Hello everyone,
in SAP's latest ERP, the functionality of SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics provides a unique value proposition for ERP systems. This blog will give a quick overview of the value proposition and a guide how to access the data models by using the free SAP S/4HANA trial system whcih everyone can use on www.sap.com.
To answer questions like “Where is my business data I need to allow for insight-to action, fact-based process handling, and real-time operational reporting - and how is it structured?”, SAP S/4HANA has the answer with the functionality of SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics functionality.
The simple formula here is:
Embed analytical capabilities for reports and Business Intelligence visualizations into SAP S/4HANA
add SAP HANA as the exclusive database, providing high performance analytical capabilities by keeping the data in memory and extracting and joining it, using massive parallel processing,
add Artificial Intelligence technologies, such as self learning and predictive algorithms, which SAP HANA holds in it's application layer,
add content such as virtual data models and ready-made end user (SAP Fiori) applications, and
add design time applications in SAP Fiori, to extend the model or to create new end user applications.
For a quick round trip of what is possible you might want to check for example the blogs from ab179ec2292047a5a16ec05a9cb3b23b such as his walkthroughs or the FAQ and more.
The technology, which is used to provide the virtual data models for SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics, is called ABAP-based Core Data Service (ABAP CDS). SAP provides more than 36,000 views as of release 2002 of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. By the way, not all of these views are part of the analytical data model. A good portion is used to replace aggregation tables of SAP ECC to bridge the shift from SAP ECC fo SAP S/4HANA for the usage of custom coding, using these aggregation tables. The ABAP programs are not able to differentiate the aggregation tables form the results of these ABAP CDS views, as they are virtual ABAP tables.
Although the number of analytiocal ABAP CDS views is still high, not all of the views are usable in every deployment type of SAP S/4HANA. So, in SAP S/4HANA Cloud deployments, only those views are applicable, which are of status "released".
To find this out, every customer, partner, employee and even prospects can log on to a free trial system of SAP S/4HANA. How to do so?
When browsing to SAP's home page www.sap.com, you have the opportunity to look for information about SAP's products:
Click on the link for "SAP S/4HANA".
You will get guided to the main page of SAP S/4HANA. Here, you can also see the option to request your own free trial system:
By clicking the option you will get to the detailed web page for the free SAP S/4HANA Cloud trial system:
By clicking "Register for free", you will need to enter some personal data to help SAP registering you. The next window will allow you to confirm the end user license agreement:
Flag the checkbox and confirm by clicking "Click here to start your trial".
You will then get logged on to the latest release of an SAP S/4HANA Cloud system in your browser. Here, you are able to test the latest system "real-life" on your own.
The starting page is the launchpad to a number or free guided tours through different processes of the ERP system in multiple LoB areas such as Finance or Procurement, etc.
By clicking on the offer to "Start a guided tour" among the offerings of the "Latest Highlights" section, or by starting any guided tour from the launching pictures in the lower part of the site, you will execute a guided tour.
Although it is very much worthwhile getting the tour, for the purpose of exploring the data models, it is not necessary to run it. So by closing the window you will terminate the tour (you can do it any other time of the 2 weeks trial duration).
By selecting the user icon on the very far upper right corner of the SAP Fiori screen, you can select the "App Finder" functionality.
Please enter the name of the SAP Fiori application ("view browser"), which allows to analyze and browse all ABAP CDS data models of the SAP S/4HANA system.
The system will provide you with the launch tile of the View Browser SAP Fiori app, whcih you could also pin to your personal launchpad for example. Click on the tile itself to start the application:
You can see the total number of ABAP CDS views in the system and the different sections. Hereby, "Basic" views represent the linkage to ABAP tables, "Composite" views the business logic, and "Consumption" views the executable views, which are the ones, used in reports of dashboards etc.
You can also see that there is a status by view. In an SAP S/4HANA Cloud system, only the views of status "Released" are visible and usable (in this sense, this trial system was modified to give you the chance to see the full data model. By clicking on the header object "Status", you have the possibility to filter the views accordingly:
Click on the filter icon to open the filter:
Enter the term "Released" in the Filter definition and close the filter. You can now browse the filtered list of ABAP CDS views of an SAP S/4HANA Cloud system:
You can now analyze the views by further filtering the views, selecting views by search terms, open the definitions by clicking on the views and launch a multidimensional report by clicking on the "show content" link (applicable for those views only, which are of type "consumable").
In case you would also like to find out more about those views which are used for extraction to an SAP BW/4HANA systems, please check this blog: https://blogs.sap.com/2019/06/06/discover-cds-view-based-extractors-from-sap-s4hana-cloud/
Thanks a lot for your interest!
Yours
Jürgen Butsmann
Solution Management SAP S/4HANA, SAP SE
in SAP's latest ERP, the functionality of SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics provides a unique value proposition for ERP systems. This blog will give a quick overview of the value proposition and a guide how to access the data models by using the free SAP S/4HANA trial system whcih everyone can use on www.sap.com.
What is SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics?
To answer questions like “Where is my business data I need to allow for insight-to action, fact-based process handling, and real-time operational reporting - and how is it structured?”, SAP S/4HANA has the answer with the functionality of SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics functionality.
The simple formula here is:
Embed analytical capabilities for reports and Business Intelligence visualizations into SAP S/4HANA
add SAP HANA as the exclusive database, providing high performance analytical capabilities by keeping the data in memory and extracting and joining it, using massive parallel processing,
add Artificial Intelligence technologies, such as self learning and predictive algorithms, which SAP HANA holds in it's application layer,
add content such as virtual data models and ready-made end user (SAP Fiori) applications, and
add design time applications in SAP Fiori, to extend the model or to create new end user applications.
For a quick round trip of what is possible you might want to check for example the blogs from ab179ec2292047a5a16ec05a9cb3b23b such as his walkthroughs or the FAQ and more.
Which are the virtual data models, SAP is providing to start with SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics?
The technology, which is used to provide the virtual data models for SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics, is called ABAP-based Core Data Service (ABAP CDS). SAP provides more than 36,000 views as of release 2002 of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. By the way, not all of these views are part of the analytical data model. A good portion is used to replace aggregation tables of SAP ECC to bridge the shift from SAP ECC fo SAP S/4HANA for the usage of custom coding, using these aggregation tables. The ABAP programs are not able to differentiate the aggregation tables form the results of these ABAP CDS views, as they are virtual ABAP tables.
Although the number of analytiocal ABAP CDS views is still high, not all of the views are usable in every deployment type of SAP S/4HANA. So, in SAP S/4HANA Cloud deployments, only those views are applicable, which are of status "released".
Where can I find the ABAP CDS views, which are currently shipped with SAP S/4HANA and how to differentiate the status (Released/Not Released)?
To find this out, every customer, partner, employee and even prospects can log on to a free trial system of SAP S/4HANA. How to do so?
When browsing to SAP's home page www.sap.com, you have the opportunity to look for information about SAP's products:
Click on the link for "SAP S/4HANA".
You will get guided to the main page of SAP S/4HANA. Here, you can also see the option to request your own free trial system:
By clicking the option you will get to the detailed web page for the free SAP S/4HANA Cloud trial system:
By clicking "Register for free", you will need to enter some personal data to help SAP registering you. The next window will allow you to confirm the end user license agreement:
Flag the checkbox and confirm by clicking "Click here to start your trial".
You will then get logged on to the latest release of an SAP S/4HANA Cloud system in your browser. Here, you are able to test the latest system "real-life" on your own.
The starting page is the launchpad to a number or free guided tours through different processes of the ERP system in multiple LoB areas such as Finance or Procurement, etc.
By clicking on the offer to "Start a guided tour" among the offerings of the "Latest Highlights" section, or by starting any guided tour from the launching pictures in the lower part of the site, you will execute a guided tour.
Although it is very much worthwhile getting the tour, for the purpose of exploring the data models, it is not necessary to run it. So by closing the window you will terminate the tour (you can do it any other time of the 2 weeks trial duration).
By selecting the user icon on the very far upper right corner of the SAP Fiori screen, you can select the "App Finder" functionality.
Please enter the name of the SAP Fiori application ("view browser"), which allows to analyze and browse all ABAP CDS data models of the SAP S/4HANA system.
The system will provide you with the launch tile of the View Browser SAP Fiori app, whcih you could also pin to your personal launchpad for example. Click on the tile itself to start the application:
You can see the total number of ABAP CDS views in the system and the different sections. Hereby, "Basic" views represent the linkage to ABAP tables, "Composite" views the business logic, and "Consumption" views the executable views, which are the ones, used in reports of dashboards etc.
You can also see that there is a status by view. In an SAP S/4HANA Cloud system, only the views of status "Released" are visible and usable (in this sense, this trial system was modified to give you the chance to see the full data model. By clicking on the header object "Status", you have the possibility to filter the views accordingly:
Click on the filter icon to open the filter:
Enter the term "Released" in the Filter definition and close the filter. You can now browse the filtered list of ABAP CDS views of an SAP S/4HANA Cloud system:
You can now analyze the views by further filtering the views, selecting views by search terms, open the definitions by clicking on the views and launch a multidimensional report by clicking on the "show content" link (applicable for those views only, which are of type "consumable").
In case you would also like to find out more about those views which are used for extraction to an SAP BW/4HANA systems, please check this blog: https://blogs.sap.com/2019/06/06/discover-cds-view-based-extractors-from-sap-s4hana-cloud/
Thanks a lot for your interest!
Yours
Jürgen Butsmann
Solution Management SAP S/4HANA, SAP SE
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