TOP 5 expected new SAC functionality in 2023

[avsalynin]

INTRODUCTION

In continuation of my last year's blog, I decided to make my top 5 for the upcoming 2023.

For the source, I also took the roadmap explorer already known to everyone.

As you can see, at the time of writing the blog, there are already more than 50 planned updates.

Some migrated from 2022 (for example, the expected live sql), but most are new.

At the moment, most of the functional sections fall on Q1 2023:

TOP 5 FAVORITES LIST

1.Optimized Story Experience – Analytic Application Integration and Phase 3 Improvements

When is it planned: Q2 2023 (already released)

Description: Support essential story features that enable content creators to build even-more-complex stories using the optimized story experience.

New features planned with the optimized story experience:

• Integration of analytics designer capabilities and the design experience


• Support for custom widgets


• Ability to define a theme with CSS and apply the theme to stories


• Ability to subscribe data changes and receive alert notifications on desktop and mobile devices


• More-advanced responsive layout that allows overlapping of widgets


• Containers such as pop up, tab strip, and page book


• Ad hoc table analysis through the navigation panel


• Graphic view of linked analysis to manage the definition of linked analysis


• Vertical filtering experience


• Dynamic widget position and visibility


• Dynamic text to support last-refreshed date and time for BW sources

Roadmap link

2.Composite widgets as reusable widgets in analytic applications

 

 

 

When is it planned: Q4 2023 (already released)

Description: Composite widgets as reusable widgets in analytic applications (phase one):

• Basic features for creating composite widgets


• Basic features for consuming composite widgets in analytic applications

Enable the application designer to leverage composite widgets across analytic applications to:

• Modularize applications


• Maintain applications more easily


• Speed up development time

Roadmap link

3.Combine Data in New Model Import Jobs

When is it planned: Q2 2023 (for some reason no more, removed)

Description: Dataframes manipulation capability, similar to R or the Python Pandas library. Dataframes will be manipulated via expressions in the wrangler expression language

• Ability to create, manipulate and combine dataframes


• Definition of all transformations: named output of the transformation graph:

• 
  
  
  
  • Name objects for further reuse in other expressions
  
  
  • Manipulate dataframes: representations of a dataset at different points of transformation
  
  
  
  

Roadmap link

4.Live BW features: ability to calculate the difference between two time periods & support for data point commenting

When is it planned: Q1 2023 (already released)

1. Live BW - ability to calculate the difference between two time periods.

Description: Enables the content creator to calculate the difference between measure values from two time periods

• Supports the "difference from" calculation in the calculation editor for models based on a live connection to SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) from SAP Analytics Cloud


• Closes the feature gap between models based on SAP HANA and remote SAP BW models

Roadmap link

2. Live BW - support for data point commenting

Description: Provide end users with the possibility to use data point comments on a table or a comment widget when using a live connection

• Use comments in tables (data point comments) and the comment widget


• Add, edit, or delete comments


• Store comments in SAP BW and consume comments in SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office and vice versa

Roadmap link

5.Data analyzer – new user experience with functional updates

When is it planned: Q1 2023 (already released)

Description: Major release of data analyzer with the following functional and usability enhancements include:

• Table capabilities


• Filter capabilities


• Filter dimension member dialog updates


• Context menu capabilities


• Builder panel capabilities


• Two structures queries


• Story integration: open new data analyzer from a table visualization in optimized story


• User-initiated migration of existing insights: option to manually switch an insight from classic data analyzer to data analyzer

Roadmap link

p.s. Live connectivity to SQL sources 😞

 

 

 

 

When is it planned: 2024 (carried over from 2022-2023)

Description: Connect to data contained in SQL databases, without replication, which is especially useful in the case of data lakes.

Roadmap link

SUMMARY

By tradition, write in the comments about your top-5 expected features in SAC in the next 2023.

And do you think live sql will migrate to 2025? 🙂

[arnoldtob]

Hi,

the same procedure as every year 😉

 

I look realy forward to the sql live connection. I think that this will happen with the sac+dwc merge (Project Datasuite). But we will see 😉

 

best regards

Tobias

[mattiagiovannini]

Thanks!

 

I'd add to the #1, the "Data Import - Flexible modification of source data settings for import jobs" functionality.

And waiting for some copy-paste_add multiple rows of data&values_import from excel functionality in a table.

[JefB]

Live connectivity to SQL sources seems moved into 2024 'Product Vision' now 😞

[avsalynin]

sad news .. already sounds like "something impossible" 😞

[avsalynin]

updated my top with a new item on the Data Analyzer (many things are planned to be added in the next q1 2023).

SQL Live - we'll meet maybe already in 2025))

[zwerum]

Hallo avsalynin,

thank you very much for the summary of the roadmap highlights!

I am very interested in the first point (Analytics Application Integration) and have some questions that you might be able to answer already:

1. Since applications and stories are merged in a way, does this mean that there will be one single solution (and not two - applications and stories) in the future?


2. Is it possible to transfer existing stories to these new functionalities or will they anyway be transferred automatically? If the latter, is it ensured that existing stories will not be destroyed / existing functionalities aren't missing?


3. Is it possible to transfer existing applications to those new stories?


4. Is there a detailed overview somewhere of what will be possible in Stories from this change onwards? For example, does "analytics designer capabilities" mean that you can add scripting to elements (widgets, tables etc)?


5. On the roadmap this feature is stated for Q2 2023 and this post shows Q1 2023 - is this post or the roadmap the showing the updated date?

Thanks in advance for any help. I'm definitely looking forward to all the new features and possibilities!

[avsalynin]

zwerum thank u for your comment and for being so involved!

now I will try to answer your questions:

1. Not certainly in that way. The division in products in terms of development in terms of technology remains. p.s. at the last flow, Unified Story was mentioned (Youtube link with the time of the broadcast point).
2. Automatic - no. But there is a scenario through different tabs (in one open - story, in the other - application) can copy-paste move object by object.
3. Similar comment as above.
4. Stories have had their iterations in terms of optimization. There is already a lot done. You can see in detail in my separate blog - New Optimized Design Mode (SAC Stories)
5. Yes, thanks, corrected. Of course, the actual dates are indicated in the roadmap.

[avsalynin]

I will also note - Next-generation natural language query (NLQ) powered by AI

[avsalynin]

zwerum

about Unified Story - we finally waited! 😉

will be available from release 2023.03 or Q2 2023

[vigneswararao]

When it supports a new model integrate to Analysis for office?

 

[avsalynin]

vignesh99

in the context of Analysis for Office this year in the roadmap I see so far only:

Integration of SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office files with the file repository

Publishing of files from SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office to the analytics catalog

Support for SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW Live) in Microsoft Excel

Ability to rename measures and dimensions in a Microsoft Excel report