What’s New in SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Digital Boardroom Release 2021.18

This blog post covers some of the latest features and enhancements in SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Digital Boardroom Release 2021.18, which will be included in the Q4 2021 Quarterly Release Cycle (QRC).

Please note that the SAP Analytics Cloud Help Portal 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.

Technical Requirements

Be sure to upgrade to the latest SAP Analytics Cloud agent version 1.0.333 to take advantage of all the data acquisition types. Here are the minimum data acquisition requirements:

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

SAP Analytics Cloud fully supports Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome for all activities and areas of viewing, authoring, and administration. For more information, check out the following System Requirements and Technical Prerequisites.

Release Highlights

• Data Integration 
  • Live Connections to SAP Business Warehouse  
    • Enable and Disable SAP BW Query Conditions in Table Visualizations
• Data Discovery  
  • Utilize Data Analyzer as a Module for Data Exploration
• Dashboard and Story Design  
  • Data Visualization  
    • Include Story and Page Filters in Measure-Based Calculated Dimensions
    • Leverage New Features of Optimized View Mode
• Enterprise Planning
  • Schedule Multi Action Tasks as Calendar Events
  • Enable a Currency Variable for the New Model
  • Populate Multi Action Parameters from Story Context
  • Transfer Multi Actions between Systems
• Analytics Design
  • Access Data Source Information with the getInfo() API
  • Refresh Active Widgets Only in Charts and Tables

Data Integration

Live Connections to SAP Business Warehouse

Enable and Disable SAP BW Query Conditions in Table Visualizations

When working on tables with SAP BW live data connections, users can now view all the applied BW query conditions in their tooltip and table content as well as mark which BW conditions to be active or inactive through the context menu.

Data Discovery

Utilize Data Analyzer as a Module for Data Exploration

Users can now access Data Analyzer from the side navigation panel. Click into Start New and connect to either an SAP BW data source or an SAP HANA data source directly via transient access, or an existing remote or acquired model. On the Data Analyzer start page, users can also find a list of recent insights that they can open from there with the insight name in the header.

Dashboard and Story Design

Data Visualization

Include Story and Page Filters in Measure-Based Calculated Dimensions

Story designers can now select story or page filters to be used as filter context for measure-based calculated dimensions. These settings may improve accuracy and performance when evaluating measure-based calculated dimensions through a more reduced dataset. Note that this feature is not supported in Optimized View Mode.

Leverage New Features of Optimized View Mode

Users can now enable Optimized View Mode for their stories directly from the story’s menu bar. Optimized View Mode supports the following features once a story is resaved:

• Story and Model Measure/Dimension Rename
• Wild Card Search
• Zero Suppression (Charts and Table)
• Consumption of Bookmark with Dimension, Measure and Calculation Input Control
• Geo with BW Data Model (excludes Choropleth and Layers with Dynamic Filters)

For additional information on Optimized View Mode, check out the following resources:

• Enabling Optimized View Mode
• Optimized View Mode Limitations

Enterprise Planning

Schedule Multi Action Tasks as Calendar Events

Aside from executing multi actions in the planning trigger, users can now schedule multi actions for automatic execution from their calendar with optional recurrence and configuration of parameters. For example, a multi action that automatically prepares the data for a quarterly planning process can be scheduled as a recurring calendar event.

Enable a Currency Variable for the New Model

For the New Model, users can now apply a currency variable to set a default target currency for conversion measures bound to that variable. By changing the variable, users can switch the target currency for conversions and all calculations consuming such currency conversions.

Users can override the currency variable value both in stories and story widgets. The currency variable simplifies the definition and use of currency conversions which allows for shorter design time as there are less conversion measures to be defined in the new models.

Populate Multi Action Parameters from Story Context

In addition to default value and member selection, users can now populate multi action parameters from their story context by using input controls or story filters. This feature is convenient for users to execute multi actions in the story context while avoiding potential duplication and error prone member selection.

Transfer Multi Actions between Systems

Users can now store and share multi actions with other systems using Content Network on the cloud. They can also export the content as .tgz files and import the content into SAP Analytics Cloud through their local file system.

Analytics Design

Access Data Source Information with the getInfo() API

Application designers can now use the getInfo() API to obtain all relevant data source information of an underlying data source widget. Note that some of the API properties have values only for SAP BW data sources.

The API returns an object with the following properties:

• modelId
• modelDescription
• modelName

As well as these additional properties for SAP BW data sources only:

• sourceName
• sourceDescription
• sourceLastChangedOn
• sourceLastChangedBy

Refresh Active Widgets Only in Charts and Tables

Application designers can now enable only the active charts or tables to refresh in runtime to avoid unnecessary fetching of the result set. This feature improves the performance of the application by enhancing the existing “Data Refresh” option to choose among “Always Refresh”, “Always Pause”, and “Refresh Active Widgets Only” in charts and tables.

The pause refresh is automatically switched on for inactive widgets, including invisible widgets. Then when the widget becomes visible again, the pause refresh is automatically switched off. Users can also set data refresh mode using scripting APIs.

This blog post provides a high-level overview of the latest features and enhancements in SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Digital Boardroom. For further details, please visit the SAP Analytics Cloud Help Portal.