Subject: SAP HANA Live | Field: SAP
With the increasing demand for real-time data insights, SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) has emerged as a powerful cloud-based analytics solution, seamlessly integrated with SAP HANA Live environments. SAC enables businesses to perform advanced data analysis by leveraging live data models from SAP HANA, empowering users with intuitive dashboards, interactive visualizations, and predictive capabilities.
This article explores how to effectively perform data analysis in SAC, focusing on its integration with SAP HANA Live.
SAP Analytics Cloud is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that unifies business intelligence, planning, and predictive analytics. Unlike traditional BI tools, SAC offers a cloud-native, all-in-one solution accessible through a web browser, with real-time connectivity to SAP data sources such as SAP HANA Live.
- Real-Time Access: SAC connects directly to SAP HANA Live views via live data connections, eliminating the need for data replication.
- Unified Analytics and Planning: Combines reporting, dashboarding, and planning in one platform.
- User-Friendly Interface: Drag-and-drop functionality, smart insights, and natural language queries enhance usability.
- Advanced Analytics: Built-in predictive analytics and machine learning capabilities enable deeper insights.
- In SAC, configure a live data connection to your SAP HANA system.
- This connection provides direct, real-time access to CDS Views or HANA Calculation Views.
- Ensure proper authentication and security roles are in place.
¶ 2. Access and Explore Data Models
- Once connected, browse available views exposed by SAP HANA Live.
- Select the relevant Consumption Views that provide business-specific KPIs and metrics.
- Preview data to understand the structure and relationships.
¶ 3. Build Stories and Visualizations
- Create a Story in SAC to build interactive reports and dashboards.
- Use drag-and-drop widgets like tables, charts, geo maps, and input controls.
- Apply filters, drill-downs, and hierarchies based on the SAP HANA Live model.
- Leverage Smart Insights for automatic analysis of key drivers affecting metrics.
- Use Search to Insight for natural language queries that generate visualizations.
- Apply Smart Discovery to uncover hidden patterns and relationships in data.
¶ 5. Plan and Simulate Scenarios (Optional)
- If your use case involves planning, use SAC’s planning capabilities to create budgets, forecasts, or what-if scenarios.
- Live connections allow planners to work with the most current data from SAP HANA Live.
¶ 6. Share and Collaborate
- Publish stories to teams or the broader organization.
- Use commenting and annotations for collaborative decision-making.
- Schedule or embed reports in other business applications.
- Use Consumption CDS Views: These views are optimized for reporting and include necessary annotations for better visualization.
- Optimize HANA Models: Design views with performance in mind—use aggregations and filters to reduce data volume.
- Govern Data Access: Implement roles and analytic privileges at the SAP HANA layer to control sensitive data visibility.
- Train Users: Encourage users to explore SAC’s smart capabilities for self-service analytics.
- Monitor Performance: Use SAC’s built-in monitoring to ensure queries return results efficiently.
¶ Benefits of Combining SAC and SAP HANA Live
| Benefit |
Description |
| Real-time Analytics |
Direct, live access to transactional SAP data. |
| Simplified Architecture |
No data duplication or ETL required. |
| Enhanced User Experience |
Intuitive dashboards, natural language queries. |
| Scalable & Flexible |
Cloud-native solution scalable with enterprise needs. |
| Integrated Planning |
Combine analytics and planning on the same platform. |
Performing data analysis in SAP Analytics Cloud using SAP HANA Live empowers organizations to transform raw transactional data into actionable insights without delay. SAC’s seamless live integration, combined with its rich analytics features, offers a compelling environment for data-driven decision-making in the SAP ecosystem.
By leveraging SAC’s capabilities, SAP users can unlock new levels of agility, collaboration, and business intelligence—driving smarter outcomes in today’s dynamic market landscape.