Cloud for Planning – ASUG Webcast Recap
This was an ASUG webcast provided earlier this month by SAP. SAP provided a full demo of the solution but I am only covering the lecture and question & answer.
Figure 1: Source: SAP
Figure 1 shows a Gartner study with “Finance is leading way” in terms of cloud capabilities
Figure 2: Source: SAP
Figure 2 shows the “three tenents” of Cloud for Planning; of particular interest to me are the “embedded analytics” shown above.
Discussions are part of “collaboration”.
Figure 3: Source: SAP
Figure 3 provides a definition of Cloud for Planning. The speaker said it provide the user an interface to streamline as you want to see it
It is “highly intuitive to configure” (not customize)
Figure 4: Source: SAP
The speaker said Cloud for Planning has a “modern look and feel”, using tools what people are comfortable with, use calendars, set dates, calendar function/view as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 5: Source: SAP
Collaborate; take actions on desktop and align across aspects of business units, not just Finance
Figure 6: Source: SAP
Figure 6 shows the solutions have charts embedded
Finance executives can focus on detailed information, drill down
The SAP speaker said this “simplifies the process of creating charts, KPI’s” with embedding them into the product
Figure 7: Source: SAP
The presenter demonstrated the private simulation features
Analytics and collaboration are embedded
Cloud for planning is part of HANA Cloud platform
Figure 8: Source: SAP
Figure 8 wasn’t covered during the webcast, but I thought the reference to Hichert IBCS charting was interesting. Additionally the demo didn’t address mobile collaboration. Cloud for planning has an mobile app on the store to allow you to collaborate with those out of the office
Figure 9: Source: SAP
Figure 9 shows the iPhone app, creating a collaboration screen and users could receive an alert to collaborate/discuss
Figure 10: Source: SAP
Figure 10 shows the hybrid model
Cloud for planning can be used by department while BPC is for corporate planning
SAP said they see non-SAP looking at Cloud for Planning
It has integrations to Excel, ERP, BW
It is ISO 9000 certified
You can pin dashboards and meetings
Question & Answer
Q: What are the different business cases for Cloud for Planning & BPC
A: A lot of BPC customers who want to remain with BPC (on premise) – can use side-by-side, still use BPC for corporate planning but use cloud for planning at department level
Regions and drive analytics capabilities
Q: Can you transfer from Cloud for Planning to BPC?
A: yes, it is bi-directional
Q: Are Cloud for Planning models created infrequently or created on an ad-hoc basis?
A: Traditionally keep models, the ability to set up models if they don’t have long lifespan
Q: Does Cloud for Planning have similar reporting as BPC?
A: Yes, with additional capabilities – set up KPI’s and charts without going through chart creation process and define stories; represent briefing books, live stories
Q: Is SAP Cloud for Planning an add-in to purchase?
A: It is a separate product from BPC – a cloud offering, subscription, URL with upgrades/updates automatically – completely different product
Purchase tenant size based on memory and number of users – professional – admin rights
Q: Which BPC platforms offer bi-directional flow with Cloud for Planning?
A: NW/MS BPC offer bi-directional flow
Roadmap includes salesforce integration (planned)
ASUG BusinessObjects Conference Related Sessions
Overview of SAP Analytics in the Cloud – The What’s, Why’s, and How’s
Roadmap: SAP Lumira Cloud Edition, Cloud for Planning, and SAP Lumira, Cloud Edition on SAP Roadmap
Hi Tammy,
Interesting points about embedded analytics and the Hichert IBCS charting.
So far SAP had not adopted the Hichert IBCS standards for its products. I wonder if we might now see this standard applied to the BI products?
Was there any discussion about the tools that could be used for creating the embedded analytics? I have seen SAP presentations showing that embedding of Design Studio apps in Fiori apps is planned. I also wonder if this concept will be applied to using Design Studio to create embedded analytics in SAP Cloud for Planning?
Mustafa.
Mustafa, thank you for reading.
Your questions did not come up, likely because the webcast was geared towards finance professionals. I will try to ask this week if I can attend the cloud sessions at the conference. These are great questions
Tammy
Here's a video that shows how reports are built - it is similar to the demo given during the webcast:
[embed width="425" height="350"]https://www.youtube.com/embed/SjjUxmJlrzo[/embed]
Thanks Tammy.
Mustafa - I asked, today it does not use the current BI tools, but stay tuned...announcements are coming soon (perhaps TechEd)
Thanks Tammy. It sounds like there are some interesting features in the works.