New features and enhancements in SAP Analytics Cloud Q2 2021 release

SAP continues to improve its product portfolio and expand its offering. Like every quarter, the leader in the enterprise software market presented changes introduced to its flagship business analytics tool. In this article, I take a look at the latest update to SAP Analytic Cloud, showing highlights of the Q2 2021 release.

Using Live SAP HANA and SAP Analytics Cloud model support in Data Analyzer

Data Analyzer is still one of the most popular features for data management and analysis in SAP Analytics Cloud. This quarter, SAP is introducing the ability to connect to views from SAP HANA Live and the opportunity to create ad hoc analyses based on the SAP Analytics Cloud model. From now on, the user will select an SAP HANA view as the data source for analysis, which will become possible via a dialog box from the data source or a URL – without having to create an additional model. As a result, users will use Data Analyzer for ad hoc analysis, which will affect speed and efficiency.

Meet the New Model

SAP Analytics Cloud has completely redesigned the modeling landscape. From now on, Modeler offers the possibility to create a New Model, which lets the user add multiple measures and an optional account dimension, benefiting both planning and reporting functions. Also, it will become possible to combine multiple concepts into one, resulting in greater flexibility in the design of the solutions.

Using API scripts to create Stories from charts and tables in Analytic Application

Users can more conveniently create Story reports based on tables and charts available in the Analytic Application, providing more integration flexibility.

Managing commenting entitlements when sharing Stories with colleagues

With the increased interest in remote work due to the global pandemic, a collaboration between users has become more critical than ever. As a result, the commenting feature available in analytics apps has become crucial, especially when combined with the ability to share, edit, or just read Stories.

Adding expressions to comments with text formatting

Commenting in a broad sense has been significantly improved. Another option is to add expression to your comments. Users can format them with different styles or font colors. It’s also possible to add bulleted or numbered lists and insert hyperlinks, which is very helpful when users collaborate within a team.

Optimising advanced forms with a dialog box

When working with advanced forms, the user can use a dialog box that shows the calculation range for a given form. With this feature, it’s possible to estimate the calculation range while designing and optimize the script for better performance.

Creating forecasts with greater accuracy using classification and regression techniques

Predictive classification and regression scenarios will use the gradient boosting technique from now on to provide more accurate and reliable predictions. The improvement in accuracy is in the range of 2-20%, depending on the underlying data, which will undoubtedly bring real benefits to users working with the forecasts.

Receiving notifications when version size limits are exceeded to optimize performance

Because planning based on extended data sources can affect performance, models now have recommended limits on initial size. Therefore, planners can configure the model size, and if users exceed this limit – a warning dialog box will appear during versioning or editing.

Creating a Pixel-Perfect report

Reporting in SAP Analytics Cloud has undergone an evolution. Planners and business analysts have been given the ability to create reports almost down to the pixel to efficiently and easily distribute them across the organization.

In this article, I have presented only selected features introduced in the Q2 2021 release. If you want to know more – read the full list of changes announced on SAP HANA Journey.