What’s New in SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Digital Boardroom Release Q2 2021

This blog post covers the new features and enhancements in the SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Digital Boardroom Q2 2021 Release.

Please note that the SAP 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.

Upgrade your SAP Analytics Cloud agent to the latest agent version 1.0.315 to take advantage of all the data acquisition types!

Requirements

If you haven’t upgraded yet, here are the data acquisition minimum requirements:

• Version 1.0.99 for SAP ERP / SQL databases
• Version 1.0.235 for SAP HANA view
• Version 1.0.91 for SAP Universe (UNX)
• Version 1.0.233 for SAP Business Warehouse (BW)
• Version 1.0.248 for File Server
• Version 1.0.75 for all other data source types

For more information, see the  System Requirements and Technical Prerequisites.

SAP Analytics Cloud fully supports Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome for all activities and areas of SAP Analytics Cloud, including viewing, authoring and administration.

Top 5 Updates from QRC 2 2021

The features listed in the highlights section are the top feature enhancements in Q2 2021.

• Enterprise Reporting: Create Pixel-Perfect Reports
• Analytics Platform Services: Manage Commenting Privileges when Sharing Stories with Colleagues
• Analytics Design: Leverage Live SAP HANA and SAP Analytics Cloud Model Support in Data Analyzer
• Analytics Design: Customize Parameters with the Data Action API
• New Model: Meet the New Model

QRC 2 2021 Feature Updates

While the highlights section pointed out our most noteworthy new features and enhancements, this quarter saw several additional updates. To view them in detail, please refer to the list below. If you’re looking to get even more information on these features, please visit the Help documentation here.

• New Model
  • Meet the New Model
• Analytics Data Modeling
  • Filter Data Audit Reports with Enhanced Filter Functionalities
• Dashboard & Story Design
  • Data Visualization
    • Explore the New Model Type
    • Support Restricted Measures Based on Calculations and BW Formulas for SAP BW Live Data Sources
    • Replace Datasets in Your Stories with New Public Datasets
    • Add Expression to Your Comments with Rich Text Formatting
• Enterprise Reporting
  • Repeat Dimension Headers in Tables
  • Include Sections in Canvas Tabs to Improve Reporting and Dashboarding
  • Try the New 16:9 (HD) Canvas Size at Design Time
• Collaborative Enterprise Planning
  • Publish the Delta Version by Default
  • Compute Data Locks for Advanced Filters in Story Tables
  • Preview Validation Rules in Table View
  • Automatically Run Data Actions in the Background
  • Highlight Modified Cells in Tables
  • Use Dependent Variables When Executing BPC Planning Sequences
  • Navigate to Desired Functions with even Greater Ease with our Improved View Time Toolbar
  • Get Notified of Exceeding Version Size Limits to Ensure Optimized Performance
  • Schedule Automatic Data Locking Tasks in the Calendar
  • Publish and Submit in One Step
  • Run Data Actions in Story Contexts
  • Optimize Advanced Formula Scripts with the Calculation Scope Dialog Box
  • The Sky is the Limit with Removed Limitation for IF Conditions with AND/OR Keywords
  • Leverage Aggregated Dimensions in Advanced Formulas
  • Stop and Exit FOREACH Loops Immediately Using BREAK
• Augmented Analytics
  • Smart Predict
    • Make Predictions with Greater Accuracy When Using Classification and Regression Predictive Scenarios
    • Create Better Quality Time Series Forecasts with the Exponential Smoothing Technique
  • Predictive Planning
    • Build Your Own Time-Series Performance Indicators
• Analytics Design
  • Leverage Custom Widgets in Microsoft Edge
  • Directly Manage Calendar Tasks Within Analytic Applications
  • Use Script APIs to Create Stories from Charts and Tables in Analytic Applications
  • Trigger Data Actions Within Analytic Applications for the SAP Analytics Cloud Mobile iOS App
  • Select SAP HANA Views in Data Analyzer
  • Leverage Data Change Insights Enhancements and APIs
  • Trigger Export to Excel/CSV Dialogue via Script APIs
  • Plan Unbooked Cells for BPC Live Models with Script API
  • Access Models Directly in Data Analyzer
  • Use Data Action for Analytic Applications
• Mobile Analytics
  • Provision Default Configurations for the Android Mobile App
  • Allow Table Actions in SAP Analytics Cloud Mobile
  • Leverage Live Connection to SAP BW/HANA Using a Tunnel Connection with SAML SSO for iOS
• Analytics Platform Services
  • Preview the Availability of Publication Slots
  • Define Commenting Privileges in Stories, Analytic Applications, Models, and Folders
  • Embed Safely and Securely With the Removal of “Allow All Origin” in Trusted Origin
• Add-in for Microsoft Office
  • Leverage Unbooked Support
  • Report and Sort According to IDs and Texts with Enhanced Display Options

Top 5 Updates from What’s New QRC 2 2021

Enterprise Reporting

Create Pixel-Perfect Reports

Since it’s initial release in Q1 2021, Enterprise Reporting in SAP Analytics Cloud has come a long way. In fact, planners and business analysts can now create near pixel-perfect reports and distribute them across their organization easily and effectively. This is all thanks to some key highlights in the Enterprise Reporting realm, including the ability to…

• Repeat Dimension Headers in Tables: We know when managing tables that span across several pages that it’s not always clear what a dimension contains. As a result, for Beta tables that span across multiple pages, SAP Analytics Cloud now repeats the table header on each page for easy consumption. Furthermore, you can now freeze a table’s header for vertical scrolling to make for a more intuitive, Excel-like experience.

• Add sections to your canvas story tabs: Sections allow you to split report information into smaller, more comprehensible and manageable parts. This is a great way to create comparisons quickly by laying out multiple section instances in a paginated canvas. You can also use sections to improve the layout of your stories and break down your analysis per dimension member. Once you have chosen a dimension as a section filter, the members are displayed in the section, and the widgets in the section that are based on the same model are filtered on that member.

Essentially, at design time, you can insert a section in a canvas to group widgets and break them down by dimension values into a container widget. By default, sections are set to Show all instances on pages in the Styling panel. For more information on updates to making adding sections, revisit Release 2021.05.

Analytics Platform Services

Manage Commenting Privileges when Sharing Stories with Colleagues

With the exponential increase in remote work brought on by the recent global pandemic, collaborating with colleagues from afar is more important than ever. As a result, being able to comment on stories, analytical applications, and models within SAP Analytics Cloud is crucial.

Take Jasmine, for example. Jasmine is an HR Manager for Best Run Bikes, and an avid user of SAP Analytics Cloud’s collaboration features. Jasmine recently made a story in SAP Analytics Cloud focused on headcount planning.

With Q2 2021’s latest updates to the commenting feature, Jasmine can determine her colleagues’ commenting privileges when she goes to share her story with them.

For example, Jasmine can share her story with the new intern on her team, Malcolm. In doing so, Jasmine can set his rights to ensure that he can read and view comments but not delete them. Similarly, Jasmine could set Malcolm’s rights such that he can only view the comments but not add or delete them, based on what she thinks is best. This also applies to data point and widget comments.

Please note that if any one permission is missing in the combination, you won’t be able to perform the relevant action.

Analytics Design

Leverage Live SAP HANA and SAP Analytics Cloud Model Support in Data Analyzer

Data Analyzer continues to be one of the most sought-after features to manage and analyze your data in SAP Analytics Cloud. This quarter, we are excited to introduce the ability to connect to SAP HANA Live calculation views and the ability to create an ad-hoc analysis based on an SAP Analytics Cloud Model. That is to say that as a user of Data Analyzer, you can now select SAP HANA view as a data source for your data analysis through the data source dialog or by URL – with no additional model creation required.

As a result, for ad-hoc analysis, you can use the Data Analyzer to connect to SAP HANA Live views to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Customize Parameters with the Data Action API

Our next update is for the planning and Analytics Designer users. Introducing: the Data Action API – a feature that enables execution selectively based on triggered events captured by analytic applications. This allows users to customize the parameters sent to each Data Action execution and makes for a much more robust and dynamic planning experience.

Moreover, the Data Action API allows you to automatically enable Analytics Designer to update based on certain events and chain multiple data actions together as part of the call, thereby dramatically improving usability and performance.

New Model

Meet the New Model

Introducing: a new modeling paradigm.

SAP Analytics Cloud has completely redesigned the modeling experience for the better. The Modeler now offers the possibility to create a New Model, which lets you add multiple measures and an optional account dimension to the model, benefiting both planning and reporting functions.

This New Model blends concepts from account-based modeling and measure – or key figure – based modeling approaches to allow for greater flexibility and power in solution design, providing you with:

• More flexible modeling: You can set formatting and aggregation on accounts, measures, or both and choose which settings to prioritize. This flexibility opens up new options like integrating your balance sheet and your profit and loss statement. You can also choose to use a generic dimension for your accounts to avoid any limitations related to the account dimension.

• DECIMAL and INTEGER support: When you create a measure, you can select a measure data type. Supported data types include DECIMAL(31,n) where n is in 0,…,7 and INTEGER. When you enter and distribute data in tables, all cells of an integer-type measure will get integer values.

• Powerful calculation options: Calculated measures and currency conversion measures can be added in the Modeler and re-used across multiple stories and analytic applications. You can create calculated measures in the Modeler that take another measure and a typed dimension attribute as an input and flip the sign of the input measure according to the sign of the typed attribute. You can also create a custom priority for calculations to ensure that measure and account calculations are applied in the required order.

• Enhanced currency conversion: Besides reusable conversion measures, you can base calculated measures and accounts on your currency conversions. In tables, you can plan on any base measure or conversion measure and instantly see the results across currencies – and you can apply currency conversion while copying data with a data action. Finally, all options (rate versions, booking date, and more) that are known for Classic Account Models are supported, and existing rate tables created for Classic Account Models can be re-used.

• Better integration: Measure models match the structure of many trusted data sources like SAP S/4HANA more closely, making data integration faster and simpler. As a result, you can re-edit existing jobs and benefit from a more intuitive workflow and mapping experience, enhanced wrangling expression language, an improved experience during execution – including visual cues of job progression – and more.

• Clearer experience for story builders and viewers: Non-financial data can be stored in measures instead of members of the account dimension, making data in charts and tables easier to understand.
• Migration tool: To get access to the new features quickly, you can migrate a classic account model with no dependent objects into a new model with measures. The resulting New Model has the same account-type dimensions as the classic account model and the option to add additional measures.

The Path to the New Model

Please note that Classic Account Models continue to work as before. Furthermore, you can choose to opt-in to the New Model at your own pace, so there’s no rush!

Note also that Classic Account Models can be converted into New Models, and additional measures can be created after conversion.

To learn more about the New Model, register for our on-demand webinar or read more on what you need to know to successfully integrate the new model into your workflow.