SAP has taken a significant step toward redefining planning and analytics by introducing seamless planning between SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) and SAP Datasphere. In Q4 2024, SAP announced a controlled release of this feature for SAC running on HANA Cloud infrastructure. This enhancement represents a major leap in providing businesses with integrated, real-time, and collaborative planning capabilities. With the increasing demand for extended planning and analysis (xP&A) tools, the integration aims to bridge gaps between data storage, planning, and analytics on a unified platform.
Purpose
Seamless Planning is not a novel product but rather an enhancement to the existing integration between SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) and SAP Datasphere. This enhancement simplifies planning workflows by allowing direct storage of SAC model data (both fact and master data) within SAP Datasphere. This direct storage facilitates real-time data consumption across various analytical tools and reduces data redundancy by eliminating the need for separate data repositories.
Key Features:
1. Unified Data Storage:
- SAP Analytics Cloud modelers can now store their model data (including fact and master data) directly within SAP Datasphere.
- This eliminates the need for separate data storage within SAC, simplifying data management and reducing potential inconsistencies.
- Crucially, this does not alter how model structures and planning processes are defined within SAP Analytics Cloud. Modelers continue to utilize the familiar SAC environment for these tasks.
2. Enhanced Data Governance:
- SAC objects stored in SAP Datasphere are maintained as read-only.
- This ensures that data integrity and security are centrally managed within SAP Datasphere, providing a robust and controlled environment for data access and manipulation.
3. Real-Time Analytics:
- Fact data and publicly accessible dimension tables are readily available for real-time reporting and analysis.
- This enables seamless integration with various analytical tools, including SAC itself and other data sources, facilitating timely and informed decision-making.
4. Comprehensive Functionality:
- Seamless Planning is designed to fully support the existing range of functionalities within SAP Analytics Cloud.
- This includes capabilities such as predictive analytics, interactive story-building, and seamless integration with the Microsoft Office add-in, ensuring a consistent and familiar user experience.
Objectives
1. Efficiency:
- Goal: Minimize the time required to take action based on data insights.
- Approach: Streamline data workflows by optimizing data movement, processing, and access. This could involve automating data pipelines, improving data quality checks, and providing self-service data preparation tools.
2. Collaboration:
- Goal: Enhance teamwork across different departments and roles.
- Approach: Create a centralized data access point where all relevant stakeholders can easily find, access, and share data. This can be achieved through a data catalog, collaborative data modeling tools, and secure data sharing mechanisms.
3. Simplification:
- Goal: Simplify the process of planning and analysis.
- Approach: Implement a unified and governed data platform (like SAP Datasphere) to support xP&A (eXtended Planning and Analysis). This involves integrating data from various sources, ensuring data quality and consistency, and providing a single source of truth for all planning and analysis activities.
Controlled Release Details
1. Scope and Features:
- This controlled release focuses on integrating SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) with SAP Datasphere.
Key Features:
- Model Storage Selection: Users can choose specific SAP Datasphere spaces to store their SAP Analytics Cloud models.
- Direct Data Exposure: Fact and dimension data can be directly exposed from SAP Datasphere’s data builder within SAC.
- Model Deployment: SAP Analytics Cloud models can be deployed to SAP Datasphere, improving their accessibility and enabling further analysis using SAP Datasphere tools like SQL and Python.
2. Benefits:
- Reduced Data Redundancy: By storing data in a single source (SAP Datasphere), the need for duplicate datasets is eliminated, saving storage space and reducing the risk of inconsistencies.
- Increased Flexibility: Seamless integration allows for live reporting and advanced analytics using a variety of tools available within the SAP Datasphere environment, such as SQL and Python.
3. Limitations:
- Delta Subscriptions: Currently, delta subscriptions for the Data Export Service are not available (planned for Q1 2025). This may impact the efficiency of data updates and real-time reporting.
- Geo Maps and Cross-Model Planning: There may be limitations in the functionality of geo maps and cross-model planning when using models stored in different SAP Datasphere spaces.
- Exposure Settings Bug: A known bug affects the exposure settings for transported or imported tables, which may require workarounds.
Future Plans
This roadmap outlines key enhancements to the Data Export Service, modeling capabilities, and orchestration within the data and analytics landscape.
Planned Enhancements
1. Delta Subscriptions for Data Export Service:
- Introduction: The Data Export Service will be enhanced with delta subscriptions.
- Benefits: This allows for efficient and incremental data updates, minimizing data transfer volumes and maximizing resource utilization.
- Technical Details: Delta subscriptions leverage change data capture (CDC) mechanisms to identify and transmit only the modified data records since the last export.
2. Streamlined Modeling for Cross-Consumption of Data:
- Introduction: The platform will introduce streamlined modeling capabilities to facilitate seamless cross-consumption of data from various sources.
- Benefits: This will enable users to build more comprehensive and integrated analytical models, leveraging data from diverse systems within a unified framework.
- Technical Details: This may involve advancements in data federation, virtual data integration, and semantic layer capabilities to provide a unified view of data across different systems.
3. Orchestration Improvements for Seamless Planning Workflows:
- Introduction: Enhancements to the orchestration layer will streamline planning workflows.
- Benefits: This will improve the efficiency and agility of planning processes, enabling faster decision-making and improved business outcomes.
- Technical Details: This may include advancements in workflow automation, integration with external planning tools, and enhanced capabilities for collaborative planning.
Potential Features
1. Live Cross-Consumption of SAP Datasphere Data:
- Description: The ability to directly consume live data from SAP Datasphere within the analytical environment.
- Benefits: Provides real-time insights and enables more agile and responsive decision-making.
- Technical Details: Requires robust integration between SAP Datasphere and the analytical platform, potentially leveraging technologies like data streaming and real-time data pipelines.
2. Migration Support for Existing SAC Content to the Enhanced Architecture:
- Description: Tools and processes will be provided to facilitate the smooth migration of existing SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) content to the enhanced architecture.
- Benefits: Enables users to leverage the new capabilities and features while minimizing disruption to existing workflows and investments.
- Technical Details: This may involve automated migration tools, comprehensive documentation, and expert support to guide users through the transition.
3. Dimension Reusability from SAP Datasphere Across SAC Models:
- Description: The ability to reuse dimensions defined in SAP Datasphere across multiple SAP Analytics Cloud models.
- Benefits: Improves data consistency, reduces data redundancy, and simplifies data maintenance across the enterprise.
- Technical Details: Requires tight integration between SAP Datasphere and SAC, enabling the sharing and management of common data definitions across the platform.
Infrastructure and Prerequisites
To employ seamless planning capabilities, the following prerequisites must be met:
- SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) Deployment: SAP Analytics Cloud must be deployed on the SAP HANA Cloud platform.
- Co-location: SAC and SAP Datasphere must reside within the same data center.
- Identity Provider Alignment: Both services must utilize a common identity provider for authentication.
- Tenant Linkage: A one-to-one mapping between SAC and SAP Datasphere tenants is required.
- HANA Cloud Migration: For customers not currently utilizing the HANA Cloud platform, migration is necessary. Guidance and resources are available to assist in this transition.
Controlled Release Participation
1. Eligibility:
- Participation is restricted to customers actively employing both SAP Analytics Cloud planning functionalities and SAP Datasphere.
- SAP Analytics Cloud tenants must be deployed on the HANA Cloud platform.
2. Registration:
- Interested participants can register for the controlled release program via the Customer Influence portal.
- The registration deadline is December 16, 2024.
- Preview and partner tenants that fulfill the prerequisites will gain early access to seamless planning capabilities on January 18, 2025.
General Availability
Seamless planning, a groundbreaking integration between SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) and SAP Datasphere, is set for General Availability (GA) in the first quarter of 2025 (QRC1 2025). This initial release will be exclusively accessible to customers using the SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) tenant on the HANA Cloud platform.
This strategic decision for a controlled rollout allows for meticulous monitoring and optimization of the integration before broader adoption. During this period, businesses are strongly encouraged to proactively prepare for planning’s widespread availability. Key preparatory steps include:
- Migration Planning: Evaluate current data landscapes and develop comprehensive migration strategies to integrate planning data with the HANA Cloud environment. This may involve data movement, transformation, and harmonization efforts.
- Prerequisite Assessment: Thoroughly review and fulfill all technical and organizational prerequisites for seamless planning adoption. This may include system upgrades, data model adjustments, and user training initiatives.
Conclusion
The launch of seamless planning between SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Datasphere marks a significant step forward in integrated planning and analytics. By bringing planning data and actuals together within the HANA Cloud, businesses gain the agility to adapt quickly and foster stronger collaboration across teams.
We encourage customers to join the controlled release program. This hands-on involvement not only provides early access to game-changing capabilities but also shapes the future roadmap based on real-world feedback. Preparing now for broader adoption in 2025 will position businesses to fully capitalize on this integration’s potential.
This milestone sets the stage for a new chapter in planning and analytics. With a commitment to ongoing innovation, SAP has an exciting pipeline of enhancements designed to further empower businesses and drive exceptional outcomes.
