Creating complex visualizations in SAC – integrating R language with SAP Analytics Cloud

The scope of standard functionalities within SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), including data visualization, is broad. What if the basic capabilities nevertheless prove insufficient for end-users?

SAP meets the needs of its customers and facilitates the use of the R programming language. It allows you to create powerful algorithms for data visualization and analysis. R is an open-source project that enables not only the design of complex graphs, but also the implementation of an advanced functionalities suite, including machine learning algorithms.

It’s worth noting that the R language has strong community support. Furthermore, business analysts worldwide continue to invest a lot of time and energy in creating new and interesting graphs that can be used to analyze and present data.

The R component offers the following capabilities:

✓ R-visualization can be included in both Story and Analytic Application,
✓ Solutions and algorithms built in this language can be easily transferred to any other platform if needed,
✓ Interaction with R-visualizations is possible using SAP Analytics Cloud-controls such as filters,
✓ Flexibility allows the implementation of analytical algorithms and building visualizations of any level of complexity.

Key benefits of using R language in SAP Analytic Cloud:
✓ R is the most commonly used language for statistical analysis,
✓ Most new test results and algorithms are published as R packages and can be used as soon as they become available,
✓ The R packages enable 3D data visualization.

Let’s move on to examples.

All default SAC graphs can also be built using the R environment. It allows you to replicate the standard solutions, enriching them with add-ons for data processing or design. Below I present examples of charts generated in R language, which aren’t available in basic SAC functionalities.

Dot chart presented as a ranking

Word cloud

Correlation chart

3D scatter plot

3D globe

The charts above show the COVID-19 pandemic data for the period 31 Dec 2019-20 Jan 2021.

When writing about integrating the R language with SAP Analytics Cloud, my goal was to show the broader capabilities of this tool and demonstrate to future SAC users that the only thing that limits us is our creativity.