In the modern SAP ecosystem, SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) provides a powerful platform for real-time business intelligence and advanced analytics. To unlock the full potential of SAC in SAP HANA Live environments, seamless integration with Core Data Services (CDS) views and OData services is critical.
This article explores how to connect SAC with CDS views and OData services from SAP HANA Live, enabling live data consumption for reporting, dashboarding, and planning.
SAP HANA Live delivers virtual data models via CDS views that expose real-time, harmonized business data directly on the HANA database layer. Exposing these models through OData services enables consumption by front-end tools like SAC.
Benefits include:
Defined at the ABAP layer (or HANA layer) using Core Data Services.
Annotated to support analytical consumption, with metadata, semantics, and authorization.
Example annotation for OData exposure:
@OData.publish: true
define view Z_SalesOrder_CDS as select from ...
When activated, CDS views can be published as OData services automatically.
Develop your CDS View in ABAP Development Tools (ADT) with necessary annotations:
@OData.publish: true to auto-generate OData service@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #CHECK for secure access@Analytics.query: true if applicable.Activate the CDS view.
Register the OData service in SAP Gateway:
$metadata) and data retrieval (EntitySet) work as expected.Log in to SAC.
Go to Modeler > Create > Model from a Data Source.
Choose OData Service as the connection type.
Enter the service URL of your registered OData service.
Provide necessary authentication credentials (typically SAP user with access).
Select the entity sets or views exposed by the OData service.
Import or connect live depending on your requirements:
| Issue | Possible Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| SAC cannot connect to OData service | Incorrect URL or missing authorization | Verify URL, check SAP Gateway service activation, and user credentials |
| Slow performance | Complex CDS view, large dataset | Optimize CDS view, use filters and aggregation |
| Missing fields in SAC model | CDS annotations missing or incomplete | Review CDS annotations, especially metadata and exposure settings |
| Authorization errors | User lacks appropriate SAP roles | Assign necessary roles and analytical privileges |
Connecting SAP Analytics Cloud with CDS views exposed via OData services is a powerful approach to leverage SAP HANA Live’s real-time virtual data models for business analytics. By following best practices in CDS development, service exposure, and SAC configuration, organizations can deliver timely, accurate insights while maintaining a secure and scalable architecture.
If you are working in SAP HANA Live environments, mastering this integration unlocks the full potential of your SAP data assets in SAC’s modern analytics platform.