What’s New in SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Digital Boardroom Release 2018.02
This blog covers some of the latest new features and enhancements in SAP Analytics Cloud* and SAP Digital Boardroom release 2018.02. Please note that the Analytics Cloud Help documentation is updated at the same time as the upgrade to this release, so the links here may not yet reflect what is described below until after the upgrade is complete.
SAP Analytics Cloud agent version required for data acquisition with this release:
- Version 1.0.85 for SAP Business Warehouse (BW)
- Version 1.0.91 for SAP ERP / SQL databases
- Version 1.0.75 for all other data source types
- Note: Although it is not required, you can upgrade to the new agent version 1.0.91, no matter what data acquisition type you use. Do this to take advantage of updates made to SAP Analytics Cloud agent.
For more information, see System Requirements and Technical Prerequisites.
Highlights of this release:
- Planning: Quickly populate account data in a blank version via copy/paste
- Planning: Change input tasks using value driver tree simulations
- Planning: Value driver tree consumption improvements
- Planning: Data history panel improvements
- Modeling: Usability improvements in the modeler grid
- Infrastructure: Enhanced settings for importing data from the content library
- Infrastructure: Enhanced column formatting options in the file area
- Infrastructure: Specify trusted origins for embedding purposes
- Predictive: Create forecasts in a line chart
- Digital Boardroom: Improved action bar
- Data Analysis, Stories, and Tables: Measure-based calculated dimensions
- Data Analysis, Stories, and Tables: Dynamic text in chart titles and subtitles
Learn with our latest video tutorials:
- Create a model from SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics
- Apply filters to a chart in a story
- Apply filters to a geo map in a story
- Full tutorial playlist >
Planning
Quickly populate account data in a blank version via copy/paste
Tired of manually entering account data? Now when you create a blank version, you can cut down time doing data entry by simply copying and pasting the aggregated account values, even if you have parent-child hierarchies!
Learn more about analyzing account data
Change input tasks using value driver tree simulations
SAP Analytics Cloud now supports Value Driver Trees in an input schedule. As an assignee, you can now perform simulations using the value driver trees. All your data changes from the simulation will be synchronized with the grid. Meaning you now will have more options to model visualizations!
Learn more about examining a value driver tree
Value driver tree consumption improvements
If you work globally and with different currencies, this enhancement is for you. You can now select currency types in the value driver in addition to the default and local currencies. Financial planning has never been easier.
Data history panel improvements
Ever wished that you could take back a mistake? With the new history panel, you have more undo/redo control over the actions you’ve taken.
Imagine: you’re the assignee of an input task and decide you want to undo something. Just click! By clicking into the data region and opening the history panel, you can see the private input task version with every single change made.
Don’t worry if you have multiple colleagues collaborating. You can just click on an individual change and jump between change states before sending the task back to your colleague.
Modeling
Modeler usability enhancements
The modeling user interface now includes even more enhancements:
- Column orientation (fixed, moved)
- Filtering on columns
- Sort on columns
- Hide columns
Rearrange your columns, filter and sort to your heart’s desire, or even hide the columns you don’t want to see. Customizing your data is easy.
Learn more about editing public versions and version management
Infrastructure
Enhanced settings for importing data from the content library
When you’re importing business content from the content library, you can customize your import options and receive update notifications. There’s also a nifty progress bar that lets you know the status of your data import.
See how you can get business and sample content
Enhanced column formatting options in the files area
You can now show or hide columns in the files area—making it easier to clean up your data. Your settings are now saved across your visits.
Specify trusted origins for embedding purposes
When embedding SAP Analytics Cloud in your own web pages or applications, you can now specify the trusted origins as the domains on which those applications are hosted. This helps ensure that response headers are set correctly to support embedding in web pages and enhances security to protect you against clickjacking.
Learn how to add an embedded web page
Predictive
Create forecasts in a line chart
You can now run predictive forecasts in a line chart. This extends time series forecasting to line chart to provide improved flexibility in creating visualizations with a time dimension. This gives you the ability to have separate scaling for measures and mimics time series trend chart functionality.
Check out how you can run a forecast in a line chart and a time series
Digital Boardroom
Improved action bar
Utilize the enhanced touch and mouse interaction! Now, the action bar appears when you hover over the browser window edge. When you’re presenting, you can use touch controls by swiping from the edge to show the action bar on touch devices.
Data Analysis, Stories, and Tables
Measure-based calculated dimensions
In this update, you can create calculated dimensions on aggregated measures. For example, you can group the “Sales Managers” dimension into high and low “Gross Margin” measures.
Please note that existing chart, story or page filters will be ignored by the calculated dimension. This helps ensure that grouping for dimension members is consistent.
Dynamic text in chart titles and subtitles
You can now create dynamic text within chart titles and subtitles on scale, unit, measures and dimensions.
Learn how you can add dynamic text to your stories
Additional resources:
- Video tutorials
- Guided learning
- Events and recordings
- SAP Analytics Cloud help resources
- Official roadmap contains more info on future plans, subject to change.
Previous feature summary blogs:
- SAP Analytics Cloud release 2017.01
- SAP Analytics Cloud release 2017.24
- SAP Analytics Cloud release 2017.23
- SAP Analytics Cloud release 2017.22
- SAP Analytics Cloud release 2017.21
- More >
**Legal disclaimer
SAP has no obligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this blog or any related presentation, or to develop or release any functionality mentioned therein. This blog, or any related presentation and SAP’s possible future developments, products and or platforms directions and functionality are all subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reason without notice. The information in this blog is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. This blog is provided without a warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. This blog is for informational purposes and may not be incorporated into a contract. SAP assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document, except if such damages were caused by SAP’s willful misconduct or gross negligence.
All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions.
great blog!
Thanks for sharing. My client currently thinking to use either Cloud Analytics for planning (SAP is suggesting) or BPC 10.1 Standard + custom UI5 (i am suggesting to my client) for all missing functionalities( workflows, notifications, visual reports, master data management, standardisation of attributes etc )
I want to ask;
Hi Bilen,
Yes you can create simple formula's in the value driver. See https://help.sap.com/doc/00f68c2e08b941f081002fd3691d86a7/release/en-US/35166109cea346f9a6b6a5827a905e6c.html
Yes we support IF then else conditional formula's ...
see https://help.sap.com/doc/00f68c2e08b941f081002fd3691d86a7/release/en-US/3b7c99a7a7cd4a29bb1c5132d91af341.html
Hi Bilen! Thank you for your feedback, and thank you John for your informative response!