In today’s data-driven business environment, real-time insights and actionable analytics are vital for competitive advantage. SAP S/4HANA Cloud offers powerful tools for building Analytical Fiori Apps that combine SAP’s user-friendly Fiori user experience with deep, live access to business data. These apps empower users to make faster, smarter decisions directly within their workflows.
This article explores the fundamentals of building analytical Fiori apps within the SAP S/4HANA Cloud landscape, highlighting key concepts, technologies, and best practices.
Analytical Fiori apps are specialized SAP Fiori applications designed to visualize and analyze business data. Unlike transactional apps focused on data entry or process execution, analytical apps provide:
SAP S/4HANA Cloud leverages its underlying HANA database’s in-memory technology and advanced analytics capabilities to power these apps with live, performant data.
Fiori Elements provide predefined templates and floorplans for quickly building consistent, standards-compliant analytical apps without extensive UI coding. Common floorplans include List Report, Object Page, and Analytical List Page (ALP).
The ALP is a powerful floorplan combining filterable analytical tables with charts and KPIs on a single page, enabling deep data exploration.
Analytical apps consume data via OData services built on Core Data Services (CDS) Views in SAP S/4HANA. CDS Views expose business data models enriched with annotations for UI and analytics.
These are cloud-based development environments used to create, customize, and extend Fiori apps with integrated tools for UI and service development.
While SAP S/4HANA Cloud analytical Fiori apps provide embedded analytics, integration with SAP Analytics Cloud extends advanced analytics and planning capabilities.
Identify the business process and key performance indicators requiring analysis. Engage business stakeholders to understand reporting needs.
Create or reuse CDS views in SAP S/4HANA Cloud that define the data model. Annotate views with metadata for UI and analytics to enable smart controls.
Activate and expose the CDS view as an OData service. This service will provide the data source for the Fiori app.
Use SAP Business Application Studio or SAP Web IDE to generate an app based on the Analytical List Page template connected to your OData service.
Customize filters, analytical charts, and tables within the app manifest or annotations to match the reporting requirements.
Test the app in a sandbox or development environment. After validation, deploy it to the SAP S/4HANA Cloud system and assign it to relevant business roles.
Building analytical Fiori apps in SAP S/4HANA Cloud empowers businesses to unlock the full potential of their data with interactive, real-time insights embedded directly within user workflows. By leveraging SAP’s modern development tools, CDS views, and Fiori Elements, organizations can rapidly deliver role-based analytical solutions that enhance decision-making and drive business success in the cloud.