SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) is a powerful platform that enables users to build sophisticated data models for insightful reporting and analysis. Beyond simple data import and visualization, advanced data modeling techniques like calculated measures and aggregations allow analysts and business users to derive deeper insights and tailor analytics precisely to business needs.
This article explores these advanced modeling concepts in SAP Analytics Cloud and demonstrates how they enhance analytical capabilities.
Calculated measures are custom metrics defined within SAC models that allow users to create new numerical fields based on existing data. Unlike raw measures, which are directly loaded from source data, calculated measures are dynamic formulas evaluated at query runtime.
In SAC, calculated measures are created within the modeler or story builder:
Example: Calculating Profit Margin
Profit Margin (%) = (Revenue - Cost) / Revenue * 100
This calculated measure helps business users analyze profitability directly in SAC without altering the underlying data.
Aggregations refer to the process of summarizing data to higher levels of granularity. In SAP Analytics Cloud, data aggregation is crucial for performance optimization and meaningful analysis.
SAC supports standard aggregation functions such as:
These functions are applied on measures to generate summary metrics at various dimensional levels.
Advanced analytics often require combining calculated measures with aggregations. For example, calculating a weighted average where the numerator and denominator are both aggregated sums.
Example: Weighted Average Price
Weighted Average Price = SUM(Price * Quantity) / SUM(Quantity)
In SAC, this can be modeled with calculated measures that reference aggregated components, enabling complex business KPIs without complex backend transformations.
Calculated measures and aggregations are essential tools for advanced data modeling in SAP Analytics Cloud. Mastering these techniques allows organizations to transform raw data into meaningful insights tailored to their unique business requirements. By leveraging calculated measures and smart aggregation strategies, users can unlock the full potential of SAC’s analytics and planning capabilities.