SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution from SAP that combines analytics and planning capabilities in a single, centralized system.
It combines business intelligence (BI), predictive analytics, and corporate planning into a single end-to-end cloud solution. Users can link and analyze data from internal and external sources and present it in the form of visualizations. The goal of SAC is to unlock the full potential of valuable data sources and seamlessly integrate analytical insights into decision-making processes.
SAC supports a modern, exploratory approach to data and is designed specifically for end users in business units who wish to perform analyses and planning within the context of self-service BI. Through a central, cloud-based platform, reporting, analysis, and planning can be integrated into a seamless workflow. At the same time, SAC offers developers the ability to create complex, custom-tailored dashboard and analytics applications.
Functionally, SAP Analytics Cloud combines three key areas: Business Intelligence, Business Planning, and Predictive Analytics. In the Business Intelligence area, data from various sources is consolidated to provide a clear overview of even complex issues using interactive dashboards and ad hoc analyses. Business Planning integrates planning and reporting into a single environment, eliminating the need for separate planning tools. Planners can work directly within the application, transfer actual data into different versions, and use collaborative features such as comments, chat, calendars, and workflows to facilitate efficient collaboration. SAC’s predictive analytics functions are based on machine learning and enable forecasting as well as the identification of factors influencing key KPIs. With Smart Assist, users without in-depth statistical knowledge can create forecasting models, automatically clean data, analyze influencing factors, and segment or cluster complex data sets.
Benefits of the SAC
SAC offers companies a wide range of benefits, with a particular focus on efficiency, user-friendliness, and future-proofing. A key advantage lies in its comprehensive support for data-driven decision-making processes, as analysis, reporting, and planning tasks are consolidated into a single solution and can be used seamlessly without any disruption.
A key advantage of SAP Analytics Cloud is its high level of user-friendliness. Intuitive web interfaces, Excel integration, and robust self-service capabilities enable business departments to create analyses, visualize data, and maintain plan values without requiring in-depth technical expertise. This increases acceptance of the solution within the company and provides long-term relief for business departments.
In addition, SAP Analytics Cloud makes extensive use of artificial intelligence. With SAP’s proprietary AI assistant, Joule—available in the Just Ask feature—users can ask business questions in natural language and access data-driven analyses without requiring in-depth technical expertise. Joule also supports the optimization of data models, provides further insights, and facilitates the creation of meaningful visualizations.
Another advantage is the integration with SAP Datasphere. Data from various sources provided via SAP Datasphere can be used directly in SAP Analytics Cloud for reports and analyses. This creates a consistent foundation for analyses as well as preconfigured business content and helps companies implement collaborative planning processes, well-founded analyses, and AI-powered evaluations in a single, centralized solution.
In addition to its integration with SAP Datasphere, SAP Analytics Cloud can be used both as a standalone solution and in conjunction with the SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC). While the BDC, as the overarching data platform, provides a harmonized, semantic view of data from SAP and non-SAP sources, data modeling in this scenario takes place centrally in SAP Datasphere, including advanced capabilities for semantic and visual data modeling. Building on this, the SAC handles, in particular, the visualization, analysis, and planning based on this consolidated data. In a standalone scenario, however, the SAC can also be operated independently of the BDC, with data models residing directly in the SAC or in connected source systems such as SAP S/4HANA or SAP IBP. The combination with the BDC thus extends the SAC, in particular, to include a central, enterprise-wide data foundation for integrated analytics and AI-powered applications.
SAC Data and Source Systems
SAP Analytics Cloud supports two main types of data connections: Import Data Connections and Live Data Connections. This allows for flexible mapping of various integration and security requirements.
With Import Data Connections, data is copied from the source system to SAP Analytics Cloud via a secure connection and analyzed there. Changes in the source system do not automatically affect the imported data. Numerous data sources are supported, including SAP BW, SAP BPC, SAP ERP, SAP S/4HANA, SQL databases, OData Services, SuccessFactors, Salesforce, Google BigQuery, and other cloud and third-party systems. Additionally, data can be imported from the local file system without any setup.
Live Data Connections enable direct access to on-premise and cloud systems without replicating data to the SAC. The data remains entirely within the corporate network, while only metadata is transferred to the cloud. Changes in the source system are immediately visible in the SAC. This type of connection is supported for SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP BW, among others, and is particularly suitable for security-critical scenarios.
Key Terms in the SAC
In SAC, there are several key terms that are regularly used in daily work with the solution. A story is used for the interactive analysis and visualization of data in the form of charts, tables, and other elements known as widgets. Widgets are all the building blocks of a story, such as charts, tables, text, or images.
A Canvas Page is a fixed-size story page on which elements can be freely placed, while a Responsive Page automatically adapts to different end devices. The technical foundation for analyses is the model, which structurally maps the business-relevant data of a company or department.
A connection establishes the link between SAP Analytics Cloud and a data source. For ad hoc analyses, the Data Analyzer is available as a predefined application, particularly for live data sources. The Digital Boardroom enables interactive management presentations with real-time data as well as planning and simulation scenarios.
Challenges
- Complexity of Implementation: The wide range of features and integration options in SAP Analytics Cloud requires careful planning and a clear authorization and data model.
- Data and Performance Dependencies: The quality of analysis and system performance depend heavily on the quality, modeling, and timeliness of the connected source systems.
- Change management and adoption: Successful implementation of SAC requires that business users embrace new self-service and analytics concepts and receive appropriate training.
