Comparison of SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (SAC edition) vs. SAC add-in for Microsoft Excel

[SteffenHeine]

The SAP Analytics Cloud license includes two Microsoft Excel add-ins: the strategic SAP Analytics Cloud add-in for Microsoft Excel and SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (SAC edition). The SAP Analytics Cloud add-in for Microsoft Excel is automatically updated and primarily focuses on the latest SAP solutions, like SAP Analytics Cloud and Datasphere. On the other hand, SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office excels at accessing SAP BW and BPC. This blog provides a comparison of their features and functionalities.

Installation

Both add-ins are integral components of the SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) Enterprise subscription. To use them, end users must log in to their SAP Analytics Cloud tenant.

The SAC Excel add-in is an Office add-in that offers cross-platform compatibility and centralized deployment and distribution. End users can directly install it from the Microsoft Store or, for centralized deployment, through the Microsoft 365 admin center. It supports Microsoft Excel 365 (Desktop and Web) and Microsoft Excel 2021 on Windows and macOS. Once installed, the "SAP Analytics Cloud" ribbon becomes visible within Excel. New features are automatically released to end users monthly, eliminating the need for dedicated installations. Patches may be deployed more frequently. The roadmap is available on SAP's roadmap explorer. For more information, please refer to the SAP Help and What's New pages.

The SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (AFO) (SAC edition) installer must be downloaded from the SAP Software Download Center and then installed on the end user's machine. Microsoft Excel 2016 (Desktop) or later is required. The Excel ribbon will display the "Analysis" and "Analysis Design" tabs. A new service pack with customer bug fixes is released every quarter. There are no plans for new features, and mainstream maintenance is scheduled to end in late 2029 (as per the Product Availability Matrix). There are two versions of Analysis for Office: the AFO SAC edition and the Standard Edition. This blog highlights the key differences between these two versions.

 

Workbook design and storage

After authenticating with SAP Analytics Cloud and inserting a cross-tab based on a data source, the side panel can be used in both add-ins to design the workbook. Measures can be filtered, and dimensions can be added or removed from the rows and columns of a cross-tab. Multiple cross-tabs with different data sources can be used within a single workbook in both add-ins. Cross-tabs can be copied and pasted to other sheets, and undo/redo functionality is supported. Additionally, all standard Microsoft Excel features can be applied to cross-tabs.

For the SAP Analytics Cloud Excel add-in, the primary focus is on cloud data sources. It always uses the connections defined in the SAP Analytics Cloud connection management. While SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office can utilize some SAP Analytics Cloud live connections, it also has the flexibility to connect directly to the source system.

The following table provides an overview of the most relevant SAP data sources:

Data source	SAC Excel add-in	Analysis for Office (SAC edition)
SAP Analytics Cloud New Model	Yes	No
SAP Datasphere Analytic Model	Yes	No
SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud	Yes	Yes (not recommended)
SAP HANA Cloud	Yes	Yes (HANA Analytics Adapter needed, not recommended)
SAP BW and BW/4HANA	Yes (Tunnel connection)	Yes
SAP S/4HANA	Yes (Tunnel connection)	Yes
SAP BPC	No	Yes
SAP HANA	No	Yes

The final workbook can be stored locally or on Microsoft SharePoint, just like a standard Excel file, and shared with other users. Both add-ins also offer the option to store workbooks in SAP Analytics Cloud and leverage its collaboration features. Additionally, SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (AFO) workbooks can be stored on SAP BW and SAP BI BusinessObjects Platform. When opening an existing workbook, both add-ins allow you to configure whether it should be automatically refreshed with new data or if manual triggering is required.

Analyze data

Both add-ins offer robust data analysis capabilities, including filtering through variable prompts or member selectors, ranking and sorting, hierarchical navigation, and property and totals display. Additionally, users can format data, set thresholds to highlight key values, and create Excel-based calculations within added rows or columns. Analysis for Office offers additional capabilities, such as creating custom calculations on top of data sources and defining style sets to ensure consistent formatting across workbooks. 

To enhance flexibility and customization, both add-ins support formula mode, allowing for highly adaptable and formatted reports beyond the traditional table-based layout. Furthermore, they enable data write-back formulas to planning-enabled data sources.

For data export, Analysis for Office can handle significantly more cells than the default 500,000. However, the SAC Excel add-in has currently limitations imposed by the 4GB memory limit of its embedded runtime component.

Due to its distinct technology, Analysis for Office offers APIs that can be utilized in VBA to automate specific functions, such as setting filters or modifying and refreshing cross-tabs. This capability is currently unavailable in Office add-ins, making it a significant limitation for migrating from AFO workbooks to SAC Excel add-in workbooks. Additionally, Analysis for Office benefits from partner solutions (APOS, BIExcellence) that can pre-calculate workbooks and distribute the results via email or as PDFs. 

Planning support

The SAC Excel add-in is specifically designed for SAC Planning. The planning data is directly written back into the SAP Analytics Cloud model, which can be hosted either within SAP Analytics Cloud or SAP Datasphere. Additionally, workbooks can be linked to SAC calendar tasks and data actions can be triggered directly within the workbook. In an upcoming release, the add-in will also support viewing and adding data point comments, to further enhance collaboration and transparency.

Analysis for Office excels at integrating with SAP BPC and SAP BW IP Planning solutions. Comments can be stored directly within BW and Planning functions and sequences can be executed from the add-in using the side panel or VBA.