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Dear SAP S/4HANA Cloud enthusiasts, welcome to my blog illustrating the latest and greatest technology highlights in SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2011 for Technology Topics. As in my last blog on SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2008 – Technology Topics – Part 1: Analytics, Enterprise Search, Extensibility, Hy..., I will present the key innovations when it comes to embedded analytics, Enterprise Search, extensibility, hybrid cloud ERP, Identity and Access Management (IAM), localization, and situation handling.
This blog covers the following topics:
As with this release, key users benefit from an improved user experience when searching for CDS views. Key users are usually responsible for building data models and can use the 'View Browser' app to get a list of all available CDS views along with their artifacts. These can be categories, view types, dimensions, measures and annotations. The improved user experience with this app comes with an improved search of CDS views in tables, columns, and annotation names. Apart from improving the search capabilities, the performance has been improved
Fig. 1: With the new release, key user benefit from improved search capabilities for tables, columns, and annotation names in the View Browser
The next innovation that I would like to illustrate is about the embedded stories of SAP Analytics Cloud. Here we deliver an update for all pre-delivered dashboards but also for the one that you create on your own. With this release, it is possible for key users - meaning end user who consume the dashboards - to export them to a PDF or a Microsoft PowerPoint file. Each exported story page corresponds to one image on a PDF or Microsoft PowerPoint slide. Via the settings, you can define whether you only want to include specific pages or all of them. You can define whether exporting is done as an batch export which allows you to export story content in a merged way based on filter settings. In addition, it is also possible to add an appendix to the dashboard with detailed information regarding data sources, time stamp, and applied filters.
Fig. 2: As of the 2011 release, key users can export dashboards to PDF or PowerPoint files
As of SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2011, you can now search for individual fields which are part of a search model in the 'Manage Search Models' app. For this reason, a toolbar has been delivered which allows you not only to search for fields, but also to filter, sort, and group them. This enhances the user experience as it saves time for search modelers. In addition, it comes with a search-as-you-type functionality meaning the search field presents suggestions to the user and auto-completes field names.
Fig. 3: With the new toolbar, search modelers can search for individual fields that are part of a search model.
Here, I would like to illustrate the visibility control for custom fields. This innovation was from an extensibility perspective released with 2008 already, but as application development had to first enable their CDS views so that this innovation can be used by customers, we decided to roll it out with this release.
The 'Custom Field and Logic' app enables you to create and maintain custom fields that can be used to enhance applications which contain APIs and data sources that have been released by SAP.
The basic idea behind the visibility control for custom fields feature is that we want to dynamically control the visibility of a custom field based on the value of another custom field and this is done by specifying a business logic. You can achieve this either by using an existing implementation logic or you can create your own implementation.
Fig. 4: With the new feature regarding visibility control, you can dynamically control the visibility of custom fields based on values of other custom fields
Some weeks ago, we published two new microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA on OpenSAP in the area for in-app extensibility:
Fig. 5: A new microlearning for in-app extensibility is available on OpenSAP: Creating Custom CDS Views as External APIs
Fig. 5: A new microlearning for in-app extensibility is available on OpenSAP: Exposing Custom CDS Views as External APIs
You find them in the microlearnings section on the OpenSAP website. Select ‘Microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA’, then click on Technology Topics to display a list of available topics. For in-app extensibility, we have two other microlearnings:
Fig. 6: With S/4HANA Cloud 2011, a new accelerator for multi-level project scenarios between headquarter and subsidiary is available.
What I wanted to draw here attention to here is the new IAM Change Overview for S/4HANA Cloud 2011. As with the last releases, we continue to have this release-specific SAP Note. Attached to this note, there is a central spreadsheet in the form of an Excel file which lists all IAM-related changes that have been introduced since the SAP S/4HANA Cloud release 2008. With IAM-related changes I mean all changes that affect applications, business catalogs, business role templates, and restriction type assignments. Please note that the spreadsheet only shows changed objects, it is not meant as a comprehensive list.
The changes listed in the attached central spreadsheet cover:
More Information
With S/4HANA Cloud 2011, we offer 43 local versions along with 25 languages. As with the last releases, we continue to deliver so-called starter packs for select countries. By now we provide 25 of them already. New with this release are Argentina and Ukraine. As you are well aware, starter packs are different from local versions as they come with a basic list of scope times only and don't offer country/regional-specific legal requirements. What is important to know as well is that starter packs are part of the S/4HANA Cloud subscription.
If you are interested in a comprehensive list of scope items that are included in the starter packs, you can go to SAP Innovation Discovery. If you search for the key words 'starter pack' and the current release number, you find the corresponding innovation which leads you to the respective release-specific list. However, you also have the option to individually check whether a scope item is part of a certain starter pack by calling it up in Best Practice Explorer.
The focus of Situation Handling is to bring exceptional circumstances to the attention of the user. Typcial examples here could be an employee who is waiting for an approval or a heads-up to users concering a deadline that is approaching, or e.g. notifications in case of deviations. Situation Handling proactively, meaning automatically, sends out notifications are e-mails to dedicated user or displays situation indicated in corresponding apps and proposes actions how to quickly solve the issue. As you can imagine this helps to increase the quality and efficiency of business processes. at the same time, situation Handling can also collect situation-related data, monitor activities and the status and also track actions and analyze situations. This helps to learn how processes could be optimized in the future.
We deliver standard templates which describe use cases. These templates can be configured further to adapt them to your own requirements. With 2011, we deliver the following new use cases for situation handling:
If you’re interested to learn more about these innovations, join our SAP Learning Hub and participate in our SAP S/4HANA Cloud Early Release Series. Read this blog to find out how you can license for the Enterprise Support Edition as a Customer / Partner and benefit from our regular release series either live or on-demand.
For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, check out the following links:
Follow us via @Sisn and #S4HANA, or myself via LinkedIn or @DeissnerKatrin
This blog covers the following topics:
Analytics
- View Browser - Improved User Experience to Search for CDS Views
- Exporting Embedded Stories of SAP Analytics Cloud
Enterprise Search
Extensibility
Hybrid Cloud ERP
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Localization
Situation Handling
Analytics
View Browser - Improved User Experience to Search for CDS Views
As with this release, key users benefit from an improved user experience when searching for CDS views. Key users are usually responsible for building data models and can use the 'View Browser' app to get a list of all available CDS views along with their artifacts. These can be categories, view types, dimensions, measures and annotations. The improved user experience with this app comes with an improved search of CDS views in tables, columns, and annotation names. Apart from improving the search capabilities, the performance has been improved
Fig. 1: With the new release, key user benefit from improved search capabilities for tables, columns, and annotation names in the View Browser
Exporting Embedded Stories of SAP Analytics Cloud
The next innovation that I would like to illustrate is about the embedded stories of SAP Analytics Cloud. Here we deliver an update for all pre-delivered dashboards but also for the one that you create on your own. With this release, it is possible for key users - meaning end user who consume the dashboards - to export them to a PDF or a Microsoft PowerPoint file. Each exported story page corresponds to one image on a PDF or Microsoft PowerPoint slide. Via the settings, you can define whether you only want to include specific pages or all of them. You can define whether exporting is done as an batch export which allows you to export story content in a merged way based on filter settings. In addition, it is also possible to add an appendix to the dashboard with detailed information regarding data sources, time stamp, and applied filters.
Fig. 2: As of the 2011 release, key users can export dashboards to PDF or PowerPoint files
Enterprise Search
Toolbar to Search, Filter, Sort, and Group
As of SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2011, you can now search for individual fields which are part of a search model in the 'Manage Search Models' app. For this reason, a toolbar has been delivered which allows you not only to search for fields, but also to filter, sort, and group them. This enhances the user experience as it saves time for search modelers. In addition, it comes with a search-as-you-type functionality meaning the search field presents suggestions to the user and auto-completes field names.
Fig. 3: With the new toolbar, search modelers can search for individual fields that are part of a search model.
Extensibility
Visibility Control for Custom Fields
Here, I would like to illustrate the visibility control for custom fields. This innovation was from an extensibility perspective released with 2008 already, but as application development had to first enable their CDS views so that this innovation can be used by customers, we decided to roll it out with this release.
The 'Custom Field and Logic' app enables you to create and maintain custom fields that can be used to enhance applications which contain APIs and data sources that have been released by SAP.
The basic idea behind the visibility control for custom fields feature is that we want to dynamically control the visibility of a custom field based on the value of another custom field and this is done by specifying a business logic. You can achieve this either by using an existing implementation logic or you can create your own implementation.
Fig. 4: With the new feature regarding visibility control, you can dynamically control the visibility of custom fields based on values of other custom fields
Microlearnings for Custom CDS Views
Some weeks ago, we published two new microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA on OpenSAP in the area for in-app extensibility:
Fig. 5: A new microlearning for in-app extensibility is available on OpenSAP: Creating Custom CDS Views as External APIs
Fig. 5: A new microlearning for in-app extensibility is available on OpenSAP: Exposing Custom CDS Views as External APIs
You find them in the microlearnings section on the OpenSAP website. Select ‘Microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA’, then click on Technology Topics to display a list of available topics. For in-app extensibility, we have two other microlearnings:
- Creating Custom Fields
- Creating Custom Business Objects
Hybrid Cloud ERP
Multi-Level Project Scenario in Headquarter Subsidiary Model
Fig. 6: With S/4HANA Cloud 2011, a new accelerator for multi-level project scenarios between headquarter and subsidiary is available.
More Information
- Blog by Raghavendra Mani: Conceptualizing Two-Tier SAP S/4HANA Cloud for Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management
Identity and Access Management
What I wanted to draw here attention to here is the new IAM Change Overview for S/4HANA Cloud 2011. As with the last releases, we continue to have this release-specific SAP Note. Attached to this note, there is a central spreadsheet in the form of an Excel file which lists all IAM-related changes that have been introduced since the SAP S/4HANA Cloud release 2008. With IAM-related changes I mean all changes that affect applications, business catalogs, business role templates, and restriction type assignments. Please note that the spreadsheet only shows changed objects, it is not meant as a comprehensive list.
The changes listed in the attached central spreadsheet cover:
- New, renamed, deprecated, or deleted apps
- New, renamed, deprecated, deleted, or dependent business catalogs
- New and renamed business role templates
- Renamed business groups
- Restriction type assignments
- New and renamed business role templates
More Information
Localization
New Starter Packs for Argentina and Ukraine
With S/4HANA Cloud 2011, we offer 43 local versions along with 25 languages. As with the last releases, we continue to deliver so-called starter packs for select countries. By now we provide 25 of them already. New with this release are Argentina and Ukraine. As you are well aware, starter packs are different from local versions as they come with a basic list of scope times only and don't offer country/regional-specific legal requirements. What is important to know as well is that starter packs are part of the S/4HANA Cloud subscription.
If you are interested in a comprehensive list of scope items that are included in the starter packs, you can go to SAP Innovation Discovery. If you search for the key words 'starter pack' and the current release number, you find the corresponding innovation which leads you to the respective release-specific list. However, you also have the option to individually check whether a scope item is part of a certain starter pack by calling it up in Best Practice Explorer.
Situation Handling
The focus of Situation Handling is to bring exceptional circumstances to the attention of the user. Typcial examples here could be an employee who is waiting for an approval or a heads-up to users concering a deadline that is approaching, or e.g. notifications in case of deviations. Situation Handling proactively, meaning automatically, sends out notifications are e-mails to dedicated user or displays situation indicated in corresponding apps and proposes actions how to quickly solve the issue. As you can imagine this helps to increase the quality and efficiency of business processes. at the same time, situation Handling can also collect situation-related data, monitor activities and the status and also track actions and analyze situations. This helps to learn how processes could be optimized in the future.
We deliver standard templates which describe use cases. These templates can be configured further to adapt them to your own requirements. With 2011, we deliver the following new use cases for situation handling:
If you’re interested to learn more about these innovations, join our SAP Learning Hub and participate in our SAP S/4HANA Cloud Early Release Series. Read this blog to find out how you can license for the Enterprise Support Edition as a Customer / Partner and benefit from our regular release series either live or on-demand.
For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, check out the following links:
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud release info: http://www.sap.com/s4-cloudrelease
- Sven Denecken’s SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2011 Release Blog
- Link Collection – Technology Topics with SAP S/4HANA Cloud here
- SAP S/4HANA PSCC Digital Enablement Wheel here
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud Early Release Series here
- Inside SAP S/4HANA Podcast here
- Best practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud here
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud Customer Community here
- Feature Scope Description here
- What’s New here
- Help Portal Product Page here
- Implementation Portal here
Follow us via @Sisn and #S4HANA, or myself via LinkedIn or @DeissnerKatrin
