SAP Analytics Cloud is a constantly evolving tool. Thus, the fourth quarter of this year brought further improvements. In this article, I will focus on those functionalities we have already covered in previous articles this year, and their performance has once again been improved.

The following article should therefore be treated selectively, and the full list of SAP Analytics Cloud updates is available on the SAP blog.

Check out selected SAP Analytics Cloud updates

Data Analyzer

• Additional charts

Data Analyzer, which is a predefined ad-hoc data analysis application that uses Live SAP BW queries, Live SAP HANA views, SAP Analytics Cloud models and SAP Datasphere models, has been enhanced this quarter, adding new forms of data visualization. Users now can quickly create cumulative bar and column charts as well, making it possible to present data in a more interesting way than before.

• Horizontal scrolling

When selecting a table as a form of data representation in Data Analyzer, when the columns are really large (100 columns can be added) the user now has the option to scroll horizontally, making it easier to view the data.

Story Design

• Showing or hiding totals

Showing or hiding totals and displaying net totals on cumulative bar or column charts is finally possible! This feature is especially useful when we have to show the sum of negative and positive values. This enhancement is possible in the optimized version of Story (Optimized Story Experience).

Enterprise Planning

SAP Analytics Cloud is not only an analytical tool, but also a planning tool. It offers enterprises an end-to-end solution for data analysis, planning and forecasting, as well as facilitates collaboration among teams from different areas of the enterprise. This planning can take place at different levels of data granularity. A useful feature for planning/forecasting and rolling forecasts can be its weekly level of detail, just added this quarter.

• Plan Entry – weekly level of detail

Starting this quarter, a new – weekly – concept of detail is introduced, giving the user an even more precise forecasting capability. The default range value is tied to the selected granularity. In case the user chooses weekly granularity – the default range is the quarter, i.e. all weeks of that quarter will be displayed. In case the user chooses quarter and month, the default will be the year as before.

• Plan Process Management – track task start and end dates and duration

To be able to oversee the planning process even better this quarter, the user can see the actual dates of events in the calendar, not just their planned start and end dates. All these dates are also visually displayed on a Gantt chart.

The user also has the ability to filter these events so that, for example, delayed events can be excluded using a filter indicating their time status.

Summary

The new SAP Analytics Cloud updates described above, which were introduced in the fourth quarter of 2023, help you use a tool like SAP Analytics Cloud even more effectively and better visualize the data you analyze. All of the improvements introduced this quarter, as I mentioned at the beginning of the article, are available on the SAP blog, and you can read about the planned ones, after logging in, by visiting the SAP Road Map Explorer page.