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Last Update: January 15, 2025 - there are updates to our Deprecation Timelines for the following stages:
- Block Creation of Classic Stories & Analytic Applications
- End of Life for Classic Stories & Analytics Applications
Introduction
The Classic Experience for Stories and Analytic Applications has been the original user interface of our product, which has been serving our customers and partners for many years. However, as technology evolves and user expectations change, we have decided to deprecate the Classic Experience and other non-strategic features and replace it with the Optimized Experience, a platform that combines Stories, Analytic Applications, and core Digital Boardroom features using the existing licensing structure. It offers customers more features, versatility, and better performance and usability with one consistent experience.
This blog post will explain the reasons for the deprecation, the benefits of the Optimized Experience, and the key timelines for the transition. We hope that this blog post will help you prepare for the change and make the most of the Optimized Experience.
Why Deprecate the Classic Experience?
The Classic Experience has been a reliable and stable user interface for our product, but it also has some limitations and drawbacks that affect the user experience and performance. These are some of the main reasons for the deprecation are:
- Performance & Usability: the feedback we received from customers was that the Classic Experience had some challenges when it came to performance and usability that would impact the adoption of the application.
- Unification: there was confusion on which asset (Stories, Analytic Applications, or the Digital Boardroom) to use based on the business use case. It meant that the development effort was high and would lead to a different experience depending on the asset that was used.
- Innovation: we have been focused on delivering innovation on the Optimized Experience. It means that customers are not benefiting from the new features and improvements that we are making based on customer feedback via Customer Roundtables or the Influence Portal.
What are the Benefits of the Optimized Experience?
The Optimized Experience is a platform that combines Stories, Analytic Applications, and core Digital Boardroom features using the existing licensing structure. It offers customers more features, versatility, and better performance and usability with one consistent experience.
For more details on the benefits, please read the external blog posts under the Resource section.
Timeline and Implications
We have started to phase out the Classic Experience and other features that are not part of our strategy. These include:
- Classic Stories (includes Grid Pages and Smart Discovery)
- Analytic Applications (integrated with Stories) (Blog)
- Classic Digital Boardroom (integrated with Stories) (Blog)
- Low Adoption Features in Classic Stories and Analytic Applications (Documentation)
- Search to Insight (which is replaced with Just Ask for Cloud Foundry Tenants)
- Allocations (which is replaced with Data Action Allocation Step)
- Point of Interests
We aim to implement gradual stages that will help customers throughout the process. There are a few that have already been made available within the product. For example,
- Within the Allocations Module there is a warning to guide users on the New Data Action Allocation Step
- With the 2024 Q2 QRC release of SAP Analytics Cloud that is made available to all customers on Saturday, May 18, 2024, we have introduced an in-app Deprecation Warning for Classic Stories and Analytic Applications
There are a few more timelines to be aware of to understand the implications for the transition. DISCLAIMER this is the current state of planning and may be changed by SAP at any time:
- With the 2024 Q4 QRC: new tenants that are created will NOT have access to the non-strategic features that were mentioned above. It means that Content Packages that have been created will fail to import assets that are unsupported. We will also introduce a Bulk Migration Tool to helps Designers convert Classic Stories to the Optimized Experience. NOTE it excludes tenants that are migrating between hyper scalers (i.e. Neo to CF)
- With the 2025 Q1 QRC: we will extend our Bulk Migration Tool to support converting Classic Analytic Applications to the Optimized Experience.
- With the 2025 Q3 QRC: customer will be prevented from creating new Classic Stories or Analytic Applications. It means creating a new Canvas or Responsive Page will directly create an Optimized Story. For existing assets, customers will still be able to maintain the asset. It means they can view, edit, save, share, duplicate, and delete.
- With the 2026 Q2 QRC: customers will no longer be able to access unsupported assets. You will need to migrate your content before the deadline.
How to Prepare
We understand that this transition may require some planning and preparation on your part. Here are some steps you can take to prepare for the transition when it comes to Classic Stories and Analytic Applications:
- Learn more about the Optimized Story Experience and its benefits by reading the external blog posts under the Resource section.
- Learn more about the features that will not be made available in the Optimized Experience. It is available via our in-app documentation HERE.
- Start migrating your existing Classic Stories and Analytic Applications to the Optimized Story Experience by using the “Convert to Optimized Design Experience” option in under File – Save in the toolbar.
Conclusion
The deprecation of the Classic Experience and the transition to the optimized experience is a strategic decision that will benefit our customers and partners in the long run. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this process, and we are committed to providing you with the best user experience and performance possible.
Resources
Highlight of New Features Exclusive to the Optimized Experience
Benefits of Integration of Analytic Applications
Performance and Usability Improvements
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