Best cloud BI solution for SAP data sources
February 06, 2021

Best cloud BI solution for SAP data sources

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with SAP Analytics Cloud

I develop solutions based on SAP Analytics Cloud for clients. I have implemented an end-to-end Finance Solution with the help of Analytics Designer in SAP Analytics Cloud. Analytics Designer of SAP Analytics Cloud is the perfect cloud solution for complex dashboarding requirements that require various customizations requested by client. The Finance solution developed in SAP Analytics Cloud is being used used by more than 500 users daily and we have got positive feedback regarding user friendliness, performance load times, UI, etc.
  • Scripting Capability in Analytics Designer gives greater flexibility for a variety of complex requirements given by client.
  • Having planning and predictive capabilities along with BI reports is advantageous.
  • Complete- development can be made in browser with no need for a separate software installation.
  • Works extremely well with SAP data sources where the existing structures, security of the backend data sources like BW and HANA are supported.
  • The options and settings are not as intuitive as Tableau.
  • Competing products are well matured and have a lot of advanced features. For example, it is not possible to sub-total in charts.
  • Cannot maintain a live connection with data sources other than the ones offered by SAP.
  • If you are migrating from old BI solutions, then the initial investment is high as there are no provision to automatically migrate your dashboards from older SAP BI solutions.
  • But the investment is excellent in long term, since SAP Analytics Cloud is going to be the one and only focus for SAP in terms of Visualization for next ten year[s] at minimum.
SAP Analytics Cloud is the only tool to offer extensive planning capabilities. It is the only cloud solution where you have all three planning, predictive and BI solutions in a single framework. Even though the competitors are mature and advanced in providing visualization options, aggressive investment in SAC by SAP is giving a positive outlook for the future.

Do you think SAP Analytics Cloud delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with SAP Analytics Cloud's feature set?

Yes

Did SAP Analytics Cloud live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of SAP Analytics Cloud go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy SAP Analytics Cloud again?

Yes

The only major downside here is if you have your data in data sources other than SAP. SAP Analytics Cloud works well for SAP data sources and the rate at which new updates are being provided is promising. It has room for improvement but will definitely be a good investment at this point of time.
Any bugs that we face in SAP Analytics Cloud are immediately addressed and there are no issues when you upgrade versions. There are four version releases per year and not a single upgrade has affected any of the built dashboards / stories. But any new enhancement request placed will take a long time to be included in the product.
If the underlying data source is from SAP like BW or HANA, SAP Analytics Cloud can act as your single cloud solution that you need for all your BI requirements. Whereas if you have data in other data sources like Snowflake, SAP Analytics Cloud is not recommended as you can consume your data using a live connection and the options are limited.

SAP Analytics Cloud Feature Ratings

Long-term financial planning
9
Financial budgeting
9
Forecasting
7
Scenario modeling
10
Management reporting
9
Financial data consolidation
8
Multi-currency management
7
Intercompany Eliminations
7
Minority Ownership
7
Local and consolidated reporting
8
Detailed Audit Trails
6
Financial Statement Reporting
9
Management Reporting
9
Excel-based Reporting
7
Automated board and financial reporting
8
Personalized dashboards
10
Color-coded scorecards
10
KPIs
10
Cost and profitability analysis
9
Key Performance Indicator setting
9
Benchmarking with external data
8
Flat file integration
10
Excel data integration
10
Pixel Perfect reports
8
Customizable dashboards
10
Report Formatting Templates
8
Drill-down analysis
8
Formatting capabilities
9
Integration with R or other statistical packages
8
Report sharing and collaboration
10
Publish to Web
9
Publish to PDF
10
Report Delivery Scheduling
9
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
8
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
8
Predictive Analytics
7
Multi-User Support (named login)
9
Role-Based Security Model
9
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
10
Single Sign-On (SSO)
8
Responsive Design for Web Access
10
Mobile Application
10
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
8

Using SAP Analytics Cloud

ProsCons
Like to use
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Convenient
Feel confident using
None