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Author's profile photo Avinash Kumar

Embedded Analytics: SAP Analytics Cloud in SAP S/4HANA Cloud – How to create your own Dashboard or Story

Introduction

With 1911, SAP introduces the seamless integration of S/4HANA Cloud with SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC).

Here are lists of new capabilities in SAP S/4HANA Cloud:

  • Pre-delivered dashboards (aka Stories).

The dashboards are fully embedded into SAP S/4HANA Cloud user experience which, for example, allows for intent-based navigation. In addition, they offer the business user flexibility through the adjustment of filters, prompts or drill states, but also by saving navigation states in variants.

  • State-of-the-art multidimensional reporting using the SAC Data Analyzer tool
  • Create own custom dashboards using SAP Analytics Cloud’s rich visualisation capabilities.
  • Create own custom reports using SAP Analytics Cloud’s Data Analyzer Report tool.

In this blog, I would like to focus on the creation of the custom dashboard.

Key user (aka Analytics Specialist) will able to create own dashboards directly within S/4HANA Cloud. The designtime app ‘Manage KPIs & Reports’ receives a new tab called “Stories”.

 

Stories in SAP Analytics Cloud are raw data that transform into powerful visualizations that help in driving business performances and help data-driven decisions about your business.

Integration of SAP Analytics Cloud with S/4HANA Cloud allows you to create stories, add data, generate powerful data visualizations, and create tiles on the Fiori Launchpad. You must include the story (datasource) to S/4HANA and the integrated SAP Analytics Cloud tool will generate the story with a wide selection of charts and tables that best display the selected measure. You can refine the objects using designer panel, change the chart type, color and add new objects.

Using SAP Analytics Cloud, you can prepare your data for analysis by defining measures and dimensions. You can arrange different visualizations such as charts, graphs, tables, and other visual elements to tell the story and use these visualizations for in-depth analysis.

From the SAP S/4HANA Cloud side, you have to select a data source. The SAP Analytics Cloud will build the story for you using built-in templates and with the selected measures and dimensions.

Creating a Story

The Create Story page lets you define SAP Analytic Cloud story for a selected data source. You can create different visualizations to the datasource. You can also add multiple data sources to the story and design interactive dashboards, create new pages, and add visualization such as charts, tables, and other graphics to visualize your data. The items on the page such as chart are arranged as tiles that you can move around, resize, and style to your liking.

Navigate to KPI Design group in the Fiori Launchpad (FLP).

 

Choose “Stories” tab from the Manage KPIs and Reports app page.

 

To create a custom story, choose + (Add).

 

The Create Story page appears. In the Definition tab, enter the title in the Header section and description in Business Information section.

 

Go to Configuration tab to define the story. A pre defined template will be loaded.

Select a query from the list to build the story.

 

Based on the query selection, if there are mandatory parameters and filters, “Set Variables” dialog box appears wherein you have to enter or choose the values to the input parameters of the selected datasource.

A model for selected query will be generated on the fly and attached to the Story.

From the Insert toolbar of SAC, choose either chart or table. Use the different functions from the toolbar to vary the visualization as your liking.

 

The chart or table visualization appears. Configure the chart using the designer toolbox.

 

Add all the other visualizations as per the scenario.

Click “Activate” to save the story.

On the successful save, the story will be exported to SAP Analytics Cloud Content Network (ACN) with the visibility restriction Customer ERP Number.

 

To create an application (aka FLP Tile) to launch the story, choose Applications > Add Tile.

 

Choose a Tile Type format from the various options.

 

Fill out all the details and click on “Save and Publish“.

 

After successful save of the tile, it will navigate to “Custom Catalog Extension” app to publish a tile in the desired catalog.

In “Custom Catalog Extension” App, add a catalog to publish the tile.

 

 

Publish the tile.

 

 

On successful publish, the tile will be available on the Fiori Launchpad.

 

Click the tile to launch the story in the Fiori Launchpad.

Conclusion

In this post, I showed how to create a custom SAP Analytics Cloud Story or Dashboad via S/4HANA Cloud. And embedding in S/4HANA Cloud Fiori Launchpad.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Happy holidays.

 

For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud embedded analytics with SAP Analytics Cloud, check out the following links:

  • Rolf Sieberg’s blog on SAP Analytics Cloud embedded in SAP S/4HANA Cloud
  • Guided Tour how to design a story
  • General blog on embedded analytics in SAP S/4HANA
  • Blog on how to create Data Analyzer Report
  • Blog on how to transport Embedded Story/Data Analyzer Report

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      5 Comments
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      Author's profile photo Bhargava Tanguturi
      Bhargava Tanguturi

      Hello Avinash,

      Nice blog? and very useful.

       

      I have few  questions for you.

      1) How to integrate SAC in S4HANA cloud?

      2) is it necessary to have SAC account to create story?

      3) is it work with S4HANA on-premise?  

       

      Thanks & kind regards,

      Bhargava

      Author's profile photo Avinash Kumar
      Avinash Kumar
      Blog Post Author

      Hello Bhargava,

      1. SAC and S4HANA integration is based on communication scenarios.
      2. Yes, you need a user on SAC account to create a story.
      3. For the time being the embedded scenario is restricted to SAP S/4HANA Cloud. The complete embedded experience is not available yet for SAP S/4HANA on premise, nor for the STE (single tenant edition)

      Best Regards,

      Avinash

      Author's profile photo Bhargava Tanguturi
      Bhargava Tanguturi

      Thanks for your quick response?.

       

      Author's profile photo Sasidhar Gunturu
      Sasidhar Gunturu

      Hi Avinash,

      Very informative blog on the integration of  SAP S/4HANA cloud and SAP Analytics Cloud.

      Quick question however ..

      We have S/4 HANA on premise 2020 sp stack 2 and  SAC (enterprise version) connected using Live CORS connection.

      We do not however see the option to add(+) /create story in 'Manage KPIs and Report' section to create SAC stories in S/4 HANA.

      Could you help the access/steps we are missing,

      Best Regards,

      Sasidhar

      Author's profile photo Sujit Honrao
      Sujit Honrao

      Hi Avinash,

      In Fiori on Manage KPIs apps, when I click on the Stories, I do not see the option to create a new story?

      I have been given the Specialist role and Employee role, is there anything more i need.

       

      Note, I have not yet created a connection from my SAC Enterprise tenant to Fiori? As am not sure if its needed, because in Fiori am trying to utilize the embedded SAC feature, so why would connection to External Enterprise SAC be required ?