Product Information
Extending the reach of SAP Analytics Cloud data with Microsoft Office front ends
Finance people love Microsoft Excel – it’s a big part of their working day. With SAP Analysis for Office and SAP Analytics Cloud add-in for Microsoft Office, we provide to our customers two different solutions to explore an extended playground in the familiar Microsoft interface.
Let’s review the current available options, road map and positioning.
SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office
Analysis Office 2.8 has been delivered more than one year ago.
With this version, we mainly target to stabilize existing features and improve quality for our traditional installed base. In addition, we also aimed to better support our BW or HANA customers in their SAP Analytics Cloud journey, so we have introduced the capability to connect Hana live views or BW live queries from SAP Analytics Cloud.
It’s the latest version of the product on the market and it is available with 2 different editions/installers, depending on the licensing and systems in use and customer’s scenario:
As consequence Bex migration to Analysis office workbooks, BW and BI platform direct access are fully supported in both SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office editions.
SAP Analytics Cloud add-in for Microsoft Office
This new Add-in brings an integration of Microsoft Excel Office web-based and desktop versions in SAP Analytics Cloud. It is providing the flexibility of further Analysis and Planning on native SAP Analytics Cloud models with Microsoft Office Excel 365. The Add in is provided via Microsoft store. Updates, fixes and new features are then delivered automatically to customers.
It is a great match for large-scale deployment of SAC where MS Office (Excel) remains an essential component for simple visualizations or data-entry. You can select a model, create a report, retrieve versions and write- back/revert data.
See SAP Analytics Cloud add- in for MS office – See it in action!
Road Map
How do we position the two Add- ins?
SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (also known as AO) continues to be an important add-in for multiple data sources like SAP BW, BPC, S/4, Group Reporting. It is designed for financial analysts who require analytical capabilities in Microsoft Excel. It can also be used with SAP Analytics Cloud with limitations ( see note ) and SAP Data Warehouse Cloud.
However, most enhancements will be delivered in SAP Analytics Cloud, add-in for Microsoft Office, which is not a successor to SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office but a brand-new solution, built on top of Microsoft Office 365.
Useful links on this article :
· SAP Analysis for Office (AO) :
Announcing general availability of Analysis Office 2.8
SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office community page
AO for SAC supports BEX conversion
Hi Jeanne, thanks for the information!
As Analysis for Office, Standard Edition allows connection to BW/4HANA via direct connection (standard way) or via SAC models, are there any benefits/ disadvantages of using one over the other?
1) Is performance better via a direct connection?
2) In terms of support for BEx query elements - does direct connect provide better support?
3) If we want to store the Analysis for Office document to SAC (manually upload) - is better to use query connection via SAC model?
Many thanks!
Regards,
Cindy.
Hi,
thank you for the great blog! I have one question around the Analysis for Office SAC edition.
We have built an application on Hana cloud where we have established a live Hana-connection to SAC. We have used the new "SAP HANA CLOUD" connection method(which is the suggested one). However as I understand it Analysis for Office will not recognize the live connection if not the old connection type "Direct" is used between Hana and SAC.
Is there anything in the roadmap to support the new connection type in analysis for Office?
Best regards
Marcus
Hi Jeanne,
my customer does have the same problems as he is not able to connect with BW-live-connections/models that are not based on connection type "direct". We are only using
the new connection type "tunneling" as he needs this for his external sales employees.
So is there any information when connection type "tunneling also will be supported by
Analysis for Office for SAC?
Unfortunatelly I could not find an answer in this note:2787445 - Are live models supported with SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (AO) with SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC)? - SAP ONE Support Launchpad
Please let us know if you have any additional information when this important feature
will be available.
Thank you.
Kind regards, Klaus
Hello Jeanne,
there is currently confusion in regards to both, licensing as well as supported functionality
for the available Analysis for Office editions:
- Standard edition
- SAC edition
Following questions exist for both editions:
- support of live-Connections
Means can data from SAC-Live-Models be consumed in realtime/live?
- Can input-ready queries be called this way and directly written back to
the BW-system / BW-Embedded on-premise?
- support of IP-planing-functionalities
Can planning sequences and functions being called live or is planning
only supported on plan modells that are based on a plan cube and therefore
save their data in the Cloud or how can BW-Integrated-Planning being used
especially in the SAC edition of Analysis for Office?
- Licensing
There is a big uncertainty in regards to licensing: What are the limitations of
AfO-SAC-edition in regards to AfO-standard-edition? Especially when it comes
to the two points above: realtime/live-Reporting and Planning.
Please let me know about the must current possibilities & rules.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Klaus Reiner