SAP Analytics Cloud can help your business master its data and optimize its performance with key features such as real-time analysis and data visualization. You will understand how this solution can help make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.
11/01/2023
Control your Data with SAP Analytics Cloud
9 minutes read
Today, the Cloud is everywhere we work. To reach this article, you had to connect to the internet and go through the browser of your PC. That’s what the Cloud is all about, having access to an infinite amount of data, applications and storage spaces available to everyone, in the same place and in real time.
SAP quickly realized that there were benefits to be gained from this technology and developed SAP Analytics Cloud, a next-generation Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution solution built on the Business Integration Suite platform.
In a single solution, SAP Analytics Cloud addresses all of the user’s analytical needs, whether they are descriptive, predictive or even prescriptive.
What is SAP Analytics Cloud ?
SAP Analytics Cloud is above all the pivot between internal and external data (external databases, Microsoft, excel files…) of the company, allowing it to centralize them, make them constantly available, and facilitate their access.
Previously called Business Object Cloud, Sap Analytics Cloud is built around you, whether you are at home, in the office, or anywhere else. Whether it’s data exploration, visualization, analysis, or financial forecasting, SAC is a single solution that meets your primary analytical needs.
This solution has remarkable performance and scalability as it was built on Business Integration Suite, formerly known as SAP Cloud Platform. SAP Analytics Cloud allows its many users to work with data from a wide range of sources, such as OData or SAP Success Factors.
By importing data into the Cloud and creating secure direct connections to the Cloud or on-premise sources, the goal is to create a defined model in SAP Analytics Cloud that can be shared with other users.
Of course, access to the data can be completely customized and tailored based on each user’s authorization level.
Again, these models can be used to analyze and plan, the two key aspects of this innovative solution. Within a model, data can be expanded and enriched to create graphs or maps.
But that’s not all, since different roles can be managed, for example by assigning organizational units to specific users to ensure the security of the assigned model.
The creation of formulas, variables, stories, and data auditing are just a few of the many features that SAP Analytics Cloud offers.
What are the Main Features of SAP Analytics Cloud?
SAP Analytics Cloud is built around several modules. At the beginning of this article, we talked about the models that could be created in the SaaS.
Once these models are properly configured, there is the possibility to create narratives, also called stories, in which you can explore and visualize the data. We will only present here the main models that allow us to really understand the solution.
Data Access Control
In SAP Analytics Cloud, data connectivity refers to the ability to connect to various data sources and import data into the cloud platform for analysis and reporting purposes.
SAP Analytics Cloud supports a wide range of data sources, including databases, spreadsheets, SAP and non-SAP applications, and cloud-based data sources.
To connect to a data source, you can use the data donnection assistant in SAP Analytics Cloud. This assistant guides you through the process of selecting the type of data source, entering the necessary connection details, and testing the connection to ensure it is successful.
Once the connection is established, you can import the data from the data source into SAP Analytics Cloud and use it in your reports and analyses.
In addition to connecting to external data sources, the solution also allows you to create stories.
A story is a visual and interactive way to present data and analysis in a narrative form. A story consists of one or more pages, each containing graphs, charts, and other visualizations that are used to communicate information and ideas.
Overall, the data connectivity feature of SAP Analytics Cloud provides a convenient and flexible way to access and use data from various sources for business intelligence and analysis.
Data Visualization
Data visualization in SAP Analytics Cloud refers to the process of representing data using various types of charts, graphs, and maps.
The goal of data visualization is to make it easier to understand and analyze data by presenting it in a visual format, rather than simply displaying the raw data in tabular form. It is thus possible to create pie charts, line graphs, or geographic maps.
Overall, data visualization is an important feature of SAP Analytics Cloud because it allows you to present data in a clear, easy-to-understand format and explore and analyze data more effectively.
Predictive Analysis
Using artificial intelligence, it is possible to predict certain trends and outcomes, allowing you to make the right decisions at the right time.
In SAP Analytics Cloud, the predictive analytics feature allows you to use these techniques to create forecasts and predictions for your business data.
To use the predictive analytics feature in SAP Analytics Cloud, you must first connect to a data source and import your data into the platform.
You can then use predictive analytics tools to build statistical models based on your data.
For example, you can use predictive analytics to forecast future sales, predict customer churn or identify potential opportunities or risks. The platform provides a range of tools and options for building and testing your predictive models, including various algorithms and statistical techniques.
Innovations related to AI have been developed by SAP:
Smart Discovery uses Machine Learning to provide the means to create content in an automated way, to highlight factors that influence metrics, and even to create an end-to-end story.
Smart Insight provides deep, additional analysis of all or part of the data. It is a real assistance to better study and understands the data set.
A functionality derived from Smart Insight is Search to Insight. It allows the user, thanks to natural language processing, to interact with the information in an intuitive way.
These features for predictive analysis thus allow users, even those who are not specialized in IT, to obtain information and analyze specific data in depth.
Other functionalities
Dashboards: You can create interactive dashboards that combine multiple charts and graphs, as well as other types of content, to provide a comprehensive view of your data.
Planning: This module includes budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning tools that you can use to model different scenarios and make informed decisions.
Collaboration: This allows you to share your dashboards, reports and other content with your colleagues, and collaborate with them in real-time.
Mobile access: the platform is designed to be accessible from any device, including tablets and smartphones, so you can access and analyze your data on the go.
Who is SAP Analytics Cloud for?
SAP Analytics Cloud was designed for all types of companies. Large companies as well as small and medium-sized businesses can benefit from it. If there is enough data in the company, then the solution can be used to explore this data in an optimal way.
Thus, the solution is developed for corporate users, so that they can rely on solid and reliable analyses allowing the company to move in the right direction.
Because SAC is intuitive and self-service, all departments in the organization can use the software and the information it contains, to share it with each other and make good use of it.
It is important to note that SAP Analytics Cloud is also aimed at companies that want to move toward Business Intelligence. Indeed, there is no denying SAP’s desire to hold on to the BI market and has proven many times its ability to use this technology to develop exceptional software.
This autonomous aspect that Business Intelligence manages to create is what many companies are looking for when they want to take the step towards much more powerful, modern, centralized, and easy-to-use technologies.
SAP is able to position itself as a complement for corporate users of on-site solutions. These users will be able to easily access and benefit from predictive analysis tools on their data but also from planning.
For those who do not yet have Business Intelligence solutions, it constitutes a real advantage in terms of appropriation, deployment, cost, and also maintenance.
The new version of SAP Analytics Cloud BI
In December 2022, SAP released a brand new version of SAC that brings improvements:
- A stable Optimized Story Experience that makes the experience on the Story tool easier. This includes filters based on metrics and story translation
- The ability to roll back changes while creating a story
- A clearer visualization of data thanks to the possibility to filter and classify on several dimension
For more details, find all the new features and updates on the SAP blog.
Why are so many Companies moving to the Cloud and choosing the SAP Analytics Cloud solution?
If many companies are tending towards the Cloud and BI, it is not without reason, SAP Analytics Cloud has considerable benefits:
- Regular monitoring, which ensures not only quantitative, but also qualitative data control
- An intuitive platform that is easy to use, even for beginners
- A responsive solution with a dedicated module for the mobile version
- The ability to customize dashboards and other graphs
- Facilitates the highlighting of key company data to make the best possible decisions
- Clear visuals, especially for predictions thanks to the different Machine Learning modules
SAP Analytics Cloud is a so-called next-generation Cloud-based application that helps end users mine data. It is a single solution with centralized functionality to meet the user’s analytics needs.
Discovers more VASPP articles
What is an API (Application Programming Interface)?
Discover what an API (Application Programming Interface) is and how it enables communication and data exchange between different computer applications. This article explains the basic
Start with SAP Business Technology Platform
SAP SCP Cloud moves to SAP BTP… More than just a name change, SAP’s PAAS platform is an essential tool for putting innovation at the
OData VS REST API: What Are the Differences?
The OData protocol defines best practices for consuming REST APIs. Flexible and scalable, it facilitates the development and exchange of secure data between hybrid solutions
