What’s New in SAP Analytics Cloud Release 2024.03

[meganhoy]

SAP Analytics Cloud brings together analytics and planning with unique integration to SAP applications and seamless access to heterogenous data sources. It helps everyone in your organization make decisions without doubt with trusted insights and integrated plans.

This blog post introduces the features of the SAP Analytics Cloud 2024.03 release available for SAP Analytics Cloud FastTrack customers. For SAP Analytics Cloud Quarterly Release Cycle (QRC) customers, this release and its features will be available as part of the QRC Q2 2024 release. View the QRC release schedule here.

System Administration and Technical Requirements

Although not required, you may upgrade to the latest SAP Analytics Cloud agent version 1.0.397 to take advantage of all data acquisition types.

The agent’s minimum version remains at 1.0.75, with the following exceptions:

• Version 1.0.99 for SAP ERP/SQL Database
• Version 1.0.365 for SAP universe (UNX). The SAP Analytics Cloud agent requires additional setup steps, for more details see SAP Note 3262098
• Version 1.0.353 for SAP Business Warehouse (BW)
• Version 1.0.235 for SAP HANA View
• Version 1.0.248 for File Server

For more information, see System Requirements and Technical Prerequisites.

Regarding supported features and required updates for the integration of SAP BW with SAP Analytics Cloud, refer to SAP Note 2541557 for further details.

Regarding supported features and required updates for live universe access through SAP BusinessObjects Live Data Connect with SAP Analytics Cloud, refer to SAP Note 2771921 for further details.

Please download the latest version of the Simple Deployment Kit from Service Marketplace.

Note: To avoid downloading older versions and potentially exposing users to a vulnerable bundling of the Cloud Connector with SAPJVM, or Apache Tomcat, only the three latest versions of the kits are available to download.

For Cloud agent version change management details, refer to SAP Note 3264839.

Release Highlights

• Administration and Service Management
  • Central control over user profile settings for administrators | (SAP Road Map Explorer)
• Augmented Analytics
  • Predictive planning – making prediction intervals visible in stories | (SAP Road Map Explorer)
• Data Integration
  • Support x.509 certificates for SAP Integrated Business Planning connection type
• Enterprise Planning
  • Advanced Formulas - using the link function with analytic models as a source | (SAP Road Map Explorer)
  • Multi Actions – copy external API URL from detailed dialog | (SAP Road Map Explorer)
  • Plan Process Management – extended APIs for stories and analytical applications | (SAP Road Map Explorer)
  • Data Clearance in the Cross-Model Copy Step of Data Actions
• Microsoft Office Integration
  • Add-in for Microsoft Excel
    • Design Pane Header Re-design | (SAP Road Map Explorer)
    • Formatting of a static report in Microsoft Excel | (SAP Road Map Explorer)
• Story Design
• New Formatting Options in Theme Preferences
• Wild Card Filters (excludes SAP BW and SAP IBP)
• Story Extensibility
  • Data Change Insights Burst Mode Support
  • Integrate Numeric Points in SAP Mobile Start via REST API

Administration and Service Management

Central control over user profile settings for administrators

Administrators can now centrally control the default user profile settings via the global user preference settings. Changes can be applied to new users only or to all users. This eliminates the manual effort for a user to configure their own language, date formatting, number formatting and email notifications.  (SAP Road Map Explorer)

Augmented Analytics

Predictive planning – making prediction intervals visible in stories

When using predictive planning, users can now save the prediction interval alongside the predictive forecasts to dedicated planning versions. (SAP Road Map Explorer)

Data Integration

Support x.509 certificates for SAP Integrated Business Planning connection type

With this release, we are happy to announce the support of x.509 client certificate authentication for acquired connections for SAP Integrated Business Planning connection. This provides a new, secure authentication method for SAP IBP.

Enterprise Planning

Advanced Formulas - using the link function with analytic models as a source

Users can now use the link function within an advanced formula script with analytic models. (SAP Road Map Explorer)

For example: DATA() = LINK([<Analytic Model>], [d/Dimension] = "member", …)

Multi Actions – copy external API URL from detailed dialog

In the Multi Action settings dialog for a multi action with “Allow External API Access” enabled, users can now choose “Show Details” and copy “Multi Action ID”, “Trigger API URL”, or “Polling API URL” of this multi action to paste into an API request sent by an external application. (SAP Road Map Explorer)

Plan Process Management – extended APIs for stories and analytical applications

New calendar API’s have been added in the optimized story experience and analytics designer. (SAP Road Map Explorer)

• The createCompositeTask API now supports properties such as contextFilters, reminders, parentId, owners and dependencies. You can use the createProcess API to create a calendar process with similar properties as the createCompositeTask API.
• You can use the sendImmediateReminder API to send an immediate reminder to the assignees with an optional message.
• You can use APIs to update a calendar event, such as its start and end date, progress, owner, assignee, reminder, context filters.
• You can use APIs to get more properties of a calendar event, such as its child events, dependencies, owners, context filters and reminders.
• You can use the reopen API to reopen a calendar event.
• The following APIs are deprecated: getCalendarTaskById, getRelatedTaskIds, getCurrentTask. Use getCalendarEventById, getRelatedEventIds, getCurrentEvent respectively instead.

Data Clearance in the Cross-Model Copy Step of Data Actions

Previously, when configuring a cross-model copy step in data actions while in overwrite mode, cross-model copy steps with no source context filter would sometimes clear additional data. Now, cross-model copy steps being configured in overwrite mode clear only the intended data.

Microsoft Office Integration

Add-in for Microsoft Excel

The name of the add-in has changed from SAP Analytics Cloud, add-in for Microsoft Office to SAP Analytics Cloud, add-in for Microsoft Excel.

Design Pane Header Re-design

Updates have been made to the design pane header. Depending on the selected object, the designer panel header now shows an icon for table, formula or data action trigger and the follow information: (SAP Road Map Explorer)

• The data source name and the table name for tables.
• The data source name and the data source alias for formulas.
• The label and the ID for data action trigger.

This feature is available to all customers as of January 31, 2024.

Formatting of a static report in Microsoft Excel 

Users now have the option to disable the default format when adding a new table. Disabling the default table formatting will keep Excel formatting after rendering. This provides users the ability to create highly customized formatting for reports based on native Excel standing formatting, including conditional formatting. However, this formatting will not support expand and collapse actions. (SAP Road Map Explorer)

Story Design

New Formatting Options in Theme Preferences

We have introduced additional formatting options within the Theme Preferences to be able to create an IBCS-like “Theme”.

• Scale Format (k, m, bn vs Thousands, Millions, and Billions)
• Absolute vs Percentage Decimal Places
• Currency Format (System Default, ISO Code, and Symbol)

Please note the following limitations:

• Only available for charts and tables
• Currency Format Formatting Option is limited to Theme Preferences
• Option to Configure Decimal Places for Absolute vs Percentage is limited to Theme Preferences

Wild Card Filters (excludes SAP BW and SAP IBP)

For non-time based dimensions, we have renamed it from Filter by Range to Filter by Condition

There are new options that are available which includes a Text Match vs Wildcard

• For Text Match vs Wildcard we support the deselection of members at View Time but NOT editing the individual statements
• For Matches Pattern we support * (Matches any number of characters) and ? (Matches a single alphabet in a specific position)

There is a new section called “Restrictions” that will exclude values based on the conditions that are set which will be read only for the Viewer

• Designer has an option to hide the Restrictions from the Viewer

Please note the following limitations:

• This is not supported for BW or IBP
• Hierarchies do not support base comparison operators (i.e. Between, Greater Than, and so on) and Matches Pattern
• (No Value) member will not be found based on a text match as its not a real member in the backend
• Matches Pattern is limited to ? and * operators

Story Extensibility

Data Change Insights Burst Mode Support

Users can now choose burst mode when subscribing to data change insights. In burst mode, story viewers receive data change insights based on their own authorizations, rather than the scheduler's authorization.

 

Integrate Numeric Points in SAP Mobile Start via REST API

Application developers can call a rest API by story ID and widget ID to access data from numeric chart widgets in optimized story experience. This will allow users to consume the widgets in SAP Mobile Start.

This blog post only provides a high-level overview of the latest features and enhancements of SAP Analytics Cloud. You can find more details on these features in your In-App Help Guide for FastTrack customers and see this SAP Knowledge Base Article if you’d like to learn more about FastTrack and Quarterly Release Cycle releases. 

If you have any questions regarding the content in this blog post, you can comment below. If you have product specific or technical questions, post a question to our SAP Analytics Cloud Questions & Answers forum. Visit our SAP Analytics Cloud Community pages to find more product information, best practices, and more. And check out our SAP Road Map Explorer to see more upcoming features of SAP Analytics Cloud.