Major release of Data Analyzer for the next level of Data Exploration in SAP Analytics Cloud

[bettina_denonville]

It has been quiet around Data Analyzer in the past months. This is due to the major release in QRC Q1 2023 with significant updates. In this blog we show you all upcoming improvements, just enjoy and find out the big step we made on the road to first class data exploration!

We continue to execute towards our vision of one standalone exploration experience for ad hoc analysis. In SAP Analytics Cloud we provide different experiences for different use cases and personas. The “Analyze” capabilities play a central role since they are used either as a powerful standalone analysis tool or tightly coupled within the use cases of our other capabilities.

With the QRC Q1 2023 release we will ship a big set of enhanced functionalities, an improved user experience and an optimized architecture focused on performance.

Taking Data Analyzer to the next level would not have been possible without the tremendous input we got from you – our customers and partners. Many of these enhancements were driven by requests coming from you via our influence portal.

But now let’s dive into the new features for Q1 2023.

Improved Table

We have introduced “Lazy Loading” on the Data Analyzer table. While showing up to 50 columns, we have removed the row limit. The number of visible rows is estimated on the screen size and when scrolling, a new backend request is issued to retrieve new data. This improves the perceived performance and enables smooth scrolling through large datasets.

Dimensions and Measures can now be rearranged using Drag and Drop within the table directly.

With the Adaptive Table Layout, we have adjusted the automatic sizing of the table to fit the number of columns.

By showing ID and Description in two separate columns, passing the default line break from BW queries and the extended display options for the ID (non-compounded key display, etc.) we improve the usage of BW based data sources.

The position of totals and parent nodes for hierarchies can now be arranged independently.

We support additional drill level capabilities for Universal Display Hierarchies and Compact Display. You can now use the Expand to Dimension option on hierarchy header and on each hierarchy node level.

Improved Filter

For the Filters we are now using one central place for all filters, the well-known Filter Bar, giving the same experience as within stories. There are no widget filters anymore and all selected filters, no matter if in the context menu of the table or the member selector, are placed and displayed in this central place. Additionally, the default filters of a BW query are shown here.

With the new Dimension Member Dialog, you can display and search by attributes, select all member with one click and copy paste filter values! This harmonizes the member selector of the filter and the variable prompt.

Enhanced Context Menu

In our enhanced context menu, you now can directly Filter by a certain Member irrespective of the drilled position in the table or open the member selector dialog for this Dimension. This also works out of the box for members of a second structure in a BW query.

Data Analyzer now Freezes Headers by default. If you want to change it, you can use the context menu to do so.

The context menu on Display Attributes now allows to change the options for showing ID and Description.

Improved Builder Panel

We revamped the Builder Panel. You can now easily add and remove display attributes to the table as they are now listed in the available object list. You can arrange these attributes also by drag and drop directly.

Welcome BW 2-structure queries to Data Analyzer! Our improved workflow allows adding and removing members of the second structure to the table as well as reordering by drag and drop. All directly in the Builder Panel. By the way – this was one of the most requested features for our old story explorer experience. Check.

But we did not forget HANA Live - Order your measures of a HANA view by drag and drop is now supported with the new Builder Panel in Data Analyzer.

Story Integration

As I have mentioned in the beginning of this blog – tight integration of our Analysis capabilities is important and gives the end user the ability to look behind the curtain and understand the data behind the charts. As Data Analyzer will replace the Story Explorer for the Optimized Story Experience, we are integrating it tightly into our story workflows. Providing the ability to jump to the Data Analyzer from a table widget by concurrently passing the existing table state (such as filters, variables, and current drill-down actions) is a big step towards this vision.

With all the great news there is also one ask for existing users of the classic Data Analyzer:

If you want to open an existing Insight you can do this from the Folder Structure and then save it as a new Insight by selecting “Open Data Analyzer” in the File Menu. Classic Insights can be accessed within the Folder Structure but not on the Data Analyzer Landing Page anymore. Here we only show the newly created Insights.

We will continuously enhance and integrate Data Analyzer deeper into the SAP Analytics Cloud workflows with the next QRC releases, so stay tuned and watch out on our Official Roadmap.

We hope you enjoy the new Data Analyzer experience. If you have feedback to share you may want to use the comment section and if you have great ideas to improve this even further, check out our Influence Portal.

Thank you.

 

Data Analyzer Roadmap

Follow the SAP Roadmap Explorer here:

https://roadmaps.sap.com/board?PRODUCT=67838200100800006884&BC=6EAE8B27FCC11ED892E91CE972E900CC&rang...

 

Influence Portal Items

Row Limit: https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#/idea/280324

Adaptive Table Layout: https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#/idea/276218

Paste Filter Values: https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#/idea/264262

Filter on 2-structure Query elements: https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#/idea/275571

HANA Live Custom Measure Order: https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#/idea/227035

[subash]

Hi Bettina,

Thanks for the good blog. probably a quick question.

what is the gap in functionality wise when you compare Data Analyzer with Bex Web?

[bettina_denonville]

Hi Subash,

quick question but would be a long breathed answer. 😉 In short, BEx Web is a well-engineered tool and we understand the need to provide the key functionalities in SAP Analytics Cloud. The BEx replacement is the major goal for data analyzer and we will continue in 2023 with closing the critical gaps!

[GerritPosthumus]

Hi Bettina,

Great blog post.

I have two potential improvement ideas:

1. The option to add data analyser insight as a new widget to an existing or new story


2. The option to use the data analyser as a full screen editor for story widgets in the story design mode

[Lothar_Köder]

Hi Bettina, This is really a good tool within SAC now! I'm looking forward to have the new "Dimension Member Dialog" within the story environment, too. Is this already planned?

[TobIse]

Hi Bettina,

The new Data Analyzer functions are a step in the right direction. But the functions are very limited and not as powerful as in Lumira. The template looks very similar to the former Lumira analysis template. Unfortunately it is always the same. A new tool is released, which can do less than the previous tools and the functionalities are (if at all) successively delivered. This does not exactly ensure acceptance. Therefore, this tool with the current functionalities is out of the question for us.

Especially for companies that have invested a lot in their onPrem systems (BW/4), a tool is now missing with which a simple list and web reporting is possible. The old tools like WAD or Lumira were sufficient.

I hope that something will still happen. But am unfortunately pessimistic.

Regards
Tobias

[erdempekcan]

Better now!

However, there's still a long way to go.

Why does the filter bar sets only static filters? It should behave the same way as in stories.

[peter_warren_uk]

It is a great improvement.

I particularly like having the dimension attributes underneath the dimensions, the drag drop re- ordering in the table and the enhanced context menu

There is one very important thing that was in the old version but I cannot find it in the new one - that is being able to export repetitive row/column headers.

If you cannot export the full dimensionality of each row of data you have to waste time fixing that in Excel

Did I miss something , is the functionality actually still available and I just could not find it ?

If it no longer available I will be raising an improvement request

 

[Dirk_Frauenfeld]

Hi Peter,

thanks for the comment. We are currently facing a bug when you enable the repeating members on the "table functions" -> "Show Hide" Context Menu and export. This will be fixed asap.

Additionally, we are planning to add a checkbox or similar to the export dialog to enable the repeating members there directly.

Thanks,

Dirk

[igdulia]

Hi Bettina,

Great changes. Thank you very much for your post.

I started to use new Data Analyzer and faced one issue, maybe you can help with this?

I didn't find how to remove Currency/Unit from cell? Now we don't have possibility to manage "Display unit/Currency" in Styling Panel.

Will be this fixed? Or can I hide Currency from another place?

Thank you.

[vitvas_gpg]

It is still actual question

[bettina_denonville]

Hi Iryna, Vitaly,

for BW Live data sources, the option to manage the currency/unit position in the styling panel was delivered with the QRC Q2 release. Please note the backend version dependency of the BW system and follow this note for detailed information: https://me.sap.com/notes/2715030

For HANA data sources (HANA Live and acquired models), we also plan to support that functionality, it is already on the product backlog and currently planned with QRC Q2 2024. I will post the innovation item on SAP Roadmap Explorer in near future.

Best regards,

Bettina.

[bettina_denonville]

Hi Peter,

the checkbox to print repetitive members of a dimension has been added to the export dialog and will be delivered with the QRC Q1 release. Please follow the innovation on SAP Roadmap Explorer to find more information:

Data analyzer – export: option in the dialog to print repetitive members

Best regards,

Bettina.

[bettina_denonville]

Hi Erdem,

may you can explain in more detail your requirement? It is not clear to me what you mean by "static filter" and what you expect by saying "same way as in stories".

Thank you.

Regards,

Bettina.

[erdempekcan]

That case also changed in time but filters still behave different in Data Analyzer compared to Stories.

In Data Analyzer, when you click on filter icon on the menu bar to change it, a pop-up appears. In stories, a drop down menu appears to for selection.