides security for objects that are stored in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog, such as dashboards, dashboard pages, folders, and analyses. Users can view only the objects for which they are authorized. For example, a mid-level manager might not be granted access to a dashboard that contains summary information for an entire department. For more information about catalog object security, see "What Are Permissions?"

• Data level security. This security mechanism controls the type and amount of data that is available in analyses. When multiple users run the same analysis, the results that are returned to each user depend on their access rights and roles in the company. For example, a sales vice president sees results for all regions, while a sales representative for a particular region sees only data for that region.

The security mechanisms in Oracle Business Intelligence can use security hierarchies that are defined in operational applications, such as Siebel CRM applications, which minimizes the need for administrators to manage multiple security systems. The security mechanisms also allow a high degree of control over access to elements in Oracle Business Intelligence applications.