In today’s data-driven business landscape, the ability to analyze information quickly and effectively is essential for making informed decisions. SAP Fiori, known for its user-friendly and role-based design, offers a powerful platform to develop Analytical Apps—applications that provide insights through interactive dashboards, charts, and reports embedded directly within the user experience.
This article explores the fundamentals of developing analytical apps in SAP Fiori, highlighting key concepts, tools, and best practices to empower organizations with actionable analytics.
Analytical apps are specialized SAP Fiori applications designed to visualize business data through dynamic and interactive visual elements like charts, tables, and KPIs. Unlike transactional apps, which focus on completing tasks, analytical apps focus on delivering insights by aggregating, filtering, and presenting data in intuitive ways.
Typical use cases include sales performance tracking, financial analytics, inventory monitoring, and workforce analytics.
SAPUI5 provides the front-end framework to build analytical apps with responsive and rich UIs. Developers can create custom analytical apps using SAPUI5 controls such as:
Fiori Elements also offer template-driven development for list reports and analytical list pages, accelerating app creation with minimal coding.
Backend data is commonly exposed via OData services, often built on Core Data Services (CDS) Views in SAP S/4HANA. CDS views support annotations that describe semantics, enabling automatic UI adaptations in smart controls.
For more advanced analytics, SAP Fiori apps can embed or link to SAP Analytics Cloud dashboards, combining operational and strategic analytics.
Understand the key metrics and insights users need. Define KPIs, data sources, and user roles to tailor the app experience.
Create CDS views or OData services that expose aggregated and transactional data. Ensure proper annotations for analytical use, including measures, dimensions, and filters.
Use SAP Fiori design guidelines to create a clean, role-based UI. Decide on charts, tables, and filters to best represent the data.
Enable users to filter data and drill into details dynamically. Use filters, smart controls, and navigation targets to support exploration.
Validate data accuracy and performance. Optimize backend queries and frontend rendering for responsiveness.
Developing analytical apps within SAP Fiori empowers organizations to turn data into actionable insights directly within the user’s workflow. By leveraging SAPUI5, Fiori Elements, CDS views, and best practices, developers can create engaging, high-performance analytical applications that drive better business outcomes.
As businesses increasingly rely on data, SAP Fiori analytical apps become indispensable tools for enhancing transparency, agility, and strategic decision-making.